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- First reviewDecember 22, 2015
- Last reviewDecember 22, 2015
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- Average rating5
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SaintAugustine's Reviews
Garmin Vivosmart HR Activity Tracker: Measure your daily activity with this device that helps you to set and maintain aerobic fitness goals. Vibration alerts let you receive call, text and e-mail notifications from your phone.
Customer Rating
5
Best Non-GPS Fitness Smartwatch
on December 22, 2015
Posted by: SaintAugustine
I wanted to write a review on this because I feel like people who leave reviews of this product haven't given it a reasonable amount of time to become acquainted with using it, therefore unfairly bashing the product.
My specs:
I am 38 year old female, 161lbs, Beachbody on Demand user [Challenge du Jour program (means blending of P90X, Insanity, Hammer and Chisel, etc workouts = 6 days per week, Sundays off.) I love workouts that burn over 350+ calories in 30+ minutes]. I surf. I do not run. If you are a runner, you'd probably want a watch with GPS. I am not a runner so I don't need that feature. Vivosmart HR was purchased from Best Buy.
I am 38 year old female, 161lbs, Beachbody on Demand user [Challenge du Jour program (means blending of P90X, Insanity, Hammer and Chisel, etc workouts = 6 days per week, Sundays off.) I love workouts that burn over 350+ calories in 30+ minutes]. I surf. I do not run. If you are a runner, you'd probably want a watch with GPS. I am not a runner so I don't need that feature. Vivosmart HR was purchased from Best Buy.
I absolutely LOVE this watch! I used to have the vivosmart band + chest strap and found it to be extremely glitchy and a pain in the ---- to use the heart rate monitor during my workouts - as for the vivosmart band itself, I really liked it.
These activity monitoring watches take some time getting use to and understanding what the symbols mean - just like when you first get an iPhone or smartphone, at first you don't fully understand the flow of the buttons and apps until you have used it for at least 2 weeks. That's a smartphone...this is a smartwatch. With this Vivosmart HR watch, you should allow enough time to become acquainted with how it logs information your body sends it. This watch has a heart rate monitor built in AND is water resistant. I have used it to go surfing with and it works. It is secure and comfortable on your wrist. I could not live with a watch that was not water resistant. It would not work with my lifestyle.
I've bumped the screen a few times against hard surfaces and it hasn't scratched; a great feature for me because I am not delicate with my things. I like durable. It is quite streamlined though so it does look nice with a dress on.
Heart Rate Monitoring:
Your heart rate is read every few minutes while NOT in ACTIVITY MODE. This is to conserve the battery and because while you are not in an activity, usually your heart rate remains somewhat the same.
Your heart rate is read every few minutes while NOT in ACTIVITY MODE. This is to conserve the battery and because while you are not in an activity, usually your heart rate remains somewhat the same.
Before you start your killer workout :) ------> Tap the side button, tap the Running Man icon, tap the side button to start: Your Vivosmart HR is now in ACTIVITY MODE - While in ACTIVITY MODE, your watch will read your heart beat every few seconds and measure your calories burned + more. You can tell when it's in ACTIVITY MODE because the back-light will be on for the duration of your workout. While in this mode, you can swipe and choose the screen you would like to continuously view during your activity. I always like to keep mine on the heart rate monitor screen because I like to see how hard I'm working and if I can max out just a little more [I'm at 148bpm? Bah! Let's get to 170bpm! More squats!] When you have finished your workout -------> Tap the side button, then tap the little disk icon to SAVE your workout stats.
The heart rate monitoring on my wrist works great. I found that you don't have to wear it super tight for it to take an accurate reading. I wear mine 2 holes looser than what could be tightly flush around my wrist. The only time I find it to not function properly is if I haven't washed the watch with a mild dish [like Palmolive] detergent for a while (3-4days) - I take the watch off and wash it by hand in the kitchen sink. Makes sense because I am sweating a lot during those days and the screen should be freshly cleaned with more than just shower gel.
The Garmin Connect app:
Is great! Garmin has been doing a good job of making it better with each update. All I really care about is heart rate, intensity minutes, calories, and sleep data. All of the other features of the watch are quite accurate. I don't have stairs so I can't speak for the stairs, however the steps counter seems to nail it every time. This watch calculates calories burned throughout the day accurately.
Is great! Garmin has been doing a good job of making it better with each update. All I really care about is heart rate, intensity minutes, calories, and sleep data. All of the other features of the watch are quite accurate. I don't have stairs so I can't speak for the stairs, however the steps counter seems to nail it every time. This watch calculates calories burned throughout the day accurately.
Garmin Email Support:
Is AMAZING! When I first got my watch, every time I had a question, I would email Garmin and submit a form at https://support.garmin.com/support/sw/escalateForm, and a rep would ALWAYS get back to me by the next day. I asked them about the difference between heart rate monitoring between non-ACTIVITY MODE and ACTIVITY MODE (That's how I found out how to use it properly), what the screen is made out of, and other things, and each time a rep emailed me back with a full explanation (They actually READ each part of your email and answer it). :)
Is AMAZING! When I first got my watch, every time I had a question, I would email Garmin and submit a form at https://support.garmin.com/support/sw/escalateForm, and a rep would ALWAYS get back to me by the next day. I asked them about the difference between heart rate monitoring between non-ACTIVITY MODE and ACTIVITY MODE (That's how I found out how to use it properly), what the screen is made out of, and other things, and each time a rep emailed me back with a full explanation (They actually READ each part of your email and answer it). :)
Other notable features:
The notifications are great to see on your wrist - I like the simplicity of it, to be able to read what your phone just buzzed from, move bar makes me laugh and works well when it "yells" at me to move.
The notifications are great to see on your wrist - I like the simplicity of it, to be able to read what your phone just buzzed from, move bar makes me laugh and works well when it "yells" at me to move.
Battery Life:
Is impressive...usually last 4 days [that's all day + 4 ACTIVITY MODE workouts]. You charge it via USB cord - takes about an hour to fully charge so I don't even notice the battery life because I feel like it fully charges so fast that it doesn't even matter. I usually work out, see the low battery icon, plug it in, make my smoothie and take a shower, in less than an hour it's fully charged.
Is impressive...usually last 4 days [that's all day + 4 ACTIVITY MODE workouts]. You charge it via USB cord - takes about an hour to fully charge so I don't even notice the battery life because I feel like it fully charges so fast that it doesn't even matter. I usually work out, see the low battery icon, plug it in, make my smoothie and take a shower, in less than an hour it's fully charged.
There are so many more awesome things I could mention but I wanted to stick with exactly what I use it for and enjoy.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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