Found out recently that fitness trackers can be weirdly cheap at CEX. I picked up a Garmin VivoActive for £90 + £2.50 delivery and it was *mint*, as in factory sealed.
As per some of the reviews below the item some of these are even shipping with the HRM chest strap (mine did). It's a fantastic watch, great for tracking longer runs (10+ hours of GPS tracking) and the day-to-day battery life means I get a week between charges.
The icing on the cake is the ability to track swims. It'll follow stroke counts and tot up your distance travelled as it can tell how many laps you've done.
There is a newer version of this coming out in the next month or so (featuring built-in heart rate tracking) but that'll be £230+ - for £92.50 this is a genuinely fantastic device
Top comments
The_Hoff
18 Apr 163#3
Brilliant watches compared to the rest of the smartwatch market.
Battery life is ridiculously good and even with daily 80 mins of GPS usage I get over a week of battery power. Without GPS usage you'd stretch that to 2-3 weeks on a single charge! It connects to my HRM and speed/cadence sensor without issue.
Integrates with Garmin Connect and syncs via your phone and simple apps can be downloaded from the phone app to add things like HIIT timers etc.
The screen is IMO spot on in all lighting conditions and doesn't suffer the same issues as LCD, viewing angles also great.
Check DCrainmaker for a thorough review, but I'd recommend unreservedly.
Latest comments (25)
whatyadoinsucka
19 May 16#25
£177 for vivoactive HR on Amazon
Justice Moses
23 Apr 16#23
Twice this week I have tried ordering one of these from CEX to no avail.
Tuesday night I noticed 1 was in stock so I quickly ordered it and received a confirmation email. Order stayed at the 'Stock picking in progress' stage until Thursday night when I received an email saying my order had been cancelled as "Unfortunately, we were unable to source the item you had ordered, and as such have been unable to complete your order." I was eager to purchase one thanks to OP's recommendation and other reviews so I checked again on Friday morning. Lo and behold, they were in stock again so I ordered another...and the same result seems likely. Order is listed as 'Stock picking in progress' and I'm sure I'll receive an email soon saying the order has been cancelled for the same reason. Seems far too much of a coincidence to me that they were out of stock on Thursday night and suddenly in stock again on Friday morning.
I emailed CEX customer service yesterday lunch time to ask whether I would actually receive one and they haven't responded to my email either. I've no idea what they are playing at and I would not recommend anyone bother trying to purchase one. Quite frankly, I'd not buy a thing from them online after this farce.
Rhythm to Justice Moses
28 Apr 16#24
:-( Sorry to hear this. I don't buy much from CEX but every transaction I've done has been incredibly smooth. I hope this all ended up working out for you
tomrowlands52
22 Apr 16#22
I've been using one of these for the last 3 weeks having spent hours on forums ect. DCRainmaker is the go to place for a full review. So best go there to check out this tech and if it is right for you.
I've done a 170mile coast to coast this week and the Vivo was brilliant. I was in the saddle for 10 hrs and gave it a little boost on charge at about 5hrs which at the time was at about 40%. 20mins on charge and she was back to 65%. Can't fault it one bit.
I mainly use it for running. GPS is fast, simple to use and best of all a very good price. I bought mine from Amazon, no nonsense customer service.
Still, at this price can't go wrong.
fishwibbler
20 Apr 161#21
I have one and I love it. When I first got it, the excellent device itself was severely hampered by the Garmin Connect software on my phone and would take ages to synchronise and would disconnect at regular intervals. Thankfully, the software has been updated a number of times during my ownership and it is now spot on. I just bought a new ANT+ heart strap to go with it, so it cost me a lot more than this, so this is a stonking deal if you manage to get a mint VA and HR strap.
Heat!
louisputtick
19 Apr 161#20
amazing watch, had one since march, battery life brilliant, used it for walks in the lakes, fitness training with custom apps, swimming, Cycling, and it pairs with my HR belt really well
smokenlazer
18 Apr 16#19
2nd hand.
paulwmather
18 Apr 161#18
Good rationale. I sadly am an impatient sod and a sucker for the latest tech, so I pre-ordered from Amazon for £209. I really do like the form factor of the new one.
I've been researching these things for weeks. Looking for a fitness tracker that can truly track swims.
Finding one that was actually water proof was tough. The TomTom spark looked a good option but turns out it's terrible for swimming as it isn't at all accurate for lengths.
