Garmin FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions about Garmin:
Wrist HRM or chest strap?
This is down to personal preference. But it must be said if you're after accurate data a chest monitor is definitely the one for you. Studies have shown the accuracy of up to 99.6% whereas in the same study wrist rate heart rate monitors had an accuracy as high as 92%.
As you can imagine this is down to the location of the device, one is measuring the beats direct from the source and the other measuring the downflow of blood through your wrist. There are other factors which contribute to the difference accuracy such as sweat and skin pigmentation, so if you're looking for near 100% stats get yourself a chest monitor. If you're happy with the convenience of the HRM being on your wrist then get yourself a Wrist based HRM watch.
Can you charge your watch on the go?
Battery life on watches is ever increasing and getting better and better with the new models.
What do you do with your current watch if you have a battery life that doesn't last the run you're on?
Some Garmins are more geared for this than others. The 235 has a crocodile type charging cable which can attach and then plug into an external charger you could wear in an arm sleeve. Some other older Garmins charge in a dock making it impossible to charge it as you run.
Another solution for the Fenix 5, 935 and Vivoactive 3 is a specially designed magnetic suction base charging cable, again similar to the above this can be connected to an external charger for charging on the go.
If you do have an older watch and don't want to pay big money to upgrade, consider trading your old watch in with us to save you some money.