Both my wife and I run. We both have a Garmin. My wife has a Garmin 220 forerunner which she bought in 2016. It is ok but sometimes takes long time to find the GPS signal. To be honest I think that such a product should work fine without problems for many years but I think it will only last another year or so which I feel makes it poor value for money. I bought a Garmin 235 forerunner in 2018 and it works fine but my understanding is that the data is not accurate for the heart rate monitor. The 235 has a wrist based monitor as opposed to a belt monitor. If you just want the basics then go for a cheaper model that gives you the basics. I only bought mine to track times for distances but don t really use it for much else, probably because my wife uses hers for pacing ect so I dont really need one except for races/events where she runs a lot faster than me or we are visiting our families separately. Garmin and sunnto are very durable watches and have models in all price ranges. I think the forerunner 200 series covers all the bases for most runners so unless you are very interested in data analysis and intend to use that data to become a better runner I would not spend more than 150-200 euro and probably best to get one with a belt based heart monitor as opposed to a wrist based monitor.
Another vote for the Garmin Fenix series. After getting a 5x, I was hooked. Currently sporting a 5 Plus model, and considering the 6 (bought the 5+ just 2 months before the release announcement, grrr!). I find the mapping feature very handy (used it a few times to route when my phone was dead or missing), but the heartrate monitor (accurate even without the chest strap!) and long battery life sold me. Between my watch and a change to my eating habits, I've lost nearly 1/3 of my weight in the last 16 months. Same level of exercise as before, but it was all-important to know how many calories I was taking in and burning off.
Too old to care about heart rate. Just care about intervals between weight lifting sets, how long I’ve been out cycling, skiing or power walking and expendability. I hate digital displays. If this gets wrecked I don’t care...But I do want to get a hand held GPS unit for sailing.
I bought the G-Shock GBA800 to wear when working out. As I already wear a polar heart-rate monitor on my chest, I don't need this in a watch anymore. What I do need is a good interval timer, which very few smart watches (FitBit, Polar, Garmin) have. The GPS on my G-Shock works pretty well, too. One drawback is the slow and repetitive bluetooth pairing—this makes using the app a little tedious.
I wear my bb58 to the gym (mostly barbell work and rowing). It's useless for timing, intervals and everything else but I enjoy staring at it between sets.
I have always used a good old-school Timex Ironman for years, for both running and on the bike (Trek Madone). +/- $40 at Walmart. I don’t feel the need for a GPS - I always know where I am, and the bike computer tells me cadence, the time and temperature, how fast I’m going, and how far I have gone. Actually, I see a trend where a lot of guys are ditching their handlebar-mounted computers and now just enjoy the ride. Not being a slave to the computer is very liberating.
I’m checking in to see what the health crowd are wearing. I’m interested in a Wellness watch. They all have the exercising basics (speed, distance, etc) and I’d like something that also tracks hear rate, sleep cycles and preferably SpO2. I’d like to stay away from the Apple Watch, just because. The Fitbits seem to check all the boxes but requires a subscription. TAG have a very nice Connected E4 but it’s pricey for something that will eventually be obsolete. I need to research the Mont Blanc. Any recommendations from the Wellness crowd?
anything "connected": NEVER ! I use a simple and small garmin vivosport and I chose it that way ( I can use the watch unconnected with some restrictions) on purpose. So I am not part of the sheeple...
Garmin Fenix 7 -- overkill for just about everything, but works well. Cos I don't really regard it as a watch I don't have a wrist shot
I keep thinking about picking up a Garmin or maybe a simpler 'smart watch' that has an accurate pedometer in it. But, I'm wondering: how useful are the biometrics for everyone's training and your daily life? I compete in powerlifting, and so I get a good amount of data just from how much I'm lifting. I don't think the heart rate information would be that useful to me. I do count calories and macros daily, so maybe a pedometer would help me dial in my intake on days that I'm extra active?
I use the vivosport for jogging (distance and pulse). Indoor for the concept-indoor rowing and (cross-country)skiing, because there is no pulse-measuring included in the grips.
How useful it will be depends on what you want/ need to track (not to be condescending). My best friend was an accomplished powerlifter while in college, and lifted seriously for quite a while after. The only useful training info he seemed to need was the amount of weight, as you indicated. He track data when he biked and hiked, but it was not related at all to powerlifting. It was to track his own improvements, log distances, etc. for those particular activities.
I've a Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire, which I use for mountain biking, running and fitness. It does a good job in combination with other Garmin products like a scale, a running pod, a hearth rate belt and even with my Bontrager bike lights. In combination with the Garmin connect app and apps like Komoot, Strava,....you will get a lot of information. The battery life is very good (appr. 14 days). For mountain biking and running I think it's very useful, but for fitness, other as cardio training, I'am not convinced.
Can you completely disable Bluetooth? I've looked so much for a simple non-Bluetooth fitness tracking watch that isn't total junk.
bluetooth is OFF in standard - BUT: I have no smartfon (really!, and no TV, no credit-card ) and use the watch only during sport. There is no "equipment" in my house or car that fits any bluetooth.... (You can find the user-manual on www. and look there, how the watch works.It s easy to learn....)