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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Garmin VivoactiveHR Review}} File:VivoactiveHR-comp.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The VivoactiveHR is an upgraded version of the Vivoactive, but I prefer the original..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Garmin VivoactiveHR Review}}
[[File:VivoactiveHR-comp.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The VivoactiveHR is an upgraded version of the Vivoactive, but I prefer the original.]]
The {{Garmin VivoactiveHR}} is an upgraded version of the [[Garmin Vivoactive]], the main addition being Optical Heart Rate Monitoring (OHRM). In this review I'm going to argue that you're probably better off with the Vivoactive than the VivoactiveHR. This is not a clear cut choice, and buying the VivoactiveHR is not unreasonable. Pretty much everything I mention in the Vivoactive review applies to the VivoactiveHR, so I'll focus on the important differences.
* '''Optical Heart Rate Monitoring'''. If OHRM worked, it would be a great convenience over using a chest strap. The ability to monitor heart rate continuously would be an even bigger advantage, giving insight into sleeping heart rate and overall activity levels. Sadly, ORHM works rather poorly in practice and I believe you're better off with no heart rate monitor than one that's inaccurate. It's a case of misleading information is worse than no information, and the VivoactiveHR is inaccurate all too often. The continuous OHRM is a little misleading as the watch only periodically polls your heart rate, but that would be okay if the reading were right. I was expecting the OHRM to influence the estimate of calories burned, but it doesn't appear to.
* '''Activity Tracking'''. The Vivoactive has become my favorite activity tracker. It's small and comfortable so I don't mind wearing it all day and all night, and the [https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/7ef071c3-4a14-4eb3-aca9-e3a531262711 ActiFace] watch face that's available on all Garmin watches that support Garmin's [[Connect IQ]] is outstanding. It provides a lot of data on the small screen, and the graph of the last week's activity is a great motivator. The VivoactiveHR will track the number of flights of stairs climbed and the number of active minutes which are better in theory than practice. The stairs climbed seems way too inaccurate for it to be of value to me, and the "active minutes" ignores intensity.
* '''Battery life'''. The battery life of the two is surprisingly similar given the VivoactiveHR has Optical Heart Rate Monitoring. The biggest difference is actually in how fast the battery charges, with the VivoactiveHR charging much faster. The VivoactiveHR seems to charge about twice as fast as the original Vivoactive, and this is probably the biggest reason for buying the VivoactiveHR over the Vivoactive. I can charge the VivoactiveHR while I take a shower and it will keep it topped up, where the Vivoactive seems to need a little longer.
* '''Size'''. The VivoactiveHR is relatively small (19cm<sup>3</sup>), but it's quite a bit larger than the Vivoactive (13cm<sup>3</sup>) which is the smallest GPS watch on the market. The VivoactiveHR may look a little smaller, but it's thicker and taller. I've found the VivoactiveHR is distinctly less comfortable to wear all the time than the Vivoactive. The display looks different between the two, but actually the VivoactiveHR display is just the Vivoactive display rotated through 90 degrees. |[[File:VivoactiveHR-side.jpg|none|thumb|250px|Looking at the two watches sideways shows the difference in bulk. ]]
* '''Price'''. My table below will pull the prices from Amazon in real time, but as I write this the VivoactiveHR is about 50% more expensive.
I have both watches (as well as a vast array of others), and having used the VivoactiveHR for every day for 7 months, I'm glad to get back to the original Vivoactive. While there are far better running watches out there, the [[Garmin Vivoactive]] is my favorite activity tracker.
=Support This Site=
{{BuyAmazon|AZID=B01BKUB6BA|AZN=Garmin VivoactiveHR}}
=Gallary=
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-ActiFace.jpg|none|thumb|250px|[https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/7ef071c3-4a14-4eb3-aca9-e3a531262711 ActiFace] watch face is what makes the VivoactiveHR so useful. It gives a lot of data in a small space, but more importantly it provide motivation for activity. Seeing my last week's training at a glance is so nice, and the progress towards today's minimum step count keeps me moving on my rest days without impairing recovery. ]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-4Hr.jpg|none|thumb|250px|This is a graph of the last 4 hours heart rate, or rather, the optical sensor's best guess of your heart rate. It will color code your HR based on intensity, but I've found too many inaccuracies for me to trust the data.]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-Rest.jpg|none|thumb|250px|The display of the last weeks [[Resting Heart Rate]] would be really cool if I trusted it. It's unclear what algorithm Garmin use to determine RHR, as it's not simply the lowest HR seen that day. ]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-day.jpg|none|thumb|250px|This is a summary of your stats, including steps, flights of stairs climbed, etc. ]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-last.jpg|none|thumb|250px|A simple summary of the last workout that you did.]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-menu.jpg|none|thumb|250px|The menu system is simple and effective with the touchscreen interface.]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-mins.jpg|none|thumb|250px|This summary of your day's "intensity minutes" is based on the detected heart rate. ]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-week.jpg|none|thumb|250px|The chart of the weeks intensity minutes might be useful, but it shows how much better the ActiFace user interface is.]]
|}
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
[[File:VivoactiveHR-comp.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The VivoactiveHR is an upgraded version of the Vivoactive, but I prefer the original.]]
