For those interested in Garmin devices, a lot of the major health insurance providers have some discounts with Garmin. In my case, on the "discounts" page of my insurance, there's a link to the Garmin website that gives you 20% on most "wellness" watches. The vivo, forerunners, and even the fenix are there. Unfortunately for me, it doesn't work for Edge devices (bike computers), which is what I'm likely buying later this year.
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Smart/Fitness Watches - Reviews, Opinions, and Recommendations
- Thread starter Lauren
- Start date
I need to upgrade my Vivosmart. I need GPS in particular for summer paddling. Fenix is out of my price range...Vivosmart 4 or Vivoactive 3?
I don't think the Vivosmart line has GPS. It's more of a Fitbit-style band with a step counter to calculate distance. That won't work for paddling.
Not sure which devices have paddling as built-in activities, but you should be able to record it as a run then switch in Garmin connect as discussed above.
Consider a refurbished Garmin from an authorized dealer to save a bit or to buy more features for the same money. I've bought refurbished from both gpscity.com and gpsnation.com with good success.
I'm still rocking a Vivoactive 3 which I got in 2017. I keep looking at the new stuff, but there's not enough of a change in the Vivoactive 4 to make me consider trading up. The Venu has a nice screen with more colour, but I'm still not swayed away.
Prices on the 3 are very good now, last I checked; Amazon.ca : vivoactive 3
Editting to add: Venu prices on Amazon look good now too.
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The Venu looks great, but what's the difference between the Venu and Vivoactive? Garmin has so many watches it's impossible to keep up.
One thing I'd suggest is to find one in a store (REI?) and try it on before buying. Some of Garmin's watches are rather large, especially for women. Many are also coming in smaller sizes as a result.
Not sure if you are aware, but you can continue to wear your Vivosmart along with any new Garmin you purchase. Your steps, 24 HR, sleep and all will sync up between the devices through Garmin Connect. I've got more Garmins than I'm willing to admit syncing together.
I just scored a Vivomove HR Premium for $40 from eBay to add to my Vivomove Premium I've been wearing for business. My Fenix doesn't fit under my dress shirts. The Vivomove series of watches are great as second dressier watches that also track your stuff. Not great as a primary watch for activity tracking, as the interface is limited.
One thing I'd suggest is to find one in a store (REI?) and try it on before buying. Some of Garmin's watches are rather large, especially for women. Many are also coming in smaller sizes as a result.
Not sure if you are aware, but you can continue to wear your Vivosmart along with any new Garmin you purchase. Your steps, 24 HR, sleep and all will sync up between the devices through Garmin Connect. I've got more Garmins than I'm willing to admit syncing together.
I just scored a Vivomove HR Premium for $40 from eBay to add to my Vivomove Premium I've been wearing for business. My Fenix doesn't fit under my dress shirts. The Vivomove series of watches are great as second dressier watches that also track your stuff. Not great as a primary watch for activity tracking, as the interface is limited.
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Exactly why I'm an currently sporting a Samsung. It's 1/2 the height off the wrist. But no GPS. My Garmin was the HR only, no GPS and that's what I need this summer.
I think the Forerunner 45s may be the smallest GPS watch they make, and it's relatively affordable:
buy.garmin.com
Garmin Forerunner® 45S | Running Watches
Forerunner® 45S running watches come in a variety of colors and; include smaller sized heart rate and wrist monitors and incident detection for select activities.
buy.garmin.com
Got a Venu Sq coming from a friend with connections...Can't beat the price.