ms700 Moderating Team 10,170 Member For: 21y 9m 4d Gender: Male Location: Sydney Posted 20/02/16 06:59 PM Share Posted 20/02/16 06:59 PM Hey everyone Just thought id post an update as well. Firstly, i decided to take my Vivosmart back to Garmin Australia after the display was allllll kinds of farked up, they said no worries, and i walked out with a brand new Vivosmart HR! Didnt even need a proof of purchase or a receipt! Very happy with Garmin's after sales support! But its not all roses. The HR in the new Vivosmart is read via the wristband, it no longer uses a chest strap like the older Vivosmart did. And unfortunately accuracy has suffered as a result. I monitor my HR very closely whilst i'm training and cycling, so its not ideal. Sometimes ill be flogging myself on a rower, sweat pouring off me, and ill glance down at my Vivo and my HR will be 105. Then suddenly spike to 160. Then a minute later, back down to 90...... Kinda frustrating. But i do like being able to look at my heart rate whenever i want, and also the new software monitors my resting heartrate, which is awesome. The new Vivo is a much prettier unit, easier to operate, bigger display, seems to sync and holds its bluetooth connection much better than the old Vivosmart did, and has a much better securing method than the old jobbie (it uses a belt buckle style arrangement) So overall, as a training unit, am i happy with the new Vivosmart HR? Unfortunately, no. Heartrate accuracy lets it down bigtime, and I base a lot of my training on that. But as a overall lifestyle/movement/fitness tool am i happy with the new unit? Oh hell yeah! Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrofgxr6t Member 158 Member For: 9y 9m 22d Gender: Male Location: Blue Mountains Posted 20/02/16 09:04 PM Share Posted 20/02/16 09:04 PM 1 hour ago, ms700 said: Hey everyone Just thought id post an update as well. Firstly, I decided to take my Vivosmart back to Garmin Australia after the display was allllll kinds of farked up, they said no worries, and I walked out with a brand new Vivosmart HR! Didnt even need a proof of purchase or a receipt! Very happy with Garmin's after sales support! But its not all roses. The HR in the new Vivosmart is read via the wristband, it no longer uses a chest strap like the older Vivosmart did. And unfortunately accuracy has suffered as a result. I monitor my HR very closely whilst I'm training and cycling, so its not ideal. Sometimes ill be flogging myself on a rower, sweat pouring off me, and ill glance down at my Vivo and my HR will be 105. Then suddenly spike to 160. Then a minute later, back down to 90...... Kinda frustrating. But I do like being able to look at my heart rate whenever I want, and also the new software monitors my resting heartrate, which is awesome. The new Vivo is a much prettier unit, easier to operate, bigger display, seems to sync and holds its bluetooth connection much better than the old Vivosmart did, and has a much better securing method than the old jobbie (it uses a belt buckle style arrangement) So overall, as a training unit, am I happy with the new Vivosmart HR? Unfortunately, no. Heartrate accuracy lets it down bigtime, and I base a lot of my training on that. But as a overall lifestyle/movement/fitness tool am I happy with the new unit? Oh hell yeah! Love it. Sweet write up mate. Good to hear the good Vs bad stuff. Unfortunately because the buying public wants on wrist HR tracking Garment had to move with it or risk losing more sales towards Fitbit. I just upgraded to the Fenix 3 sapphire edition yesterday from the Vivoactive, love the look and feel of it, solid as a rock but miss the non touch screen. For the activities you are doing I would recommend the Vivoactive as it still uses the strap and has a more accurate sensors plus GPS to better track and monitor movement. If the misses doesn't want my active maybe it might be up for sale! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Stripes. All stock bar the k&n panel filter Silver Donating Members 8,061 Member For: 12y 7m 22d Gender: Male Location: Perth Posted 20/02/16 09:56 PM Share Posted 20/02/16 09:56 PM Welcome back Mickus! Yeah, I found similar to you with respects to the HR tracking of the new Vivosmart HR, very unreliable unfortunately...plus I found you had to have the wrist band too tight in order to make it somewhat "reliable"...hence I took mine back. For all it's faults (crappy syncing for a start - I have to sync it twice to get an activity to sync) I really do like the minimalistic approach to the original Vivosmart, which is a reason I went back and got another one last week. I found I was getting lazy without anything and I like the fact that I don't have to have it super tight on my wrist all day, plus it's much smaller form factor than most other trackers is a huge bonus since I like to wear my watch on my other wrist and it looked funny having the larger Vivosmart HR AND my watch on...it looked like I was wearing two watches, only one was super cheap looking. Sure, the securing method isn't as robust, but I personally find it more comfortable. Each their own I guess, but until there's a worthy replacement/upgrade to the original Vivosmart that ticks all the boxes for me with respects to discreteness and the function I want, I'll probably just stick to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms700 Moderating Team 10,170 Member For: 