Garmin - Venu 2 Plus

Venu 2 plus and I currently use a FR965

Metrics. The venu was cool for day to day stuff but I never got into most of the features so when I started running I upgraded to the FR

I’ve got the Venu 2plus. Just before the 3 came out. And I have apple situationship heheh Garmin rocks saving for the Fenix. The Garmin has outlasted everything I’ve throw. At it and the venu2a is nothing compared to the robustness of the other watches.

Since you’re a runner using Runna and want better battery life, the sweet spot is probably the Forerunner 265 if you want something light, run-focused and comes with AMOLED brightness which your Galaxy probably has. If you want more of a “smartwatch vibe” with a mic for calls then maybe the Venu 2 Plus is the only Garmin that adds voice assistant and call handling but its training metrics aren’t quite as deep as the Forerunner 955/965 series ones If I were you I’d also consider the Forerunner 955 or 965 for serious running and battery though, it’s pretty much the best watch you can get as a runner IMO or you could try [9 Best Smartwatches Worth Investing in 2025 for Running and Hiking](https://alaskanarrows.com/best-smartwatches-in-2025-for-hiking-and-running/) for others as well Cheers

Same. Got Venu 2 Plus. Still going strong. I don’t think I would update. Not groundbreaking features, but at crazy prices.

What are your desires and expectations? Must-have or don't-care features? Do you want it to have LTE capability? Regarding Samsung there are only a few things that aren't supported without a Samsung phone and, personally, none of these things are all that important and I'm not sure you'd get those features on any other watch brand anyway, so it's not like you're losing anything by getting a galaxy watch. I've used a pixel watch 2 and, most recently, galaxy watch 7. The pixel watch 3 is essentially a 2 but with an optional larger size; the soc and everything other than the display is the same. If you're considering the smaller size options and considering a pixel watch, you should just get the pixel watch 2 instead of the same size pixel watch 3 of you want to save some money. I stopped using my pw2 because it does not show new notifications as they come in without some sort of manual action, so unless you tap the screen or lift your wrist when you get the vibration, you don't get to see anything and 75% of the time my pw2 wouldn't recognize a wrist-raise gesture, so I'd miss whatever the new notification was. Contrast with the Galaxy watch that has this option to just show the notification card with content automatically. If you want a wearos watch with better time between charges without too much sacrifice of features the oneplus watches are good. They aren't great with fitness tracking and the vibration motor isn't very good. People mention Garmin here but I want to point out that they are not smartwatches and even the smartest ones they make are not smart and lack many features of an actual smart watch. I used a venu 2+ for a while and while I appreciated the fitness aspects, the lack of smarts (and generally bad UI design of both the watch OS and the companion app) turned me off after a while.

Simplicity and better health functions - body battery, sleep, training. But mainly simplicity. In Apple to many apps - mainly paid ones. Also I was not using all features. Also gsm connection is very poor quality. So I came back to my old venu 2 plus and is great.

My Garmin Venu 2+ gets 9 days with all regular sensors on.

what are you talking about? same use cases for both but the Garmin is better looking and has longer battery. the Fenix is for a while different market demographic, irrelevant to bring up tbh. Comment I replied to was deleted. Whatever reddit back to your basements

I just bought a used Venu 2 plus for $125 On eBay. Works perfect for me. It does have much of those features but also the basic health tracking

I was a Garmin watch wearer/user for about a decade. Various models, ended up with a Fenix 5, all was good. Work then introduced a healthcare policy and we all got free Apple Watch Series 7s for tracking. I tried it out for a month, loved the integration to Apple, sold the Fenix. Then about a year later, I hankered after something with better battery life. So I bought a Venu 2 Plus. I wore this for less than a day, missed the Apple integration hard, returned the Venu and bought an Apple Watch Ultra. I'm wearing that right now.

I use a Garmin Venu 2 plus and I'm happy with how it tracks things in the pool. I think most Garmin watches with pool function track very well. Not all Garmin watches have open water swimming though. Mine for instance doesnt.

