Smart / sport watch recommendations? Ideally sub £200

[Horse]

My Versa 4 has given up the ghost.

Any suggestions for a reasonable smart watch? I'm more interested in health monitoring than 'sports', so heart rate, AF, sleep, etc.

Currently considering:

Garmin Venus Sq 2
Garmin Vivoactive 5

Any thoughts, on these or alternatives?

If there's not much to choose between them, it could come down to cost, or even looks (square or round).

[Count Steer]

Garmin Instinct E?

I have an Instinct Solar that's 3+ years old and this looks like a non-solar, older model (there's an Instinct 2 series now). Well pleased with it and the Garmin app is OK. The solar charging is, for me, a waste of time...the watch is under my sleeve most of the time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Smartwa ... B0G1C2GK24

[Nordboy]

Before I went fully apple watch i had a couple of Amazfit watches which were pretty good indeed. And they're a good price as well for what they are.

[Taipan]

I've got a data ring which is linked to Apple Health. It frees me up to wear any watch I like, but I still wear my ultra 2, 99% of the time. Nice option though.

[DefTrap]

Before I went fully apple watch i had a couple of Amazfit watches which were pretty good indeed. And they're a good price as well for what they are.

I have an amazfit one. Basic enough to not annoy and the app is pretty good. Best of all it speaks to you, for all of us shortsighted gits!

[Mr Moofo]

Garmin Instinct E?

I have an Instinct Solar that's 3+ years old and this looks like a non-solar, older model (there's an Instinct 2 series now). Well pleased with it and the Garmin app is OK. The solar charging is, for me, a waste of time...the watch is under my sleeve most of the time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Smartwa ... B0G1C2GK24

The “solar” part of Garmins seems to do very little . Mine needs charging every couple of days

[Count Steer]

Garmin Instinct E?

I have an Instinct Solar that's 3+ years old and this looks like a non-solar, older model (there's an Instinct 2 series now). Well pleased with it and the Garmin app is OK. The solar charging is, for me, a waste of time...the watch is under my sleeve most of the time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Smartwa ... B0G1C2GK24

The “solar” part of Garmins seems to do very little . Mine needs charging every couple of days

Mine stopped solar charging and I can't be bothered to do the required software update because I get 20+ days per charge. (Less if I use the GPS function to track a walk for an hour or two - every hour knocks off about a day).

2 days seems a bit - are you constantly running the pulse oximeter? I never use it - it hammers the battery. (I've got a proper one and my blood oxygen isn't a problem so it gets measured only if I feel ill).

[Horse]

2 days seems a bit - are you constantly running the pulse oximeter? I never use it - it hammers the battery. (I've got a proper one and my blood oxygen isn't a problem so it gets measured only if I feel ill).

From the link you posted earlier (not solar IIRC):

Smartwatch: Up to 16 days
Battery saver watch mode: Up to 40 days
GPS: up to 24 hours
All Satellite Systems: 16 hours
Max battery GPS mode: up to 50 hours
Expedition GPS Activity: Up to 20 days

[Count Steer]

2 days seems a bit - are you constantly running the pulse oximeter? I never use it - it hammers the battery. (I've got a proper one and my blood oxygen isn't a problem so it gets measured only if I feel ill).

From the link you posted earlier (not solar IIRC):

Smartwatch: Up to 16 days
Battery saver watch mode: Up to 40 days
GPS: up to 24 hours
All Satellite Systems: 16 hours
Max battery GPS mode: up to 50 hours
Expedition GPS Activity: Up to 20 days

I suppose mine is 3+ years old and cost more than the E. They may have added more functions that draw on the battery. When I first got it, it would indicate 27 days after charging but they adjust the estimated life per charge according to previous usage and the battery is older now but it still indicates 22 to 23 days after fully charging.

I do like mine - enough that if it went kaput I'd get another Instinct.

(Used the track and map (inc altitude) mode today for about 1.25h and the days indicator went from about 16 to 14 days).

[Mr Moofo]

Garmin Instinct E?

I have an Instinct Solar that's 3+ years old and this looks like a non-solar, older model (there's an Instinct 2 series now). Well pleased with it and the Garmin app is OK. The solar charging is, for me, a waste of time...the watch is under my sleeve most of the time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Smartwa ... B0G1C2GK24

The “solar” part of Garmins seems to do very little . Mine needs charging every couple of days

Mine stopped solar charging and I can't be bothered to do the required software update because I get 20+ days per charge. (Less if I use the GPS function to track a walk for an hour or two - every hour knocks off about a day).

2 days seems a bit - are you constantly running the pulse oximeter? I never use it - it hammers the battery. (I've got a proper one and my blood oxygen isn't a problem so it gets measured only if I feel ill).