21y 9m 4d Gender: Male Location: Sydney Posted 21/02/16 12:02 AM Share Posted 21/02/16 12:02 AM 2 hours ago, Nitrofgxr6t said: Sweet write up mate. Good to hear the good Vs bad stuff. Unfortunately because the buying public wants on wrist HR tracking Garment had to move with it or risk losing more sales towards Fitbit. I just upgraded to the Fenix 3 sapphire edition yesterday from the Vivoactive, love the look and feel of it, solid as a rock but miss the non touch screen. For the activities you are doing I would recommend the Vivoactive as it still uses the strap and has a more accurate sensors plus GPS to better track and monitor movement. If the misses doesn't want my active maybe it might be up for sale! Cheers bro. Thanks for your feedback too! If i used my head, and wasn't so excited when Garmin gave me a band spankers Vivosmart HR, i should have kept it all in the box all nice and sealed, sold it on eBay or similar, and then paid you a visit! But you know what its like with a new toy.......and im a kid after all lmao If your missus no longer wants the Active send me a PM. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrofgxr6t Member 158 Member For: 9y 9m 22d Gender: Male Location: Blue Mountains Posted 21/02/16 12:06 AM Share Posted 21/02/16 12:06 AM 2 minutes ago, ms700 said: Cheers bro. Thanks for your feedback too! If I used my head, and wasn't so excited when Garmin gave me a band spankers Vivosmart HR, I should have kept it all in the box all nice and sealed, sold it on eBay or similar, and then paid you a visit! But you know what its like with a new toy.......and im a kid after all lmao If your missus no longer wants the Active send me a PM. No prob and will do 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms700 Moderating Team 10,170 Member For: 21y 9m 4d Gender: Male Location: Sydney Posted 21/02/16 12:20 AM Share Posted 21/02/16 12:20 AM 2 hours ago, .Stripes. said: Welcome back Mickus! Yeah, I found similar to you with respects to the HR tracking of the new Vivosmart HR, very unreliable unfortunately...plus I found you had to have the wrist band too tight in order to make it somewhat "reliable"...hence I took mine back. For all it's faults (crappy syncing for a start - I have to sync it twice to get an activity to sync) I really do like the minimalistic approach to the original Vivosmart, which is a reason I went back and got another one last week. I found I was getting lazy without anything and I like the fact that I don't have to have it super tight on my wrist all day, plus it's much smaller form factor than most other trackers is a huge bonus since I like to wear my watch on my other wrist and it looked funny having the larger Vivosmart HR AND my watch on...it looked like I was wearing two watches, only one was super cheap looking. Sure, the securing method isn't as robust, but I personally find it more comfortable. Each their own I guess, but until there's a worthy replacement/upgrade to the original Vivosmart that ticks all the boxes for me with respects to discreteness and the function I want, I'll probably just stick to this. Im glad that you also experienced the HR tracking issues. I suppose as long as the belt and the pants are getting looser, it must be doing its job lol I do like the fact that the new Vivosmart HR displays the time (or whatever screen you configure) constantly, you don't have to touch the screen or wake anything up in order to get that info. Pus one swipe over and instantly i have a inaccurate HR reading lololol I cant whinge too much; at the end of the day Garmin have given me a brand new unit, with full warranty, and now Im back on the fitness bandwagon! Fitness is the winner of the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZYWALKER XR50T Gold Donating Members 2,795 Member For: 11y 6m 3d Gender: Male Location: Western Sydney Posted 22/02/16 03:22 AM Share Posted 22/02/16 03:22 AM Well vivosmart number 5 just died. Might be time for something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms700 Moderating Team 10,170 Member For: 21y 9m 4d Gender: Male Location: Sydney Posted 22/02/16 01:12 PM Share Posted 22/02/16 01:12 PM Bullshit..... Take it back to Garmin - they are in Eastern Creek near the M7 roads maintenance depot. You can persist with Garmin, or sell your new unit and buy something else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZYWALKER XR50T Gold Donating Members 2,795 Member For: 11y 6m 3d Gender: Male Location: Western Sydney Posted 22/02/16 07:26 PM Share Posted 22/02/16 07:26 PM Rebel will replace it no questions. Just over them only lasting a few months before the screen gives up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrofgxr6t Member 158 Member For: 9y 9m 22d Gender: Male Location: Blue Mountains Posted 25/02/16 12:28 AM Share Posted 25/02/16 12:28 AM On 21 February 2016 at 11:02 AM, ms700 said: Cheers bro. Thanks for your feedback too! If I used my head, and wasn't so excited when Garmin gave me a band spankers Vivosmart HR, I should have kept it all in the box all nice and sealed, sold it on eBay or similar, and then paid you a visit! But you know what its like with a new toy.......and im a kid after all lmao If your missus no longer wants the Active send me a PM. Sorry mate she claimed the Active!! loving this though!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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