20 Best Cheap Watch For Running (2023 Updated)

Having replaced my Galaxy Watch (2018) with this model, I can say that I’m extremely happy. I decided on this purchase primarily due to the ECG and blood pressure feature due to some ongoing health concerns.

Special thanks to Harvey Norman Launceston for enabling me to purchase this 10 days ahead of us official release when I just went in to see if it might suit my need and instead ended up walking out the door with it.

I was very concerned about battery life initially with the switch to Gear OS from Tizen but after 10 days use so far, am happy to report that I get 3 days use on average with a little left over to spare.

Not as good as the 5 days between charges on my earlier watch (when new), but pretty decent none the less considering that multiple ECG and blood pressure readings were taken throughout as well as constant heart rate monitoring.

The watch is a delight to use, integrates and functions faultlessly with my S22 Ultra and delivers clear, easily read and responded to notifications. Operation is smooth and buttery without a hint of lag or hesitation and the new style band is a nifty, secure, comfortable and easily set design.

The new watch band material (rather than that of my earlier watch) does not seem to react with my arm and leave a welt which is also a positive. The display is bright, easily read, has a great resolution and as is typical of Samsung devices in my experience; second to none.

One thing I do miss over my original watch though, is the rotating bezel. I’m afraid that the choice to move away from this is a design miss on Samsung’s part. The capacitive, digital alternative of running a finger around the periphery of the screen isn’t as remotely intuitive, functional, effective, refined or easy to use as you end up touching other elements of the screen in the process.

I’m not sure of the logic in removing what was a signature component of this series of watches, one that made usage a breeze and one that galaxy watch owners in this format of watch had come to love.

The new method on this watch is not nearly as precise and no use with gloves or wet hands. Sorry Samsung; but a significant design miss. That said, the watch is still a delight to use, as you can just swipe as you would on a phone to get to/from where you need to go.

Updating, app choices and integration are better overall than the Tizen watch was, though watch faces are a little sparse at present compared to Tizen. Overall, a fantastic piece of kit and I am extremely happy with my purchase.

The black version looks a little “cheap” to my eye for a wearable such as this and at this price point (particularly without the bezel), but that’s subjective and others will see it differently. I don’t use the running, etc features and so can’t comment on those.

But nice job Samsung (deletion of bezel excepted) If you are after a classy looking, fully functional smart watch and fitness tracker, aren’t an invested member of that fruit named company and need something to help keep track of your ticker, this watch may just be for you.

ECG reports are easily exported printed in A4, or even emailed to your doctor straight from your phone in a heart beat. ECG and Blood Pressure does require Samsung Health installed I believe (no issue if you’re a Samsung user) and the integration between the watch and phone is impressive, straight forward and completely intuitive.

Very happy with my purchase.

A little background. I’ve had smartwatches, many with LTE, since they first arrived years ago. The Galaxy Watch was my favorite go-to watch from the beginning, and I always upgraded as new models were released.

My annoyance flared when advertised capabilities were either missing or poorly implemented. In some cases, promised features never came to fruition, while other times they showed up but more than a year later.

Because of this, a few years ago I decided to move to a Fossil Watch with LTE. One of the biggest draws for me was Fossil’s integration with Google Assistant. As someone heavily invested in the Google ecosystem, this one specific feature was a game changer for me.

Even though I still like the Fossil, I decided to reverse course and give Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 5 Pro a chance. At this writing, I am now using the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro Black LTE version. This is a top-notch flagship model that offers a ton of nice features, many in the health and fitness arena, and keeping in mind that my last Galaxy Watch was a model 3.

In my opinion, this watch is aesthetically much nicer looking than previous versions of the Galaxy watch; it has a premium look and feel about it. As expected, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is also noticeably more expensive than the standard version, and by a wide margin.

A big draw for me moving to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is its 80-hour battery. While I haven’t had this watch very long, thus far the battery has been pretty good. I gave it a full charge last night ending at 10:30pm, then kept it on my wrist throughout the night in bedtime(?) mode.

I got out of bed around 6:30am and turned bedtime mode off. Overnight, the battery had dropped from 100% to 87%. Even though it wasn’t connected to my phone during that time period, it was connected to cellular.

I used the watch throughout the day, including four 2-mile walks (which the watch considers exercise periods). I used the timer a bunch and checked the weather a good number of times. And don’t forget Google Assistant.

At about 9pm that evening, remaining battery was 49%. Now, the watch face does support a good number of Complications, so I have to imagine that that impacts battery over time. There is something about the Watch 5 Pro’s watch band that I find very comfortable.

It doesn’t pinch my wrist or grab my arm hair. And the band’s design makes it very easy to make minor size adjustments, unlike more traditional bands. On the downside, the band’s clasp which sits in the center of my wrist, started losing color immediately.

There were scratch marks all over it, so much so that the underlying material was clearly visible. Fortunately, a black sharpie came to the rescue. I am pleased to say that the thickness of the watch turned out to be a non-issue.

It doesn’t feel heavy to me, although I’m guessing that the light-weight titanium material is why. So, kudos to Samsung on a good choice of materials. Setting up the watch couldn’t have been easier – it was completed in just 40 minutes.

This was followed by setting up the LTE portion. I was initially concerned that having my Fossil LTE already configured with my cellular provider would be a problem, but it only turned out to be a minor bump.

I did have to rerun the LTE portion three times to remove the Fossil, but it eventually was removed from my phone company’s database and replaced with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Easy-peasy! Here are some general observations about the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro: ——————————————————————————————————————————- The Watch is very attractive: People I’m chatting with will interrupt me and ask about the watch.

They all seem to like the color, and the titanium look and feel. ——————————————————————————————————————————- The watch’s thickness: Yep, noticeably thicker but acceptably light.

——————————————————————————————————————————- Watch Band: Very comfortable to wear. I immensely like how adjustable it is.

——————————————————————————————————————————- Black Color: Very much to my liking. ——————————————————————————————————————————- ONE UI: It uses Samsung’s ONE UI Watch 4.

5 atop Wear 3. 5. (This is a big change from my Galaxy Watch 3 and my current Fossil, and I like it) ——————————————————————————————————————————- Watch Face: It’s a 1.

4-inch super AMOLED with Sapphire crystal for protection ——————————————————————————————————————————- Battery: Li-Ion 590 mAh.

Per the specs good for 80 hours of use ——————————————————————————————————————————- Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate, barometer, thermometer for your body temp ——————————————————————————————————————————- Wi-Fi: 802.

11 a/b/g/n, dual-band ——————————————————————————————————————————- Bluetooth : Version 5. 2, A2DP, LE ——————————————————————————————————————————- GPS: Yes ——————————————————————————————————————————- Internal Ram: 16GB ——————————————————————————————————————————- Rotating Bezel : Sadly, no more rotating bezel.

Still, it hasn’t taken long to get used to sliding my fingertip around the screen’s edge ——————————————————————————————————————————- Charger: It comes with a USB Type-C magnet charging puck, but lacks an actual charger ——————————————————————————————————————————– The face of the Watch 5 Pro is lower than the bezel by a fraction of an inch, differing from other watches where the watch’s face is flush to the top of the bezel.

