Garmin's Vivoactive HR is for anyone who enjoys the outdoors
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The Vivoactive HR isn't like many of Garmin's other products.
It's not just for athletes, but rather anyone who loves the outdoors, and being active.
That's because it's not designed for a specific sport.
The $250 watch seems to have it all.
It can track all day activities like steps, floors climbed, and sleep.
There's also smartphone notifications when connected to an iPhone or Android device.
Plus, it has an optical heart rate sensor on the back and GPS for measuring just about every activity you can imagine.
It can track more than 14 sports, that includes running, cycling, golfing, swimming, skiing, rowing, and even paddle boarding.
And it does all of this without having to be charged every night.
You can expect up to eight days of battery life or up to 13 hours with an active GPS signal.
So, overall, it's pretty clear that I'm a fan of the watch, but there are some things that need to be pointed out, like the design.
It's big and bulky and won't appeal to everyone, although the watch is waterproof up to 50 meters, which I do like.
The heart rate sensor is also good, but it's not perfect and can fluctuate when doing fast interval workouts.
I also experienced occasional hiccups with syncing and bluetooth connection to my android phone.
The connection problems weren't as frequent as with the original Vivoactive but it's still an area where [UNKNOWN] needs to improve.
So who would I recommend this watch for?
Pretty much any active consumer.
The waterproof design, the long battery life and multiple sport profiles also make it a better value than Surge.
And while it is fully capable of tracking running, cycling, and swimming, I wouldn't recommend it for dedicated runners and trialthletes, because it is missing some more advanced features.
But for the casual walker, runner, hiker, golfer, swimmer, biker, or just about anyone else The Vivoactive HR is a solid five.
For more information and recommendations on other watches to consider, check out my full review over at cnet.com.
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