This is my review of the Garmin Vivoactive 4 fitness tracker/smartwatch after using it for 2 months. for all of my cycling subscribers, in this video I'll also address whether or not this could replace a cycling computer.
About the inaccuracy of the heart rate sensor in this watch. Last month i did a cardiac stress/effort test and the maximum deviation against the clinics machine was 1bpm. I did the test for 21 minutes, wich means i had to run, so lots of movement. Pretty accurate in my book. Inacuracy, in my experience comes with the looseness of the watch in your rist when exercizing. If its tight, its ok.
Bought the Vivoactive 3 a few weeks ago, and couldn't be happier with it. Bought after the 4 came out, and only paid like $130. Went this route instead of a new bike computer. Feel satisfied w the decision.
I have just ordered a vivoactive 3 also as i couldn't really see the point of paying an extra £100 for virtually the same watch. I dont really care about music playback so i think the vivoactive 3 will be perfect for my needs, really looking forward to getting it, what colour did you get yours in?
Hello , i wanna know if you can have google maps turn to turn direction displayed on the vivoactive 4 watch ? even if its from the phone , i just need to set the location on my phone, put it in my backpack, and then see the directions on my watch when am on my bike .
I just bought mine Saturday after my Fitbit Ionic died after the last update. I can tell you I should have gone with Garmin much much sooner. The Vivoactive 4 is amazing.
Great review. Got one to track my free weight, cycling and AMA supermoto workouts. Fantastic watch, but I would definitely recommend the S over the regular (40mm V. 45mm) for 95% of the population. I'm a 6'1, 200lbs watch nerd and I find that anything above a 43mm on anyone that isn't objectively "large" looks out of place and wears poorly. A lifetime of off-road motorcycling has given me forearms that are nearly the size of my upper arms, so it's not like I'm strapping my watches to twigs. When the opportunity presents itself, size your watches down.
I had the same result with heart rate accuracy on the Venu. Great at rest or moderate exertion but erratic with higher rates or activities where there is more wrist movement like workouts with weights. Garmin support acknowledges that limitation. My old Vivoactive HR doesn't seem to have that problem though so I was hoping for better accuracy on their latest watches.
great review.. exactly what I've been looking for. I couldn't decide on the Fenix 5 or the vivo active 4, been a struggle to justify the cost of the Fenix 5. I think the the Vivo has it for me.
I just got mine today and so far I'm loving it! The battery is amazing and not having to stop to check my heart rate because this watch automatically does it. I'm about to shower and sleep with it I'm excited to try the feature I couldn't with another watch due to having to charge it constantly. Thanks for the review everything sounds about right from what I've seen
I just returned a venu 2 which was $200 more to get this. The venu was not durable at all, the stainless steel around the watchface got chipped by just rubbing against something. So far, this vivo has everything I want ,plus a always on display .
Good stuff. I have the Garmin FR645 watch and the 130 computer. I do as you mentioned, the watch for MTB and the 130 for road. I also noticed that my watch uploads to Strava much quicker than the 130. I also agree with the wish of the USB-C connector. I know Garmin gets bashed and all, but I haven't had 1 issue with my watch for a year and a half.
Very helpful review. I'm pretty much same situation(except i have a 530). Ride road and mountain. Just needed something to track my lifetstyle stuff(like sleep), hiking and snowboarding. I hear the body battery is pretty good on helping track recovery. Also i hate wearing chest HRM's, so going to try this out. Opted out of the Venu, b/c of sunlight as well. Anyway I just ordered one.
FYI: you can swipe from the left edge of the screen to go back instead of pressing the lower button. It actually adds a bit of functionality, say you accidentally end / cancel a workout, the lower button is occupied for some function but you can go back to the workout by swiping from the left edge.
Sorry to be offtopic but does anyone know a tool to log back into an Instagram account?? I stupidly lost the login password. I appreciate any help you can offer me
@Bennett Tobias Thanks for your reply. I found the site through google and Im in the hacking process now. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
One thing Clint that you omitted is how light this watch is. Coming form a Fenix 3 and Apple watch and comparing it to a Galaxy watch is super super lightweight and I some times forget I have it on my wrist. For example it is one third the weight of the apple watch.
True. The Android watch that I had was like wearing a hockey puck. in fact I had a hard time mountain biking with it because it would hit the bone on top of my wrist and irritate it.
I used to have a Garmin Vivo active years ago , I liked it but the screen cracked when I was cleaning it. I now have a 520 and been using it for years now, after seeing this review I’m going out and buying the vivo 4 thanks Clint for ticking all my boxes
I am using the Garmin Instinct, kinda next level up on gps tracking ability but it’s great as a fitness and back country device. I am a fan of the Garmin Connect app too. Just about to do a 6 month review of the Instinct. My mom has the Vivoactive and she likes it for her use.