The {{Garmin VivoactiveHR}} is an upgraded version of the [[Garmin Vivoactive]], the main addition being Optical Heart Rate Monitoring (OHRM). In this review I'm going to argue that you're probably better off with the Vivoactive than the VivoactiveHR. This is not a clear cut choice, and buying the VivoactiveHR is not unreasonable. Pretty much everything I mention in the Vivoactive review applies to the VivoactiveHR, so I'll focus on the important differences.
* '''Optical Heart Rate Monitoring'''. If OHRM worked, it would be a great convenience over using a chest strap. The ability to monitor heart rate continuously would be an even bigger advantage, giving insight into sleeping heart rate and overall activity levels. Sadly, ORHM works rather poorly in practice and I believe you're better off with no heart rate monitor than one that's inaccurate. It's a case of misleading information is worse than no information, and the VivoactiveHR is inaccurate all too often. The continuous OHRM is a little misleading as the watch only periodically polls your heart rate, but that would be okay if the reading were right. I was expecting the OHRM to influence the estimate of calories burned, but it doesn't appear to.
* '''Activity Tracking'''. The Vivoactive has become my favorite activity tracker. It's small and comfortable so I don't mind wearing it all day and all night, and the [https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/7ef071c3-4a14-4eb3-aca9-e3a531262711 ActiFace] watch face that's available on all Garmin watches that support Garmin's [[Connect IQ]] is outstanding. It provides a lot of data on the small screen, and the graph of the last week's activity is a great motivator. The VivoactiveHR will track the number of flights of stairs climbed and the number of active minutes which are better in theory than practice. The stairs climbed seems way too inaccurate for it to be of value to me, and the "active minutes" ignores intensity.
* '''Battery life'''. The battery life of the two is surprisingly similar given the VivoactiveHR has Optical Heart Rate Monitoring. The biggest difference is actually in how fast the battery charges, with the VivoactiveHR charging much faster. The VivoactiveHR seems to charge about twice as fast as the original Vivoactive, and this is probably the biggest reason for buying the VivoactiveHR over the Vivoactive. I can charge the VivoactiveHR while I take a shower and it will keep it topped up, where the Vivoactive seems to need a little longer.
* '''Size'''. The VivoactiveHR is relatively small (19cm<sup>3</sup>), but it's quite a bit larger than the Vivoactive (13cm<sup>3</sup>) which is the smallest GPS watch on the market. The VivoactiveHR may look a little smaller, but it's thicker and taller. I've found the VivoactiveHR is distinctly less comfortable to wear all the time than the Vivoactive. The display looks different between the two, but actually the VivoactiveHR display is just the Vivoactive display rotated through 90 degrees. |[[File:VivoactiveHR-side.jpg|none|thumb|250px|Looking at the two watches sideways shows the difference in bulk. ]]
* '''Price'''. My table below will pull the prices from Amazon in real time, but as I write this the VivoactiveHR is about 50% more expensive.
I have both watches (as well as a vast array of others), and having used the VivoactiveHR for every day for 7 months, I'm glad to get back to the original Vivoactive. While there are far better running watches out there, the [[Garmin Vivoactive]] is my favorite activity tracker.
=Support This Site=
{{BuyAmazon|AZID=B01BKUB6BA|AZN=Garmin VivoactiveHR}}
=Gallary=
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-ActiFace.jpg|none|thumb|250px|[https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/7ef071c3-4a14-4eb3-aca9-e3a531262711 ActiFace] watch face is what makes the VivoactiveHR so useful. It gives a lot of data in a small space, but more importantly it provide motivation for activity. Seeing my last week's training at a glance is so nice, and the progress towards today's minimum step count keeps me moving on my rest days without impairing recovery. ]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-4Hr.jpg|none|thumb|250px|This is a graph of the last 4 hours heart rate, or rather, the optical sensor's best guess of your heart rate. It will color code your HR based on intensity, but I've found too many inaccuracies for me to trust the data.]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-Rest.jpg|none|thumb|250px|The display of the last weeks [[Resting Heart Rate]] would be really cool if I trusted it. It's unclear what algorithm Garmin use to determine RHR, as it's not simply the lowest HR seen that day. ]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-day.jpg|none|thumb|250px|This is a summary of your stats, including steps, flights of stairs climbed, etc. ]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-last.jpg|none|thumb|250px|A simple summary of the last workout that you did.]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-menu.jpg|none|thumb|250px|The menu system is simple and effective with the touchscreen interface.]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-mins.jpg|none|thumb|250px|This summary of your day's "intensity minutes" is based on the detected heart rate. ]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:VivoactiveHR-week.jpg|none|thumb|250px|The chart of the weeks intensity minutes might be useful, but it shows how much better the ActiFace user interface is.]]
|}
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}