GPS Fitness Watch Suggestions

King Tones

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Hi All,
I am looking to upgrade my Fitbit Charge 2 to a proper GPS Fitness Watch.
I have started to do more rides and also started Couch To 5K so a little bit of running.
Have found my Fitbit no longer syncs that well and drops signal often so GPS Connect is not that accurate.

I have been looking at the Garmin Watches and think I am set on one of them but there seems to be so much choice.
I have a budget of about £250 and will be looking to do Running, Cycling and Gym Work plus Spinning and Treadmill.

I was initially looking at the Garmin 235 as that seemed to get great reviews but looks like it is quite old now and the newer 245 seems to have a lot more features.
I liked the look of the Vivoactive 3 but not a fan of the single button and touch screen. Find with running with my Fitbit it does not work as well.

Any suggestions or would the 245 Forerunner cover everything ?
 
Any suggestions or would the 245 Forerunner cover everything ?

245 is a very capable watch for the price, plenty of good features to cover what you'll be using it for, and you'll get plenty of useful info from it when it syncs your data to Garmin Connect. Can also be used for pool swimming lap & stroke count, pool size setting etc. if you start adding some swimming to your fitness plan.

Good luck with the running & cycling :)
 
I've got an Huawei Watch 2 sport and it's been good; never experienced any GPS drop-outs for cycling/running and all the readings seem pretty accurate. Also has a sim-card slot, so you can leave your phone at home, should you wish & still be in contact with anyone. Don't know how the different training options compare to Garmin etc, but it's a little limited on activities (outdoor/indoor run or cycle, fat-burning, cardio or other).
 
I've had the forerunner 235 for nearly 2 years now and cannot fault it. great battery life, do about 5 hours a week of GPS tracking and only charge about once a week. Only think it lack for me is swimming mode which i think the 245 has. My mate has the touch screen garmin and it is a pain to do lap splits. DC rain make is the place to read up about the watches, Garmin Forerunner 245 Music GPS Watch In-Depth Review
 
I've got a Ticwatch Pro and it's been very good, I use it at the gym all the time, Google Fit is pretty good, plus the Ticwatch installed fitness software isn't bad either.
The other plus is that it looks like a normal watch
 
Posted in the cycling thread in GC but also putting here too so it may help others, the recommendations/reviews by DC Rainmaker are pretty good:


He makes a very good point, maybe wait for Black Friday as there are usually good discounts on sports tech.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, ended up with a load of Amazon Vouchers so thought I would treat myself to the Forerunner 245 Music and very impressed so far.
I was just going to get the normal 245 but then thought with riding and gym work I could use it with a Wireless Earbud and not worry about my phone.

Did a run yesterday and a few rides commuting to work and very impressed with the GPS and Tracking.
So much customisation and stats and screens to look at.
Impressed with the Garmin App & IQ App Also.

So far very happy with my purchase.

IMG_20191015_123306.jpg

IMG_20191015_140144.jpg
 
I was going to suggest the Polar vantage M, I've just bought one, great bit of kit.
 
I was going to suggest the Polar vantage M, I've just bought one, great bit of kit.

I honestly didn't realise there was so much choice when I started looking so I had to make the decision to make a choice of brand and narrow it down. I know a few people with Garmin ones so had very good feedback on them and they seemed to tick all the boxes plus lots and lots more.

Started off looking at the Forerunner 30/35 and then all off a sudden I'm reading reviews for a Fenix 5 and loads of others so had to stop looking and stick with Garmin and the initial few I looked at.

I could of been looking for months if I looked at other brands....:D
 
QQ - my wife is looking at changing her Apple Watch 3 to something like a Garmin as she is getting GPS drop outs and poor battery life.
She syncs with Nike+ app on her iPhone and I've heard that you can sync Garmin's with Nike+ as well (hopefully using her same account). Is this possible?

@King Tones - are you still happy with your Forerunner?

Thanks in advance
 
QQ - my wife is looking at changing her Apple Watch 3 to something like a Garmin as she is getting GPS drop outs and poor battery life.
She syncs with Nike+ app on her iPhone and I've heard that you can sync Garmin's with Nike+ as well (hopefully using her same account). Is this possible?