This recessed placement is pretty shrewd. With as many times as I’ve accidently scratched/banged my watch going through a doorway, being recessed should protect the watch face from, well, me. In the beginning of this review, I alluded to how important Google Assistant is to me.

I figured with Samsung and Google’s close relationship that Google Assistant integration was a given. Well, I couldn’t get G. A to work. Plus, one of my favorite features from the Galaxy Watch 3 was its SOS ability.

That too didn’t seem to work. I was very unhappy. Yet, someone at Google or Samsung must have heard my grumbling and decided to sprinkle pixie-dust on the watch while I slept. Because in trying them again the next morning, both worked perfectly.

Full disclosure on the SOS feature: to activate SOS to send out an alert message, it is necessary to press the home button super quick, like 3 or 4 times within a second. I admit part of the reason I couldn’t get it to activate earlier was because I was slow pressing the home button.

With all the smartwatches I’ve used over the years, this is my all-time favorite. The screen is bright and very readable, and the watch is easy to set up and thus far to maintain. It handshakes transparently with my Samsung Fold 3 smartphone, and the Wear app sitting on the phone is well thought out.

Hmm, I wonder if it supports the Audible app!.

Switched to this watch after having some issues with my old Garmin and haven’t been disappointed. The functionality is simple enough and battery life is impressive. GPS tracking has been reliable so far.

The Coros vertex is an incredible watch that answers every need for the sports enthusiast. Greatest battery life and downloads activities instantly.

A beautiful piece… The operating system has some glitches… altitude,sleep tracking,wrist heart rate…. Love the look, comfortable.. It needs some improvement at this price point…

I bought this nearly a month ago and I have been very impressed. The many watch faces are a fantastic way to personalize this watch. I compared this to a previous item and it reads in a more accurate manner.

I wish there was an integration for Strength. It’s quite a bother to have to stop and press the pause/go button while working out. Fortunately, on the desktop, you can go and edit/add anything that is missing.

It is tedious work but I’m glad that that is an option. I have not been let down by the battery life, I was worried at first since the watch screen was always visible, regardless of if the back light was on or not.

I’m notoriously bad at charging any electronic I have, finally made it a habit to plug it in when I shower and it’s a fast charge for sure. The Bluetooth connection hasn’t been a letdown. The buttons and how-to are a bit clunky and I would say have somewhat of a learning curve/adjustment.

But once it’s figured out it’s nice to have on a run where I don’t need to take my phone. Once you move away connectivity becomes spotty if you’re not wearing the watch for whatever reason, and it’s expected of most Bluetooth-supported devices.

The widgets are hit-or-miss, that’s all. Overall, I’m really impressed with the features it has, I wish it had more integrations, but that’s personal want for some who regularly does weightlifting.

At first, this watch is great. You can use it underwater, music plays to Bluetooth earphones, I like seeing my texts pop up on the screen, but otherwise it really misses the mark, which sucks considering it’s an expensive device.

First of all, the heart rate monitor is not accurate at all. It often overestimates my heart rate at rest or light activity. When I’m working out hard and my heart is pumping at what I know has to be above 130 bpm, it just farts itself and sticks to around 110-120 bpm.

Doesn’t matter if the watch is snug, lower wrist or higher wrist, it never has an accurate reading. Which is unfortunate considering that was one of the main reasons I bought the watch for. Second of all, the user interface and software on the Garmin Connect app is not user friendly, often inaccurate and leaves something to be desired when compared to software from Fitbit.

Sometimes the watch won’t connect to the app and it requires a whole process to reconnect that can be frustrating. The guides online are also not clear and often unhelpful. This is a great smartwatch if what you’re looking for is basically a wrist extension of your phone, but fitness wise it is way to expensive to be worth it and is a bit of a joke.

Honestly thinking of selling it an upgrading to a newer Fitbit.

Garmin 935 can l justify paying this much for a watch. I have to admit l took my time to buy it. Asking questions to myself, can l justify paying so much for a watch that l would use to count my lengths when swimming.

Should l have a Apple Watch, should have a Fitbit and the list goes on. Well in the end l went for it and l have to admit l am very pleased that l have bought it. Its a cracking piece of kit, coping with my swimming, l can now enjoy my swim rather than having to concentrate on how many lengths l have done.

You can also use the drill log to include your kicking lengths or other lengths when you are not doing a proper stroke in your total distance. I must admit the step counter is very good and motivating, as is the ability to use it for walking, running and many other sports.

The Garmin interface is very good to review your activities, it can be temperamental at times. You can receive weekly reports if you so wish and they can be quite interesting. So, yes l would say go for it, it can be a bit of a learning curve , but if you can get a deal on it as l did the better.

I also bought a screen saver as well which is very good and would recommend to give your screen face protection. Finally, l have found that the battery life is very good, l would say l get abouta weeks worth, but the charging is very quick.

I set up some of my details on my computer with the lead that comes with the watch and use my iPad to upload my information via Bluetooth which is very quick and automatic once linked. For people with type two diabetes the watch also links to MyDesmond.

You can change the watch face look etc. In the Garmin app. If you can find someone who already has one the better, have a chat and see if you can get on with it and additional chat to people who have an Apple or Fitbit etc.

To see what they use it for and if that fits with how you would use it. I am very happy with mine, so much so l bought hubby one as well.

I took this watch to record anything from downhill skiing in UT to MTB in Pisgah, to 20 mile trail runs in the falls of MI, backpacking in the Smokies, and my daily runs in the morning. Through all of that, I never once had any question that I would complete my activity with a beautiful data chunk to track my performance! Pros: -Accurate.

I have double checked the Forerunner’s accuracy with trailheads, mapping tools and good old running tracks and to this day, it has been accurate for me. -Stylish. With the simple gray finish, it fits with any athletic outfit I choose to don, and performs while looking good.

Mehs: -Battery life. Even on ulltra-trac mode I was unable to get a 3 day backpacking trip fully tracked without carrying a battery pack to keep it charged. 5 hour runs? No problem. But multi-day adventures are a stretch for this watch’s battery.

Cons: -Small one, but worth mentioning: The loops to hold the wrist strap down love to break. More of an inconvenience than a problem, but still worth mentioning.

I bought this to replace my previous FR935 that I handed down to a relative, so I already had 2years experience using it. The watch is so lightweight that I never notice it and leave it on all the time.

It has tons of features, but most importantly its a reliable GPS watch and even as a four year old model it still kicks so much arse! At the price bracket of sub 300Euros, it has got to be the bargain of the year in the premium GPS watches categories.

If you do not need to pay with Garmin Pay, or the maps that you get with the FR945, I would so recommend to give this watch a try. My only criticism is I had the tri FR935, and I have to say the yellow band I had on that watch was both more comfortable and stylish than the black one that comes as standard for this watch! Runnerinn offered the most competitive price online in EU, I have used them before and they offer great value high quality products! Their delivery service is okay, the delivery times are only indications, but all in all can’t complain :).

