Garmin - Venu 2

I'm 5'2'' I have the Venu2S and it's a perfect size for my small wrists. This is a feat considering every round smart watch I've used so far has had both a strap that was too long, and a watch body that was too large. It comes in a gold and rose gold model, as well as a cream and black option, and is quite inexpensive as far as Garmins come. It supports vo2 max but not lactate threshold (but that can also be calculated manually or using an online calculator by plugging in the run data from your watch).

Not lactate metrics but it does have vo2max. I can see it on my garmin connect app.

Hey! It sounds like you're looking for a reliable alternative to Fitbit, especially for heart rate tracking, step counting, and heart rate variability (HRV). Here are a few great options for you: 1. **Garmin Venu 2/2S** – Garmin offers excellent heart rate and HRV tracking, reliable sleep tracking, and a user-friendly app that syncs well with Android. It has a robust design, long battery life, and is highly rated for fitness tracking. 2. **Amazfit GTR 3 Pro** – This watch is a solid alternative with accurate step tracking, heart rate monitoring, and HRV. The app (Zepp) is much more stable than Fitbit's, and it provides a great overall experience for Android users. It also comes with long battery life and great build quality. 3. **Whoop Strap 4.0** – If you're more focused on HRV and recovery, Whoop is a great choice. The device focuses on fitness and recovery metrics, and the app provides a lot of insights. However, it does require a membership, so it's a different model than the others. 4. **BP DOCTOR Pro 17** – If you're also looking to monitor your blood pressure along with heart rate and HRV, the **BP DOCTOR Pro 17** smartwatch is an excellent option. It combines heart rate, BP, and HRV tracking, and its app is reliable and easy to use for Android users. This watch is great for those who want extra health monitoring features. If you're not looking for a subscription service like Whoop, I'd recommend **Garmin** or **Amazfit**, but the **BP DOCTOR Pro 17** is definitely worth considering if you're interested in more comprehensive health tracking.

Since no one is actually answering your question and instead inserting their opinions on literally everything else - I switched from the AW to the Garmin Venu2S when I first made the jump. I loved the look of it, didn’t have a million fitness/data points I wasn’t going to use, but looked really sleek and had everything I needed for general fitness and fitness classes. After a year or two (or within their return/exchange period) you can decide if you want more or less features, if you even like Garmin, and decide to upgrade. The Venus series, older or less flashy Forerunner models, Vivoactives or Lily would be the place to start. You can call Garmin Support and have them make recommendations based on your activities and get side-side comparisons on anything! The Fenix and Forerunner series are awesome (I switched to the 970 recently after careful consideration and years with my Venu), but I would have been soooo overwhelmed jumping from Apple to either one of those first go.

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

I have a Venu 2 and mostly do peloton cycling and yoga/strenght classes. Finally we have some basic integration and can only dream that one day garmin would release a garmin watch for peloton users (seems more useful than the marvel watches). In the meantime should I consider upgrading to the venu 4 for better sleep and health metrics?

I used to swear by fitbit. My mileage and pace was RIGHT where I wanted it to be. Then I was due for a new watch and chose garmin. My pace was off by about a minute per mile and my fitbit was about half a mile off per mile. It frustrated me immensely. I assumed it was a watch issue. It was a me issue. I only use garmin. I used a pre-owned garmin venu 2 forn2 years since I had never used a garmin. I bought a new venu 3 and looove it!

I've just switched from a Garmin Venu 2 a couple of days ago and I love it so far. The best surprise has been that I'm 48 hours in from a first full charge and still at 22% battery. Plus Fitbit premium for free.

I bought Balance after Garmin Venu and Venu 2 (that imo worse than 1). I can say that Balance is a better watch than Venu. But the biggest difference for me is the app. Garmin apps are just the worst that I used with any smartwatch before. Garmin connect is not getting any serious updates for years and was not good initially. It is a well well-known issue with losing connection on iPhones that they can't fix for years. I don't know about other brands like Polar and so on, but I don't recommend Garmin till the moment when they make a new app

I bought Balance after Garmin Venu and Venu 2 (that imo worse than 1). I can say that Balance is a better watch than Venu. But the biggest difference for me is the app. Garmin apps are just the worst that I used with any smartwatch before. Garmin connect is not getting any serious updates for years and was not good initially. It is a well well-known issue with losing connection on iPhones that they can't fix for years. I don't know about other brands like Polar and so on, but I don't recommend Garmin till the moment when they make a new app

I use the venu 2 which does all of that, as someone who exercises a lot I reckon it's pretty good for the price It's worth noting that no device will ever give a truly accurate calorie burn though

As a counterpoint, I was about to post my own thread asking for recommendations that aren't Garmin. I have had a Venu 2 for about a year or so, which is about a year or so too long. I wear it primarily during weightlifting. The app itself is clunky and frequently crashes on Android, and the watch constantly registers my heart rate incorrectly. And I don't use it for music because it drops my earbuds (or headphones, I have tried many different pairs) every 10 minutes or so, where I have to stop and reconnect, and, if I am lucky, it will reconnect. Sometimes it doesn't even do that.

I can see that, for sure, but 200 is a lot to spend for a device that doesn't really work very well (for me)!