I have the venu 2 plus and it doesn't work with structured swim workouts. But these should work: D2 Series: Bravo / Charlie / Delta / Mach 1 Descent Series: G1 / Mk1 / Mk2 / Mk2i Enduro Series epix (Gen 2) Series fēnix Series: 3 / 5 / 5 Plus / 6 / 7 Forerunner Series: 245 / 255 / 265 / 645 / 735XT / 745 / 920XT / 935 / 945 / 945 LTE / 955 / 955 Solar / 965 Garmin Swim 2 Instinct Series Instinct 2 Series Instinct Crossover Series MARQ Collection MARQ Collection (Gen 2) quatix Series: 3 / 5 / 6 tactix Series: 7 / Bravo / Charlie / Delta Check out this link[link](https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=lLvhWrmlMv0vGmyGpWjOX6)

I have an AW Ultra and a Venu 2 Plus. I go back and forth between the two, but currently wearing the Venu

For what it’s worth I have an AW Ultra and a Venu 2 Plus. My AW is in a drawer.

I went from the Venu 2 plus to the 570 a few weeks ago. I had been waiting for the 4 to come out, but got impatient. I don't have any regrets. They did add a lot of the features I wanted to the 4, but it doesn't have auto max HR detection, and it only has HR based DSW, not pace based. The auto max HR detection was a must have, so I made the correct decision for me. I didn't really have an issue using the touch screen except sometimes after my swim and before I dried my hands, I couldn't scroll down to see my data. I'm just getting used to the 5 buttons, they are quite convenient.

Those are wildly different watches, price points and use cases. If this is what you are comparing I would personally go for the best watch I could afford. If the Fenix 8 is in your options go with that. Rather than buy something that will be obsolete soon, or fits your needs today go with the option you can grow into and will last you a while. I have personally gone the other way and every 2 years I have upgraded to a new watch that fits my needs. That is until this year when I bought a 970. Previously I have owned the vivofit, vivoactive, and Venu 2 Plus. What meets my needs today is the 570, what I will grow into is the 970. So if you can afford the Fenix 8 do that.

I’ve had my Garmin Venu 2 Plus for a few years. Works great 👍🏻 Battery lasts 7+ days ( depending on how much GPS tracking activities you are doing), light and is not in the way while wearing a long sleeve shirt. For kayaking, there is Canoeing as an activity (and since a kayak is a type of canoe by definition) and that works great and as someone else wrote, there is also paddle boarding.

Coming from a Venu 2 Plus, I'm enjoying the upgrade. To be honest, I doubt I'll use a lot of the new in-depth health stats for running and exercising. I'm more interested in the general "wellness" stuff and so far I'm enjoying having more detail with body battery and sleep stats.

Any watch will do for that amount of running, since CrossFit and weight training do not benefit much from a watch. A heart rate strap would be better to control HR during workout, specially CrossFit where it is impractical to use the watch in some workouts that I can get damaged. Anyway, since you want calls I would just chose the ones you like more aesthetic wise and budget from the ones that support microphone and speaker (Venu 2 plus, Venu 3, new Fenix and new forerunner lines)

Which Garmin are you using? And are you looking for a fitness watch with smart capabilities or a smart watch with fitness capabilities? I have the Venu 2 Plus and it's great, wish I could upgrade to the Venu 3 for a few more smart watch capabilities, but I can't really complain.

Have you used a Venu model before the X1? I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on the X1 after losing my Venu 2 Plus in a wreck a few months back. I'm hoping a 4 gets announced but honestly the only thing I think I'll miss is the ECG app. Not that I ever needed it for myself but I'm a health professional and would occasionally take one of the older people at church when they are feeling unwell.  Edit: I can get the X1 for 640 plus tax now that it's been 2 months from release my discount from health insurance is activated. 

Thanks OP. I might pull the trigger on it and then just resell it if I'm really missing the ECG that much. 

The Venu 2 Plus has 95% of what the Venu 3 has (including ECG), and can be had for about the price of the Vivoactive 5. But I’d still go to your nearest Apple Store and see what they can do for you - in my experience they’re pretty good. If you get a replacement (even a refurbished one), you can sell it if you’ve lost faith with them.

Make sure it’s the 2 Plus not the plain 2 you look at; there’s quite a difference.

Frankly, you'd be better off with an Apple Watch (if you use an iPhone) - and you'd save your Mom a lot of money. If you're not an Apple person, then possibly something from Samsung or Google. The Venu 3 would still be sporting overkill for your use case, and no Garmin really works well as a smart watch compared to the AW.

