Garmin - vívoactive 5

(former apple watch se user) just switched over to a vivoactive 5. i’ve had it on my wrist for 6 days and i have 53% battery left. the only thing you cannot do is respond to a text message. which was honestly a pain to do with an apple watch because the screen is so small i was typing out individual letters to come up with a response. the vivoactice gives you only notifications of incoming texts and calls. i use it for mostly swimming and it gives me so much data! (swolf, pace, calories & speed) i swim 3x a week for 30 min.

I have the vivoactive 5 and it's fantastic. Great battery life and gives me everything I am looking for in a fitness tracker.

Not dumb. I use the flashlight all the time. Never use maps though, in fact I am here to post a question and comment how horrible some navigation is on it. (There's a one way fire road on my house and it literally dictates every single turn it's annoying AF) OP, buy once cry once, get the 970, it's the best OS/ui (they are different watch to watch) and I had a previous Garmin called a vivoactive 5 and it sucked compared to the 970. If you get anything less then that one you're going to always look back and regret if you had just only gotten the 970. Also you are right that it is better than the Fenix if you're going to run, that watch is a lot heavier.

It only had two buttons, which to me created the most nonintuitive navigation. I couldn't believe how bad it was and was confusing to me. but kept reading how great Garmin was, so almost out of frustration went out and bought a higher end watch. Lol Once I did that, now I get it. I just did not like that watch at all. In contrast I LOVE the 970, all 5 buttons and screens.

I recently got into fitness this year and lost about 60 pounds, I got an apple watch to track my activity (I mainly do cardio workouts) but I didn’t like how it looked on my wrist and the fact that it wasn’t that accurate. Also the battery life was trash, I’d leave my new series 10 in the drawer charged and it’d be dead the next day. I bought a new Venu 3S, it’s beautiful, I exchanged a Vivoactive 5 for it and I can say the Venu’s appearance is better and feels smoother however Vivo wins in terms of battery life. Venu dies much quicker, and I feel like the software design of Garmin feels a little lackluster however I’ve grown used to it and I love the comfortability, accuracy, battery life and design of garmin. I wont be going back to Apple, however the new paid subscriptions and having to pay for some watch faces that look decent, and then the watch itself being very pricey feels a bit like a drawback. The strap doesn’t really feel that strong and having to buy more is just more costs, not to mention it didn’t come with a charging block and it requires a USB port, so I have to use my apple one to charge it. All in all, I love the device for fitness and how much better it looks but there are some downsides imo.

I’m surprised as well but my Venu battery goes down quicker than it did with the Vivo, not sure why. Maybe it’s something wrong with the individual devices.

Yes i’m using the same watch face but I don’t know about settings I didn’t alter anything differently from each other as I’ve only had both for a little bit of time. I also didn’t workout with either yet just did walks. I don’t have the vivo anymore so I can’t really compare but I did notice my Venu goes down a bit quicker

Agree, Vivo 5 seems very accurate. From sleeping rate to high activity, all good

I use the vivoactive 5 for weight training, walking and yoga and i'm surprised by how useful it is. After each training it already mentions the exercise (not always correct but you can change it manually). I use the watch mainly because i want to be fitter as i have a desk job. Almost 4 weeks in and like it a lot better than fitbit!

Big feature on the FR165 is a barometric altimeter, which they removed from the VA5. This will aid in stair counting and elevation changes when running. The other two features I preferred on the FR165 were the 5 button layout and the extra running metrics. As a runner, FR165 for sure, and if an advanced runner, I’d look to see if you can get a 265 on sale this holiday season

I'm using Garmin Vivoactive 5. Love it. Up to 11 days battery life. Can't text nor voice chat but I don't need that. Pretty much recommend Garmin if you don't wanna be charging your watch every day.

I have a Garmin Vivoactive 5. I bought it for about $220 USD. I use it for the same reasons you list and I’m okay with not having all the other Apple Watch features. VA5 is the lower end so you won’t get the most accurate readings but it works perfectly and I have zero issues with it. 100% recommend for your needs.

the [Fitbit Charge 6 ](https://amzn.to/4fQM4CE)is great overall but i would go for it if you care mostly about sleep traking, if you are more interested in gym and workout in generaly, i would go for [Garmin vivoactive 5](https://amzn.to/3CDMeiH) It's a bit more expensive but it's a more solid overall

Venu (3 or 3S) and Vivoactive 5 are both cute and come in neutral colors. They're decent for running but are more "lifestyle" watches than running watches. The 265S (S means it's the smaller version) is better for a serious runner. It isn't super "cute" but it comes in white with light blue accents. You can buy aftermarket straps of course.

If you really end up getting into running, I would not suggest Vivioactive 5. The pace shown on the watch is NOT the pace you are running. You won’t see your actual pace until after you run and sync to the app. I’ve learned a way to know “appropriately” what pace I’m running by setting up the watch with .25 mile laps so it will show me the .25 average. Also, I start a separate run activity for both slower warmup and another one for the slower cool down. For weight workouts in the gym, I just use the cardio activity but it’s really just to see approximately how much time and calories I’m supposed earning. Pool workouts are decent for counting laps, just one lap off. Maybe the low-level Forerunner would have been a better option for my running. I’ve only had mine a few months but it’s durable. I’ve worn it doing lots of hiking, over rocks etc. But I’m also a little bit careful.

I use my Vivoactive 5 for fitness tracking and love it. The GPS is excellent (I do a lot of hiking) and you gets loads of data on your workouts. It was $200 on ebay last fall.

Second this. My GF just switched from a Versa (3 maybe?) to a Vivoactive 5. She likes it so far. Although she does kinda wish it had training status/training load etc that my Instinct 2 has. That's more of an advanced feature though. It wasn't a deal breaker for her. The biggest thing was finally having an activity tracker that would record her HR while swimming.

I switched to a Garmin vivoactive 5, and it is way more complicated than my tried and true charge 5. The changes that fitbit has been making and my going through 2 charge 5's in 2 years made me switch. I got it on sale a couple weeks ago and have been playing with it, I just miss the familiarity and user friendliness of Fitbit. But I'm not going back.

love my vivoactive 5! I made the switch from an apple watch and I could not be happier. If you are used to the iOS/Apple interface it can be a bit tricky to get use to it at first, but in the end I find it much more user friendly and customizable than the apple watch

Had the same issue after the last update. I bought it 2 weeks ago. The charge that it shipped with lasted 7 days but then the update… dropped 30% overnight. I hard reset it back to factory and seems to be back on track for a 7 day battery. We will see if it happens again.

I’ve had some issues with my vivoactive 5 and my Fenix 7 now. Often it’ll track an extra lap or 2, usually if I do 1500m I’ll end up with the watch saying 1525m or 1550m. That said, this week I swam 1500m by my lap count and the watch ended up tracking 1600m. I think it also has to do with the fact that I was in a crowded swimming lane and had to stop/change strokes halfway through laps to avoid running into people.

You should try Garmin. My vivoactive 5 lasts a week with almost everything switched on.

Yes. I just tried out the vivoactive 5 and the 6 and both of them allow for custom workout plans. You can design the plan on your phone and upload it to the watch. I decided to go for the vivoactive 6 in the end and one of the reasons is it shows you more when doing these exercises and I like the software and options for what is shown on the screen much more during workouts.

I have this watch, and it's very lightweight, I don't feel it on my wrist. It usually goes for 40% off on every major sale/holiday.

