What Garmin watch features do I really need for fitness?

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
The "I will ride _____km in 2021" thread has me now looking at GPS watches to track how many km’s I’m doing without faffing with the phone, and naturally I’ve now gone off the deep end looking at what they can do...


I’m pretty keen on the Garmins (most likely Instinctbut not really sure what features are useful to a non-racer wanting to wind back the clock and get fitter.

Stuff I’m wondering about is:
  • Pulse Ox blood saturation
  • Incident detection and assistance
  • HRV stress test
  • Vo2 max
  • Functional power threshold

I’ve done HR based training about 15+ years ago and will get back to that this year, but have no idea if the other things might be useful down the track?

I’m also curious if the incident detection stuff is useful or a gimmick given my habit of solo night riding?
 

teK--

Eats Squid
Most of those features sound like gimicks and I don't have or feel I need them.

Have been running the Instinct with HR strap and wheel speed sensor. Use it for riding, hiking/walking, and weight training.

It is bombproof super accurate and reliable. The monochrome screen is clearly visible in all lighting conditions and battery lasts forever. Get the Wahoo strap it is much better and durable design than the Garmin ones.
 

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
Most of those features sound like gimicks and I don't have or feel I need them.

Have been running the Instinct with HR strap and wheel speed sensor. Use it for riding, hiking/walking, and weight training.

It is bombproof super accurate and reliable. The monochrome screen is clearly visible in all lighting conditions and battery lasts forever. Get the Wahoo strap it is much better and durable design than the Garmin ones.
Thanks for that.

Out of curiosity, how do you use it for weight training?
 

bear the bear

Is a real bear
Stuff I’m wondering about is:
  • Pulse Ox blood saturation Rubbish unless you are doing altitude acclimatisation
  • Incident detection and assistance Haven't tried with a garmin watch, but is turned off by default on 530/830
  • HRV stress test Gimmick, why can't they provide a number post-sleep?
  • Vo2 max Guesstimate
  • Functional power threshold Only works if you have a powermeter
I’ve done HR based training about 15+ years ago and will get back to that this year, but have no idea if the other things might be useful down the track?

I’m also curious if the incident detection stuff is useful or a gimmick given my habit of solo night riding?
Buy a Edge 530/830
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
I find the incident detection useful for giving Mrs George peace of mind. Bear in mind it's only going to tell someone you're lying on the ground incapacitated. It'll give them coordinates for where you are, but it can't tell how badly you're hurt, and it won't actually alert the authorities. It can be a little trigger happy, but that's on an Edge 820, a wrist strap may be a totally different story.

Other than that, @bear the bear is on the money. I have no need to replace my 820 yet.
 

goobags

Likes Dirt
ANT+ compatible is a big requirement, but most Garmin watches have it. So you can connect external sensors to the watch. GPS is horrible for distance without a wheel sensor and the HR on a watch is also terrible when riding. I have a 645 and a mate has a 735(?) and we both struggle with wrist based HR only while riding.

Edit: also since it’s a watch, look for good battery life. From experience 3-4 days of normal non-GPS use would be a good minimum otherwise it’s a bit annoying, then it also struggles on longer rides particularly if your already at 50% charge

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Minlak

custom titis
Buy a Fenix 6 on special from some one of you are going watch - will do wrist based hr and you can pair a strap if you choose to - HR is not the best for training bike a power meter works better - if you get the Fenix you have the options if you want / find you need them.
The HR from the wrist when riding is dodgy until you find where you need to wear it. When I’m riding I have my watch 2 holes looser than when running or walking and it works fine - just had to find the sweet spot.
If you want it for just riding get an Edge 530 instead - you can pair with HR strap.

I personally run a Fenix 5 on the wrist and a edge 530 on the bike - set the watch to hr broadcast mode and record hr on the edge 530

Battery life is fine on Fenix just GPS mode will drain it faster when being used. Otherwise I get around 5 days including 3 ride days out of it broadcasting HR on rides.
 

RichJS

Likes Dirt
  • Pulse Ox blood saturation
  • Incident detection and assistance
  • HRV stress test
  • Vo2 max
  • Functional power threshold
Why do you want a watch - will you be using it for activities other than riding? If riding, will it mostly be MTB?

I just upgraded a Fenix 5X to 6. I have a few Garmin Edge units. Garmin watch handles bike activities pretty well, but having to look at a wrist watch when riding seems sub-optimal. Wrapping it around your bars, likewise. Just use an Edge when riding. But to answer your queries:

SPO2 - Now I have a Fenix 6, I know my SPO2. Though I already knew it because I bought a $20 Pulse Ox sensor froma ebay a while back. I don't continuously track it on the Fenix 6 because doing so chews much power - loses 35% of battery life. And unless I'm getting sick, I don't expect it to change. Doesn't seem overly useful - or is there more that I just don't know about it?