Nico Paulo Fernandez I personally do because the Instinct has more features, much longer battery life, and is actually cheaper. The screen isn’t as nice, but it’s a tool for me and I want all the features.
at review. I've had the 4S for about a fortnight now and was struggling with the instructions. Now I know exactly what my watch can do. Must say it's pretty impressive.
Hello hello. Good day... Glad I found this comment. Is the 4S any much smaller or do you think the size is just right for your wrist & the battery too. Thanks
I am about a year behind finding this video. BUT! I use a VA4 for cycling as I am an enthusiast. I do some event riding and a lot of PR. I like having my phone out front using a Quad-Lock setup and the VA4 on my wrist. I love the fact that Garmin lets me Live Track. It allows my support to know where I am when I am tackling unsupported centuries etc. So if family can't make it etc, they can watch my progression etc. I've swapped from an apple watch to this and I am pretty happy as well. I can ding it on a couple of things, like anything right? But overall I am happy
The Venu which is almost exactly the same with much much better screen goes for almost the same price. Only downside is battery only lasts 3-6 days depending on GPS use. I chose Venu.
Just ordered mine, got given a tom Tom runner and it’s so basic but made me want to step up to the plate and really use a good watch for my training and every day etc... I hope I made the right choice, my wallet sure hopes so 😅
I now have the normal garmin vivoactive for more than 5 years and I really like it. Battery is still very good, it can track a lot of fitness activities and it has a few smart functions. But I must say I am thinking about upgrading to the vivoactive 4. I go running quit a lot and taking my phone with me is just impractical and irritating. Also the pay function seems nice to me and options like hearth rate, interval timer, round (more classic) watch design, quick respond to text messages seem like worth the improvement. They use the same app wich is also practical. one questions about the watch (wich i missed on mine): Can you have the music control while you are in the bike or run option?
Thank you for that very comprehensive review. Very helpful. I used to have the Vivoactive 3 but it started to play up. One of the anomalies was that it was constantly 10' fast. I upgraded it to a Vivoactive 4 and, low & behold, it's running 10' fast as well compared to the computer time, the phone time, and the digital clocks at home. Any ideas? Thank you
Never heard of that issue, actually. It syncs with your phone so it should be the same time as your phone. Definitely very odd. My guess is it's more of a phone issue than a watch issue.
@@spoony01428 I had been using 2 andriod watches over the last 5 years. I think the biggest advantage of Venu is battery life. Even though android watches have more apps and more watch faces, the battery would only last 1 day. The battery life declines over time, eventually you need to charge it even before I get home. Venu has more functions ie pulse ox, more activitiy types, more accurate tracking of steps. It is more practical for daily use. Android has more gimmicks which are kind of fun initially, but eventually you will lose interest in them. After a few month, I find battery life to be most important and Venu fits more what I need.
Are familiar with the Garmin 245? I do gym workouts, walking, hiking and cycling. Ive been looking at the vivoactive 4 and the 245. Which one would you recommend for the activities that I do? I really liked your video too.
I've been using the vivoactive 4 for a couple of months and I like it. the only issue I have with mine is the weather does not update automatically anymore. it used to and I don't know what I have done.
@@aryamansingh8576 pretty good. I couldn't tell you how long it will actually last. I'll just charge it every couple of days. Sometimes I forget to simply because it last so long.
I got the Venu and I love it, haven't used for on my bike yet as my rear wheel is current busted but use it for running and weight training. It also connects to heart rate monitors and cadence sensors so it's officially replacing my bike GPS
This will now be my second Clint Gibbs product review purchase. 1st one was the lazer helmet. Real reviews by someone who lives and rides in the same state! Thx
Clint, would this watch contribute to, or improve the stats on the edge 830? For example, the edge 830 has the training status, training load, stress status features, etc. Would wearing the watch make those readings more accurate since the edge 830 is not in use all the time?
I guess if you you don't use the 830 every time then that would be a benefit of the watch, but I can never replace a cycling computer because I often use the 830 or 1030 to monitor my heart rate or my power or follow a map.
@@ClintGibbsThanks Clint. What I meant is more in the sense of, how would the 830 know what one's stress levels are, or what one's recovery time should be, if it is only in use when riding the bike - it seems that it would be working with limited data based on when then user is riding the bike. And perhaps (but this is where I'm not sure) using a watch around the clock would feed data to the 830 or the Garmin ecosystem, so that the 830 would take into account one's other daily activities when suggesting, for example, that its time to rest and recover. P.S. your videos are awesome!
George Flo The watch I don’t think is going to feed data to the 830. But it feeds it to the app which collects all your data. So yes, if you’re wanting to measure things like stress and body battery then the watch is the way to go.
Here to see if anyone else thinks that Garmin's UI & navigation is....in need of improvement? I bought a Vivoactive 4, loving the look/build and its feature offerings. I found that navigating 1-2 screens from the main idle screen was pretty straight forward, but the transition animations of left-to-right/right-to-left, up-down/down-up, were sometimes inconsistent, and I found myself trying to understand where I came from. I also found myself experimenting whether a swipe left-right/right-left would even do anything in some screens. I previously owned a Fitbit Versa, which I know is completely different because its way simpler in terms of features, but the navigation felt way more consistent. I ended up returning the Vivoactive 4...maybe I should have given it more time??