@King Tones - are you still happy with your Forerunner?

Thanks in advance

I can't see anything via the Garmin Connect app but she should be able to check her Nike+ App and see it under Partnerships or 3rd Party Apps and it should connect fine.

Very happy with mine so far. Have been impressed with the Battery Life also. Easily getting 6+ days of life out of it using all smart functions with a daily commute on the bike and a couple of runs all using GPS.
 
QQ - my wife is looking at changing her Apple Watch 3 to something like a Garmin as she is getting GPS drop outs and poor battery life.
She syncs with Nike+ app on her iPhone and I've heard that you can sync Garmin's with Nike+ as well (hopefully using her same account). Is this possible?

@King Tones - are you still happy with your Forerunner?

Thanks in advance
Had a quick google and it sound like support was added in 2015, you need to connect your nikeplus account to you garmin account on the nikeplus site, (i can't check any further as i don't have nikeplus). Sounds like it works like strava and smashrun both of those website pull garmin runs off garmin connect once linked.
 
Had a quick google and it sound like support was added in 2015, you need to connect your nikeplus account to you garmin account on the nikeplus site, (i can't check any further as i don't have nikeplus). Sounds like it works like strava and smashrun both of those website pull garmin runs off garmin connect once linked.

Thanks - will take a look :)

EDIT - yep, seems easy to connect the Garmin to it. That's great, might have to get one myself to replace my even older Apple Watch 2...
 
The Garmin came into its own today.
Decided to do a run today so grabbed my shorts, trainers and t-shirt before riding to work.
Not ran for 3 weeks so wanted to get back to it before Xmas.

Problem was I forgot to grab a cycling top and shorts with pockets which I normally use for my Phone and did not want to carry my phone in my hand.
I use it for Music and the Couch to 5K App.

So I loaded up Garmin Connect and created a Run Workout using the same steps for C25K and then got my Running Playlist from Spotify onto the Garmin Forerunner. Connected my Bluetooth Headphones and set off for a run with ease without my phone.

I would of probably skipped the run if it wasn't for the Forerunner so that's money well spent.
 
The Garmin came into its own today.
Decided to do a run today so grabbed my shorts, trainers and t-shirt before riding to work.
Not ran for 3 weeks so wanted to get back to it before Xmas.

Problem was I forgot to grab a cycling top and shorts with pockets which I normally use for my Phone and did not want to carry my phone in my hand.
I use it for Music and the Couch to 5K App.

So I loaded up Garmin Connect and created a Run Workout using the same steps for C25K and then got my Running Playlist from Spotify onto the Garmin Forerunner. Connected my Bluetooth Headphones and set off for a run with ease without my phone.

I would of probably skipped the run if it wasn't for the Forerunner so that's money well spent.

That's what I liked about my Apple Watch, just pickup and go but it's so temperamental with runs and poor battery I've decided to look at getting the Garmin Vivoactive 3 music tomorrow. Currently £180 @ Argos so seems a decent price. The wife is going for the Forerunner 245 music tomorrow as well - basically we are waiting to see if price drops at all but will get them anyway.

Been watching a lot of videos on the Garmins and have to say as slick as the Apple Watch is these generally look better and perform a lot, lot better than the Apple ones :)

Now need to find some reasonable truly wireless ear buds to replace my old ones.
 
That's what I liked about my Apple Watch, just pickup and go but it's so temperamental with runs and poor battery I've decided to look at getting the Garmin Vivoactive 3 music tomorrow. Currently £180 @ Argos so seems a decent price. The wife is going for the Forerunner 245 music tomorrow as well - basically we are waiting to see if price drops at all but will get them anyway.

Been watching a lot of videos on the Garmins and have to say as slick as the Apple Watch is these generally look better and perform a lot, lot better than the Apple ones :)

Now need to find some reasonable truly wireless ear buds to replace my old ones.

The App and Watch are very good. A lot to customise and do.

A woman I work with had the Vivoactive 3 and she swears by it and had it since launch and done loads of sportifs and various other things with it. I was going to initially go for it but wanted something with more buttons rather than touchscreen.

