My Garmin Vivoactive HR failed: what is the best Garmin equivalent today

October 1, 2024 10:44 AM

Well, the Garmin Vivoactive HR that I've been using for many years just failed. I do not believe it owes me a dime. Would you kindly recommend the equivalent Garmin fitness watch today?

I mainly use it with the Garmin Connect app on Android for tracking my steps/walks, heart rate, sleep time (both overall and deep sleep), previewing texts and (oh yeah) the time.

Perhaps (?) give me a first and second choice in case supply chain issues arise. My price range would be $500ish or less (?).

Thanks in advance!!!

posted by forthright to Technology (10 answers total)

Best answer: For $500 you've got a lot of options, but the best replacement for a Garmin is another Garmin, especially if you're tied to Android and you're primarily interested in the general fitness stuff.

I suspect a Vivoactive 5 is probably the closest like-for-like replacement for your HR (link goes to the UK site, sorry).
posted by parm at 11:27 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you want to spend more and get more (including a speaker and microphone, which allows you to receive quick phone calls), there's the Garmin Venu 3. I have and like the Venu 2, which has a lot of overlap with the Vivoactive 5. DC Rainmaker has super in-depth reviews of all the options. (As he notes in the review of the Vivoactive 5, "I got an e-mail just a few hours ago from a reader trying to decode Garmin’s mid-range watch lineup. It’s a labyrinth of options for a consumer that often doesn’t want that many choices. In this price bucket, Garmin has the Venu Sq 2, Venu 3, Venu 3S, Vivoactive 5, Forerunner 265, Forerunner 255, Instinct series, and more.")
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 11:53 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]

I have the garmin forerunner 265 and it is excellent!
posted by piyushnz at 2:52 PM on October 1

I have a forerunner 55 and love it. When this one dies, I'd like to get the forerunner 265 or equivalent.
posted by snowysoul at 3:30 PM on October 1

I just got a Forerunner 265 and really like it. I switched after years of Fitbits and will never go back. The Forerunner line is definitely running focused though, so you may also want to look at the Vivoactive and Venu lines just because they are more general fitness focused.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:12 PM on October 1

Best answer: I have the Garmin Forerunner 255. I previously had a Venu Sq, but i like the Forerunner 255 so much more and would recommend it.

However, if you aren't interested in using it for working out, the vivoactive/venu might be better fits. What I like about the Forerunner is that it tells me about my training status, recovery times - workout focus stuff.

For your case, the latest venu or vivoactive is probably your best bet.
posted by litera scripta manet at 7:18 PM on October 1 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Garmin's tech support has been, in my experience, excellent. When I've had a device that's failed, even out of warranty after many years of service, I've called tech support and gotten, at a minimum, a coupon/discount code to upgrade.

Seconding that a current Venu or vivoactive would be a good choice for what you want. I use the vivoactive 4, including for tracking running/hiking/biking/strength training, and it's got enough data to be motivating and meaningful for me without being super wonky about it.
posted by dr. boludo at 8:51 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

I just got an ad for the new Garmin Lily, and it looks pretty cool. My only real
complaint about the Forerunner is that it is enormous on my little wrist, and the Lily is smaller.
posted by hydropsyche at 9:29 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone who replied! Sorry for the delay.

I marked best answers for those who:
- "caught me up" on the evolution of the Garmin line over the years
- (including making me aware of the danger of drowning in their sea of models),
- emphasized the distinction between fitness/health tracking and exercise/training tracking
- made me aware (which I wasn't) that Garmin's tech support is very good even past warranty

So, the winner (for my use cases) is the Vivoactive 4s which (though not the newest model) was better sized for my wrist, was available next day from Amazon Prime delivery and cost only $200 plus tax.

So I have set it up (including downloading some nice clock faces) and have been using it since yesterday afternoon. It was detected/synced with Garmin Connect and I deleted the old dead HR device. The face is so much clearer and brighter than my old HR, and of course it has many possibilities for short-cuts that I will need to look into and/or set-up. Since yesterday it has gone from 100% battery to 77% so I think I will need to charge twice a week instead of once for the HR, but that's a small price to pay for a nicer device (IMO).
posted by forthright at 1:17 PM on October 3 [2 favorites]

Glad you got what you wanted! There is a substantial difference in battery use with some of the watch faces, especially third party ones. That sounds like a very battery-hungry watch face -- I bought a refurbished version of your same watch a year ago, and even now don't typically see more than 7-8% battery usage in a day unless I'm using GPS.

It may well look cool enough to justify the more frequent charging, just FYI if you're in a position where you need to conserve battery life, the pre-loaded ones are more efficient.
posted by dr. boludo at 8:59 AM on October 4