Fair enough. I have the Venu 2+ (among others) and it’s fine. The battery lasts 4-6 days under most use cases (I don’t use Always On) and it covers all the activities I do. Garmin Pay is useless in my country (UK) and I never use the voice features, but I do appreciate the ECG - even though I had to go to the USA to activate it! But as a smart watch it really doesn’t do a lot, like all Garmins. I simply use my phone.

I’m on my 3rd Venu 2 Plus in 2,5 years. First one was replaced because a rotor broke, second one because battery degraded suddenly. On the upside, customer support has been very pain free in both cases…just slap it in a box and we send you other one.

garmin - pick your flavor. i have had garmin for over 10 years, various models . i have the venu 2 plus

The newer garmin watches do both, only issue for me is the battery life on the golf course. YMMV, but if mine doesn’t charge to full the night before golf there’s a good chance it won’t make it through 18. I have the Garmin VENU 2, if you have any questions ask away

If I’m not using mine for golf, even with workout tracking, then it lasts about a week, but there’s something about golf that just kills the battery in mine

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 have a Venu 2, I tend to agree with QS results: mine does a terrible job in HR measuring, sometimes I'm standing and it measures ~40bpm, below my rest HR (50bpm). The sudden changes it fails miserably to detect, it usually takes 1 or 2 minutes to actually increase its readings, I'm a road cyclist, when I do interval training (short sprints) it simply keeps constant, sometimes even decreases. It also tracks sleep very badly, once I had a terrible insomnia (took ~3h lying in bed to sleep) and it registered that time as sleep, sometimes even when I go to toilet or to the kitchen grab a water it doesn't register as awake. It came to a situation in which I simply ignore the data shown because I can'tknow if it's correct. According to QS, the new sensor array that's on Venu 3 didn't improve much. So I'm currently choosing a new one, and won't be Garmin.

I had no problem with the Garmin Venu2 in the pool. Although there may be better for competitive swimmers. I'm an old guy, and just want lap count, which like step count isn't really steps it's wrist movement computed to steps. You have to know the length of the lane. But it in works. :s

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)!

My hulking brother rocks my original Venu which comes in-between at 43mm. I didn't really notice a size difference when I moved into the S models for 2 and 3. Initially it was a pain because the straps went from 20 to 18mm. They have an all black 41mm. I'm waiting for the gold/bone one to ship. I don't really care about the straps as I swap them for nylon ones ASAP anyway.

my venu 2, after 3 years of us,e still gets 4 days

I have a Garmin (Venu2) which is 3 years old and which I pair with a Garmin belt. The belt is very precise, and no single watch can match it. When it’s split, there’s no choice, you need a precision transmitter.

I have a Garmin venu 2 and I can't understand how it's not more popular! At least a week of battery life, waterproof, great tracking of everything, let's you reply to texts, amoled screen.

I agree,I absolutely hate it whenever my Venu 2 randomly disconnects from my Iphone and I have to pair it again. My partners Vivo5 is also a lost cause as it never gets past syncing. Planning to switch to Coros or Suunto from now on.

I am in the same opinion where I don't use a bike computer and rely on my Garmin watch. I have an old Venu 2 that can do all the things you mentioned so I am sure any of the newer ones do too! One thing I learned recently is that ny old watch can't broadcast my heart rate directly onto Zwift using the ANT technology. I think all of the newer watches do this. So if you Zwift and want to see your HR on the software, might want to confirm ANT technology. Good luck and have fun shopping!

I have the venu 2 and I don’t understand what could possible warrant me upgrading even if it cost half as much. And I usually love upgrading my tech. I want a new watch (for no reason my 2 works perfectly) but if anything I’d go for a different series with navigation

My Garmin Venu 2 has been a staple on my wrist for years and is excellent for long distance hiking. Battery life of a week, amazing data and accuracy, I’ll never go back to Apple Watch. Any Garmin is a winner really, mine is a smart-sport hybrid but there are way sportier ones out there.

Also my venue 2 lasts 12ish days on a single charge. 