I have vivoactive 5 and love it Covers my running, my workouts, shows me text announcements and calendar reminders I don’t need to talk into it I don’t need the super advanced running metrics There is a new vivoactive 6 now avail With a few enhancement

It does use GPS data to give approximate altitude changes, though im not sure exactly how accurate it is. I have the vivoactive 5 and really like it.

The Vivo Active 5 seems to handle most of my needs. It technically doesn't have a kayaking feature to track, but I just track as a "paddleboard" activity & change it in the app later to kayaking. GPS tracking works well and all I really care about is time, speed, and distance so it gets the job done. It was about $200 & I can attest firsthand to it's waterproof-ness! It's basic, but does what I want it to.

Just got the forerunner 970 and only complaint is I didn’t get it sooner. Used the vivoactive 5 for a few months to test if I liked garmin and traded up.

I use the body battery feature on my Vivoactive 5 for the reasons you state and find it to be really helpful.

Same. Garmin 1030 - dead reliable for past five years - and vivoactive 5 watch for general health tracking.

This. I was a long time Fitbit user with several Charges and a Versa. Switched to Garmin after Fitbit started to go downhill. My Garmin vivoactive 5 has been a great experience and I haven't looked back.

My Garmin watch vivoactive 5.

Highly recommend getting a Garmin head unit and watch as separate devices. I have an Edge 840 and a Vivoactive 5. I use the watch for running and swimming and weights, etc. 

Garmin is absolutely the right fit. Garmin Connect exports to Strava automatically. If you're just getting into running maybe the Forerunner 255 if you don't mind not having touchscreen, or 165 if touch screen is a must have, as they'll have 'Suggested workouts' for running and no features you don't need. If you don't mind not having your watch suggest running workouts to you and want a touchscreen then Vivoactive 5 is another suggestion. I'm sure someone will be along in a second to tell you to go wild and splash out on a 265 or a 970 or something like that, but if you're just starting it's complete overkill price and feature wise.

Seconding the Vivoactive 5. Amazing watch for the price! If she thinks she'll want a mic built into her watch (for calls and wrist based assistant), the Venu 3s might be a better option, but it's also significantly more expensive (as a surgical resident I'd expect she'd be aware of how inaccurate most wrist based ECGs are, and so likely isn't interested in that, which is the main thing the upgraded sensor from the VA5 to the V3 gives you).

VA5 (like Venu 3) not really providing sporting/running/training build metrics- those watches are just too basic in this respect. For that check the Forerunner line.

I like my Garmin (vivoactive 5), does just enough and was reasonably priced. I also used the sprint triathlon 12 week training plan provided.

Yeah… that’s not really true. MOST Garmin watches are less than $300, with a few high end models around  $600. You can get a decent Garmin for less than $200 that will do what you need it to do in most cases. The Garmin Felix 8 is about $1100, but that thing is severe overkill.  Even the Vivoactive 5 is a very well rounded sports watch that shouldn’t cost more than $300. Just remember that just because a tech manufacturer makes a flagship model doesn’t meant YOU need a flagship model. That applies to phones, laptops, watches, literally anything. I’m still loving my Vivoactive THREE and am only replacing it because after four years of hard service, the battery isn’t what it used to be.  If anything, the less expensive models are simpler and easier to use, while still having crazy good batteries and durability with tons of features built in. That translates to more pleasant user experience and less stress about having a thousand bucks strapped to your sweaty arm.  

The new Vivoactive 6 would be a good option. The Vivoactive 5 is on sale if you want a budget pick with similar features. Both are a slimmer/more casual look than something like a Forerunner. That said, the Forerunner series has a lot of great running and cycling features, especially the 265 and 965 (the 165 can't use a power meter, for example).

Venu 3 or Vivoactive 5 for you from your parameter you stated. As to Garmin over the forbidden fruit watch.........all day!

I had the Galaxy watch 7 for almost 3 months. I returned it cuz the battery life is trash and it would only activate when I looked at my wrist like 6/10 of the time and when it did activate it took a split second longer than I would hope for. I returned it and then got the vivoactive 5. Best decision I made in a long time.

I bought the Vivoactive 5 last summer, after my Fitbit Charge crapped out. No regrets.

Venu 3 or vivoactive 5 - I’m an iPhone user but having to charge the AW every day put me off! I have the VA 5 and so far a great watch but I do plan on upgrading to the Venu sometime next year.

I have been wearing the Vivoactive 5 for seven months and I love it. It meets all my needs and I am glad I didn’t go for “more watch” and waste my money because I don’t need it.

I have a vivoactive and can see data older than a year on the website. But you can also download data to a spreadsheet, and I've been keeping a spreadsheet of my swimming since before I had my Garmin.

There’s a decent downloadable app that handles open water pretty well. I think the vivoactive 5 has open water built in. (I have the 4, but used the app on my old Vivoactive HR.)

Altimeter is super inaccurate so not really a good feature. Once you hit Save on your Vivoactive 5 for a GPS run, you get accurate elevation data. So the altimeter sounds like a non essential feature.

The vivoactive 6 is $300 (i have the 5, which was even less), pixel watch 4 is $350. 11 days vs 40 hours of battery. Maybe the pixel has some killer feature, but not one I care about.. I don't even use the music streaming etc on the one I've got. As I said above, I just want time, some fitness tracking, and managing notifications. The Garmin checks all those boxes for me.

I’d say forerunner 165 ($220ish) or the Vivoactive 5 ($200ish) Vivoactive will be a mix between health/fitness and cell phone integration where forerunner is more health and fitness. Both can be bought refurbished/90 day return. How got my forerunner 165 and I’m happy with it.

If you want a mic and speaker your cheapest option is the venu 3, whith likely best option the forerunner 570 (there is also the more expensive and fully featured FR970 and the top end fenix 8 or the multi-use venu x1 if you want rectangular). If you can live without mic and speaker your cheapest option is the FR165 Music, however I personally think you get way more by going for the Vivoactive 5 or 6 as it offers more in terms of other recreational leisure activities, or if you want more training metrics and fitness features around running, cycling and swimming then the FR265

Apple watch ultra 2 is your only real option for longer battery life and esim and the rest of the features you want. You do know that if you have a spotify premium sub you don't have to have an e-sim to listen to music, as you can download playlists and save them onto the device, unfortunately offline spotify is only available on wear os watches (not an option for iPHone as locked to android), apple watches and garmin. Garmin may be a good option as can do offline spotify playlists, and has built in route options or can pull them from strava, syncs data with strava way better than apple does; and the models that offer music all offer at least up to 10 days battery life, and they can offer way more than garmin does in terms of built in training metric and analytics and features. Note offline music + gps on watch is a heavy battery drain - so 1hr or gps activity + offline music and you are looking to recharge every 4-6 days (maybe longer) depending on the model, compared to multiple charge per day on AW (assuming you sleep with it) or daily charge on AWU2 If you want a mic and speaker look at venu 3, FR570, FR970, Venu x1 and Fenix 8 series. Otherwise you could go with vivoactive 5 or 6; FR265, FR965, FR955 and prior fenix 7 (and its variants like Epix 2 etc).

