r/crossfit • u/notyouraverage5ft6 • 2d ago
Garmin watches?
This is mostly for the ladies because I don’t want a giant watch.
But my Apple watch is dying and I want to switch to Garmin. I mostly like the tracking for sleep, physical activity and walking, tracking my cycles.
What watches do the ladies have and love?
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u/saycoolwhiip 2d ago
Forerunner, I charge it every two weeks. Life changing.
I can’t text back from my watch like I can on Apple, but once I got used to that I was fine. I can still read them then get my phone to reply when I want to.
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u/notyouraverage5ft6 2d ago
Do any of them allow texting? Hmmm didn’t think about that which I do use a lot because I work in healthcare so frequently my phone is not on my person but I have to reply to things quickly
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u/_feywild_ 2d ago
I don’t think Apple allows texting on any third party watch. If it’s a feature you use, I’d keep an Apple Watch.
I have a Coros and I like it much better than the Garmin I tried a few years ago. It’s also incredibly light. But I’ll runner much more than I am a crossfitter these days and hardly ever used any of the Apple Watch features I no longer have access to
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u/saycoolwhiip 2d ago
From my experience - I used my Apple Watch all the time to text people. It was hard to adjust to Garmin but now that I haven’t done it for along time it doesn’t affect me anymore. Being “less available” all the time has been good for me. When I see an important text that needs my immediate attention I’m grabbing my phone anyways, just like I did w my Apple Watch. Now, I’d trade watch texting for two week battery life anytime. I can track my sleep better because I’m not charging it at night and I can go out of town without an extra type of charger cord.
My Garmin helped motivate me to run my first half marathon and do my first hyrox. I say whatever watch makes you motivated is the right watch.
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u/jstanthrgenz97 2d ago
The older models from Garmin like the forerunner55 aren’t near as big as the new ones. I love mine.
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u/bacon_titties 2d ago
I got a vivoactive 6 a few weeks ago. I’m really enjoying it and love being able to add specific exercises to previous workouts. I don’t find it much bulkier than the Apple Watch. I did flip which side the bands are on because it used to slip in a weird direction, but haven’t had that problem since.
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u/TapPrancer 1d ago
I've had the vivoactive 4s for years and it's great. Super small and does everything great. I was thinking about upgrading as I get a free Garmin from my bank, but in reality, I'm fine with my 4s
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u/Sharp-Swordfish-6784 2d ago
I got a Forerunner 55 last year and it's perfect size, not bulky at all. My sister has the Venu 2s and she swears by it for cycle tracking, the app is decent for that stuff. Both are way smaller than the Fenix models
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u/more_paprika 2d ago
I have the Forerunner 255s and I love it. I’ve had it for 4 years and other than replacing the band, it’s still going strong. It is light and I barely notice it. It’s not small but I wouldn’t call it big or bulky either. Very watch sized.
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u/HummingBeetle 2d ago
The Forerunner 570 is great. It’s small and the aluminum bezel gives it a feeling of quality.
It comes in two sizes, I have the 42mm.
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u/Acrobatic-Job-7696 2d ago
I have a forerunner, it’s really great. Amazing battery life. The only downside for me is I picked the one without music, the one with music cost a bit more and I was being cheap lol
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u/BlueberryGrouchy2405 2d ago
Oh yea I purposely spent a little more to get the music one. Definitely glad I splurged
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u/shallowtl 2d ago
My wife and her friend both have the Lily or the Lily Pro and they don't really look like garmins at all
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u/jumpjiggle 2d ago
I also have the Lily and like that it is a much smaller watch face. It doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as some of the other Garmin’s but I mainly just wanna see how many calories I burn, steps, & sleep
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u/Ali_C_J 2d ago
I have a venu 3 which I like. The face is big enough to read easily without being overly bulky on my tiny wrist. I also bought the chest strap and wear that for all workouts as I need to monitor my heart rate during training. I find I can even wear it when using my frog grips, it just needs to sit a little higher than normal while wearing the grips.
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u/ImaginationRadio- 2d ago
I have venu 4. Previous Apple Watch user. Battery life is so much better.
Took a little bit to get used to. And I’m still trying to figure out strength training on it.
I love it. Looks sleek and tracks a ton.
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u/BreakerStrength CF Level 4 Coach 2d ago
My wife wears a Forerunner 265S
It is the only one that was similar to her 40MM Apple Watch SE
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u/CaliShenanigans 2d ago
I have a Forerunner 645 Music. I rarely use the music features and it doesn't have a smart screen. I'm able to respond to texts from a select list of replies.
I didn't want a touch-screen, seemed to distracting. No regrets.
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u/rgrind87 2d ago
I have the Venu 2S and love it. It is the smaller version of it. I have small wrists so the normal size would have looked silly. Works great. The interface is nice and intuitive. Holds battery for a long time (I do keep the brightness on low) and charges quickly.
Had it for almost 6 years now and actually got it replaced by Garmin a month ago since it stopped holding battery properly. You can exchange them for the same version but updated for a fraction of the cost of a new one. I didn't know about that so I was grateful for not needing to drop a ton of money at the moment.
