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Garmin Vivoactive
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Is anyone using this GPS/Smartwatch/activity tracker? I have been drooling over one for months, but have not picked one up yet. Im interested in feedback from people actually using one.
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [ZeeTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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If you haven't already, DC Rainmaker's review is excellent (as usual) & there are tons of comments.
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [ZeeTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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I have it. It is not my primary training device, I have a bin full of Garmin devices and use 920 day in and day out. Vivoactive will do a lot of things good but none like 920, so it makes a nice back up computer.
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [ZeeTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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Just got one and have spent about 2 days and a couple runs with it. I'm extremely impressed with it personally. The features I like are: sleep tracking, steps throughout the day, and it's small profile. It actually makes a decent looking watch if you're kind of a tech geek.

For tri stuff, it serves me pretty well running. I guess you can sync a heart rate monitor but I just use pace on the run and I've been impressed by the GPS accuracy thus far. Haven't tried the swim or golf functions yet and since I use power on the bike, it probably will never be a bike computer for me.

My summary would be that this thing is like a fit bit on Barry Bonds style steroids. Not going to be the best at anything for tri training but super handy for the daily routine.
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [IronDadTony] [ In reply to ]
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Just got mine and took it out on its first run. Like the Live Tracking feature
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [Wickedfast] [ In reply to ]
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I've had mine for 2 weeks now and absolutely love it - it's my daily wrist worn watch (easily the thinnest, lightest watch I've ever owned) and fits great. I downloaded the 13.1 race data field widget/app for my half marathon last weekend and it worked awesome.

Biking wise I keep it on my wrist and just turn it on so I really don't look at it more or less.

Running wise its very nice but to me the look or UI of the data fields are a bit ugly. Not bad at all and certainly do their job, im just being picky.

Swimming wise its great to have a swim lap tracker to analyze my data. Not sure if it is just mine or not but once I hit the lap button to stop after say a 100m lap, the stupid "hold to stop" pop up screen comes up and stops counting my overall time in the bottom left of the data field. So it sucks because if im on an interval I can't see how long its been since I stopped it. I have to keep touching the screen repeatedly so that is very annoying but still works technically.

The Garmin IQ store certainly needs massive help from the devs. No good looking watch faces and the apps/widgets need help too. But the race predictor app/data field is super super cool!

All in all, for the price I don't think it can be beat in the form factor, all around usage and 'smart' capability. Hopefully it gets even better the more Garmin IQ gets dev support and firmware updates from Garmin.
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [ZeeTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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Really like mine, it tracks my training and didn't want to spend the extra cash on a 920, and the fact that it's significantly smaller is a huge bonus.

I don't use power, so bike displays everything I need.

Running is excellent, I came from a 410 and setting up fields that I am used to was no problem. I use one screen for normal runs, one for track workouts (where I hit lap), and 1 for HR based runs. I guess not displaying intervals is a problem for some, mine are always time or distance based so I prefer to compute them in my head anyway. Satellite pickup is great, I do start some runs in the city with a group and have just relied on the internal accelerometer until it finds itself which is a great improvement. No need for a foot pod.

Swimming is new for me and a lot of fun to finally track. Lap tracking has always been outstanding, despite some reviews warning otherwise. I'm glad i tried it for myself. I don't even do flip turns or particularly effective push-offs. I just leave it paused for kick board drills. (this does make my review on garmin connect a bit odd, it says my time was 50:00 but moving time was only 25:00 because it lost 12:00 minutes of kicking). The vibrate when pause/start is strong which is nice, I don't have to look down to start/stop it 15 times very workout.

Con that I haven't seen mentioned - I don't want to hit "save" after a workout. Save the freaking thing and I'll delete it on the website/app if I really want to. How many times do I need that feature? About 1 for every time I think "don't accidentally delete this"

I don't particularly care about the steps or smartwatch features and it's still hands down the best triathlon training you can get for $250.

I think people buying one expecting new funtionality from the app store are delusional. This thing has the hardware capability to decimate the Fenix3/920xt market (it would be an amazing sprint, oly, HIM watch with a few abilities enabled). Unless something else in the market forces them to do that at the $250 price point, don't hold your breath.
Last edited by: chris948: Apr 24, 15 8:22
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [chris948] [ In reply to ]
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I've been looking at this watch lately and like to way it functions.

