All posts tagged: Garmin

Why You Should Consider a Coros Watch Instead of a Garmin (2026)

Why You Should Consider a Coros Watch Instead of a Garmin (2026)

Published by skeptic

There’s also onboard music storage for MP3 files (who owns those anymore?). But there’s no third-party apps. If contactless payments and streaming tunes are non-negotiables, stick with Garmin. However, when it comes to sports tracking and training analysis, the Pace 4 packs the same tools you find on all Coros watches, right up to the top-tier Vertix 2S ($699). It measures everything you need to get serious about your training and supports most sporting goals, whether you’re just starting cycling, running Couch to 5K, or preparing to race a marathon. Coros offers tools like structured workouts, useful information about whether your workouts are productive, peaking, or maintaining, what your fatigue level is, and recommended recovery times. It also has more in-depth features like Virtual Pacer, marathon training plans and fitness benchmarking with VO2Max and Lactate Threshold estimates. Photograph: Kieran Alger Beyond workouts you get all the usual suspects: activity, move alerts, sleep score and stages, plus stress, heart rate variability, and menstrual cycles—a good smattering of the holistic health stuff. The heart rate readouts weren’t …

New Garmin Training Features (2026): Nutrition Tracking, Lifestyle Logging, and More

New Garmin Training Features (2026): Nutrition Tracking, Lifestyle Logging, and More

Published by skeptic

Food logging can be done in a few ways. You can search for items in a provided database, scan barcodes from packaging, or use your camera and AI-based analysis to determine what you’re about to eat. I tested this feature during a holiday and experienced some of the inconsistencies with the food identification. For simpler items like eggs, fruit, and cheese, the camera-based logging worked well. As soon as meals became more complex, lighting to take photos wasn’t bright enough, or the AI analysis had limitations seeing what was exactly in a salad. It started to become more frustrating. This logged data should also feed into Garmin’s Active intelligence feature to offer insights and make recommendations based on your intake and even timing of meals. However, my personalized insights remained focused on telling me about my training and sleep trends. The information is at least nicely presented on the watch. You have the added ability to log food there as well, with most recent items displayed to make that easier to do. But trying to …

Best Heart Rate Monitors (2026): Polar, Coros, Garmin

Best Heart Rate Monitors (2026): Polar, Coros, Garmin

Published by skeptic

FAQS We tested and recommend all of the heart rate monitors below, which do a pretty impeccable job. But what do all these terms mean? Heart rate zones: If someone tells you they’ve been doing 80/20 training, they’ve been doing heart rate zone-based workouts. Heart rate zones are an easy way to break down your range of effort during exercise. Zones go from 1 to 5, with 5 indicating working at 90 to 100 percent of your maximum heart rate. Zone 2 represents training at 60 to 70 percent of maximum heart rate and represents light training. 80/20 training is intended to build endurance and means that 80 percent of your runs should be in Zone 2. If your heart rate monitor doesn’t tell you your zone, you can calculate it using Polar’s simple tool. Maximum heart rate: Some monitors can inform you of your maximum heart rate, which is the number of beats your heart can reach during exercise. This is useful for knowing when you’re training at peak intensity and can be used …

What Is the Best Garmin Watch Right Now? (2026)

What Is the Best Garmin Watch Right Now? (2026)

Published by skeptic

Last year, Garmin introduced a Pro version that incorporates the inReach’s satellite communications savvy. Not only does it cost at least $400 more than the Apple Watch Ultra and $200 more than the regular Fenix 8, but you also have to pay for the inReach subscription plan, which has several tiers and ranges from $8/month to $50/month depending on whether you want features like unlimited texting or sending photo messages. What you get for this mind-boggling price is a sports watch that can do anything and everything. It has best-in-class battery life (every Fenix can last for weeks on a single charge, and up to a month with solar charging) and features like the depth sensor from Garmin’s Descent line, which means this watch works as a full-on dive computer for scuba and free diving. It has a microphone and speaker for basic voice commands (although no onboard cellular connectivity), the surprisingly useful built-in LED flashlight, and Garmin’s signature built-in topographic maps, 24/7 health monitoring, and tracking for over a hundred different activities. I’ve taken …

Garmin InReach Mini 3 Plus Satellite Messenger Review: Robust With Lots of Upselling