If you want a all singing/dancing wear os watch then this is not for you. One has to understand Huawei has a different operating system now due to being banished from the google/android os so setting up takes a little longer on a android phone.

Must say I have installed the Huawei health app on my Oneplus phone & works perfectly. I love the watch, you can’t reply to notifications but that does not bother me, you can reply to call via bluetooth but again not something I’m fussed with.

All notifications such as whats app, sms, email & twitter still come through. The fitness modes on the watch are excellent with a fitness mode for just about everything. I’m a sixty year old bloke who’s had a hip replacement so my main love is walking.

The outdoor walk mode is brilliant, the GPS picks up straight away & maps your route perfectly. ( so obviously will be the same for runners etc). You even have voice alerts every KM with pace, heart rate details which is excellent.

( I loved that touch) The watch face choice is stunning with tons of free ones as well has paid. The sleep app works great & the screen is stunning. Also apps on the watch such as compass, barometer, altimeter, weather, moon settings & many more.

It has an app store but this is mainly aimed at Huawei phone owners running the Harmony operating system. But if you own a android phone please don’t let this put you off. Oh & battery life is excellent, It arrived on Friday, now Monday & the charge is at 77% I’m expecting at least seven dadys between charges.

I am not a fan of charging a smartwatch once a day. To sum up the GT 3 is one simply stunning smartwatch/fitness tracker.

Pros: I researched and researched and went for this one. Does everything I want – very accurately. Cycling, running (GPS brilliant) and then the health stuff. Sleep monitoring I wasn’t fussed about but now love it; so accurate its uncanny.

The only thing is app support for iOS – basically there is none. But if you buy ‘as seen’ i. e happy with the suite of built in tools then fine. The Health app is good – very good (and you can then convert all received data into Apple Health if you want; I dont bother.

Oh, and very stylish, screen is up with Apple watch imho. Cons: iOS app supportno ecg.

I bought this watch a few months ago after getting fed up with my Samsung, and I think it is brilliant! The battery lasts around a week or so depending on exercise/GPS tracking. It tracks my steps pretty accurately.

There’s lots of things on it that I’ve not even used yet. You can download apps and choose from loads of watch faces. The app is easy to use. It’s brilliant for taking calls, it’s really clear. It looks smart too.

Definitely worth the money!.

You’d think in a time of self driving cars and robotic surgery, a basic functioning fitness watch that tracks GPS, steps, and heart rate at this price point would be reliable and dependable! Not so with this watch! Stay clear.

I’ve done 2 warranty claims and none of these watches (I’ve had 3) works well. The problems 1) heart rate all over the place (sometimes the whole exercise is tracked at ridiculously high hr, sometimes way too low, at times it just jumps around erratically despite no change in the activity, often it’s just under by 10-15bpm the whole workout) – this is annoying as not only does it misrepresent your workouts and calories burned, but it also misrepresents your “minutes of intense exercise” as your hr needs to be in a certain hr zone for at least 10+ minutes before it even starts tracking your workout as “minutes of intense exercise”.

I can go for a 30 minute run and get 0 minutes of exercise logged!) 2) randomly doesn’t track something like steps, km, exercise minutes, calories (some things you can add in later and others like steps you cannot manually enter, (or sometimes it tracks it in the individual activity but does not update daily totals) 3) sometimes does not switch settings to the next day until you restart the watch and then you lose all the activity you have already done for the day, starting your numbers back at zero, including calories burned and steps 4) GPS works great when it works, but it needs constant attention as it will start to work then stop working or just not even track km at all (bizarrely I still have the map I’ve run or biked but no km logged, which again can be entered later if you want to do the math yourself using another ap) 5) spotty Bluetooth connection (there’s no reliable connection to he had between this watch and my phone – it updates sometimes when it wants, despite having a very good phone with no other Bluetooth issues) Just a consistent and correct HR reader would improve this watch greatly.

There is no excuse for such terrible software and all these bugs at this price point.

As a recovered Fitbit user, I made the switch to Garmin over a year ago. It’s not their newest or most expensive fitness tracker, but the Garmin 35 Forerunner is the best. First off you’re probably wondering, how easy was it to switch over to their software? A cinch and I’m a caveman with technology.

Now the app doesn’t have such catchy accomplishments that others might have, but it is far more accurate. The sleep analysis is mind blowing. This charger has lasted up to 7 days without charging. That is unbelievable.

Usually five is the average, and all this time later, it only takes 30 mins to get back to full. You’ll love the ease of the clamp on charger. It grasps on to the device with no drama. Also it’s not a long cord either, so any AC adapter is excellent.

Worried about going in the pool or ocean? Don’t as it’s waterproof! Also I’m the champion of replacement bands for fitness trackers and traditional watches. None needed. That’s serious build quality, and even the bezel looks no worse for the wear, despite hellacious running and lifting sessions.

It takes a beating, and delivers what your steps are, heart rate, intensity minutes, sleep monitoring, and the current time. That’s also helpful. My recommendation is to buy this one. I think I paid around $135, but my guess is this is less now.

Definitely get this one if you’re rough on equipment. This is one for that man or woman on “the go. ” Accuracy plus reliability are important. Plus this minimalist looking tracker blends in well. It’s comfortable and always ready for what comes your way.

This is a basic watch, which is all I wanted. I only power it on a couple of times a week to do my run and then I power it off, so it leads a soft life. Nevertheless, this morning it woke up and then locked up the screen.

I timed my run with a WIND-UP TIMEX THAT IS 30 YEARS OLD. After my run I went to the Garmin website and discovered that this is a known problem with this watch that they “are working on a fix” for. The watch will get stuck on a screen and become unresponsive.

The reboot is to mash the power button and hold it for a really long time, then plug the watch into power and mash the power button again for a really long time, then it wakes up and has the wrong time and date.

I am frustrated and disappointed. My wife bought me this watch as a gift and she is pissed that it didn’t even last a year when it hardly gets used.

This smartwatch is perfect for a runner and even for someone active who wants to know all information about workouts. The battery is good, I can get 7 days with everything turned on except always on display.

I use gps a lot for running and still getting 7 days, if you want 14 days, you need to turn of some stuff, but still worth. Besides that, this watch is extremely light and comfortable and there are a lot more.

I recommend based of the price I have paid ).

Great watch, Battery life last for 2 weeks at full use. Only down side the extra apps are not in platstore.

This is my 3rd Samsung watch. My first was a Gear S3, second was a Watch 3 and now a Watch5 Pro. I can honestly say that the watch has gotten better with each iteration. I was initially worried about this purchase as it contained the removal of the front face dial that served as a functional slider essentially, but I now feel that my worry wasn’t warranted.

I believe if the watch was equal or less responsive than the Watch 3 then the removal of the dial would be an issue, but I am proud to say that the Watch5 Pro is much more responsive, especially when receiving a notification.

I used the dial mostly to initiate the viewing of notifications that delayed in displaying. Notifications are much faster to load and the viewing of those notifications are much easier for someone with aging eyes (I am far sighted and do wear medium strength reading glasses).

