Once again consulting the all knowing oracle of knowledge that is SigForum.

Ditching Verizon for AT&T, much lower monthly plan price with AT&T's medical discount. So with the new phone, probably going to get a new watch. I've had a Samsung Frontier and it's a gamble if it's going to hold a charge for a full 12 hour shift.

Looking at getting a Garmin or Suunto smart watch instead. Like the idea of the longer battery life and not having it included on my monthly bill. From whatI gathered from my research so far; Garmin seems to integrate with Android better and has a better app, Suunto is a nicer built watch but the app and interface can be a little clunky.

I started my smart watch journey with a Garmin Vivoactive 3, then upgraded to the Garmin Fenix 5x Sapphire.

The battery life and functions of the Fenix were a tremendous improvement.

I then upgraded to the Fenix 7x Sapphire solar which has even more features and almost a three week battery life.

Each time I upgraded I gave the previous watch to my wife.


Hope this helps.

I've had several Garmin watches over many years. I use them for running/racing. They are superb in every way except, to be perfectly honest, the spring bars can rip out after 4 or 5 years. It's happened to me twice. But I buy the cheap ones. And I do get multiple years of hard use from them. I will stick with them even though I've started using an Apple watch when I'm running while on-call. So that I don't have to bring a phone.

Garmin has been excellent for me, with Fenix 3 and Venu watches, and the BMW Motorrad GPS.

I think that one must choose very carefully with fitness watches. Strava integration is key for me. Buttons, not touch screens.

Garmin has the corporate size and expertise to do things right. There is no risk with Garmin.

I do have a Wahoo bike computer, though. I found their controls and screen management better than Garmin. It was a low risk experiment, and much lower cost than an equivalent Garmin.

I’ve used both. It would take quite a bit to convince me to give up my Phenix 6.

My wife went from an Apple Watch to a Garmin Vivoactive, our trainer picked up a Garmin Fenix, and based on their experiences I got a Fenix as well. I like it a lot, good battery life, three GPS options, topo maps a a lot more.

Garmin.

Started with a Garmin 220. After that I went with a Garmin Vivoactive HR. I tried a Garmin 235, but liked the Vivoactive HR better, so I went back to that. I recently bought a Garmin 735XT because it was on sale.

However, I went back to the Vivoactive HR because I like the built in walk app. With the other watches, you can download walk and other apps, but for some reason the Vivoactive HR keeps calling me back.

I have the HR set up for running (indoor and outdoor), biking (outdoor....deleted indoor), and walking (indoor and outdoor). I have not run or biked in about two years because I was dealing with a cancer issue.

However, I'm getting back on my feet again and look forward to milder weather so I can ride my mountain bike. My treadmill recently died as I was going to get back into walking and running, but I've pretty much decided to get a rowing machine. I already have the indoor rowing app ready to go on the HR.

I have a Garmin Instinct Solar. It does everything I want (tracks hikes, walks, bike rides, has a great timer and more). I bought it because it is rugged, didn't break the bank and has good battery life. It integrates quite well with the Garmin Connect app and I am pleased with it. When a replacement is needed it will be another Instinct or a Fenix.

I have a Garmin instinct solar and I overall like it. Battery life is maybe a week or more depending on how you use it. Its pretty rugged. I took mine on a spartan 10k and it gave me good feedback on my route and where I sandbagged and pushed it out. It also tolerated all the filthiness of the obstacles. I feel like the heart rate is a bit off but thats most watches without a heart strap. I had a Suunto which was good and likely still works but it is so old I dont feel like I can compare it to whats out there nowadays.

You guys are saying 2 weeks battery life and that intrigued me. I went to the Garmin website and they say if you are using GPS it is a 4 HOUR battery life. That is a big disconnect since the whole reason I want a GPS is to use GPS. How long does this battery last if you are using it for its GPS?

Garmin's software seems to be much more user friendly and overall I like the format. I've used many, many Suunto's in the past, and for a better than average outdoor/active watch, they're very good. However, Garmin seems to have really hit their stride in the 'more than a watch' marketplace.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
You guys are saying 2 weeks battery life and that intrigued me. I went to the Garmin website and they say if you are using GPS it is a 4 HOUR battery life. That is a big disconnect since the whole reason I want a GPS is to use GPS. How long does this battery last if you are using it for its GPS?

While the 'GPS in a wrist-watch feature' is pretty awesome and Garmin is the best of the bunch in the marketplace, if you're principally looking for a GPS, get a GPS. The Foretrex GPS units are pretty awesome, durable enough for guys going downrange, features to make them useful and not overly complicated.

I had a Garmin Forerunner I think it was for a couple of years. It was a great watch until I broke it at the gym. I replaced it with a Garmin Venu SQ that was awful. It wouldn’t stay connected to my phone and the heart rate reading was consistently off….like showing heart rate over 100 while sitting and it would actually be in the 60’s or 70’s.

I just bought an Apple SE and so far I like it.

What do a smart watch do?

I guess I said that wrong. I am a runner, I need GPS to accurately get splits, paces, distances, etc. I used to own a Garmin, an old one, and it sucked. Took forever to find satellites and start accurately tracking me. Apple Watch does that instantaneously and I double checked its accuracy over known courses and it was spot on.

So if I use the GPS function for fitness how is the battery life?

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
What do a smart watch do?

Moar data!

I don’t wear a watch any longer. Stopped when cell phones came about.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I guess I said that wrong. I am a runner, I need GPS to accurately get splits, paces, distances, etc. I used to own a Garmin, an old one, and it sucked. Took forever to find satellites and start accurately tracking me. Apple Watch does that instantaneously and I double checked its accuracy over known courses and it was spot on.

So if I use the GPS function for fitness how is the battery life?

I'm on my fourth or fifth Garmin for running, biking, swimming, and triathlons. I'm currently on the Fenix 6 Sapphire. Works awesome with serious battery life. Some of the older Garmins weren't great on battery life, but they've improved greatly.

I have a regular running group on Fridays - 8 miles. Most of us wear Garmin and have consistent splits. My one friend uses an Apple and his mileage is consistently behind Garmin data (Garmin mile is 1.0 while the Apple shows 0.96 or 0.97).

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
What do a smart watch do?

In my case, it's almost a dumb watch.
Citizen CZ Hybrid.
Gets notifications from my phone & does some minor fitness tracking. I don't need a phone on my wrist, so it suits my purpose well, and mostly only gets used when I'm on the bike.

Is there any Dick Tracy capability with these things? I wanna teleconference like Dick.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Is there any Dick Tracy capability with these things? I wanna teleconference like Dick.

Gotta go with something smarter than mine, then.
fruit watch or an android compatible equivalent

In that case, the future is now, so it's time to break out my unisize unicolor unisex unitard with matching boots and head appliance. Just gotta fuel my jetpack and I'll be all set.