I don't train with power when outside so I think it could be a great all around watch. I also like the smart watch functions.

One thing I'm curious about is the battery life. You have had it for a while now, how it is doing?
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [svennn] [ In reply to ]
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svennn wrote:
I've been looking at this watch lately and like to way it functions.

I don't train with power when outside so I think it could be a great all around watch. I also like the smart watch functions.

One thing I'm curious about is the battery life. You have had it for a while now, how it is doing?



I'm still loving mine - I downloaded the triathlon app for my race this past weekend and it worked great except I think I hit the run button twice so I had to start it while starting the run, which worked fine. All the data synced right up as soon as I was within range of my phone. I love it.

I wear it all the time except to sleep. I've got a wonderful watch tan :)

Battery wise, mine lasts a solid 5 days before I charge it. It could easily go longer but if I have a double workout day I don't want to risk it dying on me. Every now and then it will drain like crazy. But it's merely a matter or restarting the watch and it's back to normal. I now will just restart the watch after I charge it to solve any of those issues. Not a problem, takes 30 seconds from start to finish. The other gripe is sometimes it doesn't sync with the phone and I have to restart the watch and or turn on/off BT on my phone. Again, not a biggy. It has never dropped on a workout yet. Swim sometimes get's screwy if I do drills but regular lap freestyle works great.

For the money, it can't be beat.
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [ZeeTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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I have had my vivoactive for a few weeks now and I have absolutely enjoyed it. I do own a 910xt and an edge 500 so I rely on the 910 in races and the edge 500 for bike rides. I was pondering buying the 920 watch but decided I didn't want to take the loss on the 910 that I was not having issues with.

The main things I like about the watch are : slimmer profile, great battery life for a smartwatch, and ease of use. The touch screen is very easy to navigate and the gps syncs rather quickly before workouts. I like the simplicity of the data shown on the screen during runs and swims as it is easy to read and use. This watch has become my go to for most workouts during the week and being able to upload to garmin connect and then to strava immediately makes it even more user friendly.

If you don't like the bulky feel of the 910 or 920, I would recommend the vivoactive to you. It is really nice knowing that if it is on your wrist that you can record your workout if your other devices aren't sufficiently charged.
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [ZeeTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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Have mine on order, impatiently awaiting.

Given that it has BTLE (to sync with phones); I'm hoping that they eventually also let BTLE sensors work (right now it's just Garmin's ANT+).

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [ZeeTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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Been playing around with mine for a few days now. Overall I'm really pleased with it, and definitely recommend.

-The battery life is excellent, even when using the GPS frequently.

-It's just the right size for an everyday watch, and tiny for a bike computer.

-The GPS locks quickly and adjusts to changes in running tempo quickly (it's a Garmin, I kinda expect this).

-When I first got it the screen seems a bit dim, but you adjust to it literally within an hour. Very easy to read in sunlight, had to use the backlight to read it in a darkened car.

-Connecting to my iPhone,my Wahoo speed/cadence sensor and Mio Link HRM was easy/painless. There was one time I was having trouble connecting and just turning the watch off and on solved things.

-It picks up my phone as soon as I get back in the house from a run, so uploads are automatic/easy.

-Personally I'm not a big fan of Garmin Connect, but you can link to Strava and other systems.

-The interface is straightforward, but not super refined (pretty standard for a V1.0 android watch interface). None of the UI refinements of the Apple watch, but gets the job done.

-The fitness and sleep tracking work quite well, though I wish I could turn off some of the alerts (alerts for an incoming call while I'm driving are great [no need to even think of fishing for my phone to see who it is], but the fitness program prodding you to get up and move is annoying when you are trying to finish a presentation before a big meeting).

-The app store is limited, but has some nice apps like the triathlon one, and one that allows more data fields on screen for running and cycling.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Garmin Vivoactive [Titanflexr] [ In reply to ]
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You can uninstall portions of the software when plugged into a desktop.

Golf, indoor walking and activity tracking are off mine.
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