Now a new fitness watch

It's the last evening of my Suffolk holiday, and what a washout today has been! Rain set in at lunchtime, and it hasn't stopped. A complete contrast to the warm and sunny weather I've enjoyed for the last few days. It's especially frustrating because I've just invested in a new fitness watch - the Garmin Vivoactive 5 - and I haven't been able to go for a long walk. Something then for when home again.

I bought my new watch this morning from John Lewis, in a retail park on the east side of Ipswich. It cost me £259.99. I got one with a black-bezel and a black silicone strap. I will as soon as possible buy a white silcone strap. My new watch will then resemble the now-redundant Fitbit Versa 3 that it replaces. I very much like a black and white combo: it looks smart on all occasions, and goes with everything. 

It had been on my mind since January - when I replaced my phone - to buy a more up-to-date fitness watch sometime in 2024. There was nothing wrong with the Fitbit Versa 3 I'd used since 2021. It still worked well. But I wanted newer, fresher technology. There was also a looming problem with the future of Fitbit. Its parent company, Google, seemed intent on slowly killing Fitbit off, or else reinventing and rebranding it by stealth. 

Google had already made changes to the famous Fitbit app, which had altered its character and yet hadn't increased the amount of detailed fitness information presented. For that, one had to subscribe to Fitbit Premium. As for the hardware, the latest junior/starter- or mid-range Fitbits were still attractive and capable devices, and good value, but there was now no high-end Fitbit smartwatch to seriously challenge the offerings from Apple, Garmin, Withings, Samsung, Google itself, and a number of other brands. 

I'd been one of the Fitbit faithful for six years, purchasing three models in succession, each better than the last. But now I wanted to see more metrics. And that question mark over where Fitbit might be going made it seem unwise to buy yet another. It was time to try something else.

I didn't look at Apple. I'm in the Android world, so an Apple watch would be pointless.  

I also eliminated Withings. That company offered elegant conventional watches with a tiny digital display set in them. The watches still collected all kinds of fitness data. A big consideration was the prospect of four weeks on one battery charge. But the linked app required a subscription to unlock the analyses and insights that made sense of all the data collected, and I am subscription-averse. Apart from that, the various watches Withings made were all expensive. 

Samsung? Google? The battery life on Galaxy and Pixel watches would be irritatingly short.

The very best Garmin watches (designed for athletes) were super-expensive, but there were some mid-range models too, offering battery life at least as good as Fitbit's. And there was a decent app, with no subscription to pay. 

I wanted something that would be similar in size, shape and wrist-friendliness to the Versa 3, but a definite improvement in certain ways. Garmin's Vivoactive 5, launched last September, was an obvious candidate. It was however no good buying it online without first seeing it in the flesh. I needed to gauge how it would look on my wrist. Some of these fitness watches are enormous, with super-chunky styling, and such a monster would look absurd on me. Hence my personal visit to John Lewis. 

Well, I liked what I saw. Quelling any impulse to buy at once, I had coffee and a cake while I pondered the matter. I re-read a couple of online reviews. Then, satisfied, I returned to purchase one.

Unpacking my pristine watch back at the caravan, I confirmed again that it would be comfortable to wear and not look silly. 

My wrists are not the daintiest, but nor are they like tree-trunks, and I half anticipated that the strap would be too long. But it was absolutely fine. And very comfortable.

It was interesting to see how the new and old watches looked side by side. Apart from one being round, and the other square, there was little difference, especially if you imagined them both with a white silicone strap.

Well, the Vivoactive 5 charged up quickly. I installed the Garmin Connect app on my phone, set up a Garmin account, and configured the watch. 

Ah, what a colourful and easy-to-read display! Definitely nicer than the Versa 3's. What next? The white strap could wait. The first priority - apart from getting some exercise! - was to install a watch face I liked. This was the one the watch came with. Not my style.

I didn't want a lot of colour, nor a cluttered watch face with lots of information crammed onto it. Such things simply made the watch face look cluttered. This was unnecessary: all the key information on steps, heart rate, battery power, and so on was just a swipe away. The face I'd eventually settle on needed to be simple, essentially monochrome, and above all easy to read at night without my glasses on. 

After a search on the Garmin Connect IQ app, I installed four watch faces that appealed. All were free. Here they are.

The first two (which in fact I prefer) are very clear and uncomplicated. The second two are busier and more elaborate, but perhaps have more character. 

None of these four watch faces are girly. But then serious fitness watches are quasi-medical devices. I want people to see that I'm committed to good health and fitness. So disguising such a watch as a piece of jewellery would be inappropriate. 

Which watch face shall I end up using? Much will depend on how well the watch face goes with the white strap now ordered. Also, of course, on which of these faces allow me to tell the time at night, if I wake up and want to see the time without my glasses on. 

Sequel The two more elaborate watch faces were no good in the dark. With my glasses off, they were just white or grey blurs, and I couldn't make out what the time was. The simple-design watch face with figures and a red seconds hand was however fine, and I can perhaps improve it - it can be edited to change the colours used. I must see what that might achieve.