Fitness tracker / smart watch query & recommendation…

Hello,

I always wear a ‘proper watch’ on my left wrist, and want to continue to do so (daily), but I am a keen long distance runner. I’ve had a GPS running watch for years, which I only wear for runs, but I now want to start tracking my ‘health data’ more generally, 24/7. Heart rate, sleep data and so forth.

This means (I presume) I’ll have to wear my usual watch on my left, and a fitness tracker on my right.

Ugh, I’ve finally become one of those ‘watch on both wrists weirdos’ !

Does anyone know where to start, or have any recommendations?

I have an open budget. I just today saw Apple have released an Apple Watch Ultra which looks great but apparently isn’t actually all that if you’re just a pure runner. And it’s big.

Should I get some sort of fitness band, or a full on device which also ‘properly’ does running and ditch my ancient dedicated running watch?

My existing (ancient) Garmin running watch links to a foot pod and heart strap and it’s robust and I kind of like it.

Thanks all

Whoop band, all the benefits of a fitness tracker but without the 2 watch thing. I’m a recent convert and love it.

If you want to stick with Garmin, then they do the whole range of devices.

I have a 2 year old Garmin Venu Sq which does all the tracking stuff inc steps, continuous heart rate, Oxygen saturation etc etc, and I use it for runs, rowing etc.

It has been replaced now, but there is bound to be something in the range to suit you.

I always start here for the best reviews:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/


Pete

DC Rainmaker is a great resource. Whoop is meant to be very good but doesn't count footsteps.

I use a Garmin Vivosmart 5 on my right wrist and a regular watch on my left. I'm really happy with it and would buy another again tomorrow if anything went wrong.

I use a Fitbit luxe on my right wrist and wear a watch on my left. I can’t quite get used to wearing anything to watchy on my right wrist so went for the thinnest tracker I could find.


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As has been said dc rainmaker is a superb source of information & garmin do make some excellent devices.


Have you considered buying two devices?

The garmin eco system allows for multiple drives feeding to the one tracking app/account so you could wear a less visually intrusive device the majority of the time & swap when the sport requires extra functionality.

A everyday sleep, steps & hr tracker like the vivosmart 5 or vivofit 4 I’d try the vivosmart 5 myself as given the age of the running garmin you have it maybe all the tec you need.

If you find you want more for running then look at the forerunner options, if you are looking at a halfway option the the venu is a possibility

I have had a Coros apex GPS watch for about a year now and its been excellent as a general do it all (I also do a lot of running and cycling)..battery life is fantastic, the 42mm model is standard watch sized, sapphire glass and the app is really good..excellent price and 2 year warranty..doesn't give you ECG but I think some of the latest Coros models may do

Fitbit Charge 5 on right wrist 24/7 and normal watch on left.


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Thanks fellows,

At least now I know other folks also do the two-wrist-thing!

My running watch is a Garmin Forerunner 620. It's done several thousand miles of running with me, so I am kind of attached to it and it's black-on-grey LCD clunkiness.

I like the idea of a separate device that will constantly monitor my pulse, inc monitoring for A-fib, sleep habits, steps and so forth.

I think I will keep my ancient Forerunner for the running and use another garmin device (since I'm in the ecosystem and like Garmin Connect) on the right wrist. My 'proper' mechanical watch on my left wrist.

I will have a look at Garmin's products now.

Many thanks! TZUK always so helpful.



PS anyone have any thoughts on the Apple Watch Ultra? I am also in the Apple ecosystem...


[edit] PPS - brainfart - Fitbit Charge isn't a Garmin product. D'oh! For some reason I thought it was.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ach5

Thanks fellows,


I like the idea of a separate device that will constantly monitor my pulse, inc monitoring for A-fib, sleep habits, steps and so forth.

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If you're looking for general well-being information then have a good look at the Whoop4... it won't replace a Garmin or Apple Watch for fitness tracking etc but as a supplement it works really well. Firstly, you never need to take it off, it charges while you wear it. It works primarily off heart rate and will constantly measure respiratory rate, Blood Oxygen, RHR, HRV and skin temperature. It doesn't measure steps (which itself is a pretty blunt metric) but uses a measure they've called Strain, effectively calculated off your HR. It'll then measure sleep (and breaks it up into the various levels) and uses this and the strain to calculate your recovery.

It's quite illuminating to see after a night out on the sauce just how messed up all your health metrics are!