If you are using a watch that is older than 3 years its very likely (outside of apple watch, garmin, coros, polar and suunto) that it doesn't come close to matching current models accuracy levels - especially as most brands (wear os / apple / garmin / coros / polar / suunto / fitbit / huawei / amazfit) update the sensor and gps chipset every 2-3 years (if not more frequently) and there have been significant improvements all around. For example current garmins are either using the elevate 4 or elevate 5 HR sensor (from health 24/7 perspecive virtually immaterial difference in results, but from an activity perspective especially around strength and cycling their is a more marked improvement - plus the elevate 5 sensors include ECG and baseline temp monitoring) however the elevate 4 was a significant jump from the elevate 3 sensor (4 veritcal led lights) which was an even bigger jump from the sensor prior to that (3 leds in a triangular shape). Huge jumps and leaps have been made in sleep tracking too, and for most its way more accurate than it used to be - though don't get me wrong it still can be fooled (i.e. sitting/lying and being super inactive (i.e. reading / watching tv) and its possible the watch can potentially record that as sleep. Garmin Forerunner 165 - its on special on Garmin sales at just under $200. (or could look to see what deals you can find for the instinct 2 or vivoactive 5). These are all running pretty much garmin's latest version of sleep tracking which is way better at determining sleep duration (I find start time is rock solid and seldom gets fooled - if it does at the worst it records it as light sleep so doesn't really impaact recovery at all -as would be giving you that as recovery anyway and the recharge rate from light compared to resting is so simliar I haven't noticed a difference in recharge rate; and wake time is rock solid as long as using morning report - cause as soon as you access morning report it switches off sleep - so if you wake up and want to go back to sleep don't access morning report - the morning report front screen includes time so no need to access it until you want to be up and about). The sleep tracking algorithms are from firstbeat and includes the use of accelerometer, HR and HRV compared to the older garmin sleep tracking which per my understanding was accerlerometer based. You could also look at anything from amazift (stick to bip 6, active 2, t-rex3 or balance - as all running most current version of their software and alogorithms); Huawei including Fit 3 is worth a look; and could consider anything from coros, suunto (just released the run which should be around the $200 mark) and polar. And you could also look at fitbit charge 6, sense 2 or vera. There is also xiaomi but their HR isn't as good as the others... But worth noting the accuracy of optical HR is still impacted by skin tone, body comp, hair, tats, weight & size of watch, how you wear it and if doing an activity the activity type - and until you use it there is no way to know if it will be accurate for you or not. However for most people most of the sensors of the brands I have mentioned tend to do a good job re accuracy for 24/7 health metrics and steady state activities (walking, steady running etc).

Just wanting to add another data point as I just got a new watch. I used to use a Forerunner 735 until earlier this year when the battery died. I ended up replacing it with a VivoActive 5, just because of how cheap it was. Some observations: the new watch is generally sufficient for my running, as it tracks heart rate and cadence, which are the two main metrics I care about. It however does not have the "breadcrumbs map" that the 735 had which was fairly useful especially when running a loop and trying to estimate how much longer to get back. It also lacks the altimeter. I knew this going in, but thought that some altitude estimate will be available from the GPS signal, but this doesn't seem to be the case. This one I miss as I run a lot of hills. The VA5 also lacks the race predictor, but I don't know how useful that was. On the other hand, this watch has a ton of other sensors the old Forerunner did not have (but likely are found in new watches), like respiration, sleep score, pulse Ox, HRV. It also much nicer looking than the older F735. My verdict so far is that VA5 is perfectly sufficient for casual running, and a good deal given the low cost. However, long term, I will replace it with a Forerunner.

If you want to see detailed maps on the watch you need to pay more. You can see it on the app after the run I think on most models. Cheapest option would vivoactive 5/6

It does not sound like you do running or other outdoor activities, so I d recommend a vivoactive 5 or 6 mate. However, something like a basic Forerunner could also give you all plus some running support for a share of the vivo price. I started my first one with a vivomove HR which only gave me steps and basic gym rep counting (that was 8 years ago) then vivoactive 3 and now a FR965 because I do hike a lot and started running recently plus all the gym.

Five years is a great run for the 245. If you just want something simple, the FR55 will cover the basics. If you’d like a modern upgrade that feels closest to your old watch, the FR165 is the sweet spot. And if you want something that looks more like a daily watch but still tracks workouts, the Vivoactive 5 is a good call:)

Vívoactive 5 gets my vote. It's got the features youre after without being stupidly expensive like all the Fenix watches

This depends on how you want to track your sessions. Some people prefer to start "strength training" when enter a gym and stop it at the end. I use my watch to follow my program like described here: [https://gelberhut.com/strength-training-with-a-garmin-in-a-gym/](https://gelberhut.com/strength-training-with-a-garmin-in-a-gym/) If you want to do the same - a watch which allows to adjust weight/rep number using the touch screen is handy. I know that venu3 and F8 support this, not sure about other models. PS: Not that long ago, Garmin released strength coach (https://gelberhut.com/garmin-strength-coach-what-is-it-and-what-can-it-do/), if you want it: check one of Garmin Venu 3, Garmin Fenix 8, Garmin Vivoactive 5, Forerunner 255, Forerunner 265, Forerunner 955, Forerunner 965.

Forerunner 265. I upgraded a year ago from a vivo active 5 because I needed a longer battery life. No complaints!

Forerunner if you care about run-specific metrics, the vivoactive 5 lacks them, the vivoactive 6 has some, but forerunner would be the go-to

My Vivoactive 5 seems to always report the same number as my polar H10 ±2bpm. Perfectly accurate for me. At least when I'm actively tracking a workout with the watch. When I'm not doing that the watch is way off and often doesn't even register the effort. Like I could sit on the bike trainer for an hour and not gain a single intensity minute.

I just made the switch from a Vivoactive 5 (touchscreen) to a Forerunner 255 about a month ago and zero regrets, I don't miss the touchscreen at all and that was the thing I was the most nervous about with the switch. I also have never had a smartwatch without a touchscreen and while it took a day to get used to it it's not so bad and now random things can't make the screen change (like my child swiping their hand across my wrist, my dog's nose booping it, etc). FR255 has been far and away my favorite watch so far!

I switched from Fitbit after using it for 13+ years to Garmin (vivo active 5) and absolutely love it. The offline music tracking, gps, and other features are amazing. I'm not a fan of Apple due to price gouging. I heard from many people that they like the oura ring but my fingers swell in the summer heat and after some cardio workouts so that wouldn't work for me. It also doesn't have the GPS and music features. Given it's more of a sleep tracker and behind a paywall too, I decided against Oura. I also looked at the Google Pixel watch but the battery life sucked (requires charging almost every day).

The vivoactive 5 could be a great option. I started with this watch and loved it. I eventually upgraded to a Forerunner to get the enhanced running capabilities. However, the vivoactive 5 is great, stylish, lightweight, Brilliant screen, and can download music 🎶

I am happy with Vivoactive 5. I have used it for swimming rarely but used regularly for hiking, general walks and running.

My wife has the Vivoactive 5. You can change the watch face. So many choices The case comes in a few colors too.. and with all watches, bands are another way to customize up or down. Battery lasts longer than a week even with exercise tracking. Lots of fitness features and notifications too.

I had a VA5 and the build quality wasn't bad, but it's not as premium feeling as the VA4, especially the buttons. Hopefully they'll fix the software issues. I suggest contacting their support to let them know.