I think most of the software benefits has come from the move from Tizen to Wear OS. One thing that stands out to me is the texting capability on the watch itself. It was about impossible on my older Watch 3 but on the Watch5 Pro it has the swipe texting which works very well so it is a huge step forward in this area.

The battery is another big improvement although I will say the Samsung line of watches have always had much better battery life than other watches, but with the Watch5 Pro the battery life is not in days a required everyday charge.

Obviously if you use the always on display you will have a couple of days life vs not using always on display will allow double that (depending on notifications and workouts also. ) The last major upgrade I will mention is the D-Buckle band (this is one of the band options when purchasing.

) If you are like me and very particular about the amount of pressure and location of your watch, then this band is the one for you. I think of it like a belt that uses holes to achieve the proper tightness, but one hole is too tight and one hole over is too loose.

This band eliminates that issue and is by far the best band I have ever had on a watch. I have been using the Watch5 Pro for a couple of months and I have no buyer’s remorse at all.

I waited quite a long time before breaking down and buying a smart watch. As I am an iPhone owner, the Apple Watch was the logical choice. However, it initially didn’t meet my needs. I am not sports or exercise enthusiast so most off what a smart watch provides didn’t interest me.

I am also an traditional analog watch fan and tend to stay away from modern style watches. What finally tipped the scale for me was the pandemic. I needed a way to stay informed about not only my health vitals but also email and messages without always being tied to my phone or pc.

The fact that I could listen and control my music and phone calls from my watch were extra bonuses. The new Series 7 Apple Watch seems to finally provide enough non-sports/exercise features to make sense to me.

The apps still need more evolution to really be beneficial on a wrist device but it is getting better. I am still learning how to effectively use the Apple Watch and I am sure time and updates will only make it better.

The Series 7 seems to have enough hardware features to take it further. However I am not a fan of buying a new device every year or two, so I am still worried that it might be too soon for the regular population that isn’t always in the gym or running on the track.

However I do feel more comfortable knowing that I have some basic health monitors on my wrist and a better communication system than being tethered to my phone 7×24. I can’t answer battery or lifetime issues yet because I have only owned it for just over a week.

I will say that my iPhone’s battery lasts longer than the watches but perhaps I can make settings changes to improve that. I still see a day’s battery so I can’t complain. My recommendation is that if you are looking for a smart watch, check out how many apps and features you will really use and if they are full featured enough yo justify the purchase and investment.

I got this for my father as a gift and wow, hands out the best version of the Apple Watch. This quickly became another alternative for when he’s not able to look at his phone when at work with features such as imessage and call feature available.

You can also transfer the call from the watch to the phone and vice versa, which is so convenient! The watch came with two belt sizes, which have enough space for small for wide wrists. They’re soft silicone and do not come undone, even when working in a busy restaurant.

The starter belts are great for people with sensitive skin as well. The screen is tough and durable, it doesn’t leave a fingerprint on the screen as intensely as prior versions, allowing you to have a clear screen.

Battery charges super fast, and can last over 8 hours without charge. It is frustrating that it only comes with the cable and not the box. Given that the charger box is $20, spending over $400 on a watch you would at least expect the charger box as well.

The health and fitness features were features that stood out to him, as that’s what peaked his interest in the first place. The heart monitor features have become an essential feature that has helped him learn more about his own health.

The fitness features such as step and walking tracker have motivated him to maintain those levels, as that was something he prioritized. Overall, this version of the Apple Watch is jam packed with new features that allow the watch to feel customizable and as convenient as the iPhone.

This is a great gift for that is easy for people who aren’t as technologically savvy, and is easy to learn, whether young or old.

I came to the Apple Watch from a Samsung Gear S3. While the Apple Watch does most things pretty admirably, offering fairly seamless transitions between screens and apps, it doesn’t do some of the things that the Gear S3 could do.

For instance, it took downloading a second app to be able to see the number of steps on the watch face instead of just the three ‘activity’ rings that don’t actually tell you as much as you might want to know — and it still doesn’t give a live update on steps, catching up and refreshing every few minutes to give an updated number.

Additionally, the battery life is significantly shorter, lasting about twenty four hours before it needs to be charged again. However, the display is large and clear, and the watch faces are extremely customizable, allowing you to really get the look and experience that you want out of them.

Additionally, the watch bands are as easy to switch as sliding them in and out of a groove, as compared to the more traditional watch bands that require you to buy a special tool to change them out — possibly a pro for some, a con for others, given that you’re essentially required to buy Apple-tech specific watch bands.

All in all, it does most of the things I need it to do, and it does them elegantly and with little fuss, but I still miss some of the features of the Galaxy. For something as expensive as the Apple Watch, you’d think this would be standard by now, but alas.

Still, I would recommend it to others, but am disappointed enough that it’s going to miss out on that fifth star — for now.

Disclaimer: I am a “daily workouts to stay fit” mid 30s female. I am not a serious athlete and bought refurbished to save some pennies. The watch is super easy to use and find your way around both the watch and the app.

It has such good features including sleep tracking, menstrual cycle tracking, heart rate, steps and all the usual Loads of workouts types to add and you can custom your own if they aren’t preloaded. So far, the battery has lasted 3 days with workouts tracked every day.

GPS seems accurate and it syncs with my strava account seemlessly It has an on the larger size watch face, which suits me and my bigger build, but I imagine a daintier arm might find it slightly big! Went snorkelling with it and it stood up well, except for one point where I managed to pause the activity tracking.

Overall I would definitely recommend this watch for anyone who works out in a variety of ways.

Multifunction watch which will suit the sports enthusiast. Most importantly it tracks you run/ride/swim with accuracy. The GPS lock is super quick normally less than 10 seconds. With my older GPS unit it could take sometimes a couple of minutes to lock on to the signal much to the annoyance of my fellow runners etc.

The indoor swimming is accurate, I have checked this by counting lengths and checking times. The indoor swimming pool length can be changed from yards to meters and for difference lengths. The heart rate monitor on the whole again is remarkably accurate for one that is worn on the wrist.

It has occasionally lost the pulse rate – normally when exercising hard and it seems that it can’t cope with a lot of sweat! It won’t measure you pulse when swimming but there is waterproof strap that can be bought.

There is also a heart rate monitor that also gives you extra data when you are running. There are widgets that allow you to communicate with you phone. It doesn’t play music. There are so many features that it can be hard to navigate through the various screens with the five buttons at times.

Even after six months I find it hard at times to find what I want. The battery life is excellent lasts for over a week without a charge if not using gps. When using the gps it still has long battery life.

This is the second device that I have owned, the first one had a charging problem but was very impressed with John Lewis’s no quibble attitude and the second one is fine so far.

Great watch for running and cycling. Many, many options to help with your training plans. The garmin connect app is very useful, and allows you to download new widgets and apps for your watch. I have not even scratched the surface of its features yet.

Not yet used for swimming, though I have read elsewhere that you have to be careful with it underwater. When chosing this I considered the Garmin Fenix 5, Forerunner 45 and Forerunner 245. Although this is an older model than those 3, it has many of the features of the other ones and relatively much cheaper that those newer models.

