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I am about 90% decided on the vivoactive 3, just looking for some advice..

Former Member over 5 years ago

Hey folks, I am fairly into fitness, generally workout in gym daily, climb indoors and I am going to start running.

I would like a device that does the following,

Track running info for outdoors & treadmill, provide me with standard metrics.

Provide easy to follow info on pace, distance, programmed intervals with distance or time etc.

Be able to connect to an ANT+ strap

Give me my workout info and count down rest times rather than switching between google sheet and timer on my phone.

Basic fitness tracker stuff like count steps.

I would have liked something to track sleep, this seems very poor compared to a cheap fitbit which is disappointing..

Occasional use for hiking & very occasional use for multi day trekking.

Water proof.

I would like something that is likely to be somewhat useful for other things that i start doing rather than only doing what I currently want it for..

Something that could track habits would be great.

So just wondering, from people who are using the device, would you recommend this to me. I can buy one where i love for around 140-160 euro new. It seems to me like its ticks all the boxes better than anything else. The Forerunner 245 might be better for running but its a good bit more expensive and wouldn't do much else than running..

0 6653826 over 5 years ago

I think for me you can be 100% happy with Vivoactive 3 for what you are wanting and for sure at the price it represents value for money.

I also feel it does a better job than a Fitbit (yes I have owned Fitbit - indeed I owned Garmin went to Fitbit and after around 6 months came back) I also feel worn correctly the sleep tracking is fine of VA3.

My opinion you will not be disappointed with the purchase of VA3 just get used to his on device GUI and app and once you do and in my opinion give it chance it will deliver for you and ensure your fitness goals are tracked very well.

I've been using my VA3 since March 2019 and had no issues with quality or battery life. I find it far better than the Fitbit Versa I had (I had two of them before giving it back due to a lack of metrics and poor quality devices) and I find Garmin Support very helpful and approachable.

Buy it. Enjoy it. Let Garmin track it for you.

0 muppetman over 5 years ago

I used to have a Fitbit Blaze, then I was given as a present a Vivoactive 3m.

The difference is night and day, it was only after given the Vivoactive 3m I realised what a toy the Fitbit is.

The Vivoactive 3 will do everything you mention, I upgraded from my 3m to a Fenix 6Pro (big upgrade!) and got a Garmin Chest Strap which the 3m also supports. Just do be careful with what ANT+ device you want to connect, as the Vivoactive series only supports a smaller subset of things than the more expensive devices like the Fenix series etc. You say Ant+ strap though, so you should be fine there.

You're right in that Sleep Tracking is garbage. It was garbage too on the Fenix 6 until the recent Beta firmware versions that are doing on-device sleep calculation, I very very much doutbt that'll be ported backwards though, maybe the Vivoactive 4 will get it, but not the 3.

The only annoying thing about the 3 for me was the touchscreen, I found it easy to bump sometimes. You can lock it, but it's a clunky solution (that said, I can't think of a better one). I do like the Fenix series that's all button driven.

But for the price range the VA3 is a great watch, does everything you need, you can install 3rd party CIQ apps to support activities that aren't native to the watch etc. I'd say go for it, you'll probably find yourself like me after a couple of years upgrading to the Fenix series!

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to muppetman

Thanks guys, I just bought one.

0 Eyebrox over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

I had the VVA hr for four years before it started to play up. It owed me nothing. I was attracted to Fitbit because of the price. I sold it after three days and bought the VVA 3. I am delighted with my purchase. Like the other reviewer I felt the Fitbit (Charge 4) was more like a toy. It was accurate and some of the features were good. But for another £50 the VivoActive is vastly superior. I won't make that mistake again.

0 5314667 over 5 years ago

I hope u pass some problems with this device. I faced with 2 issues. 1) battery life. I have to charge my SW 3 times a day: before morning running, at dinner time, and before sleeping. 2) floor counter. During a training course fl counter show me I up on 200 floor ) with difference in attitude up to 70 meters.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

I you can, get a Vivoactive 3 Music.

Music helps for some activities and music broadcast by the watch works well.

For info, I have one for 2 years: no problem with the glass screen.

But in either case, don'r expect to spend several days during a trekking, without battery replenishment, if you use GPS or GPS+Music, all day long.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

I did a workout today which i programmed in using the laptop. I find it very handy for the rest periods, less to think about but thee rep counting and entering weight is a bit of a pain.. Not sure if it will replace my notebook.. Id say it got the reps wrong on almost every set, certainly well over half..

I then tried doing a bit of running on a treadmill, I was a bit late so just hooked my heartrate strap to my phone and tried to turn on running on the watch. It wouldnt start without gps, I guess i need to add running on a treadmill as an activity.. It started tracking it when i started running on its own then and the heart rate was showing as around 120 when it was 170 on the phone..

So first impression is a bit mixed.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

So I was just looking at the calendar in the app on my phone. It has a bunch of runs tracked in April and a couple in May. In Germany. Also a workout saved from the same time. I presume this is not sample data and the watch has previously been used? I contact the seller who had assured me it was 100% new but then he said he couldn't be sure.. Kind of a pain in the ass to return it though its for the best if its used..