Best smartwatch/fitness band for Strava

PeteinSQ

I've just started doing some running in addition to cycling and was thinking of getting a fitness band of some sort to record my runs (so I don't have to carry my phone with me), and if I had one for this I'd also use it for cycling.

Does anyone have a smart watch or fitness band that they use for this sort of purpose?

I've already got a garmin 800 so don't want another one of those.

smudgerii

Vivoactive

fat daddy

I use a tomtom spark ... I use it for cycling, running and swimming .. and it holds music ... best bit though, completely reliable. syncs to its own app on iphone or PC which uploads to the cloud and the cloud sysncs it to strava

the only downside is its looks are dated .. but I like that, it doesn't stand out, its not bling, it fits under a shirt cuff AND its not touch screen which means it works submerged or with gloves on .. hell I have even used my nose (then again touchscreen works with nose as well)

homers_double

I'll keep an eye on this as MrsHD wants something similar but without the manly looks.

Think Fitbit charge HR but with GPS tracking for running.

lostboysaint

Garmin Forerunner. Some brilliant deals on the 610 and 620 kicking around at the moment as they are superceded but still excellent. If you want pretty colours, get the 630!

PeteinSQ

If I had a Garmin Forerunner what is the process for syncing to Strava? Do I have to connect it to a computer or will it sync to my phone via bluetooth and then to Strava?

tangled_metal

Fitbit surge might suit. HR plus GPS and smartphone.connection. Syncs to Fitbit app and Strava.

lostboysaint

My 610 uses Ant+ and Connect - can't comment on later models. Simple and straightforward.

cruff

The bands are all absolutely useless for monitoring HR, if that's what you're after. Better to pair a real HRM (chest strap) with a Garmin forerunner or similar

PeteinSQ

I'm not too bothered about heart rate. More speed and GPS.

Tiesetrotter

Very happy with my Vivoactive. Looks aren't the greatest, although the latest one does look a lot better. Lot's of functionality even if you ignore the text and email alerts. Pairs with all the normal stuff HRM, Speed, Power, cadence. I got my old one with a discount code at £135.

bendertherobot

I carry my 520

shmooster

Vivoactive HR for me, though generally i use my Garmin 510 to track rides as you can see the data whilst riding. Handy to have the vivoactive if I don't have the Garmin, like if I rent a Boris bike or something. Battery life is excellent, a week or more when not using GPS. Step and stair tracking and heart rate also very useful.

Edit: pretty sure it doesnt do power, but it will pair with speed/cadence etc.

smudgerii

shmooster wrote:

Vivoactive HR for me, though generally i use my Garmin 510 to track rides as you can see the data whilst riding. Handy to have the vivoactive if I don't have the Garmin, like if I rent a Boris bike or something. Battery life is excellent, a week or more when not using GPS. Step and stair tracking and heart rate also very useful.

Edit: pretty sure it doesnt do power, but it will pair with speed/cadence etc.

Which cadence sensor do you use with it?

shmooster

Smudgerii wrote:

shmooster wrote:

Vivoactive HR for me, though generally i use my Garmin 510 to track rides as you can see the data whilst riding. Handy to have the vivoactive if I don't have the Garmin, like if I rent a Boris bike or something. Battery life is excellent, a week or more when not using GPS. Step and stair tracking and heart rate also very useful.

Edit: pretty sure it doesnt do power, but it will pair with speed/cadence etc.

Which cadence sensor do you use with it?

I've got the Garmin speed and cadence sensor, but I'd expect any ANT+ sensor would work.

Man Of Lard

PeteinSQ wrote:

If I had a Garmin Forerunner what is the process for syncing to Strava? Do I have to connect it to a computer or will it sync to my phone via bluetooth and then to Strava?

Depends which Forerunner model you're talking about - some require a hard connection to a PC/Mac; some can do BlueTooth via a phone; some can do it directly via wireless network... some can do one to three of those...

Always though your data goes first to GarminConnect and is then synced across to Strava.

PK1

The vivoactive HR also records at 1 second intervals which is much more accurate for strava.

buckmulligan

PK1 wrote:

The vivoactive HR also records at 1 second intervals which is much more accurate for strava.

You're confusing accuracy with sampling rate there. It could sample at a million-times-a-second but it doesn't mean it's accurate.

Man Of Lard

PK1 wrote:

The vivoactive HR also records at 1 second intervals which is much more accurate for strava.