I had a galaxy watch 4 for awhile (I use it because I am an android user) but I got a Venu 2 had it for about 2 years and the battery life was insane and since then I switched to a instinct 3 amoled, and the battery life is even better, I charge maybe every 2 weeks or more. I dont do crazy runs but want to soon. Rn it just tracks walks i do every day

I have the venu 2. Works for golf and tennis well

I have the venu2 and like it. Guessing the venu 3 will have some added features

I have a Venu (from 2021) and it is still receiving updates

I've come to the conclusion that the only way one can get the advertised 14 days of battery life on the Venu 3 is if all the features are disabled, Wi-Fi is turned off, bluetooth turned off and watch is put back in its box. In no conceivable way do these watches get 14 days of power even with all the features stripped out. Four to five days with normal use is the reality. I bike every morning for 35 minutes using a heart rate strap. I use a static screen. Wi-Fi is disabled. The screen brightness is set to low. The screen is not set to always on. In short, it has been really dumbed down. My Venu 2 that is almost three years old gets much better battery life, and it's on a three year old battery. Go figure.

Venu2, about 3 days..and when the battery is under 15%, the watch directly turns off...so yeah, i am looking for a new one. Hope for a new Garmin4 this year or the X1

What would you go for instead? I’ve got a venu 2, it’s been perfect for me really, but I do play golf so your comment re the maps perked my interest!

I have had several Garmin watches over the years I used them, including the Venu 2, the Fenix 7 and my last was the FR265. All were terrible at sleep tracking for me. No wearable is accurate at sleep stages but for me apple reflects how I feel. I found Garmin had me getting terrible sleep every night, never catching my actual sleep properly and having me sleep when I was wide awake. The nap feature was a total disaster for me, giving me 3-4 naps daily while I was a work at my desk, certainly not sleeping. Oura overestimates deep and Rem significantly, no way I am getting 3 hours of deep sleep a night. As for sleep scores they are junk science. Sleep is complex and the idea that a watch/ring can pair it down to a simple number when it can't accurately measure sleep stages is ridiculous. Even sleep labs are not accurate in doing this. If you have 2 techs look at a the data in a sleep lab they will not agree. It just is far too complicated. It is better to look at the amount of total time slept if you are going to look at sleep at all. Body battery and stress scores in my opinion are just gimmicky features that I never paid attention to. I prefer to listen to my body rather than a watch. I did appreciate the activity tracking of the Garmin but again when the sleep data is being used for a great deal of the metrics the data became useless for me. The idea that more HRV readings is better has been created by the fitness world, just like the idea that you should take 10000 steps a day. More HRV measurements, particularly continuous measurements are not needed, one reading in the morning is really sufficient.

The Vivoactive 5 has no altimeter and the Vivomove sport has no built in GPS, both poor choices for your activities. The Venu 2 is the better of the 3 watches you have listed.

I have that same watch and have none of those issues, everything works just fine. I also use it for lifting with which it sometimes misses a few reps or counts a few too many, but that's not all that weird to be honest.

hmmm strange indeed, mayb you got a faulty one somehow.... don't know. If you still have warranty mayb contact garmin or the reseller to exchange it ??

Try to golf 18 with an apple watch, the golf app will quit here and there, and walking (yes I walk) up the 18th you will get a low battery warning, this is starting with a full charge, you won’t get 18 in an afternoon round. My Venu2 uses 17% battery for 18 holes AoD, not tried to turn that off yet.

Yeah, the Venu 2 is still a solid choice. You’ll miss out on a few newer features like the better heart rate sensor and the improved sleep tracking from the Venu 3, but honestly, it still does everything you need: strength training, HIIT, runs, and daily health stuff. If you can find it for a good price, it’s definitely worth considering.

Garmin Venu 2 or 3. Long battery life, lots of activities, doesn't look offensive, and great customer support.

I went from a Garmin Venu 2, with a polar Upper bicep HR added for crossfit accuracy to Apple Watch 8 with Athlytic App. Previously had a whoop 3.0 too. Nothing has touched the accuracy of a standalone Apple Watch for HR tracking in CrossFit, imho. It’s leaps and bounds better than the sensor used in Garmin (though I miss aspects of the Garmin platform still)

I haven't had the 265, but went from 245 music to a venu 2 because I thought I wanted an amoled screen. Turns out I didn't like it at all. Got a 955 in February and haven't looked back, I love it. Only feature I would like on it is a flashlight but other than that, it's the perfect watch for me, taking into account looks, value and features.

