Garmin Vivoactive 3

[Deleted User] · 12-04-2019 8:14pm

cfeeneyinterior wrote: »

Vivoactive 3 is 135 pounds and the 3 music is 170 £ today on Amazon. Great deal .... have the music and love it.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Vivoactive-Smartwatch-Built-Sports/dp/B0751GBCKN/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=17YSMDHK926BW&keywords=vivoactive+3&qid=1555093902&s=gateway&sprefix=vivoactive+3&sr=8-3

Literally half a dozen posts above ^^

cletus · 12-04-2019 8:39pm

RHJ wrote: »

It's a great watch, but if you are more into running, then you are better off getting the Forerunner 645 which isn't that much more.

Sorry, I know this is off topic, but one of the best prices I found for the 645 was from an Irish company.

https://northxsouth.ie/products/garmin-forerunner-645-music-black-band

The 645 is €360 in that link. The Vivoactive 3 can be had for around €180 on Amazon. That's not a little more, it's twice the price

cfeeneyinterior · 12-04-2019 8:43pm

Basil3 wrote: »

Literally half a dozen posts above ^^

Sorry, saw the price..... Remembered the thread.... Googled for it... Posted..... Checked back now and see. Sorry

RHJ · 12-04-2019 8:44pm

caviardreams wrote: »

Very tempted to go for the music one as it has offline Spotify support so would be great for listening to music without bringing my phone - how is the battery life if you use the music a lot?

Battery life is quoted at 5 hours when using GPS and playing music. The one thing that can be annoying is the Bluetooth signal from the watch isn't very strong so will need to wear the watch on the same side as the Bluetooth receiver on your headphones ( I believe most have the receiver on the right).

caviardreams · 12-04-2019 9:05pm

RHJ wrote: »

Battery life is quoted at 5 hours when using GPS and playing music. The one thing that can be annoying is the Bluetooth signal from the watch isn't very strong so will need to wear the watch on the same side as the Bluetooth receiver on your headphones ( I believe most have the receiver on the right).

Thanks, that's put me off a bit now - very helpful!

dr.kenneth noisewater · 27-05-2019 10:34pm

Anyone got a new strap for these? Mine is starting to tear so want to have a replacement

Mantis Toboggan · 27-05-2019 10:41pm

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

Anyone got a new strap for these? Mine is starting to tear so want to have a replacement

Yeah I've bought a few different straps for these off Amazon. Plenty of choice.

TitianGerm · 27-05-2019 10:47pm

Anyone having trouble with the VA3 music not counting reps in an strength workout?

positron · 29-05-2019 9:20am

RHJ wrote: »

Battery life is quoted at 5 hours when using GPS and playing music. The one thing that can be annoying is the Bluetooth signal from the watch isn't very strong so will need to wear the watch on the same side as the Bluetooth receiver on your headphones ( I believe most have the receiver on the right).

I love this watch (VA3 without music) but battery is my main issue with it. I used to have a FR230 which gave me two weeks of standby, or 10-12 hours of GPS use (occasional long day on the bike). VA3 needs charging every 4-5 days if I am not being active, more like every second or third day if I am doing some regular training that needs GPS, and long rides are out of question.

Hoping to upgrade to FR245.

T-b0n3 · 29-05-2019 9:50am

positron wrote: »

I love this watch (VA3 without music) but battery is my main issue with it. I used to have a FR230 which gave me two weeks of standby, or 10-12 hours of GPS use (occasional long day on the bike). VA3 needs charging every 4-5 days if I am not being active, more like every second or third day if I am doing some regular training that needs GPS, and long rides are out of question.

Hoping to upgrade to FR245.

I got the VA3 on this deal. While the battery does need to be charged regularly I find it charges very quickly which makes it much less of an issue.

I'm very happy with it so far. Only thing I'm missing is a football tracking mode, but running mode does the job.

Seve OB · 29-05-2019 10:25am

have to say I don't think the battery is bad either
I use it for golf which could be a 5 hour drain on the battery and once im at about 40%+ it will get me through
as above poster says it charges very very quick. I have my charger in the car.
I though I posted a bit of a review of it before. its a very very very good fitess tracker with some added benefits but it is not a replacement for anything.
so if you want it for running.... buy a running watch
if you want if for cycling.... buy a cycling watch
if you want it for golf..... buy a golf watch
etc.etc

but if you want something to track numerous activities and are happy with better than basic info on your activities it is a very good option

cronos · 29-05-2019 1:35pm

TitianGerm wrote: »

Anyone having trouble with the VA3 music not counting reps in an strength workout?

Often misses the last rep for me. So if I do 10 it shows 9.

TitianGerm · 29-05-2019 1:52pm

cronos wrote: »

Often misses the last rep for me. So if I do 10 it shows 9.

I set up my own workouts as follows

Workout 1

Jog - 5 minutes

Heels Raised Squat - 12
Bench Press - 12
x3

Single Leg Curl - 12
Dumbbell Row - 12
x3

Cool down

The watch never picks up any reps and won't give me an option to edit the reps or weights. I think I must have set it up wrong orginally because if I do one of the premade workouts it does count the reps.

I set the workouts in the Connect app as follows - Training, Workout, Create Workout, Strength Workout.

Mantis Toboggan · 29-05-2019 1:54pm

Seve OB wrote: »

have to say I don't think the battery is bad either
I use it for golf which could be a 5 hour drain on the battery and once im at about 40%+ it will get me through
as above poster says it charges very very quick. I have my charger in the car.
I though I posted a bit of a review of it before. its a very very very good fitess tracker with some added benefits but it is not a replacement for anything.
so if you want it for running.... buy a running watch
if you want if for cycling.... buy a cycling watch
if you want it for golf..... buy a golf watch
etc.etc

but if you want something to track numerous activities and are happy with better than basic info on your activities it is a very good option

What more information could you want for running?