Only downside is I have the wait until May 3rd for this to arrive.
plewis00
18 Apr 16#17
Sorry, I don't use intervals and didn't actually see that bit of your question, but yes you may be right. DC Rainmaker has a very in-depth review of it. The bike and swim modes seem to be fine (as basic trackers).
benjai
18 Apr 16#16
So I'm looking at reviews of the VA, it doesn't look like you can set up workouts/interval runs like with the FR and Fenix? That's a pretty big killer!
trickytree1984
18 Apr 16#14
New one is out on the 3rd of May.
trickytree1984 to trickytree1984
18 Apr 16#15
Vivoactive HR
plewis00
18 Apr 16#13
Also if you want accurate HR data and HR variability then you don't want an optical sensor, the chest straps are far better (plus in circuits classes you can remove the watch if it would get in the way otherwise but you can't with optical sensors).
plewis00
18 Apr 16#12
It's pretty good actually. I got the Fenix 3 and 920XT for triathlon mode which the VivoActive is missing (no multi sport mode basically) but it's very fully featured given its price point. I would choose the VA over the older Fenix 2 as well. I don't think you get Run Dynamics on the VA but that may not be important to you. The VA should have all the features of the 220 and then some (like swim mode and smart notifications).
Yes, as another said, the Garmins keep their display always on which is a big bonus (not just when you raise your wrist).
paulwmather
18 Apr 162#7
Oddly I was looking at this yesterday but the new one is really appealing. Torn.
Rhythm to paulwmather
18 Apr 161#11
That was where I was when I got mine. I figured I'd go for this cheaper one first then upgrade in a few months when VivoActive HR hits first price drops. It'll be a contender for Black Friday sales, no doubt
plewis00
18 Apr 162#4
I had this and currently use a Fenix 3 (essentially a bigger brother to this) - Garmin have kind of nailed the smartwatches; these are more sports watches with useful smart features built-in but that's all you need. The screen is 'dim' but it's transflective, it's designed to be used outdoors and the backlight only when it's really dark (and then a dim backlight doesn't matter).
When I got mine, I took off my Apple Watch and haven't used the Apple Watch since - a device that has real standalone GPS, outstanding battery life and no frills or useless gimmicks (the apps on the Apple Watch are so slow I don't know a single person who actually uses them).
benjai to plewis00
18 Apr 16#10
How does this compare to the Fenix 3? I'm strongly considering the Fenix but this is so much cheaper. Can this do intervals and how is the bike/swim mode? I only have a FR220 right now which is brilliant for running but not much else.
Oneday77
18 Apr 16#9
I hope the build quality is better than the Vivosmart. Mine has been the biggest pile of nonsense I've bought in a long while. My colleagues was just as bad. I rate Windows Millenium and Vista ahead of the Vivosmart.
gonzo02
18 Apr 161#8
Oos
liam7979
18 Apr 16#1
Hi, I purchased this watch from Amazon during the flash sale. The backlight is very dim, I sent it back for a refund.
Johnmcl7 to liam7979
18 Apr 16#6
The display is always on and generally lit by ambient light, it has a separate backlight which can be activated by pressing the button on the left and you can set it to automatically light up on notifications. Most smartwatches keep the display off entirely most of the time and you have to activate the display to read it at all and can be difficult to read in direct sunlight.
I've had the VA since release and think it's a great device as it's small, power efficient, has its own GPS receiver and while the smartphone functionality is limited I'm fine with just getting notifications pushed to the watch, most other stuff I'd rather run on my phone than the tiny screen. I'd check compatibility though on the Garmin forums as it works well with some devices and not well with others, iPhones in particular have more limited options and can have trouble with unstable connections.
John
the porter
18 Apr 16#5
Oos
The_Hoff
18 Apr 163#3
Brilliant watches compared to the rest of the smartwatch market.
Battery life is ridiculously good and even with daily 80 mins of GPS usage I get over a week of battery power. Without GPS usage you'd stretch that to 2-3 weeks on a single charge! It connects to my HRM and speed/cadence sensor without issue.
Integrates with Garmin Connect and syncs via your phone and simple apps can be downloaded from the phone app to add things like HIIT timers etc.
The screen is IMO spot on in all lighting conditions and doesn't suffer the same issues as LCD, viewing angles also great.
