My first Garmin was the Forerunner 10 back when I first started running and before “smartwatches” were a thing! From there, I had the Forerunner 230, Fenix 5s (was way overkill for what I needed and it was confusing to use), Vivoactive 4s, Venu 2SQ and I currently have the Venu 3s. I upgrade every couple of years and buy them directly from Garmin’s website. They have a side by side comparison tool which is very helpful when you are trying to decide between watches.
I’m sure the older version sensor is cheaper so it’s probably a way to keep the price down. It is unfortunate they don’t make a simple running watch anymore though for those who don’t have the money to buy an expensive running watch. I’m glad the Forerunner 10 was an option when I got into running as a broke college student! All I needed was a watch that showed distance, pace and a timer. Simple.
If you are very big into running metrics, then you would want a Forerunner. If not, then the Vivoactive series is a great all around fitness watch. It does work well with an iphone. You will not need to connect to Apple Health as Garmin has its own app that will track your health stats and it syncs with the watch. The important thing to know coming from an Apple Watch is that Garmin watches are fitness watches first so you won’t be able to text through it or make calls (unless you get a watch that has a speaker and mic and has this specific feature, like the Venu 3 or 4). You will be very happy with the battery life though!
Garmin Venu 1, 2, or even one of the newer Vivoactives would be great. You can get a Venu 2 for probably about $100-$130 on Facebook Marketplace right now. You can also get one of the older Garmin Forerunners for about the same price as well, if not a little cheaper
if he is working a lot in the rain, get him something with more than 2 buttons so he would be able to use the watch using only the buttons (without the touchsreen) if he needs to, something like a forerunner, or instinct (doesnt have a touch screen) or a fenix (but a fenix is one of the more expensive ones)
I have a Fenix 7 Solar because I bought a 6 Pro Solar really cheap when they were discontinued but it broke and Garmin sent me a 7 as a replacement under warranty.
However the Fenix models are generally more than I feel I’d want to pay unless they are end of line so if I needed another I’d get a Forerunner that has the functions I actually use (Fenix, for example, has gold stuff. I will never play golf)
Top Fitness Trackers on Reddit
1
Garmin
Forerunner 255 Series
86% positive of 466 users
Long battery; but wrist HR tracking is inconsistent.
Humble-Lab-3950