Incident detection - Never used it on the watch. On an Edge while MTBing it's crap: Race up to a gate or something, jam on the brakes to stop and push gate open, just as I restart riding "Incident detected"! Then I have to press the screen with a gloved finger on my Edge 820 which is just crap at sensing touch with anything less than ideal conditions. Then I fail to cancel it in time and it sends a message to the better half, who ignores it. Oh, and it's only turned on because I absent mindedly looked at the page for it in Garmin Connect app - which turns it on. To turn it off I need to find the setting ON THE EDGE UNIT buried layers deep in the settings ... (located in a disused toilet in a basement, inside a locked filing cabinet with a sign "beware of the leopard.") YMMV.

HRV stress test - seems like a reasonable tool to assess recovery/any illness, but needs a HR chest strap (get one in a bundle with an Edge.) Also, Wrist PPG HR on the Fenix 5X is average - easily corrupted on sunny days when running, paddling etc moves your arm around. Fenis 6 seems a bit better. Chest strap ECG HR is much more reliable.

VO2 Max - running VO2 Max is calculated on-watch with just HR and GPS/accelerometers. Or you could just see how many laps of the local oval you can do in 12 minutes (Cooper Test.) Bike riding VO2Max requires a power meter: Yay, more toys to buy: Stages XT left-hand crankarm perhaps the cheapest MTB PM that isn't crap? Assuming your bike has clearance.

FTP - as per VO2 Max. These are pretty meaningful indicators, but they don't tell you much more than, say, regularly recording times on your favourite climb whilst keeping your HR at similar values.

So, if you're mostly MTBing, get an Edge. If you run a bit as well, I would get the most expensive Edge you can afford, after putting aside some $ for the cheapest watch you can cope with - Vivactive 3 or Instinct have recently been offered for just over $200. You can of course run with the Edge in your pocket, too - especially if you use the "Edge Plus" Connect IQ app. If you swim, and maybe paddle, XC Ski, etcetc then consider a Fenix (or Forerunner.)

Or go Wahoo instead.. Whatever. Just start reading dcrainmaker for real reviews of all of them. He does tend to gloss over Garmin's shortcomings tho: When I bought my Edge 820 I thought it would be so much better than my old Edge Touring, faster, way more features, capacitive touchscreen a step up on resistive, etc. No mention in the dcr reviews of how poor the touch was, nor how often they crashed. Took a couple of years to get reliable. No complaints about the 1030 tho, apart from price, and that it isn't suited to MTB cause it's large and a stack will break it and then when you repair it yourself you'll cause other issues. The 130 is tiny, light, cheap given the features (nearly everything except maps and wifi) and the monochrome screen makes it super readable.

TL;DR - bear already said get an Edge 530/830.

PS: If you think a $500 Edge / Fenix / other sporty Garmin with maps will also give you excellent re-routable directions like, say, a $200 Garmin car navigator, you'd be very, very wrong.
 

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
Why do you want a watch - will you be using it for activities other than riding? If riding, will it mostly be MTB?

I just upgraded a Fenix 5X to 6. I have a few Garmin Edge units. Garmin watch handles bike activities pretty well, but having to look at a wrist watch when riding seems sub-optimal. Wrapping it around your bars, likewise. Just use an Edge when riding. But to answer your queries:

SPO2 - Now I have a Fenix 6, I know my SPO2. Though I already knew it because I bought a $20 Pulse Ox sensor froma ebay a while back. I don't continuously track it on the Fenix 6 because doing so chews much power - loses 35% of battery life. And unless I'm getting sick, I don't expect it to change. Doesn't seem overly useful - or is there more that I just don't know about it?

Incident detection - Never used it on the watch. On an Edge while MTBing it's crap: Race up to a gate or something, jam on the brakes to stop and push gate open, just as I restart riding "Incident detected"! Then I have to press the screen with a gloved finger on my Edge 820 which is just crap at sensing touch with anything less than ideal conditions. Then I fail to cancel it in time and it sends a message to the better half, who ignores it. Oh, and it's only turned on because I absent mindedly looked at the page for it in Garmin Connect app - which turns it on. To turn it off I need to find the setting ON THE EDGE UNIT buried layers deep in the settings ... (located in a disused toilet in a basement, inside a locked filing cabinet with a sign "beware of the leopard.") YMMV.

HRV stress test - seems like a reasonable tool to assess recovery/any illness, but needs a HR chest strap (get one in a bundle with an Edge.) Also, Wrist PPG HR on the Fenix 5X is average - easily corrupted on sunny days when running, paddling etc moves your arm around. Fenis 6 seems a bit better. Chest strap ECG HR is much more reliable.

VO2 Max - running VO2 Max is calculated on-watch with just HR and GPS/accelerometers. Or you could just see how many laps of the local oval you can do in 12 minutes (Cooper Test.) Bike riding VO2Max requires a power meter: Yay, more toys to buy: Stages XT left-hand crankarm perhaps the cheapest MTB PM that isn't crap? Assuming your bike has clearance.

FTP - as per VO2 Max. These are pretty meaningful indicators, but they don't tell you much more than, say, regularly recording times on your favourite climb whilst keeping your HR at similar values.

So, if you're mostly MTBing, get an Edge. If you run a bit as well, I would get the most expensive Edge you can afford, after putting aside some $ for the cheapest watch you can cope with - Vivactive 3 or Instinct have recently been offered for just over $200. You can of course run with the Edge in your pocket, too - especially if you use the "Edge Plus" Connect IQ app. If you swim, and maybe paddle, XC Ski, etcetc then consider a Fenix (or Forerunner.)