My wife is now eying up the Forerunner 45
 
The App and Watch are very good. A lot to customise and do.

A woman I work with had the Vivoactive 3 and she swears by it and had it since launch and done loads of sportifs and various other things with it. I was going to initially go for it but wanted something with more buttons rather than touchscreen.

My wife is now eying up the Forerunner 45

Which earbuds do you have?

The Vivoactive 3 seems to be the best transition form my Apple Watch as I like the touch screen and only really need it for running (with decent battery life) and I think it looks nicer than the Apple Watch as well.

There's also a great deal on the 245 music with Aftershokz Trekz headphones for £299
 
I've got the 645 music and love it

had an older rectangular vivoactive before and loved that. battery was actually better

I don't know the model numbers, but I think the entry vivoactive is only one button, so actually when running and sweaty makes things harder. but I can't recommend garmin enough out of the other options. has a good backing with software updates, customiseable and not gimmicky like apple, although i'm an apple iPhone owner. battery on most new ones will last about a week pending usage, but walk, run, ride, indoor features Garmin are a great option
 
Which earbuds do you have?

The Vivoactive 3 seems to be the best transition form my Apple Watch as I like the touch screen and only really need it for running (with decent battery life) and I think it looks nicer than the Apple Watch as well.

There's also a great deal on the 245 music with Aftershokz Trekz headphones for £299

I got the Enacfire Future Plus Wireless Earbuds. Got them in a Amazon Deal for £30 and been very impressed with them so far.

They are currently on sale but they are on sale every few weeks.


Sound for me is decent and they fit perfectly and don't feel like they are going to fall out and the little case is great for charging them plus I can charge my phone and watch using the case.
 
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I got the Enacfire Future Plus Wireless Earbuds. Got them in a Amazon Deal for £30 and been very impressed with them so far.

They are currently on sale but they are on sale every few weeks.


Sound for me is decent and they fit perfectly and don't feel like they are going to fall out and the little case is great for charging them plus I can charge my phone and watch using the case.

Thanks - look good. Saw hundreds of different makes for similar price - almost impossible to choose but I'll check these ones out :)

Not sure there's a need to spend £100+ on something just for running for me.
 
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Was going to order those earbuds this morning but they've gone up in price so will see if they drop again.

Vivoactive 3 music ordered for myself and ordered the Forerunner 245 music for the wife at a pretty decent £239 :)
 
@King Tones Just want to say thanks for letting me hijack your thread and the advice you gave :smashin:
I got my Vivoactive 3 and love it - yes the screen is like a 90's mobile phone but the wealth of information is mindblowing and it tracks runs fantastically. The battery is obviously the big winner though over my Apple watch and actually think it looks nicer.

The wife got her Forerunner 245 music and loves that as well - just getting used to the buttons. Also I did pickup those Enacfire earbuds and tried them last night. Wasn't sure at first as felt like they might fall out but no issues on a 5km run

All in all very happy and glad to say goodbye to my Apple Watch :)
 
@King Tones Just want to say thanks for letting me hijack your thread and the advice you gave :smashin:
I got my Vivoactive 3 and love it - yes the screen is like a 90's mobile phone but the wealth of information is mindblowing and it tracks runs fantastically. The battery is obviously the big winner though over my Apple watch and actually think it looks nicer.

The wife got her Forerunner 245 music and loves that as well - just getting used to the buttons. Also I did pickup those Enacfire earbuds and tried them last night. Wasn't sure at first as felt like they might fall out but no issues on a 5km run

All in all very happy and glad to say goodbye to my Apple Watch :)

Nice, glad you are liking the watches and earbuds.
Yeah I have been very impressed with the battery life on mine. 7+ Days easily with Daily Commute Rides with GPS and 2/3 runs a week.

Found the earbuds fine for me so far, I did have the larger buds in and they did feel like they might fall out but I switched to the medium ones and they feel a lot better. Still after running a bit they do feel loose but a little nudge and then they are fine I find.
Battery life, sound and charging pod for £30 make them a bargain imo.

No doubt if I get more into running then I might invest in a better pair but very happy with them at the moment on my Couch To 5K journey !!
 

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