This is the best answer, coming from a venu 2 owner. All Garmin watches have built in gps so you definitely don't need to bring your phone. You can even download offline music & podcasts to your watch from Spotify and listen to it using Bluetooth. The only things you'd still need a phone for are for maps and calls/messages.

Wow thank you for such a comprehensive review! I tried both Apple Watch SE and garmin venu, for me garmin venu 2 was more comfortable in daily use as the battery needs to be charged every 5 days or sth, not everyday like Apple Watch, the draw back was the less fancy options on the display, and that sometimes you had to click a lot of options to get the information you need from garmin! I unfortunately don’t have any of them anymore but I have a nice smart watch for daily use and no swimming, I was thinking if it’s worth it to spend some money on a new garmin, or since I have another smart watch, I just buy a swim tracker on its on! I was hoping the built in workout helps you follow it up step by step in smart watches as I haven’t tried this feature before, at the moment I also use the pencil paper approach like you said!

How is the screen font? Is it still huge? Or closer to the venu 2? I upgraded to the 3 but couldn’t stand the large font, even on the smallest setting, and went back to my 2 😅

Huh maybe it’s the model. My Venu 2 doesn’t do that, just starts up gps and then the activity. Thanks for explaining!

That's why 2 years ago I bought a used as new Venu 2 instead of a Fenix / Epix...

I have the Garmin venu 2 and it's not very accurate. HR seems fine, but the swimming distance isn't great, even after configuring it for the 25 yard pool I'm in

I wouldn’t use maps on a watch for hiking. I went Venu 2 that does all my health and tracking of activities. For hiking I use my iphone with outdoor active providing the mapping. You need to carry a phone in case of accidents etc so may as well look at a big screen where you can look at route options if reqd.

I’d be careful with steps as it just works on arm movements, I pruned a tree and the watch said i’d walked 6 miles. Might be better to plan a walk activity for better health management. I got a discounted Venu 2 which does all you need.

Venu for sure. It's the best blend of a typical non fitness smartwatch with all that Garmin offers. I'm on my Venu 3 after having the 2 and have loved them.

I still have the Venu 2. The price is way too high for what this watch is. Garmin is basically taking advantage of people who have fallen into their ecosystem. For this price you could buy 2 smart watches with competitive features. Also, Garmin is seriously behind in additional features behind their own fitness app. Pathetic.

Garmin hardware quality is lower than Apple. If you get the iPhone app HealthFit you have plenty of running metrics. I will not go to Garmin again. All my Garmins lasted too short. Wife was lucky and got her Venu 2 replaced under warranty shortly before the 2 years warranty ran out. I just replaced my AW6 as I was tired of charging morning and evening. Just got the SE as a temporary solution until AWU4 comes out. Decided against AWU3 with S10 chip (1 year old). If I have to change, it will either be Polar again, or Suuntu

I never have had any issues with swimming with the Venu 2 & Epix 2. The distance is almost always correct. Sometimes it's 1 lap off but that's quite rare. That said, I've been swimming all my life and am quite quick with 1:30/100m over long distances (2k-4k). So maybe I am more predictable and easier to track than a less experienced slower swimmer

My Venu 2 has it, so I'd expect 4 to also have it. But yeah - according to specs on site, it has it

My Venu 2 will NOT be upgraded to a 4 at that price...

I'm on pace to get somewhere between 1000 - 1500 miles of riding in this year. I'm rolling with the Cadence app on my iPhone 16 Pro and my Venu 2. The Venu pushes heart rate to the app. Could the Venu 2 be more accurate - sure. However, I'm doing this for fitness (doing a 100 mile ride shortly) and not for racing. The metrics the Venu 2 gives me is what I call "directionally accurate" and the fact that the Cadence app displays my heart rate (and thus my calculated zones) is perfect for me. If the watch doesn't work you can get the Garmin HRM Pro to pair with it. Good luck!

3 years on a Venu 2. I just charged mine before a trip, didn't charge on a 4 day trip, and a week later I was at 19% when I finally charged it up. Love the battery life, even has GPS and can read phone notifications and cancel any calls coming in.