[Vivoactive 5 vs Forerunner 165 vs Venu 3 for non-runner : r/GarminWatches](https://www.reddit.com/r/GarminWatches/comments/1ec4sl7/vivoactive_5_vs_forerunner_165_vs_venu_3_for/) I had both and like both for different reasons / features. Kept the 165 for the additional sport features, breadcrumb routes, etc. Would have liked a combination of the two, a sleeker looking Forerunner. [Garmin | Product Compare](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/compare/?compareProduct=1057989&compareProduct=1055469) Something not mentioned is that the Vivo can't beep, only vibrate and doesn't have the sunrise / sunset glance, which I find interesting.

Your cheapest option will be the Vivo active 5. Garmin Instinct 2x also has a basketball and should be around €300. Forerunner 265 and the Venue 3 will have it also but can be above €300.

FR 165 doesn't have teamsports in the activity profiles. The Vivo active has. Vivo/Venu is also more focussed on wellness then the 165 You can sideload an app in the Garmin Connect IQ Store https://apps.garmin.com/nl-NL/apps/b049d6f3-01f6-4602-a638-28d1db81439d.

I have a vivo active 5 which I really like, it works well for the kind of running and training I do whilst not looking too crazy for work (I’m a female). Have a look at the forerunner models (there’s afew), I can’t speak from experience though as I’ve never used one. I’m pretty sure they don’t have a touch screen, but there are better features for runners!

I just got the Vivoactive 5 a few days ago, had an AW se before. So far I like the garmin much more. Just the battery life alone is great. It does most things the AW did except responding to texts.

If the only downside you have on the Lily 2 (35.4mm screen size) is GPS, then I would suggest the Lily 2 **Active** because it has built-in GPS. The screen is slightly bigger at 38mm. If you want a similar screen to the vivoactive 5, then your options are another vivoactive 5 (42.2mm), a venu 3s (41mm), or a forerunner 165 (43mm) / 265s (41.7mm). Note that the forerunners may not be as classy as your wife would like.

Vvoactive 5, almost new - less than 3 days after latest update. It can drain 40% of battery during night.

I have a Garmin Vivoactive 5. I have two complaints -- there is no drill mode, and I can't create a workout. I care more about the lack of drill mode because my distance doesn't get recorded properly during drills. And I'm not always great at counting my laps. I'm thinking about getting a Forerunner. Otherwise I like my watch a lot. It's definitely waterproof, I like the size and weight, battery life is good, etc.

Garmin 100%. I hated my apple watch for running. I’ve had multiple Fitbit models too but after switching to Garmin Vivoactive 5 I am a complete convert. I can’t wait to upgrade to Forerunner 265 when the time eventually comes that I need a new one.

The forerunner looks to be the better overall package. The Vivoactive is clearly the better looking watch, but for fitness metrics, the forerunner wins It kind of depends what you want though.A lifestyle watch that's very capable at tracking fitness or a more dedicated sports watch.

How do you use your watch during workouts? Do you turn it on at the start and then turn it off at the end, not touching it in between, or do you interact with the watch throughout? Do you like the touch AMOLED or the non-touch MIP screen more? The Forerunner 255 has multi-band GPS whereas vivoactive 5 does not - it has multi-GNSS (but not multi-band). If you plan to run or cycle in urban areas with lots of tall buildings you will get better accuracy out of the 255. In addition, depending on how you use your watch, physical buttons are far superior to touch or swipe gestures during workouts (think sweaty hands or gloves during the cold season). Pressing physical buttons can be done without even looking at the watch, whereas touch gestures require a high degree of dexterity. The big difference is the screen, GPS accuracy, and buttons vs touch. Sleep tracking, heart rate, HRV metrics will be the same because it's the same sensor that is used in both models. The Forerunner does not have as vibrant and beautiful of a screen as the Vivoactive, but as a result has a much longer battery life.

Garmin Vivoactove 5 is good. 

sam’s had the vivo active 5 on sale if you wanna try that first! i got mine 2 weeks ago & am considering upgrading next year if i stick with it

Look for sales on the venu 3, as the 4 is about to come out. Or dip your toes in with a refurbished vivoactive 5, I bet those are really cheap. For what it’s worth, I started with a vivoactive 5 to see how I’d like it and after a year I wanted more smart watch features (like being able to read a text from my wife while on a run). I couldn’t leave garmin, battery life and the connect app are just too good. I landed on a venu x1, but there are a lot of great options to choose from.

I’ve had 3 Garmin Vivoactive watches by this point. Had a Vivoactive 3, it had an issue and they replaced it, eventually it got old so I got a Vivoactive 5.

The Vivoactive 5 has meditation and wheelchair stuff that the Forerunner 165 doesn't. If you don't need either of those, the 165 would be the better choice.

I got a Vivoactive 5 this week. I’m not a runner, but I run. I’m not a gym buff, but I got to the gym. I’m not a hiker, but I walk the dog. I wanted to track my runs, keep track of my HR, steps, etc. So far, I’m super happy with it. It does everything I want it to and more. All the tracking seems accurate, including the body battery/stress. Lovely bright colourful screen. Has the torch feature should you want it. I went for the Garmin because of design, price and what seemed to be a much higher number of positive reviews than the other brands. It’s entirely possible I would have had an equally positive experience with coros, suunto, Amazfit and others, but I didn’t want to run the risk.

Yess Garmin Vivoactive 5, I love it

Yeah op could get a cheaper watch like the vivoactive and the strap that goes with it and it would still cost less than a forerunner.

I used a Garmin Lily before and while it was okay I now have a Vivoactive 5 and it's much better. It's more accurate and i can easily start the activity, create intervals, and rest periods. i was also thinking about getting the garmin swim which is more swimming focused in the end the vivoactive won because it's more of an all-rounder and for the price i prefer something i can wear all the time.

Vivoactive and Venu (non X1, that thing should have had a name of its own) don't have the advanced running metrics. So it's Forerunner , then check whether the features you want are in Instinct, Fenix, Enduro or Epix if you like one of those better.

What the 265 has over the 255 (Music) \* OLED display vs MIP - I would have preferred MIP. Neither is a pro or con. \* Touch Screen - I wanted a touch screen, coming from a 2-button Vivoactive 4 \* 265 always has on-watch Music while there are 2 versions of 255 / 255 Music \* 255 did get some activity profiles, but DID NOT get the Training Readiness score - I can live without the training readiness score. Most 3rd arty watch faces don't display it anyway, even the new Venu 4 All Stars version of that watch face sold by Garmin does not have a data field for Training Readiness (currently, it's full of bug, I expect updates) \* 255 has better battery life, but 265 isn't terrible. - I charge my 265 about once a week with 30min to 1.5h GPS activity every day. \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* \* The 255 and the 265 share the same mold for their watch body.- They wear the same \* They have the same strap style, albeit the 265 ones come in cheesy 2-tone colors. - Replace them with a strap of your choice anyway. \* They have the same set of activities \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* When I got my 265, I actually wanted a MIP watch that also had touch screen ( the 955 was as expensive as the 265 then and I felt it was too big for me to wear 24/7 and I knew I didn't need the map features of it anyway.). I did not want a Venu 3 either and found the Vivoactive 5 a slap in the face for Vivoactive 4 owners. The FR165 missed indoor rowing and some other tidbits in the Garmin shop listing, so I did away with that one. I basically bought the 265 because of FOMO, for me the OLED wasn't even desireable. Now, after over a year with the 265 I can say: \* I rarely use the touch screen on it (it doesn't work as well as the one on my VA4. The touch targets for OK and cancel are tiny and at the brim of the watch (next to the buttons). I forget to use it for scrolling, which works well. \* I can read the OLED pretty well, but I still miss the MIP's true always on. \* Always on with the OLED is a false friend. It halves the battery life and for most watch faces is so dim that you hardly can read it in daylight. If it's bright enough to read it, you live in constant fear of burning out your display.... \* Forerunner x65 watch faces suffer from overuse of gradient high-glow color schemes. To me, they appear gaudy. Also of the 10+ designs, only a few make for a readable and informing watch face. There is no good "classic" watch face in analog. The basic digital watch face is very barren. I have a selection of 3rd party watch faces that I wear. Most recently I bought the Venu 4-style All Stars Watch face from Garmin - while not perfect, it shows someone at Garmin can design a readable and modern looking but not gaudy watch face. TL;DR: So for me, a 255 Music would have been better. But not by so much that I would change my 265 for a 255M now that I have it already.