Loads of information on Garmin Connect.

thejaguar · 29-05-2019 2:02pm

VA3 Music down to £198.50 on Amazon at the moment.

That's as cheap as I've seen it.

[Deleted User] · 29-05-2019 2:44pm

thejaguar wrote: »

VA3 Music down to £198.50 on Amazon at the moment.

That's as cheap as I've seen it.

Was £170 last month. Still a good price @ £200.

ANXIOUS · 29-05-2019 5:44pm

Basil3 wrote: »

Was £170 last month. Still a good price @ £200.

£149 in Argos last week, sorry I forgot to post.

Seve OB · 29-05-2019 9:17pm

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

What more information could you want for running?

Loads of information on Garmin Connect.

i have an old garmin forerunner 410. there is a world of difference. i don't bother with the VA3 now for running.

all im saying is that if you are looking for a running watch...... get a running watch

Mantis Toboggan · 29-05-2019 10:57pm

Seve OB wrote: »

i have an old garmin forerunner 410. there is a world of difference. i don't bother with the VA3 now for running.

all im saying is that if you are looking for a running watch...... get a running watch

Grand, well I use the vivoactive for running but I'd be willing to upgrade to the 410 if there is worthwhile improvements over the VA3.

zweton · 20-07-2019 8:19pm

RHJ wrote: »

It's a great watch, but if you are more into running, then you are better off getting the Forerunner 645 which isn't that much more.

Sorry, I know this is off topic, but one of the best prices I found for the 645 was from an Irish company.

https://northxsouth.ie/products/garmin-forerunner-645-music-black-band

Does the Forerunner 645 Music pair ok with the airpods gen2 does anyone know?

Mgit · 10-08-2019 11:12am

Seve OB wrote: »

i have an old garmin forerunner 410. there is a world of difference. i don't bother with the VA3 now for running.

all im saying is that if you are looking for a running watch...... get a running watch

I have a vivoactive music 3 and use for running 3 days a week, and maybe 1 cycle a week. For running it tells me my pace, heart rate, cadence, vo2 max, elevation, distance, calories, my friend has a forerunner and we compared stats in the garmin Connect app and everything was the same.

The main drawback of the vivo is using a touchscreen, doesn't bother me cause I have the one physical button to stop, start or pause the activity. The vivo won't connect to external devices like chest heart rate sensors etc, when you look at comparison charts on garmin websites this is one of the few differences, so unless you're an elite athlete I doubt the extra cost of a forerunner music is justified.

For me I wanted to leave my phone at home and have music on the go and VA3 music does that well. The garmin watches or so much better than fitbits so I don't regret my purchase,and like that it looks like a normal watch.

Seve OB · 10-08-2019 7:18pm

My vivoactive 3 does connect to external HR chest strap. Check yours again.

The main drawback I have with the vivoactive 3 for running is the pace. It doesn’t give proper pace. I think it just gives you your current pace. I don’t know what it’s measuring maybe last 10meters or something. So for eg my forerunner gives me my lap pace, as in my lap is set at 1km so I know what my real pace is for that km, so I know if I’m going to fast or if I need to pick it up. You just don’t get that with the vivoactive.

Also with the forerunner you can set targets, it will let you know if you are behind or ahead. I’m not in anyway an elite athlete, I’m a brutal runner, but these little things do make a difference and as I’ve said, if you want a watch for running, get a running watch, i do think that it would be worth the extra money. if you want a good fitness tracker with added benefits, then the vivoactive 3 fits the bill.

Totally agree with you about Garmin over Fitbit.

denachoman · 10-08-2019 8:10pm

Ordered the VA3 for €178.80 from Halfords yesterday. Good price. Store pick up from 7 days later

jay0109 · 09-09-2019 9:33am

I used to get up to 6 days out of my V3 between charges. But the past month or so, it needs to be recharged every 2 to 3 days. No change to my usage patterns and no, GPS is not on.
The change seemed to nearly happen overnight.

Anyone else notice this?

(I bought mine last xmas)

Mgit · 09-09-2019 9:36am

no, haven't gone for any runs this week or used GPS and I'm on my 3rd or 4th day after charging and have 62% battery left. I'd try a factory reset of the watch, I had to do that a couple of months back as GPS was taking ages to get going and some other weird stuff following a sw update.

Seve OB · 09-09-2019 10:04am

battery is fine on mine

Anjunadeep · 09-09-2019 11:16am

Seve OB wrote: »

The main drawback I have with the vivoactive 3 for running is the pace. It doesn’t give proper pace. I think it just gives you your current pace. I don’t know what it’s measuring maybe last 10meters or something. So for eg my forerunner gives me my lap pace, as in my lap is set at 1km so I know what my real pace is for that km, so I know if I’m going to fast or if I need to pick it up. You just don’t get that with the vivoactive.

If you go into settings, activities & apps , run, run settings and data screens.
There are a few different options for pace.
- Pace
- Ave Pace
- Lap Pace
- Last Lap Pace

maybe that helps?

Seve OB · 09-09-2019 11:43am

Anjunadeep wrote: »

If you go into settings, activities & apps , run, run settings and data screens.
There are a few different options for pace.
- Pace
- Ave Pace
- Lap Pace
- Last Lap Pace

maybe that helps?

thanks, i'll have a look at that

Rojo · 09-09-2019 6:27pm

I'm on the hunt for a vivoactive music 3... Who is giving the best price? :-)

bromley52 · 09-09-2019 7:31pm

Rojo wrote: »

I'm on the hunt for a vivoactive music 3... Who is giving the best price? :-)

Do you want people to search for you or something?:rolleyes:

Garmin Vivoactive 3

Comments