It also has a multisports mode which is useful if you do the occasional duathlon, triathlon, brick session. The other 2 FR I considered do not have this option. Unless you are looking for a professional triathlon watch, this is a bargain at the price.

Great for an amateur club athlete like myself. For a high end triathlon watch or for someone who runs mountain trails REGULARLY, spend the extra money and buy a FR945, or the Fenix 5. Bought this as a replacement for my tomtom multisports watch, which was a budget watch, and so far I am very happy with it.

I have worn my first 235 24/7 for years and recorded thousands of miles running. Recently took a nasty fall on a tech trail and artfully ensured the watch face met the corner of a rock with my body atop it.

The watch continued to record all data but small pieces of the glass fractured out, compromising its waterproofing. I looked at many newer entries, including Coros Pace2 but my years of data on Garmin Connect kept me with Garmin and the price of this refurbished one simply couldn’t be beaten.

Perhaps those who do many other sports or who dramatically change elevation want or need other features but the 235 has a full range of data reporting and analysis. With about 100 miles on this new refurbished one from HRMUSA on one wrist and my original on the other, they track within 1% of each other.

As for confidence in this company, when I called to ensure the unique Garmin charging cord was included (Yes) the lady suggested that I wait until Tuesday when there would be a two day sale; a twenty dollar discount! I waited and ordered two, one for my son’s birthday.

It is a great watch especially for the price one can get it here now. I bought it refurbished for $99. 99, got an additional discount of 15% and a free delivery. I was thinking about the newer model 245 but for the price, this was an easy decision.

First first. I am an occasional runner. I run cca 2 times a week plus one time a week bicycle. I would not call myself a pro and this is my first GPS watch. BATTERY: The biggest power consumption goes to GPS, Bluetooth, and heart monitor, in that order.

My watch is refurbished yet the battery lasts cca 9-10 hours on GPS as advertised. Bluetooth is really only useful for downloads and when in close proximity to my IPhone. I found that useless most of the time.

I keep Bluetooth off. Watch without Bluetooth, and occasional use of lasts easily 10-14 days. EASY TO SEE: Compare to my IPhone, the display is actually easier to read with more sun. Direct sunlight makes the display the easiest to read which is great for running.

The display is also big enough. EASY TO USE: The navigation is simple enough without any manual. Many screens to choose from by downloading them through an app. Screens and units can be also modified directly on the watch.

Very good. HEART MONITOR. I find it accurate when I tighten my watch while running. Otherwise, it tends to show low (missing beats) CONS: My main wish is that the watch was showing GPS coordinates. Maybe there is a way to see them but I have not worked it out so far.

Glass is not a gorilla glass. It is easier to scratch and the overall look of the watch is plastic, which I don’t really mind.

I’ve owned many Garmin heart rate monitor watches over the years. The Forerunner 235 is much like the 220, which I liked greatly. It is nice to have graphs of location, speed and heart rate together.

The 235 does not use a chest band monitor. I believe the heart rate data is not accurate as I’d like. There will be patches of a workout where no heart rate is recorded. There are completely erratic measurements.

A large spike in the heart rate can pop up at any time during the workout. I have also had it drop 10 or more beats per minute for the later part of the workout. I appreciated the reduced price. It does not make sense to me to pay over $1000 for an exercise watch.

Over the years I’ve seen reviews report that the data recorded from devices only using input from the wrist to be less valid and reliable. I’ve been running for sport and exercise for over 50 years. I do think monitoring workouts using the kind of reports that the Garmin watches provide is useful in maintaining appropriate level of exertion.

I purchased the watch in the fall of 2020 and I love it. However. after about a year of wearing the watch I noticed that the thumb side of my wrist starting to itch and turn red. I took the watch off and cleaned it with soap and a soft toothbrush then put it back on.

The itching got worse and my wrist started to look and feel blistered. I cleaned the watch again with alcohol, then peroxide, then vinegar. No change. Blistering got worse, I stopped wearing lotion and body oil.

No change. So I finally just stopped wearing the watch. I reached out to Garmin online and was told to contact customer service via telephone. I did so. Spoke to a very nice gal, Sierra, who took my information and sent me to another customer service agent, Debbie, who I can only assume offices in the bowels of the Garmin headquarters far below the sunshine.

Debbie asks me to send pics of my wrist and the watch to her. I complied. and wouldn’t you know it, all this is my fault! The part of the band that I told Debbie looks like a coating had worn off was actually “residue” to her discerning customer service eyes.

And as it turns out, I was wearing the watch incorrectly! She so observantly pointed out to me that it was clear I was wearing the watch too tightly as you could see the indentions on my wrist. having not worn the watch for several days I was surprised to hear this but, she’s the professional, yes? After listening to Debbie explain to me how to properly wear and clean the watch as if I were a toddler with an expensive toy, I asked her to forgo the remainder of her well rehearsed lecture and just let me know If this was something she was going to be able to help me with or not.

It was then that Debbie told me that despite my complete incompetence she would benevolently send me another watch band, along with another copy of the care instructions that I followed the first time.

Of note: I had the feeling Debbie had taken a call like mine before so I asked her “I’m guessing you guys have had this issue before”, to which she sardonically replied “yes. “. Comforting to now I’m not the only schlemiel out here trying to navigate the intricacies of the modern wristwatch.

Former marathoner/half-marathoner, getting back into running after almost a 10 year hiatus. I used to have one of those huge, earlier model Garmins that was like a huge block on my wrist, but it was awesome for what it did.

I always hated chest straps but like to monitor heart rate during runs. I have an earlier model Mio, which is stylish and great for wrist heart rate alone, but no GPS. Had been using my Iphone for distance and pace, but I hate opening my phone case, finding the app, etc.

to check during a run. On training runs, I want to see 4 things and really only 4 things: distance, pace, heart rate and time. And I don’t want a chest strap any more. So I researched some (not enough) and settled for the Forerunner 45, knowing that the screens were customizable and, from the photos, it “looked” fairly stylish.

I was worried the face would be huge on my wrist, but the pictures are deceiving. The watch face itself is not that big at all. In fact, it is quite small and my wrists are not that big. Unfortunately, the watch band is also small – disproportionately small.

It therefore is not very stylish for a man. It seems flimsy and just looks a little weird. That said, it’s size and lack of weight make it unobtrusive during a run. The controls are not intuitive but if you can read a guide online, you can figure it out.

On a test run, the GPS linked up pretty quick. The wrist heart rate seemed pretty accurate, so the measuring functions seemed okay. The distance was about the same as my Iphone measured. However, the BIG drawbacks are: (1) you can customize the data fields on each running screen BUT YOU ONLY GET A MAX OF THREE DATA FIELDS per screen; and (2) there is no auto-scroll permitting you to move through two screens to get that 4th element of data.

This is entirely ridiculous because there is plenty of room for 4 data fields, and non-auto-scrolling is just dumb. (for example, you could make two running screens, one distance, heart rate, pace – and the other distance, time, pace, so only the middle value would change during an auto-scroll – but you can’t do that – you have to press a button to change the screen).

