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Is the Venu 2 Plus a good idea?

schmiedel
over 2 years ago

My Vivoactive 3 is getting old, and I will certainly buy Garmin again, alone because of battery life. 

My first option is the Venu 2 Plus. However, after seeing some Venu watches live, I am a bit concerned about breaking it. The VA3 has a great Bezel that protects the display, I have hit the watch with walls many times without any visible consequences. I am afraid that the Venu series might get evil scratches or worse a broken screen if I hit against something.

And, one thing I don´t like about the VA3 is the backlight, it was very annoying at night, and could not be activated with a button. AFAIK the Venu will allow to turn on backlight by pressing a button twice in sleep mode. Is that correct? 

How are the experiences with the watch? Else I would rather consider something like the Instinct Crossover series...

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I own the Venu2plus since last september. During last vacation I hit a wall with some spikey / shape-edged stones (I've been looking to the opposite). I definetly thought the watch must be damaged, but I "only" have some pretty small scratches on the glas.

    However, a lot of people recommend using a screen protector.

    During sleep or while the watch is set in "do not disturb" mode the display can be activated by tapping the bezel twice or pressing a button. For me this works pretty fine.

    In summary I would suggest for a good offer as some german stores hit the 300€ mark or maybe wait for the venu 3.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to JackDrake

    OK, thank you for the insights. I will not be able to wait for a new generation as it will be a gift I can choose, but I have a deadline...

    After seeing some Venu watches yesterday, I was a bit afraid that could be too prone to break and am thus considering the Instinct Crossover... However I am kind of avoiding devices without WiFi, syncing/updating the VA3 is not such a great experience compared to WiFi capable devices... The Music functionality is not interesting for me (roadbike+headphones is a bad idea, and I always carry my smartphone with me), but I might sometimes use the phone call function if I can stop the bike and answer a quick call without having to look for the phone... 

    At the end, if I can assume that the screen is not that delicate, I will probably go for the Venu 2+...

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to schmiedel

    I come from a VA3 (with bezel) then VA3 music (without bazel), then Venu 2 +. I've never managed to damage a Garmin watch ever! From the Va, the venu Amoled display makes a huge difference for me... Much better resolution and colour but not always on (gesture, which works for me)... 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Happytoon

    The Venu2 has the ability to use always on display a well.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to JackDrake

    Yes, i know but I prefer gesture for longer battery life

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Honestly no. It costs bascailly the same as the forerunner 265s which has significantly more features. I would go for the 265 at this point

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 7296400

    Forerunner 265 currently costs 450-500 euros depending on the color. I have bought a Venu 2 Plus like a month ago for around 300 euros and I see current offers for 350. So I would not say that the cost is basically the same.

    I have passed my Venu 2 Plus over and replaced it with Forerunner 965 since, but I am not sure the change was worth it. Yeah, Forerunner has more training and some outdoor features, but if you just need a good-looking watch with health monitoring features, then Venu 2 Plus is just perfect. Venu also has a better build (more metal, less plastic all around), better screen (it's brighter in my opinion, or at least has more brightness settings) and ECG monitoring (maybe we won't all have to travel to the US to enable it at some point ;-).

    If I jumped back to Venu 2 Plus from my Forerunner 965 today, the only things I would really be missing is mapping (but 265 does not have it anyway) and some ABC (mostly elevation and barometer) visualizations for hiking. Unless you're a runner, at which point you want a Forerunner, I wouldn't care. If you're an outdoor enthusiast, try to get something with mapping. If you need an everyday health monitoring watch with a fair and useful set of smartwatch features, Venu 2 Plus is a great value for money with today's discounts.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Marcin

    Guess it depends where you are, they cost basically the same in Australia so I don't think it makes sense to get the venu 2 plus. I guess if you don't want/need any of the extra metrics it probably makes sense to get the venu 2 but I personally wouldn't recommend it.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I like mine a lot. No issues with durability after a year of owning it. The backlight turns on with one button press in sleep mode. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Marcin

    I'd add to this that the Venu 2 plus is smaller than the Forerunner 265, and it has 20 mm band (instead of 22), so it is much more comfortable to wear.

    Also, the AOD is somewhat brighter on the Venu, so it is actually usable (the 265 is a complete disaster from this perspective, the AOD is hardly visible in most ambient situations).

    Plus, maybe not an issue for everyone, but you can create much nicer watch faces on the Venu, the Forerunner watch faces are kinda toy like (even what you can create on the watch). 3rd party watch faces generally utilize an inferior AOD method, so they are out of game.

    On the other hand, despite having the same HR sensor, the stress graph is more consistent on the 265 (there are less gaps when you are active).