In our family we have the Venu 2 and love it. About to add a Venu 3 into the mix!

Yeah my venu 2 still gets a solid week plus.i think I have a bit of a special one, because when I first got it, it would last 11 days+. It seems to lose about ~10% a day with a single daily 30 minute GPS tracked activity. These days I tend to  once every three days. I let it drop to 50% then  charge while I'm in the shower, and it goes up to about 705 or 80%..  I figure partial charges will keep the battery healthy for longer. I don't  use pulse ox, and AOD is off. It's a battery life champ. 

You forgot the low battery alert... "Warning, 6 days remaining"

My wife and the both had vivoactive3..both died after 2 years.  Her vivoactive4 and my venu2 have both been going for 3 years and are doing great, I expect another two years minimum of not more.   I think the vivoactive3 had lousy batteries 

Sadly lost my Venu 2 this July and was waiting to see the new specs once the Venu 4 was out, save to say at least the older models will soon be available at a new price drop.

I’m happy with my Venu 2.

My Garmin Venu 2 watch. Food and weighing scale.

Dude! Thanks for a great review. A nice and informative read. I think the Venu 4 looks like one of the best they have realeased recently. Great mix between Forerunner/Fenix but a cheaper version. I have a Venu 2, but would love to get a flashlight and better sleeptracking, as the Venu 2 doesnt do naps at all.. And same as you, I am conserned that the 47mm 970 would be too big

I went to the gym with my OP3 yesterday for first time. Untill now been using a Garmin Venu 2, and the heart rate was always very close to when I tested on the machines with the hand sensors. The OP3 yesterday was WAY OFF!!!  About 25/30 beets lower. It was recording about 100 calories less burnt during a 45 mun cardio workout. Absolutely love the watch, but if it can't get the basics right it's pointless. Sending straight back tomorrow.

UPDATE , I WAS WRONG!!!!!!! Didn't want to give up on the watch because it's looks so great. I tried a few more workouts starting with some walks. I wore a polar H10 chest strap also and my Garmin. Turns out the OPW3 was very close to the H10 with HR accuracy. So today I went to the gym , did a mixture of treadmill running and cross trainer. Again wore all 3 options and again OPW3 very close to the H10. Always within a couple of beats and mostly spot on. So, I'm keeping it for now

I currently have a Venu 2 and am seriously considering an opposite jump to Apple Watch. Would like to stay with Garmin but a Venu 4 will cost me $150 more than Apple. My exercise routine is Peloton bike every morning. Now I am second guessing but need to find the extra $150….

Good point. My Venu2 does broadcast, but I have a Garmin heart rate strap that's more accurate (but the initial reason I got it is because it's more convenient for cycling).

All garmin’s work really well. I have the forerunner 965 and it works great. Garmin also sells a speed and cadence sensor that connect to your watch for 40 usd and also improves data capture. I ride exclusively w/o a head unit because I prefer no screens on my ride. I like to track calories, heart rate, elevation, and routes along with speed and cadence. The 965 has the best experience I’ve found so far, I’ve also used the vivoactive, venu 2, and forerunner 265. 965 offers incredible battery life (6 2-3 hour rides per week along with other activities for a weekly charge). You can also bring up and use maps on the watch. Syncing is a PITA and is useful in a pinch if you REALLY need it, but if you are looking for map integration I’d suggest a head unit instead of a watch.

I did the switch about two months ago and it’s been great! Even after a long ride I still have a lot of battery left. Also for whatever reason I find my garmin a lot more comfortable when exercising. I bought the Venu 2 pre owned on amazon.

Had problem with venu 2 baterry, after 2 years it started to turn off randomly on 30% battery or lower. Bought new battery to replace, after that it stoped turning on.

Venu 2! I bought mine secondhand and its amazing.