I have the Vivoactive 5 and wish the sleep tracking was better.. but still no way I am switching to a PW because of battery life.

Vivoactive or Forerunner would be my vote! As a runner I’ve used both, FR 255 to Vivoactive 5 then back to FR 955. I prefer the extra training and recovery metrics that FR provides, but both are great

I like my vivoactive 5. Does everything you want but in a reasonable price range. Made the switch from Fitbit to Garmin. Great decision in my eyes.

I have both galaxy watch 6 classic 43mm and Garmin vivoactive 5. I also cannot decide which watch to use. But the body battery usually give me a low score compared to energy score and state that the amt of stress during sleep contributed to the lower body battery. Eg, it could be sth like a 60-70 range for body battery but 80-90 range for energy score. I run the same route 3x a week with various device. So distance looked accurate enough for me, with Garmin usually slightly longer even compared with Apple watch. Stats are also similar. I guess it really boils down to battery and user interface that's up to preference.

Finally! I'm ready to upgrade from the Vivoactive 5 was just waiting for a new venu to drop. Very excited to have a full feature set Garmin watch

I have a Garmin vivoactive 5 and mostly love it. I use to have a Samsung Galaxy watch. Pros: Long battery life. 7+ days without GPS turned on. The outdoor rowing app is super nice and I love being able to see the output of my row after I get off the water. I'm not going to lie - this is the whole reason behind this new watch purchase. Lighter than the Samsung. Cons: Can't actually create individual text responses. HR monitor isn't as accurate as a chest monitor (I compared it once) but still better than my Samsung. I'm not an iPhone user so I can't offer a comparison. But I have no regrets with my Garmin watch purchase. Edited - added another Pro.

The outdoor rowing option that I had access to was very limited and didn't have the usual rowing metrics (mph instead of in 500ms, and no stroke rates). The GPS was good though. You can see there are lower end Garmin watches you can probably pick up used to test out. https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/5241928a-ffea-498a-a310-8e21b3145c24

I figured out why it doesn't show for me. Vivoactive 5 is not on the supported watch list. 😭 Hopefully it'll get an update soon.

I've got a vivoactive 5 and yes it does. 1 week battery life per charge, read and respond to texts, read notifications, control or even store music locally etc.

Like most other people here I have a Garmin watch which connects to the Garmin Connect app on my phone which I love. I don’t get my watch (Vivoactive 5) with the intention to start running but I could imagine running without it. My garmin also connects to my Strava account which is fun as I have some friends and coworkers on there, it’s like a fitness social media.

Garmin Vivoactive 5 works great for me. I love the HR monitor, running stats, sleep data, body battery, and intensity minutes measurements. My wife has the Apple Watch. It’s too busy for me. I prefer a watch that focuses on sports functionality and use. I’m just an ordinary runner and don’t need the advanced features found on more expensive smartwatches.

I wear a Garmin Vivoactive 5 when I play. Wore a Samsung watch before this one, but made the switch to Garmin for the better battery life. Never had any issues breaking anything with either watch in several years of wearing them on the ice.

I have a vívoactive 5, that I am happy with, Vivoactive 6 would be my to go now as it seems they added some more running dynamics I. That one. Battery is around 5-6 days easily, more if you turn off some features, and less activities. It's light, aAndbd doesn't bother me at all.l, but no phonecalls if that's what you are looking for, which doesn't bother me at all

MIght be time to consider upgrading to a Vivoactive 5 if you can get a discount compared to the 6. (Online reviews say they aren't that much different.) I just switched to the 5 from the basic Vivosmart band (week long battery) and was expecting to be forced to charge every few days. Not so, and I'm using notification features I wasn't using with the Vivosmart. I'm guessing the 5 will last at least a week but I've yet to have it run below 30% because there's always a moment every few days while driving or cooking to put it on the charger for 15-30 minutes.

I get at least a week with my vivoactive and I wear it 24/7. Not sure because it's never run down so fast that I was forced to recharge it. I short charge every few days while driving or cooking has been enough. That'll probably extend battery life because it rarely goes below 10% or over 90%. I'm not sure what "just a smartwatch" means given the extensive fitness features.

Highly recommend the Vivoactive series. I have the 5, which is the newest, and it's currently on sale on Amazon for $199.99

I had 3 Charge’s that all died in less than 18 months. This last time, instead of buying a new Charge 6, I bought a Garmin VivoActive 5. The size takes a bit of getting used to, but I’m happy to have broken up with FitBit for good.

One of the Garmins. I got a vivoactive 5 for $187. It was originally $299, but the 6 is out now and has more features.

I have the v5. Took my v3 diving and snorkelling and was fine. Just make sure washed well after. You can get some rubber covers that go over the charging port on them. V5 is good for basic fitness. I’ve had mine about a year. No issues with it when running or in gym.

The vocative 5. Yeah it does. When not doing an activity it doesn’t show steps though. That annoyed me as the vioactive 3 did Can also stick music on the watch, so if don’t want to carry phone around (shortish runs etc) Battery will last about a week on va5. The va6 is out now and still cheaper end of the garmin range.

Ive had a vivoactive 5 for around 18 months and I couldn’t agree more. I never see mention of the vivoactive product line on this forum, yet for many of us out there it meets all of our needs for casual day to day sporting. I use mine daily to track my sleep, hiking, HIIT Hyrox workouts and outdoor running and it does all to an excellent standard. Plus I don’t understand how people are sleeping with these 50mm fridges on their wrists.

Garmin S12 renewed is on Amazon today for $149. I have a Garmin Vivoactive 5 — mainly got it because I have a credit card that gives a $150 Dell Credit, and I was able to get it from Dell for $200 (net price = $50). It's OK but only gives yardages to the green and various spots on the green, doesn't give you a map for the entire hole. Lets you keep a basic score, and then I add info about # of putts later in the iOS app. Probably could be more functional with the club trackers.

Seconding the Vivoactive 5

I had the Vivoactive 5--which was nice for overall fitness--but I switched to the Forerunner 165 and it really is a superior platform for runners. The metrics and training plans are much more interesting/targeted/relevant. The barometric altimeter was dropped in the Vivoactive 4 but is very much essential to the FR165. I have the black 165 with black band, and it works well on a casual weekend as much as in a professional setting. I wear mine every day, and to sleep. It's a dream. PLUS, the screen of the FR165 is flat, rather than the slightly convex one on the Vivoactive series. Bumping my watch and worrying that I'm going to scratch the screen is a thing of the past. Here's the comparison: [https://www.garmin.com/en-US/compare/?compareProduct=1555457&compareProduct=1055469](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/compare/?compareProduct=1555457&compareProduct=1055469)

I had an Instinct 2 and I sold it because it was too bulky. Instead I got a Vivoactive 5 and have been quite happy with it. I wear it basically all the time.