Garmin InReach Mini 3 Plus Satellite Messenger Review: Robust With Lots of Upselling

Published by skeptic

The maps on the inReach were largely useless. The offline maps on the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro and the Garmin Forerunner 970 have more detail. There’s also no upcoming turn notifications, like you get on the Fenix, just an alert if you go 50 meters off course. After a while, I stopped following my route on the inReach Mini 3 Plus. Beyond the live tracking and SOS emergency tools, satellite messaging is by far the inReach’s most useful tool. The addition of voice is a big step forward. Typing messages on the touchscreen is beyond fiddly. So for anything other than the preset and custom quick messages, it’s infinitely easier to record a quick 30-second voice note. Alternatively, you can use the Garmin Messenger app on your phone to tap out longer messages and beam them via Bluetooth to the inReach for sending via satellite. I found that incredibly handy for longer missives. Voice messages are also helpfully transcribed for the recipients in Garmin Messenger, as are the replies that come back to you on …

Best sleep trackers 2026: From Garmin to Oura

Best sleep trackers 2026: From Garmin to Oura

Published by Sam Flores

If you’re struggling with your sleep and you can’t work out why, a sleep tracker might help. On its own, it won’t solve your problems, but it can show patterns and provide useful information for doctors as part of a diagnosis. Basic sleep trackers collect data like sleep duration and time spent in each stage (light, deep and REM). More advanced models may track heart rate, stress levels and body temperature. Often, these stats are combined to calculate a sleep score and accompanying apps may suggest adjustments to your routine. We’ve reviewed dozens of fitness trackers and accessories for their sleep tracking capabilities, but only eight made the cut here. Prices range from £100 for Amazon own-brands to over £2,500 for an Eight Sleep pod system. Remember to factor in running costs and rolling subscription fees. The best sleep trackers of 2026: At a glance How we test sleep trackers Our experts test the trackers for at least two weeks. Some are purely for sleep, while others incorporate the technology as part of their broader …

I’ve run 63 marathons – these are the 10 best Garmin watches for running, hiking and everyday wear

I’ve run 63 marathons – these are the 10 best Garmin watches for running, hiking and everyday wear

Published by Sam Flores

The Garmin Vivoactive 6 strikes a winning balance between fitness-tracking firepower, simple style, 24/7 wearability and smartwatch smarts. At just 36g, it’s light, compact and comfortable. The vibrant 1.2-inch AMOLED display is on the smaller side but still does a good job of bringing a huge range of daily insights to life. Activity tracking is excellent with your core health and activity insights including sleep tracking and coaching, steps, stress, body battery (a kind of energy level metre) and breathing rate. Beyond that, the Vivoactive 6 is a pretty serious training tool, too. It has more than 80 sport modes, run-tracking tools, fitness benchmarks like VO2 Max estimates, fitness age along with daily suggested workouts and recovery time recommendations. The battery life impressed for a smaller, AMOLED watch. I got six days of general usage and 8.5 hours GPS training on a single charge, which is significantly better than many smartwatches. There’s no accuracy-boosting dual frequency GPS tech but in my tests, it tracked well against much pricier watches. Heart performance was solid, too, though …

Garmin Enduro 3 Smartwatch Review 2026 (GQ)

Garmin Enduro 3 Smartwatch Review 2026 (GQ)

Published by Jenni Sidey

Whether you’re a diehard Strava God or you’re one of the few (and proud!) resolutioners who’ve stuck with their 2026 fitness goals thus far, there comes a time in every aspiring ripped person’s life when they decide that in order to take their training to the next level, they need to invest in a smartwatch. And, though it’s decidedly not the magic secret to blowing through your next PR, a quality smartwatch can track important health and athletic metrics, which will help you structure your training more effectively and track your progress over time. That’s why I was so psyched to try out the Garmin Enduro 3. I put this smartwatch to the test on the trail, in the surf, on horseback, and at the campsite—here’s what I think. The Do-Everything, Take-Everywhere Watch The Enduro 3 comes in matte black with just one size option, 51MM, which is admittedly large, but doesn’t feel overwhelming thanks to the watch’s low weight and low-profile design. You’ll be hard-pressed to damage the titanium bezel and the scratch-resistant sapphire …