Garmin - Vivoactive HR
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Jan 3, 2026 Scoring
Liked most:
634
109
"battery lasts me forever, I charge it once a week and I game every day."
"especially because of the battery life. ... The mouse I had right before this was the steelseries super light one, that was an every other day charge at minimum. Whereas this one is like once a week at most - and I work from home and game all night."
"Oh, and the battery lasts days even when exercising a lot (weeks without excercise)."
199
20
"They're pretty water resistant, I've (accidentally) sent them through the wash in my pants pocket and they still work just fine."
"are water resistant (I've run mine through the wash and they still work no problems)"
"I've run in the rain with them, and run them through the wash (accidentally!) a few times, and occasionally wear them in the shower and they still work great."
98
6
"they were so much more comfortable I struggle to even put my Maxwells back on."
"open back is the only way since gaming you get so freaking hot you need the ventilation."
"Thanks to its plastic-plus-aluminum construction, the Dufu is incredibly light. ... Once you find the right set of ear tips, it practically vanishes on your ears without any sense of foreignness or sagging, ensuring excellent comfort even during extended listening sessions."
73
0
"For the current sale price (I paid £30/$40) and with the x2 quality tip sets included, it’s a no brainer. ... The Divinus Velvet tips alone are like $20-25 and I use only them with my Fudu after trying 8-10 different types."
"However, if you’re able to snap it up at around $40, then its bang-for-buck score would easily hit a full 5."
"KZ EDX Pro X is like $4 & an insane value…."
81
5
"a recent update even added Strength training to the Garmin Coach feature. It used to just be running plans. ... But aside from that you can make your own strength training workouts. ... I personally really enjoy the ability to make my own workouts and fill out the calendar in the app to have a custom training plan that I know works for me."
"The suggested daily workouts seems to integrate with the running calendar and a mirage of other metrics to help you get to the set goals, I found the SDW much better than the Garmin Coach on the Venu 2s."
"The other advantage that I exploit is the data sharing across devices - my Edge devices know what training I carried out using my watches, and the data is collated and used to advise my training progress and plans."
Disliked most:
30
99
"About a year and the right bud would last about 15 minutes on a full charge."
"after about 6 months of use, the battery life fell off dramatically. ... I'm lucky if I get 45 minutes out of a full charge. ... This battery issue affected both sets of Elite 65t earbuds."
"my vivoactive 4s died a few months ago now after a few good years services, I wanted to change it. I couldn't because I had the change the whole watch, planned obsolescence."
0
1
"the screen is cracked when I put it in a suitcase."
0
5
"Garmin's auto rest feature (automatic lap/set vs rest feature) is almost good. The issue is that the motion detection is way too sensitive so if I move my arm at all during rest it thinks I'm still swimming. The algorithm also has trouble with rests shorter than 20s so it's common to see workout sets recorded as one big swim blob with some periods of no movement sprinkled in."
"annoyingly less accurate compared to Finnis goggles and Apple Watch"
"about 20% of my laps are undercounted ... it keeps running up the time well after I stop for a rest - this can even be up to 10 seconds after I stop."
1
11
"it can't do custom swim workouts or swim drills"
"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. ... 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."
"This was a much needed upgrade for me for the training status and progress."
Vivoactive, venu, and currently have a forerunner
r/Garmin • How Have I only just discovered this? (convert from Apple Watch) ->Currently have a Fenix 6, since June 2021. I had a vivoactive HR for 3.5 years before that.
r/triathlon • Who’s switching to the new Apple Watch Ultra 3?! ->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.
r/fitness30plus • Basic, reliable, no thrills fitness tracker for ios? ->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.
r/Garmin • Pool swimming killed my Apple Watch, now I want to switch to a Garmin ->Happy with the vivoactive which gives all the sleep data and on sale now on Amazon
r/Garmin • What Garmin ->Love my vivoactive. I got it in white. It looks sporty and fashionable. It’s so thin and light I don’t even know it’s on. Wonderful for sleep tracking, spo2 monitoring, workouts, etc. I think it’s more about what she would think looks good on her wrist. I saw someone wearing this watch and asked them to let me try it on. Bought one the same day. I’m not a gadget kinda person but love this watch.
r/GarminWatches • Help Me Choose] Garmin Watch for My Wife — Vivoactive vs Venu? ->Until some major functionality of it goes. I had a Garmin Vivoactive that I bought in 2016 that lasted until 2023. Only reason I replaced it was because I could get it to connect to GPS anymore and it was a model Garmin didn’t support any longer. Long story short: as long as possible until it literally dies in some capacity.
r/AdvancedRunning • How often do you replace your running watch? ->I had an older generation Vivoactive and purchased the 165 music when it came out. The running features and metrics are worth it alone, but I also like the physical buttons. I looked at the 265 and 965 as well but the advanced metrics and better heart rate sensor wasn’t worth it for my needs, and I use a heart rate strap anyways.
r/GarminWatches • Vivoactive 5/6 or Forerunner 165? ->You need to ask yourself what she’ll actually be using it for. If you’re just doing basic fitness tracking, then she likely doesn’t need a Fenix and a Vivoactive or Venu series would be the best bet for her. Use the website to compare devices with the activities she does regularly.
r/Garmin • Advice on a good watch for wife? ->Exact opposite for me. A vivoactive is a pretty sleek, simple watch. Apple Watches meanwhile look tacky as hell and scream tech bro. But if you care about looks, you really should just wear a normal watch, which is always going to look better than any smart watch. I wear my garmin exclusively during workouts.
r/Strava • Switching from Apple Watch to Garmin — is it really worth it? ->Personally I like not having a tiny phone on my wrist. The Garmin does all the things I need it to do without tons of other distractions. And it does them flawlessly. Also IMO it just looks better, Apple Watches are tacky. But I often just wear a normal watch while not working out anyway, which always wins out over any kind of smart watch if you care about looks.
r/Strava • Switching from Apple Watch to Garmin — is it really worth it? ->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.
r/malefashionadvice • What smartwatch is most universal right now? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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