This is basically me, but going from Instinct 2 to Vivoactive 5.  The biggest impact, for me, has been the thinness  -- having the watch fit comfortably beneath a work shirt has been amazing.

The Lily is not a place to start they are an insult and described by Garmin as a fashion watch it doesn't even have built in GPS unless you buy the Lily 2 Active, the Vivoactive series lack altimeters. Coming from an Ultra and running at a few marathons a year the Fr255/265/955/965 would all suit you at a reasonable price. Garmin has outdated software and the UI and UX is terrible but they track activities well. Any of these watches will give you a great deal of data that is fun to look at but around 80% of it is not needed. You can use the compare tool on the Garmin website to compare the features of 5 watches at a time. That is a good place to start. Are you set on a Garmin or would you be interested in another brand? Sunnto and Coros have great watches at far better price points and with better feature to price ratios. As for you U2 you can control what notifications you get (FYI you don't have to get any) and you would get a great deal more battery if you just bought a chest strap for your runs.

Venu 3, S for smaller wrists, in particular women, is probably the closest to a traditional smart watch experience with 'health and fitness' features.. "Style and design meet health and fitness" is pretty much the advertisement for it on the official page. Vivoactive series is also a slightly cheaper option..

I wouldn’t do that. Having used both Apple and Garmin products for swimming, I’d urge you to go for the Garmin. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the Apple, it’s just that the Garmin is better and the battery life is a godsend by comparison

Garmin will track your laps (while swimming any style). But if doing drills (FS kicking, one hand FS, BF kick...), you'll have to manually start/end each drill during your current Garmin poolswim session. With an Apple Watch it will track almost every lap, despite doing drills. So depends on what you'll do in the pool. Cheaper versions like a Fitbit , will track your laps no problem. You don't need to go to he GPS smart bands/watches just for swimming.

Vivoactive, venu, and currently have a forerunner

Just get one of the garmin watches with heart rate tracking. Their most budget one with a heart rate tracker, is their vivoactive, and it'll set you back maybe 200 bucks. But I'd personally spend a bit more and get the Forerunner 255. I currently have a 255, and it's fantastic. Battery life is about a week, but I also do a good deal of running. I imagine it'd go up to 10-14 days if I didn't use the GPS function while tracking my runs. It works with the Garmin Connect app, and that doesn't require a subscription at all. It'll also sync your activity data with Strava for additional tracking if you wanted.

I wouldn’t be afraid of buying a Garmin watch for open water or pool swims. I have a first generation instinct since the summer of 2020. I’ve worn it everyday no matter what. If you don’t like the look of the instinct, I would look at either the Fenix, Enduro. The forerunner has a bezel but it’s not as raised I feel. Really any of their watches that includes the feature of a raised bezel I gravitate towards. For me, anyways, watches that don’t have that feature end up with a cracked screen like the venu and the vivoactive with the rounded edge of glass hasn’t lasted for me which is why I prefer that raised bezel. Garmin has always been good and replaced them for me in the past but once the warranty is done, there’s no more replacement. Hope this is helpful and keep going.

Happy with the vivoactive which gives all the sleep data and on sale now on Amazon

I think you are in a hard spot here! When someone is serious about something, it is difficult to gift them something about that something. In the same way that you cannot gift a mouse to a software engineer unless it's the Logitech Mx 3 or superior, you cannot gift apparel to a serious runner unless it's something really good. My point is, if you want to gift him a watch, it is difficult to recommend you something that is below $300 or $400. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of watches out there that cost less and may work. For example, you can buy the Garmin Vivoactive or Instinct for around $200, or the Amazfit T-Rex Pro for $150 (this is a really good watch for the price). However, if he is really serious about trail running, you may have to consider a Garmin Fenix 6 (between $350 and $400 on Amazon) or a Garmin Forerunner 945 (I just saw it at $319 on Amazon). If he is into both road and trail running, the Forerunner may be a good choice, but if he is getting more and more into trail running, the fenix is the best option. Note: You won't get navigation in budget-friendly watches, but I haven't meet a racer that needed it. Generally, the course is marked and people carry their phones (I have offline maps just in case). Note 2: You can save a lot by purchasing the previous-generation model (that's why I recommended fenix 6 and forerunner 945).

The Garmin Vivoactive is probably the most classic looking smartwatch these days I had a 3, they’re on 5 now. Good battery life, good fitness tracking but less phone integration than an Apple watch, which I currently use. It fits standard watch straps so you can put it on a less sporty strap if you like.

Jumping on the vivoactive bandwagon. I've had mine for a couple years. It has a long battery life, looks slick, and I use it for running and workouts. Highly recommended.

I would suggest any Fenix or even any forerunner over any vivoactive or venu of you're serious about training. Sure you can get by with most basic stuff on those watches but if you get serious about training or want better features you'll have wanted at least a forerunner model

It's a no brainer, the Vivoactive is, by far, a much better device than the Amazfit by a long shot, not just accuracy-wise, but in every aspect.

I just use a Garmin Vivoactive. It does everything I need at a fraction of the cost of fancier watches.

I have had both the Garmin Vivo and Charge 5 and I am an android user so Apple watch is out for me. Durability wise Garmin but not sure how that compares to the Charge 6 as they fixed alot of the issues that the Charge 5 has. But wearing and comfort. Hands down the Charge 5. I have gone thru 2 charge 5 over the last 5 years and would still buy the charge 5/6 over Garmin for the comfort. The Charge 5/6 is much thinner on your wrist and surprisingly that makes a world of difference

For weights none of them are great, you should not spend more money expecting better results. If you think you might get a little more serious about running in the future, get the FR165 (or even the 255/265 if you find a good deal). If not, Vivoactive is a good choice.

Started with Golf Logix on iPhone Then Garmin Golf Watch, terrible product could not hold charge a round. Back to Golf Logix on iPhone Then Garmin VivoActive with Garmin Golf App, very nice Wife got Apple Watch with fall detection, she stuck with it, sold off Garmin, bought Apple Watch with fall detection Hundreds of rounds on Golf Logix, multiple phones and watches 2024 Golf Logix changes User Interface, tried GolfShot, love it! 2025 GolfLogix revises UI, much improved, tried a few rounds, easy distances to layups hazards, no swing analysis. Staying with GolfShot for now. Lost access to hundreds of rounds on Golf Logix Have not used Garmin in over 5 years it was the best experience. The greater Apple ecosystem won out. We are old, my wife falls, I need the alerts.

I got my Garmin for basically just miscellaneous activities and general health monitoring, and I got myself a vivoactive. Really like it. My main activity is biking, but I use a bike computer for that instead of the watch. As you mentioned charging, I probably charge mine once or twice a week. But I try to just charge it while showering (when I remember.)

Vivoactive was fine for me for about 6 months, then recently upgraded to a forerunner 265, I don’t think I could go back, way nicer, better in every way, and loving the extra data points.

Garmin all the way if you are using android The tracking is really quite good and the features arent exactly advanced for a beginner, it walks you through basically everything Ive seen a few forerunners or vivoactive go on sale for slightly over 200. Abit higher than your budget but imo worth it, it will last you even when you are no longer a beginner

I love mine. Bought an older Vivoactive off Poshmark. I love the battery! Esp compared to the apple watch.