So do most Forerunners, Edges, Fenix 3,... But having more values sampled means sod all if they're inaccurate.

super_davo

I've gone through a few wrist GPS devices over the years, a Forerunner 305, TomTom Multisport and now I have a Vivoactive.
I think it's a gem of a device. Really small, you can easily wear it all day every day, gives me all the data I need for swimming and running. I don't use for cycling as I too have a Garmin 800, though I have and it worked fine. I can use my existing Ant+ HR monitor, cadence sensor etc. It syncs automatically with my phone showing texts, e-mails, notifications etc, and uploads all runs/swims/rides automatically to Garmin connect and Strava. Can run apps which extend the base functionality.
I got it for £100, which is a good price for a smart watch, and a great price with all the sports features. I don't think the Vivoactive HR is an improvement, it's just bigger, worse battery life, and more expensive.

alexchung

I use a Vivoactive for running, gym workouts and then a Garmin 500 that is paired to a HR band and the Giant Ridesense to track my rides on the Road Bike.
Works pretty well for me and the Vivoactive is pretty subtle compared to some of the other smart watches out in the market.
Alex

PeteinSQ

Thanks for all the input, I'm going to get the non-HR Vivoactive. It will beat carrying my phone around on runs!

handful

I'm following this thread with interest as I'm in a similar position as you, currently carrying my 800 for runs! I was considering a Forerunner 10 which seems to do the basics well at half the cost of the Vivoactive as it's currently £52 at Decathlon. Does anyone have experience of both?

smudgerii

handful wrote:

I'm following this thread with interest as I'm in a similar position as you, currently carrying my 800 for runs! I was considering a Forerunner 10 which seems to do the basics well at half the cost of the Vivoactive as it's currently £52 at Decathlon. Does anyone have experience of both?

Sold the forerunner 10 to get a vivoactive. VA is just easy to use, better for everyday wear and offers more.

964cup

I've got a Fenix 3 HR; works very well, has excellent battery life (well over a week as a watch, over ten hours as a GPS tracker), good app integration. I changed the strap for a leather item with a deployment (same sizing as the larger Panerai, so easy to get hold of), so it looks less like geek wear and more like a watch. It is quite chunky; if that's not your thing then maybe a 935XT. I think the Vivoactive, while an excellent piece of kit from a tech perspective, is less attractive as an everyday wear item. I'm quite tempted by the new Fenix 3 dress watches, but they are quite dear.

PeteinSQ

I've got a Sinn watch so won't be wearing whatever I buy all the time so looks are not that important. Only when exercising I should think (which I know partly defeats the object of buying one).

964cup

I used to be a big watch-nut; then I got a Microsoft Band, which I wore on my other wrist for a while. Then I found I was looking at the band the whole time, not the chunk of Swiss stainless on my left wrist, and started wearing just the Band. A year later, I've sold almost all my watches and wear the Fenix all the time. I still have half-a-dozen decent watches, but can see myself selling those as well in the next six months; I haven't worn any of them for at least that long.

mills2510

I currently own a m400 from polar- daily activity like a fitbit and steps. However no constant HR measurement. They have just brought out a m600 which has this. For my HR I need the HRM on the chest.
Id like maybe a fenix or something similar but the cost of these is quite high!

shmooster

super_davo wrote:

I don't think the Vivoactive HR is an improvement, it's just bigger, worse battery life, and more expensive.

And measures your heart rate natively plus has a barometer and compass built in, battery life is better in GPS mode and still 8 days in smartwatch mode with 247 HR monitoring on.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/catalog ... uct=150767


It is a bit bigger, but I think having the HR sensor makes it worth it.

PeteinSQ

shmooster wrote:

And measures your heart rate natively plus has a barometer and compass built in, battery life is better in GPS mode and still 8 days in smartwatch mode with 247 HR monitoring on.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/catalog ... uct=150767


It is a bit bigger, but I think having the HR sensor makes it worth it.

Isn't it the case that the HR measurement in the HR version is done using your wrist (like the Fitbit) and isn't very accurate compared to a chest strap? I'm not really bothered about measuring my HR although sometimes like to see what my resting HR is.

amaferanga

Optical HR works..... until you start exercising. My tomtom runner has optical HR, but when I run it displays my run cadence instead of HR and on the bike it just displays random nonsense instead of HR. If I was bothered I could connect a chest strap. If you need HR during exercise then you need a watch that supports chest straps even if the watch has optical HR.