Check DCrainmaker for a thorough review, but I'd recommend unreservedly.
ralphaverbuch
18 Apr 16#2
I have one. I don't find it dim when I use the backlight but I did notice that, unlike a tablet or phone screen, the brighter the light shining onto it the better for viewing. This one is stand out for the fact it lets you swim whilst it counts your lengths, time, etc. There is a dedicated Garmin Swim watch but I think I prefer the Vivo Active. I got mine just after Christmas from Amazon Prime for £119.58.
Opening post
As per some of the reviews below the item some of these are even shipping with the HRM chest strap (mine did). It's a fantastic watch, great for tracking longer runs (10+ hours of GPS tracking) and the day-to-day battery life means I get a week between charges.
The icing on the cake is the ability to track swims. It'll follow stroke counts and tot up your distance travelled as it can tell how many laps you've done.
There is a newer version of this coming out in the next month or so (featuring built-in heart rate tracking) but that'll be £230+ - for £92.50 this is a genuinely fantastic device
Top comments
Battery life is ridiculously good and even with daily 80 mins of GPS usage I get over a week of battery power. Without GPS usage you'd stretch that to 2-3 weeks on a single charge! It connects to my HRM and speed/cadence sensor without issue.
Integrates with Garmin Connect and syncs via your phone and simple apps can be downloaded from the phone app to add things like HIIT timers etc.
The screen is IMO spot on in all lighting conditions and doesn't suffer the same issues as LCD, viewing angles also great.
Check DCrainmaker for a thorough review, but I'd recommend unreservedly.
Latest comments (25)
Tuesday night I noticed 1 was in stock so I quickly ordered it and received a confirmation email. Order stayed at the 'Stock picking in progress' stage until Thursday night when I received an email saying my order had been cancelled as "Unfortunately, we were unable to source the item you had ordered, and as such have been unable to complete your order." I was eager to purchase one thanks to OP's recommendation and other reviews so I checked again on Friday morning. Lo and behold, they were in stock again so I ordered another...and the same result seems likely. Order is listed as 'Stock picking in progress' and I'm sure I'll receive an email soon saying the order has been cancelled for the same reason. Seems far too much of a coincidence to me that they were out of stock on Thursday night and suddenly in stock again on Friday morning.
I emailed CEX customer service yesterday lunch time to ask whether I would actually receive one and they haven't responded to my email either. I've no idea what they are playing at and I would not recommend anyone bother trying to purchase one. Quite frankly, I'd not buy a thing from them online after this farce.
I've done a 170mile coast to coast this week and the Vivo was brilliant. I was in the saddle for 10 hrs and gave it a little boost on charge at about 5hrs which at the time was at about 40%. 20mins on charge and she was back to 65%. Can't fault it one bit.
I mainly use it for running. GPS is fast, simple to use and best of all a very good price. I bought mine from Amazon, no nonsense customer service.
Still, at this price can't go wrong.
Heat!
I've been researching these things for weeks. Looking for a fitness tracker that can truly track swims.
Finding one that was actually water proof was tough. The TomTom spark looked a good option but turns out it's terrible for swimming as it isn't at all accurate for lengths.
Only downside is I have the wait until May 3rd for this to arrive.
Yes, as another said, the Garmins keep their display always on which is a big bonus (not just when you raise your wrist).
When I got mine, I took off my Apple Watch and haven't used the Apple Watch since - a device that has real standalone GPS, outstanding battery life and no frills or useless gimmicks (the apps on the Apple Watch are so slow I don't know a single person who actually uses them).
I've had the VA since release and think it's a great device as it's small, power efficient, has its own GPS receiver and while the smartphone functionality is limited I'm fine with just getting notifications pushed to the watch, most other stuff I'd rather run on my phone than the tiny screen. I'd check compatibility though on the Garmin forums as it works well with some devices and not well with others, iPhones in particular have more limited options and can have trouble with unstable connections.
John
Battery life is ridiculously good and even with daily 80 mins of GPS usage I get over a week of battery power. Without GPS usage you'd stretch that to 2-3 weeks on a single charge! It connects to my HRM and speed/cadence sensor without issue.
Integrates with Garmin Connect and syncs via your phone and simple apps can be downloaded from the phone app to add things like HIIT timers etc.
The screen is IMO spot on in all lighting conditions and doesn't suffer the same issues as LCD, viewing angles also great.
Check DCrainmaker for a thorough review, but I'd recommend unreservedly.