Shopping for a smart watch that works with Android. I’ve looked at the Whoop, Garmin, and Fitbit. Fitbits seem like the best option out there for under $200. It seems pretty nice. But I’m curious if anybody has experience with these?
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The new Venu 3 is a sweet watch with a lot of features and a nice AMOLED screen. DC Rainmaker has a good review of it on YouTube.
If you want to go fully loaded with maps, either Fenix 7 pro or Epix 2 pro.
The forerunner is focused primarily on running, has an LTE version if you need to stay connected without carrying a phone when you are out and running.
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Garmin has waaaay to many watches to chose from. Here’s the series that I know:
epix and fenix. Top of the line. The difference is the screen type - AMOLED vs MIP. Nobody uses more than 20% of features. They last, expect 5 years as absolute minimum. In the past new features were backported from newer models. Extremely durable.
forerunner series. A notch cheaper than fenix, focused on running. The top models are very similar to fenix in terms of features. To me they feel a little plasticy, but are very light.
venu series - it’s more of a lifestyle watch, less focused on fitness.
vivoactive - I don’t really know this series, seems to be a basic fitness tracker to me.
There’s still layers of other watches, like aviation that connect to place avionics, or maritime, golf or diving. You name it. Way too many if you ask me.
If price is not an issue, consider an epix or a fenix. I think that they offer the best metrics available on the smartwatch market at this time. You simply won’t miss any feature or metric, and the watch should last minimum 5 years.
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Pretty good summarization of them. Then inside the Forerunner series there is the 9xx top end, 7xx mid-tier, and the 2xx lower end. Such a strange line-up Garmin has.
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Looking for an answer too for my personal use hehehe
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Just gonna paste what I put in another watch thread. I have the Garmin forerunner 265, it’s a great watch. OLED touchscreen, fully customizable watch face, great sleep tracking, arguably the best at calorie tracking, gps for bike rides and kayaking and running, you can charge it once every two weeks, it’s rugged so it can withstand gym and life abuse. I’ve had the watch for a year now and it’s been the best watch I’ve ever had. Apple Watch got scratched week 1 and met its end when I got hit with a big wave in the ocean.
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Sorry if this comes out as an asshole comment but does it really make a difference to have an oled screen on such a small screen ? Seems highly unnecessary to me
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I do recommend an Apple Watch if you have an iPhone/airpods.
It’s v convenient to pair with your phone and track your steps etc (10k steps a day for fat loss), weightlifting tracking mode (do note that all watches have some level of inaccuracy in calorie tracking) but it’s still nice
You can pair your workout music etc and use it for other purposes like Apple Pay etc so that’s a plus also
Battery life lasts a day so you might have to charge it when you sleep + wearing watch while asleep is uncomfortable for me so I wouldn’t recommend it for sleep tracking
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Garmin. It does everything other brands do just better. I switched to a Fenix after many-many years of being a dedicated Polar fan and never looked back. Apple Watches are great but to me those are lifestyle watches with a hint of fitness features.
As many said also, the forerunner series is really good. You can probably also find second hand Fenix. You wrote you’re obsessed with data. The running by dynamics metrics Garmin provides (vertical oscillation, ground time, left/right foot balance, etc) with the pro series heart rate straps are amazing. Just make sure the watch supports it (not all do).
Also - since you mentioned you train in the gym too - if you can, opt for the sapphire screen. Internet reviews claim it’s a gimmick and only makes the screen darker (which is somewhat true) but it would annoy me more to look at a heavily scratched screen. I have had the screen hit, scratched with various metals in the gym and there’s zero marks on it.
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I got an Amazfit Bip S since a few years ago and I don’t want another thing. Watches are only good for tracking steps and (maybe?) heart rate. Not even sleep data is any good in top-tier watches.
This watch has always-on display and a forever battery. I charge it like once or twice a month, it vibrates with my morning alarm and tracks my steps as good as any other watch in the market. I don’t need anything else, I’d rather spend the remaining 450€ on more important things.
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Currently running a dual band with AW and whoop.
Dropping both for a Garmin Epix 2 Pro is my plan.
Currently doing 75 Hard, running in the AM and lifting at night.
All other times primarily strength train and mix in some cardio.
For me -
AW - only use because I bought one for my dad and it lead him into working out for first time in his life, is now on day 475 of 5k with a goal of 500 in a row.
No real desire on my end to use it as a smart watch so most of the pro’s here just aren’t what I’m looking for.
Got a whoop due to the strength trainer. After a year, getting very sick of it.
Customer service is awful. Consistent issues with it tracking properly. Tired of inputting every rep and see twice as I already use and prefer the Strong app for several years for that purpose.
Btwn that and the $20 per month cost that never stops I’m ready to go to 1 device that handles it all.
On top of that, the $20 per month is allegedly due to the consistent innovation. In the year I’ve had it virtually nothing has changed, minus the ability to undo a lifting set, which is nice.
Biggest concerns for me is how the sharing works btwn family / group whatever they call it on garmin, and how best to track weighted runs on there while awarding badges and not skewing V02 max and running times as from what I can tell garmin has no ruck / weighted run specific workouts.
Any inputs into if I’m going the right direction with the garmin?