So, in short, if you want to glance down at your wrist during a run and see time, pace, distance and heart rate – you cannot do it without manipulation. The watch is lightly packed with some other “smartphone” features most people who buy it for running will never use.

The treadmill setting is totally inaccurate, particularly if you are not swinging your arms the entire walk or run. There is a calibration setting, but I am skeptical. The battery life seems fine. So, in short, the watch works fine, though a little clunky to set up and manipulate (note 5 buttons – I defy anyone to figure out and remember what they all do).

However, it is not a “pure” runner’s watch like the older Garmins. The wrist band is WAY to narrow for a man’s style and disproportionate to the watch face size. For the price, it is what it is, and I will use this for my runs – not ideal but the best for what I have right now.

However, I wish I had been a little more patient and shopped around for something more streamlined for running. If you’re someone who is not a quasi-serious runner and are looking for something with those functions and is also a wearable, this might fit the bill.

But the key features are the wrist heart rate and GPS, which really only make sense for outdoor runs (or walks), and if you’re doing that, you’re probably more serious of a runner than this is a running watch.

Great cosmetic and functioning shape, but only 4-5 days battery life as a refurb versus 5-7 days advertised for new. Compared to my previous entry-level Forerunner 35, the 45 acquires GPS signal quicker (1-5 seconds versus 15-300 seconds), tracks location better (especially at the start of a run, eg doesn’t say I ran a 4-minute-mile in a circle for the first 10 seconds of a run), and provides more insight (eg sleep tracking, stress / body battery).

It’s not perfect as the sleep tracking fails, ie “unmeasurable”, for 30 minutes every night at random times unrelated to waking up or getting up, so it underestimates sleep by 30 minutes. It also poorly distinguishes between sleeping and simply lying in bed, so if you wake up 30 minutes early and lie in bed before getting up, then it counts that as sleep and overestimates your sleep by 30 minutes (requiring you to remember when you actually woke up and manually edit your sleep end time).

#sweepstakes.

Great watch for the price. Chose this over Coros Pace 2 for two main reasons. First, it has physical start/stop and lap buttons and it has been extremely helpful for interval training and while running on track (compared to the single scroll button on the coros).

The other is of course, music through spotify (you can also sync local music to spotify and then download it to the watch, so even audiobooks work! No phone needed), which is usful for long runs. One thing I was a bit concerned about was navigation during running on trails, but after doing it many times, I can confidently say that it works great.

I highly recommend downloading Komoot through the ConnectIQ store, the local region is unlocked for free!! but you can also make routes in the Garmin app or through Strava. That being said, now with the release of Garmin 255 (for which no music version exists), the price of this one would likely go a bit lower and it still would be an excellent value for price compared to the more expensive 255 which doesn’t have too many benefits over this.

6 more hours of gps battery life better UI are the major ones in my opinion. Power metrics for Garmin watches around this price are still not there unlike Coros pace 2 (which is also available at a great price here, making it a very viable choice if you don’t mind the lack of physical buttons and the lack of a website to check your training data with a slightly more basic app).

For me, this is 4. 5 stars at the current price and would probably go higher if the price gets dropped more in the near future.

I normally use a Swiss Automatic to tell the time, so a sports watch with its myriad functions was a big change for me. I adapted rapidly. A week or two and I totally embraced it. It’s easy enough to set up and get to know straightaway.

I found the phone app easy and intuitive to use and full of useful information. Watch and app connect sweetly. The watch itself is very customizable so you can really tweek it to your own specific needs.

I use it manly for running, cycling and swimming, but I’ve set up yoga workouts and track long walks as well. It’s a bit hit-and-miss with outdoors swimming, for which I had to create a custom workout, but I find it quite accurate for running & rides.

Connecting to Strava was a breeze. It’s a great little motivator & I found the training programs useful too. I count to beat my 10k and half-marathon times with it. It charges really quickly and looks good on my wrist (not too big or bulky compared to the Swiss Automatic at least).

I liked the bendiness in the silicone strap, easy to wear snug but not tight. Overall, after 2 months, I am very happy.

This watch does a great job of tracking your exercise and providing *detailed* information about it. It’s honestly great if you’re looking for a very outdoors/exercise-oriented watch. Here are the reasons why I’m personally returning it for an Apple Watch: -For the price, I think it should do more and be more accurate overall.

Not just with exercise stuff, but with every other feature it offers -I found the watch and the Garmin app generally kinda buggy, and Garmin doesn’t seem very responsive about fixing these bugs. -The lifestyle measurements (e.

g. sleep tracking, high heartrate warning) were not always accurate. For example: I was awake for well over an hour the other night, but the app said I was awake for 7 minutes. The alarm also started going off a separate time telling me I was experiencing a dangerously high heartrate, but it was sitting on my bedside table and I wasn’t even wearing it -There’s no touchscreen on this, and the physical buttons are hard to intuitively figure out.

The medical assistance alarm was triggered when I naturally hopped off my bike, and I had no idea how to stop it as I randomly pressed any and all of the buttons in a panic -The screen brightness is also really dim because the watch is designed to be viewed outside.

There’s no option on the 245 to increase the brightness, which is useful for when you’re indoors in a dark room, for example -There’s a Garmin store (in addition to the Garmin Connect app that you have to download) where you can install new watchfaces and stuff, but the designs aren’t great and a lot of them you have to pay extra for.

The Garmin Connect app, and the store app, aren’t very intuitive but they do the job. It’s just a pain if you’re an apple user to download yet another 2 apps to your phone I could go on, but generally I’m personally looking for more balance of a lifestyle watch, so this wasn’t the one for me.

GREAT though if you’re looking for something very outdoorsy/workout oriented, without all the bells and whistles of other watches.

It’s refurbished, so while it’s in perfect cosmetic and functional shape, it only gets 4-5 days per charge instead of advertised 5-7 days when new. Great improvement over entry-level Garmin Forerunner 35.

Acquires GPS signal in 1-5 seconds (versus 10-300 seconds), determines speed, distance, and location better at the start of a run (versus saying you ran in a circle at a 4-minute-mile pace for the first 10 seconds), and has sleep tracking (though far from perfect) and “body battery” / stress tracking (to keep your energy up throughout the day and have enough energy for a run in the evening).

Sleep tracking isn’t perfect: it says sleep was “unmeasurable” for 30 minutes every night at random times unrelated to waking up / getting up (so it underestimates your sleep by 30 minutes) and it doesn’t always track when you wake up (and thinks you are still sleeping when you lie in bed for 30 minutes trying to fall back asleep before getting up, so it overestimates your sleep by 30 minutes), requiring me to remember when I woke up and manually edit my sleep end time.

But as the refurb 45 cost the same as I paid for my 35 new, I think it’s a good deal (ie improved accuracy and more insight for less battery life). #sweepstakes.

This is my third Garmin watch. Compared to the older Garmins here are the advantages of this garmin: 1. Lighter 2. Smaller face 3. Picks up GPS signal quicker 4. syncs to your phone 5. provides pulse (without a chest strap) and VO2 Max estimate 6.

with Garmin Connect provides GPS map of route Why not 5 stars? Cons of watch 1. limited battery life. Running each day about 6 miles. I find after three days the Garmin needs to be recharged. I did purchase this item used so perhaps a new watch would have longer battery life Overall – a great buy refurbished at $100.