Great review. BTW how is the display visibility in the dark? Can you see something? I am still deciding between Vivoactive 4 and Venu. Also is there indoor nording walking activity available? I tried to search on internet, even downloaded the Connect App but could not find it. Thanks!
@@davidstrnadel2486 Screen size is bigger, always on, more battery life. Its just much nicer to have the display always on during the day. You will notice it when you run or just want to have a quick glance. I wouldn't want to do the gesture or press a buttun every time I want to see the screen. The screen itself isn't as vibrant than venu, but when you look at it under the sunlight (even if not direct sunlight) it looks fucking great I think. When you are in the dark you can turn the backlight on just by touching the screen or one of the button. I don't regret my choice
Thank for this great video. I had mine for 3 weeks. I had the Venu SQ for a few weeks, and I could when using the "Walk" or other activation see the google map of my session on my phone, instead of only data of my walk. Can you show me the way to see the map if possible ? Thanks again
I have vivoactive 4. on Data Screens I selected 4 fields. On one of the fields I selected Stroke Fields. Unfortunately I cannot see number. Only ---. I can see the distance, the laps, the HR, but none stroke fields. Do you have the same issue?. Is this type of watch not able to calculate on time the strokes to be displayed on the watch screen?
Hi Can you please help me, showing how to go to jumping rope or skipping rope activity. Would also like to know if u deleted an activity, how to get it back
Do I need to run with my phone and the watch to hear music? I really hope not. :( I want to leave my phone home and run, and hear music as well as track my route via GPS. Is that possible?
It's not something that I've looked into much, but I believe you have to send it back to Garmin to get the battery replaced. The same is true with other smartwatches like the Apple watch. I don't think they make them for consumers to be able to change out the batteries. But mine has been going pretty strong for a couple years now.
My garmin fenix 6 the heart rate is pretty accurate while running. But biking it is useless. It hought it was the gripping of a bar that was causing it. But when i windsurf (gripping a boom), it is pretty accurate windsurfing. So i gave up, and usse a HR monitor on my arm/bicep while biking and thatbworks great.
if it makes you feel better, Garmin's own tech support told me with my Fenix 5X that if i wanted accurate HR readings i should use a strap. that was close to a 1K CAD watch and my $300 apple watch has perfect readings...
Yeah.....I not looking for 100% accuracy with a wrist mount . But when my garmin says 100 bpm, and my wahoo says 160bpm. That is BS. My fenix 5s was the same. Otherwise watch is great.
I've been thinking about getting a watch like this for few reasons : mainly im looking for a way to warn people if i have a crash. Some garmin watches do that using fall detection like Apple ones do. Im also a bit courious about my heart rate but not willing to go all out stats and training stuff. Do you think it would be worth getting one ? I saw the Forerunner 45 from garmin. Not interested in the other gps stuff since i already have a bryton computer
@mtb supertroll i ride in France the thing is my family dont really know the area and all the trails that are around. I also crashed alone during vacation on the mountain so we really didn't have much knowledge of the place
@mtb supertroll haha yeah we can reverse too xD and we could set the bikes on fire (tho steal doesnt burn that well) but that wouldn't repell any wolf ! Happy holiday too mate ! And hell yeah i make a bunch of US youtubers worldwide
Does this still hold up 18 month later? my apple watch series 5 died and i want to try something else with a longer battery life without spending $400+
Hi. I know I’m a little late coming to the party. But I have a question you might be able to answer. If I stop for a coffee while cycling, how long with the pause hold. I was told a minute. I hope not. Cheers
What about hiking / kayaking does it cater for those without having to download apps for them? I do quite a lot hiking and kayaking and would like to track my performance on those too
Sorry, only so many features I can cover in a video. Yes, there is definitely an alarm. But you cannot do it through your voice. You hold down the top button and go to the alarm and set it. Takes about 10 seconds. (you have to have alarm as one of the controls in the control menu. Very easy to do.)
I have VA3 music and cannot decline firmware update, firmware 4.9 made my VA3M's battery life down from 4 days to 1.5 days, not so sure we can decline firmware update on VA4 and Venu ? P.S. I can decline firmware update for my FR235.
My apple watch got water inside after few months of intensive training. Apple replaced it without a word anyway, for a price it should be better than we expected . Hope garmin don’t disappoint me..
If you're rather on the sports side, so the look of the watch does not matter, go with the FR245 Music. It has some time more detailed sport features. Most importantly the battery lasts longer. There is also a pause menu where as the VA4 just stops and you may continue (or it will stop after 1 mins, can be annoying) On the other side, the VA4 is more elegant I'd say and has a barometer but that only counts the stairs you climb (dumb enough...)
