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GPS Running Watch..

R

RWil85

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 2, 2010
587
170
This might be a stretch putting this in the iPhone accessories forum..

But, curious to see if anyone from MR has had a good experience with any GPS running watch?

Reviews on these seem to be so mixed - having a hard time narrowing down to a choice.

Only limitations would be that my budget is to keep it below around $300 (not going to spend $600 on a Fenix 3 - not on that level....yet).

Thanks!
 
Check out the vivoactive by Garmin, recent price drops, it is multi-sport, ability to connect ant+ external peripherals (heart rate, cadence, etc) and it is a decent looking watch (my opinion).

Check out the extensive review by dcrainmaker

Amazon link
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
If you're already accustomed to taking your iPhone with you on runs - adding an AppleWatch to the mix would do a lot.
 
RWil85 said:
This might be a stretch putting this in the iPhone accessories forum..

But, curious to see if anyone from MR has had a good experience with any GPS running watch?

Reviews on these seem to be so mixed - having a hard time narrowing down to a choice.

Only limitations would be that my budget is to keep it below around $300 (not going to spend $600 on a Fenix 3 - not on that level....yet).

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I bought a factory refurbished Garmin Fenix 2 on eBay for about $140. New, the Fenix 2 is now about $200 on Amazon. I have no complaints with how it works.
 
I' ve been using the Garmin Vivoactive since Xmas. Excellent watch. Totally reliable when painting with an iOS device.

Sure the online 'app store' for it is pretty lame - but - there are actually a few decent apps and watch faces - so that's kind of fun to check out once in a while.

Mine is setup to go through my Strava account for running and cycling. Works perfect.

So - yeah u can use it alone - and then upload later - or sometimes for fun I start the live tracking feature - take my phone with me - then it contacts my daughter and she can see me live, in real time on a map to see where I am cycling or running. I like that.
 
kch50428 said:
I don't know... but there's bound to be some who are accustomed to taking their iPhone with them...and those people can make use of the Watch capabilities.
Click to expand...
A 6 plus and a watch, ignoring the cost, don't seem to be that grea
G.McGilli said:
I' ve been using the Garmin Vivoactive since Xmas. Excellent watch. Totally reliable when painting with an iOS device.

Sure the online 'app store' for it is pretty lame - but - there are actually a few decent apps and watch faces - so that's kind of fun to check out once in a while.

Mine is setup to go through my Strava account for running and cycling. Works perfect.

So - yeah u can use it alone - and then upload later - or sometimes for fun I start the live tracking feature - take my phone with me - then it contacts my daughter and she can see me live, in real time on a map to see where I am cycling or running. I like that.
Click to expand...
Is there a good deal out there for the Garmin Vivoactive HR?
 
Vivoactive HR just came out, so I wouldn't expect any deals.

A watch as simple as a Forerunner 15 does an awful lot for just $100.

Step up to the Forerunner 230/235 or the Vivoactive HR and you get whole lot more features. Previous generation Vivoactive is also very well regarded and probably available for a deal right now. There is also some benefit to using older Garmin watches as their cutting-edge firmware tends to be pretty buggy.
 
Garmin Forerunner is excellent. I have the Forerunner 235, not only is it an accurate running watch but it also does all of the things that people like Apple Watch for, that is to say it handles notifications via bluetooth from your iPhone (texts, emails, calendar, alerts and phone calls).

The only downside is that the battery tends to last for about 9 days with a moderate amount of running (6 hours), so you won't be able to put your watch on charge every night ready for the morning.
If you turn off the 'under watch heart rate monitor' and the 'activity tracker' then you can get around 15 days out of it.

And best of all, leave your iPhone at home, you're running the last thing you want is to talk to someone! Have a look at the reviews on DCRainmakers site. If you know about Apple Watch and are new to GPS watches it will blow you away.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/11/garmin-fr230-fr235-review.html

Cost is £220 thats about $330 for you in the Trump country!
 
Forerunner 225 or 235. Both have built in heart rate monitor. Both have accelerometers. Both can be used as activity trackers.

I have the 225. Very comfortable and fairly accurate outdoors. I paid $225. With the new one out, you'll find good deals like this.
 
The Garmin Vovoactive seems to have great reviews only.. Chip.de which is one of the most important sources for techy stuff gave it a 100. No other fitness watch made that.. It doesn't have a puls sensor though, that would be the only drawback I know of..
 
I know you you said no to the Fenix 3 but truthfully it is well worth the money. If you are okay buying used I recommend looking on Amazon; I was able to get a Fenix 3 performance bundle about 2 months ago for 320.

I actually recently sold my Apple Watch and made the Fenix 3 my main watch, while I loved the Apple Watch it just wasn't good enough for fitness activities in my opinion.
 
sigomez said:
I know you you said no to the Fenix 3 but truthfully it is well worth the money. If you are okay buying used I recommend looking on Amazon; I was able to get a Fenix 3 performance bundle about 2 months ago for 320.

I actually recently sold my Apple Watch and made the Fenix 3 my main watch, while I loved the Apple Watch it just wasn't good enough for fitness activities in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Having read DC Rainmaker on the Fenix 3 it is undoubtedly a very Smart watch. In light of the fact that the OP has never used a GPS watch before I couldn't recommend it to them. It would be a little like giving a scientific calculator to a 9 year old maths student. Great functionality but your just never going to press those buttons.
 
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