Great option and price. I wanted something straight forward to use without a ton of buzzers and whistles. This to me was it. It helps a lot with my runs. I would recommend this product to any novice or more advanced runner that is not interested in all the frills but just wants something straight forward to use.

Bought this watch for run+bike and bike+horse ride combos because of its multisport feature and long battery life. The long battery life saved me on multiday horse rides in wilderness, where there is no charging possibilities.

The watch offers a bunch of great features at really competitive price and with a good screen. The no-touch-screen is an ok tradeoff, even though as a left hander (wearing the watch on my right hand), using the buttons requires some hand twitching.

At first I had a couple of sync problems to Flow and had to reset the device, but they disappeared in continued use. Only thing I’m missing from this one is a trackback feature.

I debated between Garmin and Polar for a new running watch as I had been using Apple Watch. I finally made a decision and love it. I decided on this due to my focus on my HR. The integration with the chest strap and the Flow app are great.

Once I figured out the pairing and the GPS, it’s been a breeze. The available data is very helpful. The size of the watch is on the bigger side, which I love and the white band is well made. Looking forward to my training and progress with this watch.

Polar has always been geared a little more towards those that really want to dig through data and those that need a versatile watch that can give you individualized metrics for running, cycling, skiing etc.

They’ve also always done so in a way that feels like there’s just a bit out of touch with the sleek and stylish way that the wearables space has gone, and not without glitches in software/hardware. Finally, with the revival of the “Pacer Pro” name, they’ve nailed the package of extremely data and multi-sport focused while working seamlessly.

Accurate, connects easy, and packed with all the metrics you’d want. The barometer is a key addition as well.

I loveeee garmin! The gps accuracy is great for trail runs. I like the vo2 max function, stress measurement, energy measurement, and your progress. Getting this watch has helped me get better about working out.

This helps monitor my heart rate and sleep quality as well (:

In order to complete my current marathon training, I eventually came to the realization that a GPS watch was going to be essential. While distance and calorie information seemed helpful, my main goal was to find a reliable GPS watch that give me a quick read of my current and average pace as well as distance.

After spending an unseemly amount of time researching the reviews online for various GPS watches on the market, I realized that, in terms of extra features, higher price points may provide something extra.

But in terms of reliable pacing/distance information, even some of the highest priced products had reviews with folks saying both were all over the place. Finally, after consulting with my coach, I decided to give the Forerunner 10 a try.

Online, the watch seemed to have the most consistent positive reviews and this was actually the watch he used. I can report that after a few weeks of use I would absolutely recommend this watch for beginning runners, as well as those taking their running to the next level.

This may not be the best watch for those looking for heart rate data, but if all you’re looking for is reliable distance and pace – this is your watch. And that may be all you need. Further, it’s frankly pretty affordable compared to some of the other watches out there.

Just as a quick note for newbies using this watch or for those never having used a GPS watch for pace – it does go all over the place initially. For the first half mile or so, give it time to accurately capture your pace.

And also realize that if it is wildly varying it may actually be you, and not the watch, that is changing pace. Running at a consistent and sustained pace is a learned technique and you will learn it in time.

Just be sure for the first few weeks to check the pace on your watch every couple hundred feet to see if you need to speed up a little or slow down. If you’re like me, you’ll be flying at the beginning and the end, so that may be the first learning lesson right away.

Garmin Connect is a great tool to analyze your results. Also, there are a few online tools to export this data to Nike + if you’d like. All in all, probably the best there is in terms of a basic, reliable product of this kind!.

I have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis AKA Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), which by the way, researchers think is what Long COVID is. The best thing for this disease is to pace your energy expenditures and to try your best to stay within your “energy envelope.

” After extensive research about various heart rate monitors, I decided to try this one. It is rated as very accurate, it allows you to set customized heart rate zones, and most importantly, it has a function called Zone Lock which allows you to lock in one of those customized heart rate zones.

Whenever your heart rate leaves that zone, you get a vibration which continues until you get back into your zone. It has been INVALUABLE for helping me to pace and for helping me see patterns in my day and use of energy.

It is also loud enough that my family members hear it and know that I am overexerting myself. I would definitely recommend this watch for anyone with ME/CFS or Long COVID. Anyone with Long COVID should check out the many resources the ME/CFS patient and physician community have put together on pacing and living with this condition (just do a google search).

Extremely easy to set-up, you connect the watch with the USB cable provided, which triggers the download of the Polar sync utility, which opens up a web browser session to set up a new Polar Flow account -if you already have one, you sign up, then the watch ID is linked to your account for future exercise downloads.

GPS is very accurate, it does not work 100% when you are running in streets with tall buildings on both sides, but it does work any other time. I don’t know which GPS satellites it uses but I have not yet been to an area where it didn’t acquire the GPS signal, and I go to some remote parks to run on trails.

What has really impressed me is the Polar Flow software, which allows you to set up training programs, daily schedule of exercises, view progress towards goals, graphs, it even connects automatically to my TrainingPeaks account, that means each time I download a workout into Polar Flow it does it to TP as well.

Amazing! The strap is far superior to any other watch I’ve used (Nike, Garmin, Adidas). Very comfortable watch to use. You can wear the watch while you sleep, if you turn on the 24 hour HR tracker feature and you get a sleep analysis (how long you slept, how disturbed your sleep is, periods of deep sleep, and more).

I liked it so much that I went and bought a Polar Scale to better track my weight loss program. Best exercise watch I’ve owned, far better than any other from Polar.

I’ve used Polar products for 25 years–maybe longer. In my opinion, they just keep getting better. I had an M400 and became interested in getting the optical monitor so I could get rid of the chest strap.

When I priced what I would need to do this, I decided to spend a little more and get the M430 and have everything all together. I’m so glad I did. I love the support and data monitoring available through the free Polar app for the iPhone plus the online Polar Flow system that gives me more insight on what is going on with my ticker.

These two systems also cooperate with the M430 to guide my exercise program and encourage me to stretch my goals. I’m not always faithful to my program but Polar is. I find the optical heart rate measurements to be consistently accurate as verified independently at my doctor’s office, a separate heart rate measuring app on my iPhone, various blood pressure measurements that I take, and so on.

When I first wore the M430, I had it on my wrist but then read the directions which advised that better measurements are obtained when it is worn off the wrist, a little toward the elbow. I made the change immediately and the system immediately became super consistent.

I’ve marked the wristband so that I can keep it snug during vigorous exercise but then back it off one hole to a more comfortable position for most of the time. The heart rate readings are very consistent for either position.

The strap on the M430 is much better designed than the one on the M400. Charging is very easy and fast with no protective port cover to struggle with. My vision is not the best and the watch face is clear and easily readable.

You can vary the set up for your activity and customize what you want to see for each. The watch records detailed activity data when you ask it to but records less detailed data at all other times, including sleep data.