I use the Garmin Vivoactive because of some other activities that I do beyond swimming, and it does a good job with swimming data. It does not know your stroke as far as I know, but it has always accurately tracked my distance, pace, stroke count, rest versus swimming, and I think a few other things. Mine is a bit older, so not sure if there are newer features.

I love my garmin vivoactive. Uploads to Strava, less expensive than other garmin watches, and has been going strong for 4 years now. I came from a Fitbit and the only thing it doesn’t do quite as well seems to be sleep tracking.

I think a vivoactive or venu would be perfect for you! Make sure you get the S because it is smaller in profile. I’m petite and have small wrists and in comparison to other watches the profile of the S models fits me very well!

Love my Garmin vivoactive 

This is just my honest experience I know it’ll maybe rub some people the wrong way. I’ve only had an Apple Watch for quite sometime most of my friends have garmin so i decided to give it a try and I ended up staying with Apple: I had the vivoactive which might make a difference I found the activity screens for the vivo really lacking like the visuals of it made it harder to glance at the face while working out and immediately know what is what because it was all just black and white also only a certain number of data sets could be added to a face. I find the Apple activity faces to be easier to read/understand quickly because of the lay outs and use of color etc, I also found the post work out graphs on the garmin to be harder to read or instantly understand compared to Apple. Many people say that garmin does more or gives more insight again maybe it’s because I had the vivo but there wasn’t any data I was getting from garmin that I wasn’t getting from Apple the ONLY thing I can think of was garmin gave me my running speed in mph? Which Apple doesn’t do. It’s important to remember that apples native fitness app certainly has its limitations but there’s tons of apps you can download that give specifically what you’re looking for, for example I did like that garmin has the exercise and rep detection for strength BUT I like the ‘train’ app for Apple Watch better it sucks I have to pay for that app but idk overall I had issues switching from Apple Watch to garmin but I’m a very visual person who doesn’t enjoy spending a lot of time siting down and researching my device (again I know on reddit that makes me dumb and lazy but just giving my honest experience) Also quick note about Fitbit: I tried them before I tried the garmin and I HATED the way they calculated active mins, that you got more mins based on heart rate, happy for people that works for but if I worked out for 30 mins I want the data to say 30 not some made up time based on how hard I worked (I like the apple gives me the actual normal time but gives a score on level of intensity of the work out separately)

Probably unpopular since I only tried out 1 garmin vivoactive but I found the faces on garmin really hard to read quickly at a glance when running or working out because most of the faces are just black with white text and there was no face that showed me ALL the zones with labels (there was only one that’s a dial by color) it was too much to adjust to so I stayed with Apple because I just want to get the info quickly and easily without interruption and their preset faces seem to show the data in a way my brain can process faster than garmin Also I had a run with the garmin where it would not let me end the workout it was like stuck so it messed up all my data which is when i returned it my older Apple Watch has never done that to me ever

I have the fairly inexpensive Vivoactive and I love the golf functions on it Gives you GPS range, can see front and back green yardages, scorecard and does some shot mapping after the round My buddies use range finders and usually within 10 yards, they get slope though which I get is helpful but at 30 HCP I’m just trying to play the right club at the right time

Pretty much all Garmins do. Vivoactive or Venu is a good place to start.

OnePlus Watch 2. Great battery life as well as fitness and smartphone features. Previously used a Garmin Vivoactive.

Buy a second hard Garmin Vivoactive. Does everything you want for very little cost, because it’s the older model.

Spot on. For your needs, Vivoactive is enough. No need to get anything extra.

Had a Vivoactive too ? I reckon they didn't put a good battery in there. (Plus the latest update didn't help)

Mine died last week. It's been a few years I had to put it almost every day on charge. Honestly been a bit disappointed by Garmin with that. I'm considering something else but it's not easy. I don't know who's equivalent to Garmin.

I’ve had my scan watch 2 for almost 2 years now. I’ve also had the Vivoactive right before I got this one. I like the Withings watch more because it looks classier/like a regular watch, the app is very user friendly, it tracks the basic health data I need (steps, sleep, HR), and the battery life lasts two weeks before I need to charge it. I can also track different workouts which is nice too. However, the watch stopped charging after a year and a half (luckily it was covered under their two year warranty). The Garmin watch app is very outdated. However, if you’re a hardcore athlete or like the nitty gritty raw data points, then Garmin is for you. I also like how the Vivoactive shows messages on watch face better than the Withings watch.

I've loved Garmin since I got my first Vivoactive years and years ago. They felt like they produced quality products, designed to last, sold perhaps at a premium, but without any expectation of continuing fees (unless it was reasonable, like the inreach subscription or a cellular plan). Obviously, recent changes make me question these apparent commitments. I've experimented with other watches in the past (Polar and Apple Watch primarily, but also Coros and Suunto). Generally, I've been disappointed in their equivalent of Garmin's daily suggested workout. DSW has completely changed my life and my running. I will begrudgingly stick around if nobody else can deliver a program that gives me workouts that don't push me to injury. I was a beta-tester for a similar app on Apple Watch and I always felt on the very of injury. I mentioned this to the developers and they basically told me the app wasn't for me. I've heard Polar's version dumps absurdly long runs on you. And I don't know much about Coros or Suunto's offering, if any. Samsung has a watch too, but I'm not optimistic it will have offerings any better than Apple's iOS. And the only other watch I'm aware of besides the big android makers (Google, etc.) is the UNA watch which claims to be user-repairable. I am similarly not optimistic that will have any DSW competitor - but maybe in the future? EDIT: I searched for questions about DSW alternatives before posting - from what I can tell nobody has addressed this question for at least the last 3 months (the search results wouldn't go further than that for me when I sorted by "new").

I made the switch about a month ago from AW to Garmin Vivoactive. Overall, I like the Garmin, but I do miss some features of the AW. I'm an apple user for my phone and it's so integrated. I like the garmin fitness features, sleep tracking, and the BATTERY. I miss being able to easily see my notifications if I don't see them when the come in, the menus are way easier to find and navigate on the AW-I'm still trying to find things on the Garmin.

Apple Watch will do fine for a long time - only got a Garmin last year. However once you go to only having to charge your watch once every two weeks you just can’t go back to Apple. I have a Garmin Fenix (on the $$$ side) but I wear it every day as my normal watch too and have had zero issues making the switch. However there’s heaps in the range, I love accuracy, maps, long battery and lots and lots of data so I can overthink every run - so Fenix it is! The forerunners are great and the vivoactives are a good mid range model. There’s other brands like Suunto, Polar etc. For true accuracy on any wrist watch you may need a chest monitor. But if you really like your Apple Watch I found it pretty good unless you’re somewhere with not much reception

A forerunner 165 or 265 might be good. Or a Vivoactive if you want a sleeker look. I run and do weights as well and find the 165 is sufficient! It can only do so much with weights (guessing the actual exercise you're doing, rep counting, etc). I usually go back into my saved workout afterward and edit any info that was wrong.can only ask so much from a watch but it's nice to have the rest timer and general log of the workout.

Fenix 7s was too bulky on me, Lily active 2 was hard to read, Vivoactive looks plasticky almost toy like, Venu 3s looks more premium, so that was what I went for. No regrets

I second this! I have a vivoactive which is one of their less fancy watches but it does everything I need. The app is super insightful too and it's not necessary to bring your phone with you.

