Tis the season for deals and fitness watches are sure to be at the top of your fitness and trail enthusiast loved ones. Here are some of the top deals this holiday season!
Apple Watch Series 11
The Apple watch is the go to fitness wearable for millions for good reason. The user interface is stellar and it integrates beautifully with the iPhone and other host of Apple products. No iPhone? Keep scrolling to non Apple offerings. If you are in the apple ecosystem, the series 11 is worth a hard look.
The tradeoff to Apples small form design, vivid display, and far more robust user interface is an abysmal battery life in comparison to the Garmin. Charging must occur daily and while the device can certainly last for longer runs and hikes outdoors, an all day excursion will leave your watch dead around hour 7.
Still, the Apple watch fits the bill for the majority of users who don’t mind a daily charge as it does charge from zero to 80% capacity in 30 minutes, and 100% in just about an hour. In theory, if you drop it on the charge while showering each day you should be set.
At the time of writing, the Series 11 is $60 off at Amazon
Garmin Venu 4
The Garmin Venu 4 is a direct answer to the Apple Watch series 11 as it includes a smartwatch first design while still offering Garmin’s stellar fitness features and superb battery life. Note that some integrations don’t work quite as well with iPhone users, such as the ability to respond to a text message. Still, users are able to read text messages and respond on their phone so the tradeoff is worth it for most.
If you are looking for a watch that can endure long trail rides the Venu 4 will shine with up to 10 days of battery life around 14 hours in full on GPS tracking mode. Compare that to the Apple watch Series 11 which is advertised to last around 7 hours in GPS tracking.
Prefer a smaller watch? The Venu comes in a 41mm option for a more discrete setup. A big consideration point as many Garmin watches can be on the bulky side.
At the time of writing the Venu 4 $50 off at Amazon
Garmin Fenix 8 Solar
It is no secret if you’ve followed the blog at KatyTrailMO the Fenix 8 Solar is an overall pick for those needing the ultimate fitness watch. While hefty, it packs a punch that will likely never leave you wanting more.
Battery life in everyday use, all systems running clocks in at a couple weeks based on our testing over the last 8 months of use. If using for GPS tracking, several options exist ranging from 43 hours to 149 hours in GPS only. The options include several levels of GPS accuracy.
As mentioned, the Fenix is a larger watch so it may not be for everyone. An option to consider for smaller wrists would be the 43 mm AMOLED version.
One tier exists above this beast which includes cellular tracking, the Fenix 8 Pro.
Currently all varieties are on sale at Amazon.
| Fenix 8 Solar- $350 off at Amazon |
| Fenix 8 AMOLED – $240 off at Amazon |
| Fenix 8 Pro – $100 off at Amazon |
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