So I bought my first smartwatch yesterday.
But first, a brief backstory:
I’m familiar with the lcd (liquid crystal display) digital heart rate monitors minus the chest straps. I’ve had a few over the course of this... journey (?). I was looking for something as close to no-frills-as-it-gets when looking at smartwatches bc while yes I’m well aware that they could replace mobile phones someday, it doesn’t mean I needed to spend an arm and a leg for all the bells and whistles when all I require are a few basic functions. Although, all things being relative, blowing upwards of $250 on a watch to acess those functions seems a tad excessive, but it is what it is.
There. All caught up.
Truth be told, I’ve been looking at smartwatches since Fitbit and Samsung launched their respective lines. Trouble was, they were expensive af, and to add insult to injury, I wasn’t sure they’d fit me. Yeah Fitbit has their dinky little printable guide, but that still didn’t help bc it still wasn’t accurate. I knew my bracelet size (between 8-9 inches depending on thickness), but that still remained an issue as most smartwatches (for women especially) came up short in terms of sizing (see what I did there?).
Now, when you’re an active plus-sized individual (that’s right, we out here!), or looking to become active, that can be discouraging bc we want and deserve to be able to keep track of our stats.
Anyhoo, after much frustrated searching amongst popular brands like Apple (ew), Samsung, Fitbit, et. al,, I ended up on the Garmin website.
I knew Garmin from their car gps systems, and they’ve since jumped into the smartwatch market while integrating their gps tech into their line.
That’s fine. Great for them. But that made for a somewhat aggravating sub-search for a watch that had the functions i needed that didn’t break the bank.
Behold! the Vivoactive HR!
Yeah, I did balk at the pricetag (the aforementioned $250) and knew I could get it cheaper elsewhere, like Amazon (double ew), but I was in Walmart, and figured I’d get it.
Money well spent. Since it’s not my money (it was the spawners’, and no, they don’t know.).
I tried it on as soon as I got in the car. I noticed they had different band sizes on the web (Reg, Large, and XL), but while in the store, I forgot to check/ask about band size. I was just happy they had the damn thing in stock. You can only imagine the utter relief I felt when I was able to fasten the band.
However, once I got it home, I had a bit of trouble getting it started. There’s a software bug that prevented it from powering on, or even charging. I’ve decided to call it “The Freshness Seal Protocol” (blame spider-man: homecoming for that one). I found the solution on the Garmin forum, and got it booted and charged.
Not only does it have the functions I required, but it also pairs with my phone via Bluetooth and the Garmin Connect app. The heart rate and calorie burn data fields are every bit as accurate as the old lcd watches, only there are no sensors to press or hold or chest straps to deal with (they’re optional and available on Garmin’s site if one’s already used to using them). Just set & forget.
As for the other functions, I’m sure they’re great, but as long as it continues to have what I need, I think the Vivoactive HR and I will have a lovely relationship.