Or go Wahoo instead.. Whatever. Just start reading dcrainmaker for real reviews of all of them. He does tend to gloss over Garmin's shortcomings tho: When I bought my Edge 820 I thought it would be so much better than my old Edge Touring, faster, way more features, capacitive touchscreen a step up on resistive, etc. No mention in the dcr reviews of how poor the touch was, nor how often they crashed. Took a couple of years to get reliable. No complaints about the 1030 tho, apart from price, and that it isn't suited to MTB cause it's large and a stack will break it and then when you repair it yourself you'll cause other issues. The 130 is tiny, light, cheap given the features (nearly everything except maps and wifi) and the monochrome screen makes it super readable.

TL;DR - bear already said get an Edge 530/830.

PS: If you think a $500 Edge / Fenix / other sporty Garmin with maps will also give you excellent re-routable directions like, say, a $200 Garmin car navigator, you'd be very, very wring.
Thanks for the feedback.

Yeah, I’m keen on a watch so that I can use it for running (and maybe swimming as well), and I’m not really that fussed on using mapping live, the GPS is really just for logging purposes. I could just buy a HR and speed sensor but I usually pack away my phone when riding so the convenience of it on my wrist appealed.

An Edge is an option I hadn’t given much thought to. I suppose that would cover me for the bike and I could pair sensors to the phone for running.
 

teK--

Eats Squid
If you are going to do multi sports, definitely get the watch, and preferably one that doesn't have a touch screen.

I don't miss having a computer on the handlebars. Really how often are you need to look at data at a time when you can't just look down at your wrist? e.g. climbing etc.

Also being able to access all controls with a gloved hand is important, which rules out most small touchscreens.

If you're used to having a computer on your handlebars, maybe try a ride with it in your bag. You may be surprised how little you need to have the data in front of you all the time.

I bought a bar mount when I changed to a watch, and have never even used it. Having clean Bars with minimal attachments to break off, damage, or be a distraction is a great thing. My opinion of course.
 

creaky

XMAS Plumper
Having clean Bars with minimal attachments to break off, damage, or be a distraction is a great thing. My opinion of course.
I don’t recall damaging a bar mount gps ever. First time I wore my watch on a MTB ride I ate shit and scratched the hell out of the watch face. Tears ensued.

I do a bit of running nowadays. If I were to start afresh with one GPS device now it would certainly be a watch, but I would need one with mapping of preloaded routes like the Fenix (I have a 5 something) as I use this regularly for routing of runs and rides (on an Edge) in new areas which saves a lot of ‘where am I time’.
 

gippyz

Likes Dirt
I don’t recall damaging a bar mount gps ever. First time I wore my watch on a MTB ride I ate shit and scratched the hell out of the watch face. Tears ensued.

I do a bit of running nowadays. If I were to start afresh with one GPS device now it would certainly be a watch, but I would need one with mapping of preloaded routes like the Fenix (I have a 5 something) as I use this regularly for routing of runs and rides (on an Edge) in new areas which saves a lot of ‘where am I time’.
I broke 2 bike computers mounted on my bar after I faceplanted. I escaped unscathed, but the devices' screen broke. Maybe the bike landed on it while i sumersaulted over it. My phone that's in my shorts pocket didn't see a single scratch or crack on both occasions. So yes they can break. Just depends on how you crashed.

I have though been wondering how durable those watches are. Well u answered it there..
 

teK--

Eats Squid
I broke 2 bike computers mounted on my bar after I faceplanted. I escaped unscathed, but the devices' screen broke. Maybe the bike landed on it while i sumersaulted over it. My phone that's in my shorts pocket didn't see a single scratch or crack on both occasions. So yes they can break. Just depends on how you crashed.

I have though been wondering how durable those watches are. Well u answered it there..
Similar experience. Have had 2 decent scratches across face of bike computers from crashes. With the watch I fit a tempered glass screen protector. They are easily replaceable when damaged at a few dollars each.
 

Milpool

Have knuckles, will drag
I've got an Instinct. I haven't bothered to get a hr strap or anything like that, the elevation seems a bit wild on it, can differ by 100m or so compared to friends or Strava but it logs my rides, uploads straight to strava and tells the time, don't need too much more from a watch. I've used it to track walks and pay attention to the step counter every now and then but I haven't had any other watches or computers to compare to. Aesthetically it's the only Garmin I was interested in for full time use too.
 

teK--

Eats Squid
I've got an Instinct. I haven't bothered to get a hr strap or anything like that, the elevation seems a bit wild on it, can differ by 100m or so compared to friends or Strava but it logs my rides, uploads straight to strava and tells the time, don't need too much more from a watch. I've used it to track walks and pay attention to the step counter every now and then but I haven't had any other watches or computers to compare to. Aesthetically it's the only Garmin I was interested in for full time use too.
Check your GPS settings you want the option that uses a combination of the onboard barometer, and GPS/known elevation data. Once this option became available in layer firmware, I find the altitude readings are very accurate.
 
Top