Fitness watches

rohleder644
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rohleder644
I’m kicking around the idea of getting a fitness watch and have realized there’s more options than I could have known. My list of needs are pretty basic when compared to what’s available. I’m looking for something to wear while riding off road, mountain biking, and hiking in the mountains. I’d like some gps help. It’d be cool to be able to download known routes. And record uncharted routes. Elevation gain and descent would be cool. I’d like to be able to start/stop laps when I’m knocking out moto’s on the woods loop. It seems like if it could pair with my crank sensors to pick up cadence, I could eliminate my bike computers. I don’t really do any power metering. Being able to record a “workout” and analyze it in an app of some sort would be nice. This is something I would probably only wear during workouts. So, all the sleep monitoring and recovery in general isn’t too important to me. But I’m not mad at the idea of all that stuff either. I’m not too worried about price. I’m not dying to spend the most possible, but I know you get what you pay for. Also, I currently use all things Wahoo, but their watch seems like it needs a few years to grow. Then again, maybe you can convince me otherwise.

So…..does such a beast exist? Which direction should I look?
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Splat03 12/16/2021 2:06pm
12/16/2021 2:06pm
Check out Garmin. They have some watches that include GPS that are really good but I don't think they do the fitness portion you're looking for.

OnX is a hunting map app you can subscribe to on an yearly basis. They make an offroad version as well. I've used the hunting version and it is amazing, haven't tried the offroad yet. It tracks accurately even without cell service and you can save your routes, plus add pics and waypoints. If you pair that with a fitness watch it should cover almost everything you want.

I use a Fitbit. I like it and it works well for the fitness side of things. It stays on well while riding. The bands are rubber and I'm sure it would rip if I take a significant digger but so far, so good. The app keeps asking me to allow it to track me using gps. I've denied the tracking service, maybe someone else could touch on it.
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crowe660
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crowe660 12/16/2021 3:30pm
12/16/2021 3:30pm Edited Date/Time 12/16/2021 3:31pm
Second Garmin. I have a vivoactive 4 and use a chest strap for better HR accuracy. The GPS is 10x better than my previous apple watch. The app is really good too. I'm able to do laptimes/HR avg with the free litpro app as well which is really, probably my favorite thing about this watch. It also sleep monitors and tracks everything that goes along with that.
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Gravity Cavity 12/18/2021 6:55am
12/18/2021 6:55am
crowe660 wrote:
Second Garmin. I have a vivoactive 4 and use a chest strap for better HR accuracy. The GPS is 10x better than my previous apple watch...
Second Garmin. I have a vivoactive 4 and use a chest strap for better HR accuracy. The GPS is 10x better than my previous apple watch. The app is really good too. I'm able to do laptimes/HR avg with the free litpro app as well which is really, probably my favorite thing about this watch. It also sleep monitors and tracks everything that goes along with that.
How does that work? so, with that watch if I get the lit pro ap I can get my lap times by using the gps in the Garmin? Thanks
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zehn
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zehn 12/18/2021 7:07am
12/18/2021 7:07am
I use a Suunto 9 that is awesome. It has a barometer which is very useful for me because I do a lot of climbing and mountaineering. It has amazing battery life and has routes etc and a extremely accurate GPS

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crowe660
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crowe660 12/18/2021 7:15am
12/18/2021 7:15am
crowe660 wrote:
Second Garmin. I have a vivoactive 4 and use a chest strap for better HR accuracy. The GPS is 10x better than my previous apple watch...
Second Garmin. I have a vivoactive 4 and use a chest strap for better HR accuracy. The GPS is 10x better than my previous apple watch. The app is really good too. I'm able to do laptimes/HR avg with the free litpro app as well which is really, probably my favorite thing about this watch. It also sleep monitors and tracks everything that goes along with that.
Gravity Cavity wrote:
How does that work? so, with that watch if I get the lit pro ap I can get my lap times by using the gps in...
How does that work? so, with that watch if I get the lit pro ap I can get my lap times by using the gps in the Garmin? Thanks
https://www.litprolive.com/begin-gpswatch
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FLmxer
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FLmxer 12/21/2021 9:48pm
12/21/2021 9:48pm Edited Date/Time 12/21/2021 9:50pm
I used to wear one all the time. My wife still does. I want to see if mine still holds a charge . I like how it tells you to get up when you have been lazy too long during the day and has you do some jumping jacks or similar exercises right then to get the blood flowing. You can put your weight and target weight in and if you follow the daily steps and random exercises it suggests and obviously a decent diet it definitely helps motivate you to do that little bit extra and reach your goal. Like a cheap personal trainer.
murph783
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murph783 12/25/2021 5:52am
12/25/2021 5:52am
So I’m currently in a polar vantage M. They do have an updated M2, but I haven’t found the need to update yet cause I’m so happy with this one. I will eventually though. The only thing you mentioned that I’m not sure it’ll do is pick up cadence from your crank sensors. Everything else is on the table. Auto ties in to strava once you set it up, so all your segments, avg speed, climb/descents, all that fun stuff is there. I wear it when I moto and set the track as a strava segment, and it auto records my lap times which is cool. I think it’s only accurate to within .5 of a second if I remember correctly? But for just monkeying around on practice days that’s good by me. And I think I spent less that $200 on it?

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