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BrewGirly's Reviews

Garmin - vivoactive HR Smartwatch - Black

Run, bike, swim, golf, ski and more with vivoactive HR, the GPS smartwatch with wrist-based heart rate3. Outside of your more active moments, its built-in activity tracker3 counts steps, floors climbed and intensity minutes and measures calories burned throughout the day. The always-on, touchscreen, sunlight-readable Garmin Chroma Display shows your activity details as well as smart notifications such as call, text, email, social media alerts and more. Customize your watch with more than 1,300 apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields from our Connect IQ store. Battery charge2 lasts through all your activities with up to 8 days in watch/activity tracking mode (no GPS) or up to 13 hours using GPS.

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Customer Rating

A Woman's Perspective of the Vivoactive HR

on August 1, 2016

Posted by: BrewGirly

Verified Purchase:Yes

I specified woman’s perspective because when I was researching this watch, all I could find is how it looked and felt on a man’s wrist. So… I spent 2-3 weeks researching smart/fitness watches prior to purchasing the Vivoactive HR. When the HR came out, I was really excited. I owned a Fitbit Flex 3 years ago, and used it for about a year.

Things I was looking for:
• A device that would encourage me to start walking/running again
• Heart rate monitor
• Ability to track walking, running, calories, sleeping
• Good battery life
• Aesthetically appealing on a tiny wrist
• Around or less than $250
• GPS tracking
• Notifications for Android phone
• Waterproof

There’s quite a few options out there. But I found that each one would have one or two of those requirements missing. I definitely found my balance in the Vivoactive HR. That’s not to say it’s perfect. The worst part of this watch is the size of it. It took me about a week and a half to find a comfortable position for it on my wrist. The instructions suggest wearing it above the wrist bone but that’s not a possibility for me. I tried that on day one, and the following morning I had a sore indented spot on my wrist where the HR monitor dug into my arm. I was very aware of the watch on my wrist – possibly because I knew ahead of time that it was large and I was anticipating a problem – it just never seemed to blend into my every day. The HR monitor still leaves a small mark on my arm. I’m finally in a groove with it. I can ignore the size of it for most of the day. I wear it on the 6th notch.

Complaints I read about prior to buying seem to be unfounded. The brightness of the screen has never been a problem. It is dim. But it also lasts about 9 days between charges. It brightens upon touching the screen. The heart rate is very accurate. The only time I’ve seen it go wacky is when I was in the shower. That was an isolated incident and I doubt you’ll need an accurate HR for the shower. The GPS rocks because it is Garmin, after all. Many buyers did not like the design of the watch. I like only the Fitbit Blaze design better than this one. I have come to enjoy my bulky box of a watch. The Bluetooth is reliable, and I can go throughout most of my 2 story house without losing a connection to my phone. There’s a plethora of activities that can tracked.

Other thoughts: I really enjoy the idea of widgets. I use the weather widget most often but I also have one for astronomy. There’s a large amount of possibilities in the realm of customizable widgets. The move bar is a cute idea, but since I work in an office, I’m really in the need of moving throughout the day. It can be turned off, of course, but I like the reminder to move around. I’m a huge fan of the notifications. It’s nice to be able to quickly look at my watch to see if it’s worth even picking up my phone. The plastic around the face of it is not entirely the toughest. I already have a couple of small scrapes on it. It is large so it’s easy to just move your arm around and hit it on something until you remember it’s there. The Garmin Connect app is really awesome. There is a lot of information to dig through. The sleep information is one of my favorites. They break it down into light and deep sleep, and movement. It is really accurate in determining when I fall asleep and wake up. You can track your food intake through MyFitnessPal, which will upload through Garmin Connect to show accurate calories left for the day after your activities. The only problem is remembering to input your food!

Tracking activities is a very simple task. I’ve used the running and walking tracking so far. It’s a very simple white screen with black text that records distance, timer and steps. Every mile it will vibrate while activated on a walking/running track mode. You can control music through the watch if Bluetooth is activated, which is neat.

All in all, if you’re reading this then you might be in a place that I was prior to purchasing this watch. I poured over reviews trying to find the right person to tell me what to do. When I bought the watch, I specifically asked what the return policy was because I knew that there was a chance I’d be unhappy with it. However, I’m glad I made the decision to add the Garmin Vivoactive HR to my daily routine. It is a simple, easy to use, all-around great watch. Give it a try!

My Best Buy number: 2112021010

I would recommend this to a friend!