Cheeky question for garmin smartwatch owners...

[EnterFunnyNameHere]

Hi,

Apologies for the shameless info hunt - I have tried to Google but can't get a definitive answer. I got some money for my birthday and am looking to treat myself to a new smartwatch (one with GPS). I currently have an old fitbit and I really hate how many of their features are actually only available if you pay for the premium app access ("fitbit premium" I think).

I'm looking at a Garmin Venu/Venu2 and just wondered if any current owners know if its a similar situation? The basic garmin app is free but does that actually give you access to all features?

I think it's so cheeky how much fitbit hide the fact the fancier features are only available if you buy the expensive watch and then a premium subscription on top - bastards!!

TIA

Garmin synchronise with Strava...

You only get the features available on the watch SO if your watch doesn't support power meters then you won't get that data on the app. Simple really.

I had fitbit & garmin both synchronised with Strava.
Using a garmin (forerunner? For journey & pace plotting) without a heart rate monitor, the garmin estimated my heart rate numbers and those Garmin numbers over-wrote the fitbit heart rate numbers: I got a flat top estimates of my heart rate for the duration on my fitbit record. Took a while to figure out what was messing up the Fitbit heart rate numbers.

So now my fitbit doesn't sync with Strava because I don't need them to sync & I use the Garmin (or phone) if I want to record the journey & sync with Strava. I couldn't find another solution to stop Garmin over-writing the Fitbit heart rate numbers. This was a few years ago, maybe another solution exists now.

Others in my household use Garmin, or Polar. They want to know how fast they went, and how far, to very high accuracy without having to use phone to record the journey. They have almost zero interesting in possible health aspects like active minutes, sleep quality, calories, steps or even auto-recognising activities.

Does a Garmin Venu2 really cost £350? Wow. Picked up my current Fitbit, Charge3, 2nd hand for £15.

@RainingYetAgain you can change the strap on a Garmin. The Garmin own brand are stupid expensive but I have some lovely leather and mesh ones from other companies. You need to look for one with a quick release pin. I think most Samsung type straps fit Garmin Forerunner, but check the width first. Google "quick release smartwatch strap XXmm"

@StamppotAndGravy
Thanks, I'll give that a go