Syncing the data to your phone also syncs it to Polar Flow. Sometimes I forget to sync but I’ve never lost data. I don’t know how much the watch can hold. The GPS gets better with each watch I’ve purchased over the last ten or so years.

I walk a daughter’s new dog while she is at work and I send her copies of the routes we take so she can visualize what we were up to–including the spots where the dog refuses to go further and we have to turn around.

So, yes!, I love this watch and all its features.

Bought the blue version of the Instinct Solar. I come from as a long time Fitbit watch owner and a more recent Apple Watch owner. My original Fitbit is the Fitbit Versa (1st generation), which is square shaped and fairly simple tech.

It provided what I needed, which were steps, date and time, water proof for common usage. It allowed me around 3 days’ worth of battery life. It is square shaped. It was free from work, otherwise, it would not have been my first choice for a watch.

I bought my wife an Apple Watch Series 6 to wear, but after several months she stopped wearing it and went back to her own Fitbit watch. She explained she was tired of having to recharge the Apple Watch every day.

She preferred her Fitbit watch that lasted 6 days before a recharge. I took the Apple Watch thinking I would make better use out of it as a techie, but I also ran into the issue of it required a recharge every day or every 1.

5 days at most. It was not recommended by Apple to be worn while showering even though if you go swimming Apple states that is acceptable. I literally was afraid of looking at the Apple Watch Series 6 due to the battery drain.

The inconvenience of having to remember to charge the watch before I sleep to monitor my sleep, remembering to take the watch off before jumping into the shower, and multiple other issues just wore me down too.

The sleep data for Apple Watch Series 6 is nothing close to Fitbit sleep data and anything more advanced, you have to buy from third party app developers. I could not find anything free that was similar to Fitbit and especially not something where you could just pay a one time fee.

I preferred a circle shaped watch anyways. I did some research on what was available out there that would not cost an arm and leg to purchase but had all the bells and whistle. My criteria were: – Long battery life.

– Steps count, heart rate, sleep monitoring. – Some kind of GPS feature. – Not super expensive, but not a cheap throw-away watch either. – Can take a little bit beating but doesn’t have to be military grade ruggedness.

– Circle watch and looks good (obviously). I know that “smartwatches” will not last as long as a non-smartwatch, unless the battery replacement is simple, LCD screen will last for a long time, etc. This Garmin Instinct Solar seems to fit all my wishes at this price range.

The battery life is crazy good, I mean enable everything including the pulse ox and you should get at least a week+ worth of battery life easily. This is with the watch not absorbing any sunlight at all.

It has a simple GPS, nothing fancy, but I bike ride and will be using an external dedicated GPS device for routes. I just want something for casual hiking and biking, nothing serious. I can wear this to sleep, the sleep data mimics close to Fitbit’s details.

Really nice and it’s built-in to the watch, you do not have to make a separate purchase. I do not know how accurate ANY of the watches’ heart rate are, but wearing the Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Garmin working out, the rates show to be within 15 beats of each other.

Take that for what its worth, I don’t need the accuracy for any critical medical monitoring conditions. I read that external heart rate monitor strap would make the readings accurate, so I am considering to get that should I need it later (5K/10K running, etc).

There’s a lot of other features from this watch that I have not yet used, so that is just a bonus goodie for me. I have used Garmin to connect to Strava, the data recorded is great and as expected (same with Apple Watch and Fitbit), no complaints there.

I wear this watch showering, sleeping and everything in between. The recharge of the watch is fast too, if I am standing around working, I plug in the watch and I think within 30 minutes I can get a full charge from 50% (I never really paid attention how long it takes to fully charge).

There’s got to be something not that great about this watch, you ask? Otherwise, why the 4 stars instead of 5 stars? Yes, the PULSE OX feature is a bit flaky. At night, it seems to measure the oxygen level all over the range.

As log as 80, and as high as 100. I wore the Apple Watch Series 6 and my wife’s Fitbit Luxe, they all had above 90 range. Now, one thing I am starting to realize is how you need to wear the Garmin Instinct Solar and online research also confirms.

You have to wear the watch higher on the wrist, it cannot be loose. When you sleep, just slide it up the wrist and make sure it’s tightly pressed against your skin. I need a few more sample nights to test, but I had one night where it was 85 or higher, the next night it was 90 or higher.

I’ll sleep on it a few more nights and then see, but looks hopeful now that I have the watch tightened a bit more against the skin. If you measure the Pulse Ox manually, it is always 95 or higher, this is as expected.

Overall, highly recommended watch. I would buy again!.

I bought this watch to replace an old 735XT which was no longer doing a good job of measuring my open water swims. The GPS would just crap out and freeze and stop measuring my distance. That watch was almost 10 years old so I figured it was just worn out.

So I spend time researching on the Garmin site which watches can measure open water swimming. I ended up spending at least $100 more than I would have specifically to get this functionality. Unfortunately, I discovered that the problem I had with my old watch wasn’t just about it being worn out — the same problem exists in my brand new Garmin Instinct Solar.

I bought it before the current markdown, so I paid over $400 for a watch that cannot measure one of the activities I bought it to measure. Meanwhile, my friends are swimming in more attractive Apple watches — sure their battery life sucks, but I CAN’T EVEN MEASURE MY SWIMS.

Unfortunately, I am past the return date (bought it two months ago). I received a reply from Garmin Support with questions like: “Are you utilizing the built-in “Open Swim” activity? Is the watch above the water when you begin the activity?” They also sent a link to a list of recommendations including: “Wear the watch in a swim cap.

” Finally, this is the third Garmin I have owned — I had a 735XT and a Vivosmart — and by far the least attractive.

I had been waiting for a smartwatch like this and, at last, it has arrived. This is an excellent (and rugged) smartwatch with a great battery life, for real. Its built-in GPS and impressive list of features are just what I was looking for.

I don’t want to be worrying about needing to frequently re-charge the watch – Even without the Solar Charging feature contributing to its battery life (I may need to wait until the stronger sun of a UK summer before that kicks in), with the features I have set as active on this watch I get around 3 weeks before a re-charge is needed.

Oximetry readings, Heart rate monitoring, Step counts are just some of the options available. The screen may be black & white rather than colour, but that ensures that it is very clear to read in all lighting conditions.

The navigation between available screens and options becomes intuitive after a learning period. I am not a serious sports enthusiast – it does all I need and more – I am sure it would also be suitable for those wanting to accurately track their more varied sporting activities.

Thoroughly recommended, particularly if reduced in price in a promotion such as a Black Friday deal.

The hardware is excellent, English version of software not so much. The feature set of this watch is extensive for the price. The GPS tracking is excellent for tracking walks and runs and seems very accurate.

It’s a larger watch, but is not overly bulky or heavy. The screen is always on and 4 days of battery life is average, with using GPS a few times. The English version of the software is not very good and only syncs runs to Strava.

You can download the Chinese version of software, which is in english and syncs to Google fit. I really enjoy this watch and recommend it, as long as you use the Chinese software.

This is great watch and I highly recommend someone who cant buy Apple Watch like me. Good but Too expensive. This is great watch. Continues heart rate monitor is great feature. Still battery goes 6-7 days.