Garmin Vivo Active HR. Multisport Activity Bracelet

What is the Garmin Vivo active HR sports bracelet like?

If you are looking for a multisport watch then I recommend the Garmin Vivoactive HR bracelet. With its GPS and its integrated heart rate monitor, you don’t need anything else to take with you in your sports activities. It has already factory-installed features for:

• Running. Both indoors and outdoors
• Winter sports. Skiing, snowboarding, and cross-country skiing
• Water sports. Pool swimming, rowing, paddle surfing, and indoor rowing
• Cycling. Both indoors and outdoors
• Golf

You can also install all kinds of free applications and widgets developed by Garmin and other developers.

The screen has a good size with 20.7 x 28.6 mm, in which the information is displayed clearly and in color. It is not as attractive as smartwatches with an LED display but it works perfectly for its purpose and consumes very little. The resolution is 205×148 pixels. It is a touch screen with two physical buttons located curiously under the screen. It is not a very common position for sports watches, but it is very comfortable while you are running.

Garmin VivoActive HR

The screen of the Garmin Vivoactive HR is embedded in a somewhat bulky frame that gives final measurements to the bracelet of 30.2 x 57.0 mm; the thickness is 11.4 mm. Taking into account it has an optical heart rate monitor located on the back, it is a common thickness. The weight is around 48 grams.

The finish is in high-quality plastic, common in sports watches and suitable for water sports. Available in two sizes, normal (137-195 mm) and extra-large (161-225 mm). If you’re not sure, you can download this cutout template to try it on.

Features and functions of the Garmin Vivoactive HR sports bracelet

The Garmin Vivoactive HR is a multisport bracelet. Very complete, it already has several functions pre-installed for some sports, and more can be added. The optical heart rate monitor integrated into the bracelet stands out, which can make a real and instantaneous measurement (every second) if we are doing an activity that we want to measure exactly or a 24-hour measurement (it takes data every several seconds). The geolocation that can be done by GPS  (USA satellites) and  GLONASS  (Russian satellites) is also very important. There is a brutal difference in sports measurements between using geolocation and not using it.

Let’s take a closer look at the features and functions of the Garmin Vivoactive HR :

• Track physical activity. Pedometer, distance, calories burned
• Notice of inactivity. Prevents you from falling into a sedentary lifestyle, warning you if you do not move enough
• Sleep monitoring. Control your sleep while you sleep, indicating quality as quantity
• Heart rate sensor. Very reliable, it gives precise measurements. You can take measurements instantaneously or for long periods
• Geopositioning by the American system (GPS) and the Russian system (GLONASS)
• Connectivity. On the screen, you will see calls, messages, WhatsApp, social networks, notifications …
• Barometric altimeter
• Electronic compass
• Music control
• Application to find the mobile. If you can’t find it and it is within range of Bluetooth, it will ring
• Meteorological data
• Activity log on map
• Goals, goals, and sports performance
• Preset pace change notices. If you set a pace, it alerts you if you are going slower (or faster)
• Swimming functions. Distance traveled, pace, number, and speed of strokes, calories consumed
• Golf features. Calculation of the distance of the shots, distance to the green, marker …
• Access to Garmin connect. Considered one of the best sports applications. It is also multi-device so in addition to seeing all the information on your mobile you can also see it on your PC

Other important aspects of the Garmin Vivoactive HR bracelet

The battery is the workhorse of all wearables. In the case of the Garmin Vivoactive HR you can use it for  8 days in low consumption mode  (they call it smart mode) and up to  13 hours if you are with the GPS  on. It is within the usual range of sports bracelets and is sufficient for any training you want to do.

Being a watch for swimming, you can already imagine that it is submersible. Garmin indicates that it supports up to 50 meters, so there should be no problem with its use underwater. In fact, users do not report problems with the water tightness of the Vivoactive HR.

Where to buy the Garmin Vivoactive HR activity tracker

To buy a Garmin Vivoactive HR you must decide between the two available sizes, regular or extra-large. The regular is the most common (you have to have a good wrist to need the extra-large one). You can use the cutout template to see if you need the XL. In principle it is only easily found with the black plastic bracelet; If you are not convinced, spare parts for bracelets of various colors and finishes are sold at affordable prices.