I hopped on the Garmin bandwagon four years ago when bought my first watch, the Venu 2. Back then, I was looking for a wearable to just track my general fitness and my sleep patterns. The Venu 2 was good enough for that. And I was quite happy with it, despite it being so expensive. In the last few months, I’ve gotten pretty seriously into running properly after suffering years of shin splints due to my atrocious running form. My Venu 2 did fairly well tracking my workouts, but I was sorely missing some running and training focused features I wanted to become a better runner. After a lot of research, I took another leap of faith in Garmin and bought the Forerunner 970. And I am glad to say that my faith was well-placed, because I’m absolutely loving my new watch. The new features, metrics, and dozens of bells and whistles were overwhelming at first, but I’ve quickly grown to enjoy all the geeky details it gives me about my runs and other workouts. In particular, the daily suggested workout feature is a game-changer for me, because it takes into consideration my upcoming half-marathon in December this year and provides me with personalized workouts — something my Venu 2 couldn’t do. Here’s to many years of running 🥂. If you guys have any questions about the Forerunner 970 or about running — please feel free to ask :)

I use a Garmin Venu watch and get about 5-7 days between charges. Not much gps tracking, but if you actually use it to track a run or bike ride every day you'll still get 3-4 days.

I’m the first one to answer, incredible! :) Well, I am wearing my Garmin Venu watch since 2019/2020 nonstop! I use it daily. It is the perfect companion, very durable and I bought one of these metallic arm braces so that it looks more „office worthy“ [metallic braces](https://share.google/tq9XG0FDMVUHklYxK) It is super stylish and handy, and even though the battery is slowly dying on me (sadly🥲) if I ever have to get another watch, I will buy one of the Garmin Venu versions, because I just love it and the qualities insane… for like 350 bucks ( in 2019) I got a good watch for six years without problems It has all necessary features and is of course waterproof (which was important to me because back than I swam a lot) Now I use it mostly for tracking my sleep and my steps and my workouts just to reinforce the mindset of: „ Iwear a fitness watch, because I am a healthy person and fitness and wellbeing is important to me“

I would personally always take a Forerunner over the Venu series, as I am pretty serious about my fitness. I don't really care much about smart watch features, just need a bare minimum. And the venu series seems to take tradeoffs with fitness features to accommodate the increase in smart features.

Garmin lasts about 2 weeks without charging. Venu line.

It is beat with the Garmin Venu line.

Most people coming from apple go vivo active or venue. Venue being closest to a smart watch. Personally, I'm a instinct guy. Although I'm wearing a Fenix today since I didn't charge my Instinct for 2 weeks and it died before bed. I've swam tens of thousands of meters (more like hundreds but..) in pool, open and salt water with my Garmins. Done free diving (only to about 40ft, I'm not very good) and press the buttons regularly sub surface. I've also done cliff jumping with every watch, and haven't lost a garmin to water intrusion. I would definitely select a 100m rated model for water sports. Any watch can fail but I've had 6 garmins and none have. I also had a bunch of Casio and Timex over the years and not one failure.

Been wearing the same Garmin for 5 years now. Sometimes the splurge is worth it. If you can wait, there will probably be some deals for the upcoming holidays and Black Friday, but that is a bit away. Personally I do like an all in one smart watch for fitness tracking and phone syncing.

Garmin Venu series are comparable to an Apple Watch. Garmin’s GPS tracking for outdoor activity is a little bit better/accurate. That’s something to consider if you want to log hikes, bike rides, walking, running etc. I use an iPhone and just download the Garmin Connect app, that’s where all the data is stored. The Venu series are more fashionable. The first Venu model has the basic sleep tracking. I know the newer ones have some other updated features. I do find the sleep tracking, body battery, active/resting calories data to be pretty accurate based on how I feel.

Depending on the types of weights you utilise in your training, you may want to consider a Garmin with Sapphire Glass. It's pretty much bulletproof (I have hit mine with a 24kg kettlebell more times than I care to mention). That said the Venue range is great if you are not juggling kettlebells.

If you want a watch that leans more towards the social side in appearance, go with one of the Venu series that fits your budget. If you want a watch that leans more towards the sporty side in appearance, go with one of the Forerunner series that fits your budget. Both will fit your requirements.

From what you have written, budget is not a constraint for you. I'd go for a watch. Tracking sleep is very useful. I am implementing small changes to improve sleep and the data from the watch is helpful. Eventhough it's not perfect. If i could afford it, I'd buy a Garmin Venue right now. Also, while a chest strap may be a tad bit more accurate for heart rate tracking, it is not something you want to wear for hours at a stretch every day. There a watch is useful.