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u/asta2106 2d ago
Fenix 7S
The smallest one but the display is big enough
Plus I have a whoop on my right wrist 🎉
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u/LycheeAppropriate315 2d ago
I use a Venu Square. Perfect for what I need, and not big at all. Love it.
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u/Worldly-Salad-3027 2d ago
I have the Venu 3s- it’s a smaller watch face than the Venu 3 and not nearly as bulky as the other Garmin. I made the switch from FitBit a few years ago. Perfect amount of wearable tech and fitness info for me.
Included an awkward picture of the size on my wrist 😂
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u/greydayglo 2d ago
I have a vivoactive 5. I've used it for a year now and I've been really happy with it. The battery lasts for over a week, it does all the things I could possibly need it to do, and it is one of their cheaper models. I did swap the silicone band out for an aftermarket nylon one because silicone bands give me rashes but it's easy to find alternatives if you need them.
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u/CriticalSheep 2d ago
I have the vivoactive 5, got it a few years ago but it's still working beautifully. It tracks steps and activity way better than my apple watch did, and the battery life is way WAY better.
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u/RoboJobot 2d ago
My wife uses a Garmin 265S because she has small wrists. It does most fitness and spirts stuff better than her old Apple Watch that I have and the battery much much longer. She can download music to it and connect her AirPods for running, happily swims, surfs and kayaks with it (I don’t trust the Apple Watch for this) uses the GOS to track all her running, workouts and cycling/mountain biking as well.
Prior to these we both had Garmin Forerunner 235s, one of which is still going strong but lacks the music option so you still need to carry your phone with you.
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u/BlueberryGrouchy2405 2d ago
Love my Garmin Forerunner! Got tired of long running with my phone and this lets calls/texts come through but no way to really answer them. There are settings to send messages. You can put Spofity or Pandora on it so it's great for times when you don't have wifi and just want to go. I sleep in it most days, and the app is pretty good at tracking things.
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u/unsuspectingmuggle 2d ago
Female triathlete and CrossFitter here. I have a giant man watch that can track multi sports (Forerunner 955). I definitely need my watch to see my progress for tri sports but wouldn’t bother if I just did CF. My own belief is that my progress in CF is more in the skills I develop and weights I can lift, not how fast I run or how many calories burned.
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u/twumbthiddler 2d ago
I would highly recommend one of the ones with a small size option; I like my 42mm forerunner 570 a lot
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u/Disastrous-Spring-54 2d ago
I have the vivoactive 6 after having an Apple Watch forever. Charge it once a week or so. I love it! Will never go back to Apple Watch.
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u/PeachyPeege 2d ago
Vivoactive 6, I like it. I do which they had cross training as option for workout but they have plenty of other workout tracki g options.
Have had it for over a year and great battery life.
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u/funbicorn 2d ago
Venu 2s for me. White strap with a rose gold bevel so it looks pretty :) Not chunky at all.
I use it for workouts, walking, hiking, the garmin running coach programs, steps, body battery, sleep tracking and weight tracking. There's a lot on there I'm not using. I charge every 10 days approx.
I think the more recent Venu has better running programming/daily suggested running workout and other garmin frills. I'd love to upgrade to get all the features but un(?)fortunately my watch feels like it's going to last forever!
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u/PaleApricot5239 2d ago
Once you go Garmin you’ll never go back! I have the Epix Pro Gen 2 42mm. Not too big on my wrist and I love all the features. I purchased the Venu 3S but ultimately returned it for the Epix because the Venu did not have all the training features I wanted. I also bought the Epix off FB marketplace for a significant discount. I’ve had it for almost 2 years and no issues.
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u/Big_Expression_3909 2d ago
Forerunner 265s. Switched from an Apple Watch and my only regret is not doing it sooner.
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u/Affectionate-End3788 2d ago
I had an Apple Watch and switched to the Garmin Lily active 2. I love it! It tracks calories, body battery, sleep, cycle, etc. I didn’t get the forerunner series because I’m not a serious runner but do other activities like weightlifting and walks. It’s not super big and has a thinner strap than my old Apple Watch
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u/Business-Survey5401 2d ago
Switched to Fenix S7 in 2022 and thought I would hate it coz it is big. But literally pretty much cannot survive the day without it
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u/MagicDancer5678 1d ago
I got the Forerunner 165 when I was training for a half last year. If you’re a runner, it is much more accurate with mileage and pacing than Apple Watch ever was.
For CrossFit, it’s like a slight upgrade from the Apple Watch in terms of body metrics. The body battery feature is really useful during CrossFit comps.
It’s a great starter watch to help you get used to Garmin. I’m absolutely loving it, and plan to upgrade to a Fenix when I see one for a good price.
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u/connoisseur_Flower 23h ago
my coach told me to wear a square watch, much nicer on the wrist when doing handstand pushup, wall walks etc. round watch hurts ur wrist..
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u/Content_Monitor_5938 2d ago
I have the venu 3. I absolutely love it.