I got this to help pace myself with my long covid and it does more than I could’ve imagined! It catches my unique (and poor) sleep patterns, counts my steps (and adjusted the goal when it realized the original goal was impossible for me, keeps track of heart rate and heart variability which is important with long covid. I also appreciate the body battery, although I’m not sure I really “get it” yet. It looks great, has all sorts of things like weather and notifications at my wrist, and the battery life and recharging is AMAZING-especially after the Apple Watch I had that needed to be charged every day. I highly recommend!!

I asked my husband for a Garmin watch for my 70th birthday because of the GPS and safety features. Never did I realize the motivator it has become in one short month! I exercised and worked out before my Garmin but I have exercised and worked out more consistently since my Vivoactive 5! I also love the heart rate, sleep score and steps features--it's been perfect!!!

My girlfriend got me the vivo active 4 when it came out. I always loved it. The battery started not lasting as long and my girlfriend got me the vivo active 5. It is so much more intuitive and much more responsive. The sleep tracking is definitely improved. The new LED screen is much better than the LCD of the 4. The battery life is great too. It's a wonderful upgrade and I highly recommend it.

From 2015 to Feb 2024 I was content to use my vivofit ONE + 2015 cardioband for everything: cycling (HR), rucking for colorado training (HR) and measuring hikes in colorado (steps+HR). Now that I've had a chance to incorporate the Vactive5 into my routine I'm hooked and have found the "body battery" to be very good to allow me to judge when it's time to dial back a bit on intensity. I'm still doing the same workouts, however with the GPS function on Vactive5 I now have data on the rucking (stair climbing with a 55#, i.e., 1/3 bodyweight) pack) workouts and can put everything into Intervals.icu.

I really like the Garmin vivoactive 5's touch screen round design and vibrant colors. Changing the watch band is very easy. The sleep tracker is so easy to use! The heart rate measurements capabilities are well thought out. The battery lasts many times longer than my previous (other brand) smartwatch thus alleviating the stress of remembering to charge the watch. The charging time is minimal. The Garmin watch synchronizes nicely with Cronometer which I use for my food diary. I’m an IT person so I'm enjoying using the Garmin Express and Garmin Connect apps. They provide plenty of stats / graphical information thus allowing me to fine tune my health goals. I’ve only had this smartwatch a short time and I’m looking forward to learning more about it.

I like the Vivoactive 5 for the data that it provides. It's comfortable to sleep with, but it did once wake me up when I had my hand near my face and the display turned on. The morning report is nice, but it doesn't always work. Occasionally I wish to check the time and it won't turn on by turning my wrist. Other times I'll touch the display to check the time and it will pop into a different screen rather than the time. That's a little frustrating. I am usually a watch wearer and I was hoping I wouldn't miss wearing one. So far I miss it very much. I do like all the fitness data that it gathers and provides. It provides a very good view of how I'm doing. The GPS picture of my routes are kind of fun, and it gives me confidence that the distance readings are fairly accurate. I like that I was able to customize the watch face. I went from wearing a fitbit to this Garmin Vivoactive 5 and this is definitely a step up.

I have been using my Vivoactive 5 now for a little less than a month. I had previously purchased various cheap fitness watches to use as a step counter, but they all broke after a few months of wear. My Husband’s colleague suggested this watch, and so we both decided to give it a try. Overall, I would recommend this watch to anyone who is looking to get more from their health and wellbeing. Besides cheap fitness watches, I have not owned a watch to this caliber, so I can’t compare it to other watches of its kind, but here’s my overall thoughts: PROS - This watch does a great job at motivating me to MOVE. I’ve literally put off going to bed to make sure I reach my step count and find that I’m more active than ever before. - Being able to customize your strength training workouts through the watch is a game changer. I love that I don’t need to carry my phone around the gym to track what I’m doing. - I love that it’s waterproof and that I can track my laps while swimming. (See notes regarding swimming under cons, too). - The band is comfortable and isn’t distracting or anything (as opposed to previous watches I’ve had), and the lilac color is nice and not as stand out as a black band. - The body battery and sleep score are a nice touch – we’re constantly asking each other what the others is at. It’s also helped me realize how awful my body reacts and sleeps when I drink. CONS - When swimming, I’ve noticed that the tracking isn’t 100% perfect. If I’m swimming free style at a fast pace, it’s fine, but if I want to casually swim during a cool down it typically counts my meters as farther than I’ve gone. Not a total issue, just not a perfect forecast. Additionally, not being able to customize swim workouts is a bit of a bummer, but again not the end of the world. - As someone who’s not technologically advanced, I feel there could be better tutorials or deep dives into how to use it. I had a really hard time connecting my Spotify account, as well as understanding how to create a workout (once I figured it out it’s super easy, but my Husband and I both put our workouts in incorrectly at first because there isn’t much explanation about how to use it). Opportunity for Improvement - Would love to see an additional work out option for aerial yoga. - The challenges are great. I feel there’s an opportunity to make the weekly challenge for steps against others more competitive/like a game. I’m not sure that would be useful to all, but I feel like it would help incentivize me to walk event more! - Would highly recommend purchasing a screen protector for your watch as well, easy to scratch.

I honestly tried all kind of Fitbits but seem to be allergic to the actual watch part as well as the band .Simply cannot wear Fitbit .So I started with the basic Venu .Loved it and no irritation.Wanted something more fancy so I bought this watch and I’m in love .Its fantastic and I’m Garmin for life !Over the moon that it doesn’t irritate my skin ..the watch and all !

I had a cheap watch that worked ok but it died. Tried various other cheap watches and they all had issues. This watch is amazing. The app that goes with it is really good. Im sure this watch will last me a long time. Also its nice being able to download watch faces as I have some vision impairment and was able to find a face that gave me the info i wanted in a format i can read.

I got this watch a month ago and have really enjoyed all it's features. It's easy to use and comfortable on my wrist. I like all the options for workouts. Also, I really appreciate the body battery and recovery features. I'm very happy with my purchase. Garmin make a great watch!