I never knew it had that setting !! Just found out how to turn it off as it was running all the time

[Count Steer]

The “solar” part of Garmins seems to do very little . Mine needs charging every couple of days

Mine stopped solar charging and I can't be bothered to do the required software update because I get 20+ days per charge. (Less if I use the GPS function to track a walk for an hour or two - every hour knocks off about a day).

2 days seems a bit - are you constantly running the pulse oximeter? I never use it - it hammers the battery. (I've got a proper one and my blood oxygen isn't a problem so it gets measured only if I feel ill).

I never knew it had that setting !! Just found out how to turn it off as it was running all the time

Be interesting to see how that affects battery life. Got anything else permanently running? Mine monitors pulse constantly but that doesn't impact on the battery that much.

[Mr Moofo]

Mine stopped solar charging and I can't be bothered to do the required software update because I get 20+ days per charge. (Less if I use the GPS function to track a walk for an hour or two - every hour knocks off about a day).

2 days seems a bit - are you constantly running the pulse oximeter? I never use it - it hammers the battery. (I've got a proper one and my blood oxygen isn't a problem so it gets measured only if I feel ill).

I never knew it had that setting !! Just found out how to turn it off as it was running all the time

Be interesting to see how that affects battery life. Got anything else permanently running? Mine monitors pulse constantly but that doesn't impact on the battery that much.

Fuck knows - off to have a look

[Pirahna]

My Garmin Forerunner 965 continuously monitors my pulse and typically used 4% battery a day if I don't track anything. I don't sleep wearing it.

[Count Steer]

My Garmin Forerunner 965 continuously monitors my pulse and typically used 4% battery a day if I don't track anything. I don't sleep wearing it.

I do currently monitor my sleep/resting pulse/'battery charge' and get similar. Not too surprising really since everything seems to be calculated from pulse - there's not much else that gets measured apart from temperature and altitude (which doesn't change much on a normal night ).

[Mr Moofo]

My Garmin Forerunner 965 continuously monitors my pulse and typically used 4% battery a day if I don't track anything. I don't sleep wearing it.

I do currently monitor my sleep/resting pulse/'battery charge' and get similar. Not too surprising really since everything seems to be calculated from pulse - there's not much else that gets measured apart from temperature and altitude (which doesn't change much on a normal night ).

Mine is used for HR, distance, steps , “garmin calories “ used. it is also programmed for local tides and weather. Outside of that, there is not a lot i need to know. Altitude in the South Downs is up and down so rarely more than 400 m
And too be honest. i have no idea what the thing i turned off did !!

[Count Steer]

My Garmin Forerunner 965 continuously monitors my pulse and typically used 4% battery a day if I don't track anything. I don't sleep wearing it.

I do currently monitor my sleep/resting pulse/'battery charge' and get similar. Not too surprising really since everything seems to be calculated from pulse - there's not much else that gets measured apart from temperature and altitude (which doesn't change much on a normal night ).

Mine is used for HR, distance, steps , “garmin calories “ used. it is also programmed for local tides and weather. Outside of that, there is not a lot i need to know. Altitude in the South Downs is up and down so rarely more than 400 m
And too be honest. i have no idea what the thing i turned off did !!

I do the steps and calories thing, so, unless the tides thing (I suspect mine has rudimentary weather in there somewhere too) uses a lot of juice you should be getting rather more days per charge. the pulse oximeter tells you (roughly) how well your blood is oxygenated. For most of us it's just more data to gather and ignore. Even if you've got emphysemia - in which case a) you know you have a tricky relationship with oxygen and b) you'd probably have a better device to measure it!

The altitude is involved in the calorie count - there's a 'how many 'floors' have you climbed?' daily log in there.

So, be interesting to see what happens.

[Mr Moofo]

I do currently monitor my sleep/resting pulse/'battery charge' and get similar. Not too surprising really since everything seems to be calculated from pulse - there's not much else that gets measured apart from temperature and altitude (which doesn't change much on a normal night ).

Mine is used for HR, distance, steps , “garmin calories “ used. it is also programmed for local tides and weather. Outside of that, there is not a lot i need to know. Altitude in the South Downs is up and down so rarely more than 400 m
And too be honest. i have no idea what the thing i turned off did !!

I do the steps and calories thing, so, unless the tides thing (I suspect mine has rudimentary weather in there somewhere too) uses a lot of juice you should be getting rather more days per charge. the pulse oximeter tells you (roughly) how well your blood is oxygenated. For most of us it's just more data to gather and ignore. Even if you've got emphysemia - in which case a) you know you have a tricky relationship with oxygen and b) you'd probably have a better device to measure it!

The altitude is involved in the calorie count - there's a 'how many 'floors' have you climbed?' daily log in there.

So, be interesting to see what happens.

Been wearing today a battery is at 96% - but i haven’t had it actually recording anything !

[Count Steer]

Been wearing today a battery is at 96% - but i haven’t had it actually recording anything !

It will have been recording HR, steps etc. Do you use the app?

4% per day seems about right.