I’ve had my watch for three weeks and love it. I went away from Apple Watch because I hate the battery life and just wanted something more geared towards fitness/health. I had a garmin years ago and wanted to get another. I went with the viviactive 5 because it’s reasonably priced, and if it wasn’t the watch for me I wouldn’t be out a ton of money. This watch is phenomenal if you’re new to Garmin or aren’t looking to spend a chunk of change. I would go with the vivoactive 6 though if I could have a do over simply because it’s a newer version.

I bought this to replace my Vivoactive HR, which I had had for over 9 years. I did my web research and was repeatedly told that the Vivoactive 5 was the best replacement. But after a week of using the watch, I realised it was not even close. I am not a runner, I do more hiking, mixed sports, kayaking, and climbing. The features I love about the Vivoactive HR are completely missing from the 5. No stair sensor, no altimeter, and no calorie tracker. Multiple websites, including the Garmin website, did not provide this information. Oddly enough, it took a long conversation with ChatGPT to work out how to actually compare old Garmin watches and new ones to get the complete comparison of watches. At the moment, I am using the 5, but as soon as I can find a replacement that has all the features, compactness, small face, and battery life of the Vivoactive HR, this 5 is going up on Marketplace for sale.

This is a companion to a Venu. My Venu battery was starting to get weak, still good enough for a round of golf but better charge it right before playing. Liked the bezel on the Venu, seems to protect the watch face. They left altitude feature off on this Vivoactive 5, hard to say why. The Vivo functions much like the Venu. It has a lot more memory, good if you want to use it as a music player. I guess phone usage is so important these days that I am seldom without it, this negates any value to using watch as a music player. Connectivity and GPS accuracy all seem good. I have heard some disturbing rumors about Garmin forcing owners into subscription services. Their watches are already somewhat expensive, how much more do they need to squeeze out of the customer? I own a Vivoactive 3, Venu, and now a Vivoactive 5. The Venu was one of the best purchases I ever made. Great view screen, super features. Could have used a few better faces. Was a bit surprised to find the the Vivo 5 did not share all the same faces as the Venu, it is billed as a better battery replacement for the Venu. All in all another good Garmin product

I bought the VivoActive5 a few weeks ago. I was looking for a vast improvement from my previous FitBit devices, most especially when it comes to being water resistant. I paddle board, kayak and go to water parks. My previous FitBits over the past decade could just not hold up at the water parks. After some searching I found the Vivoactive 5. I've loved the additional features and that I can log my paddle board trips as I do it mainly for the workout. However, this week I went to a water park and have mixed opinions on its performance. Several times it got hung up and wouldn't clear a screen. At one point it just kept bouncing back and forth between screens without returning to the “Home Screen”. I finally had to Google how to hard reset the watch to get it to start working again. In the hours it took to get my watch working again I missed countless steps and also had a pretty bad panic attack as I had flashbacks to my past FitBits. Luckily I bought an extended warranty because if it happens again I'll likely return it. Otherwise I've really enjoyed the upgrade to Garmin.

I got this as a gift after my Apple Watch died and I was really excited about the 11 day battery life that was advertised but soon realized that only happens if you basically never track anything on your watch. I’ve only gotten at most 3 days on a single charge. Also, the watch band has apparently given me a rash and looking up reviews on Reddit it appears to be a common experience. So I have to spend more money to buy a different band. That’s a bummer. Hope once I get my new band and my rash is gone, I’d be able to start loving it.

I’ve had my Garmin for around a month. I can say that I like a lot of the features they include like the hydration tracking the sleeping tracking. The sleeping coach is also very, very useful. The strength training I love being able to track my sets how much time I take resting how much time take working now it gives me rest time that I should take and when my bmp stabilizes. Overall very good watch, sleek look and super lightweight.

I wore a Fitbit for many years and when the last one died, I replaced it with what I had hoped would be a longer lasting watch. The first Vivo5 had to be replaced because it died within the first 3 months. The second one is still around although it, too, has died on a couple of occasions, but I have been able to bring it back to life after a few, furious pushing of buttons. (Actually, the last time it died I had to do a factory reset.) That's the bad new. The good news is that the watch pairs seamlessly with my Garmin Edge 530, which is another reason I switched to Vivo5. It is rich in features, and the battery life is much better than the Fitbit. I'm not a huge fan of how a new band attaches to the face--it's kinda finicky and requires small hands--but not enough of a downer for me to consider replacing it. Overall, I am happy I switched from Fitbit to Garmin, but would really like it to be more reliable.

1. When walking, I can see the watch face with a constant on. I can see how my heart is doing easily when I walk. 2. Recharge Time - Quick, like when I'm taking a shower 3. Sleep Info - Never thought it was important. Comfortable to wear while sleeping. I can now see and understand better what happened in my sleep. 4. Sync with my iPhone And still learning more of the features. I bought a cheap "sports watch" last year. It's in the trash now.

The watch is intuitive, easy to customize and simple to integrate into daily life and planning. Great fit for walking, running, lifting and cycling. I refer to it often and it's helped a great deal in working towards my health goals. It's easy enough for a beginner to use, but has enough info that a seasoned athlete would benefit from it. Battery life is great, especially if you aren't using the gps feature.

This product has changed my overall health and pushes me to be better everyday!! I've already recommended to so many people and have already had two people get one!!!! I love this watch! I use it for stress tracking, running (training for a half marathon), hydration, steps and so much more!! I love how it is also waterproof and the battery life is amazing. I used to have an Apple Watch and it always died on me but not this watch!