I still wear both, they are both good at different things.

Garmin watch! I have the vivoactove. But they all track sleep, down to rem, deep, light sleep, and hours. It also uses AI to assess it. Helps a lot cause nights get foggy with a baby.

Oh yes I swear I charge maybe every 2 weeks. For me it’s relatively reliable as far as I can tell. It’s hard to tell on the nights that there are a lot of wake ups of course. But I can attest that the nights where I don’t have wake ups it has been pretty accurate!

I wouldn't buy a Garmin for those needs. Calories will be a wild guess because you aren't doing any activity that it can measure or infer power from. Stress is kind of useless. Recovery is more related to an endurance sport which you're not doing. I'm exaggerating a little but it is like asking what phone to buy and finding out you just want to use it as a flashlight. You're not really using the core functionality of the watch. Maybe a Vivoactive if you insist?

It's got garbage battery life, unfortunately. Also unfortunately, the watches that seem to be most accurate are either obsolete (Fitbit Versa, idr which generation, counts laps and shows on watch face) or Sense 2 (has been very accurate but won't show laps on watch face even though it does keep track of laps - a really stupid decision by Fitbit/Google in a sea of stupid decisions ((no pun intended))). Battery life is excellent on both. Battery life on the Garmin Vivoactive is the bomb but it's crap at accuracy on laps. Good luck!

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.

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 love my vivoactive. I do sometimes get watch FOMO because I love running but I think the Vivoactive is a great (and very good looking) watch.

I am upgrading to a forerunner 265 from vivoactive because it can't do custom swim workouts or swim drills. but it does give you a fair amount of data for pool swim if you aren't concerned with that (time, distance, spm, pace, swolf, speed, heart rate, etc.) the vivoactive just went down to $200 and you may be able to find a refurbished or used one cheaper on ebay. Edit to add that I swim 5 days a week and there's no concern about water resistance that I have seen or heard of for vivoactive.

Most Garmin watches would do those things. Depending if you want the latest bells and whistles, such as an OLED screen vs a MIP screen from an older generation, a model from an older generation will be more than fine. However, I wouldn't recommend getting a second hand one, but that's just my preference. Take a look models such as the Instinct, the Vivoactive, the Venu and Forerunner 55/165. Those would suit you. I would not recommend more expensive models as the Fenix and the more expensive Forerunners. They would be way overkill and extremely expensive.

For the things you described any would be good. Even a FR165 (or F255/265 slightly bigger screen) or a basic Vivoactive. With that budget you can buy even an Epic if you like it (though would be overkill in terms of features). I would go on a shop, try them and pickup what you like the most in terms of size, look and comfort on your wrist.

I just bought the Vivomove Trend (arriving tomorrow). It's the best looking Garmin watch. It looks great in a business environment and is fairly basic for sports activities. It seems to be marketed towards women, but i personally like the smaller size on my dainty manwrists lol. I've been using Garmin watches forever. With the Vivomove you're giving up GPS on your watch, so to map your runs and rides you need to take your phone with you (which you may already plan to do). If you like to constantly look at your speed, HR, duration, etc on your runs/rides, the Vivomove might not be the best since i think it will be hard to see all these at once on one screen. I do plan to still use my older Vivoactive for some activities (the screen is starting to fade). I'm not getting another Vivoactive since they're no longer offering ones that look more business professional. If I were still a triathon fanatic I'd probably go with the Vivoactive 6. It's a very good sports watch but doesn't scream tri geek at work.

I’m relatively new to the fitness tracker world. I originally was drawn to the Fitbit Charge line (still on the fence) but pulled the trigger on a Garmin Vivoactive because of longevity concerns. What makes longtime Fitbit users concerned about its longevity or being bought by Google? At the moment it just seems like an entry tier product compared to their more expensive Pixel smartwatch lineup which seems… fine?

Any lower end Garmin is great. Vivoactive series. Or a used Apple Watch

Yes, serious overkill. Vivoactive is good for general health tracking and logging your runs or you could go for something more running specific like a Forerunner. For more all around fitness at a decent price, you can't beat the Vivoactive series.

I can recommend the Vivoactive as it kind of falls into that price range. I have the version 5, but 6 is the newest. Not sure if any Garmin is ECG capable, if so then only the more premium models starting at 600€+. There are more dedicated swimming models, however, I also regularly use it for swimming and when I activate the „auto stop“ function and put swimming as first item in my activities-list, I can start and stop everything only via buttons (avoiding using the touch screen in water)

100% agree here. Apple Watches and Oura have been tested and rank higher in terms accuracy in predicting your sleep and stages. The Apple Watch SE is much cheaper and probably a better option! Garmins don’t track sleep stages quite as accurately, but if you’re not going to be using it for the fitness features it’s probably not worth the money. My Garmin honestly doesn’t really get the times I fall asleep very accurately and it’s usually skewed by quite a bit. If you do want a Garmin go for the Vivoactive, Venu or very base model forerunner 55! I can highly recommend Garmin specifically for the amazing battery life.

Second a Garmin (I have a Vivoactive myself)

I’ll second this. For training especially for running the Garmin is amazing. But other than that it’s not as great of a smart watch and not very useful besides telling the time. The Apple Watch is just so handy.

Not to get sucked into the marketing but the Vivoactive is a lifestyle watch targeted at non runners while the forerunner series is really leaning into serious runners. Of course you can buy or not buy whatever watch you want.

I've got pretty small wrist, run with a garmin vivoactive and get along well. Love it.

I've owned a samsung galaxy watch and currently rock a garmin vivoactive. The garmin's battery is 10x better. The UI isn't as good, though - but that's small potatoes.

I have a Garmin instinct solar and I really like it. Before this I had a vivoactive and also liked it, but never climbed with it. I also run and do indoor bouldering. I’m not as concerned about tracking when I boulder, there is an activity for it where I’ll do one warm up route and just leave it on a break for the rest of my time climbing. The instinct is not a touch screen (which I actually really love) and it’s super durable. The watch clasp has gotten scratched up but the face is still fine after nearly a year of climbing inside with it. I’ve cooled off on my lifting with climbing, and was never that into it, but the strength activity isn’t horrible at keeping track of exercises. You can edit the activity afterwards to get the exact rep/weight/exercise, but some of the smartIQ exercise guesses are pretty accurate (ie a recent workout guessed pushups correctly, but also classified tricep dips as pushups). The solar add on is pricey and I don’t know if I’d recommend it, but the base option is pretty reasonable Cons for garmin: sleep isn’t super accurate, some data breach issues, a lot of grumbling that the Garmin+ subscription may be pushed on people in the future for things like updates and access to features Pros: easy to use, good tracking for running/hiking, instinct is very durable, lots of activities to chose from (cardio, indoor climbing/bouldering, runs, strength, swimming), fun metrics like HRV, training load, and vo2 max, decent battery life

My partner and I both love our vivoactives. I'm an intense exercise person and he isn't really, but we both use them and get a lot out of em. I highly recommend.

Shrug. I mean, if you don't like it i can't make you like it. I have a vivoactive and love it. It does have fewer features than some of the other garmins but it's so much better than an apple watch. You're literally just paying for the apple logo w that. The garmin has actual functions and has leveled up my running a lot in the last few years. When i upgrade though I'll probably buy a model with more functionality.

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 run an older factory reset garmin vivoactive, got it for £60 in the UK. Used it for a year or so without issue.

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.