Garmin - Venu Sq

Forerunner and fenix watches seem to me like a heavier, off grid watch. Longer battery life, super rugged, heavier. Vivoactive is good for all those things but it’s lighter and a good daily wear. I have the venu 3. I lift weight, cycle, and starting to get into running. I wanted a watch that did all the bio tracking but didn’t want something rugged and off grid. 7-10 days battery life. Good daily wear. Good sleep tracking. I’ve worn it for 1.5years now. Had the venue SQ prior. I disable the messaging and notifications but still get calls just in case I don’t have my phone on me. Glad you aren’t looking at Apple Watches. Garmin is the best choice for activity and daily wear.

Garmin now has smaller, less expensive options (no chest strap) like the Venu SQ that are great. You can get one for under $200 and you get all the tracking, heart rate data. Lower models just don’t have all advanced metrics and setting.

I’ve rowed for years with my Concept 2 and my old Venu Sq. I use a chest strap because the arm isn’t great for activity where the wrist is constantly moving like rowing. RowErg links up with Garmin Connect and adds the activity after it’s synced. I’ll have a new 955 tomorrow so we’ll see how all the additional training metrics are affected by the rowing and running. Just keep in mind if you want to trend VO2Max data over time you’ll need to run or walk occasionally for Garmin to give you an estimate.

I got a Garmin Venu SQ from Ebay for $40 and it's pretty good.

my old venu sq has better range than my vivoactive 5

If you also want a smartwatch with payment features: I have a Garmin Venu Sq. Would reccomend

I currently have a Venu Sq that I love, but it was uh... run over by a bunch of skiers last winter, has a cracked screen and some dead pixels, but is still truckin along. I posted about it after the incident, and since then, more pixels have died on me. But it has been a good watch! I am not much of a runner, but I play competitive adult softball, enjoy distance biking, hiking, and long walks. I also strength train and feel like Garmin was a huge upgrade from my Fitbit Charge 3 and 4. I was impatiently waiting for the Venu 4 to come out to purchase a new watch, but I am so disappointed! I like the look of it, but It is WILDLY expensive and doesn't feel like it offers much to support that price point. I am super bummed about this. Not sure where to go from here. The Vivoactive is an option, I guess, or I could order another older Venu Sq or SQ2 (mine was a refurb and is still working well, I get 7 days to a charge). I don't know. I'm just disappointed.

If you only need HR and you prioretize size get the vivosmart If you also want SmartWatch features get the venu sq

I had this for 2 years before I lost it. Fantastic little watch that should be able to do all that OP needs it to!

As with food tracking apps, the "best" is one you use consistently. Wrist-based trackers range from mildly inaccurate to wildly inaccurate as far as calorie burn estimates are concerned; there's no "best" device in terms of accuracy. Most of them are somewhat okay at estimating calories burned during steady state cardio (i.e., walking, running, cycling), but get wonky in a hurry with other activities (i.e., lifting, yoga, Pilates). I've seen some absolutely nonsense numbers from Apple Watch users in particular; but some folks swear by them. I found my old Fitbit was hilariously optimistic with some of its estimates; my Garmins seem to be better. I switched from Fitbit to the Garmin ecosystem several years ago with a Venu Sq. That took me from couch potato to running several times per week; I love the activity badges. I upgraded a few years ago to the Forerunner 265s. I also took up cycling last year (more badges!), also picking up a chest strap HRM, power meter clip less pedals, and a Tacx indoor trainer. I developed an overuse injury from running, so running is no longer an option for me. I can hike, though, and I live in a region with a lot of mountains, so I recently picked up a Fenix 7 Pro (solar sapphire) especially for the hike features, including maps. I'm an active person, now; I don't really think of the stuff I do as "exercise". The Garmin(s) I have go well with the life I live.

I have the Garmin venu SQ. It works great for me.

Mine isn't. 2 months old. During normal activity it's good but the moment I start exercising it seems to make wild-ass assumptions, it will say my heart's going off at 170 when it's hardly 110 (and stay that way for several minutes) and often times it won't read above 80 when its actually going 130 bpm. And, this is when I'm using a stair climber or treadmill where I'm holding the hand grips for stability so I can't blame the motion for the lousy readings. Usually it figures itself out after 10 minutes of working out but that's really frustrating. My Venu SQ did kinda the same thing so I think they have similar programming. Wven

I have most bells and whistles turned off on my VenuSQ, but it drains really quickly. I have the screen brightness at the lowest setting too. It’s only 3.5 years old.

Previously using a garmin SQ, now the fit 3 and the huawei is excellent. Gps lock is fast, works well with cycling as a hr monitor. Ganda pa ng interface at battery life. Daming free watchface na maganda din.

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.

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.

People have to stop comparing these. These are for two different people. I would never wear an Apple Watch based on battery life alone. I specifically got the Garmin for a wrist based gps and mapping tool to track and orient myself. You buy an Apple Watch to use smart features and be connected to your phone. Garmin has never been in that market. It’s a whole company based on gps systems for outdoor activities . You buy an Apple Watch to have Apple ecosystem. you can’t use half the feature of the fenix on an iPhone bc they only want you to use their watch… Garmin are all specifically made for their audience even down the the model . Apple watches are just to keep you plugged into your phone and have no bearing on actual outdoor activities despite calling it ultra. The Millitary has been orienteering with Garmin wrist based gps systems forever. You’d never catch an Apple Watch on patrol in Afghanistan. 😂

Garmin - They have a lot of watches at different price points. There is built-in GPS and the battery lasts for several days, unlike a smart watch that you typically need to charge every night. The Garmin app easily syncs with other fitness apps, if that's important to you. If you have a smaller wrist, go for the "S" models that will look and fit better.