Garmin Smartwatch Feedback

Garmin is fine. It will do exactly what you want.

I, personally, just made the switch to Coros after my old Garmin finally died (shattered the screen while playing basketball), mostly because it was cheaper and less into the lifestyle stuff that I never used. Also much longer battery life.

It did suck to lose my 10+ of Garmin data.

I love Garmin. Switching from the Venu2S to the Forerunner 570 which I just bought.

I would’ve got the 970 but the dial is just too big for my bitch wrist.

I also just bought the Cirqa so I can start wearing my nice Rolex again into the office.

I also have the HRM and the Index Scale and like them both. I’m bought into the ecosystem.

Have the Garmin Forerunner. Love it, except every once in a while, I end up with this gnarly rash on my wrist. And yes, I take it off and wash my wrist, clean off my watch and let them both air dry. Still happens.

The automatic lactate threshold/zone setup is nice though I was really frustrated they didn’t keep the Lactate Threshold Test.

I am also not typically a watch wearer, but was curious about these as well.
Another poster on here kindly gifted me his previous Garmin Venu after he upgraded watches. I found that I liked having the data available enough to actually wear it. But I wanted more features so I bought a refurb Garmin Epix and my wife is very happy with the Venu.

I agree with the earlier comment that there's way too many models in the Garmin lineup to the point that it's confusing.

The Garmin will do what you want.
I have an instinct 3 and have debated on buying a higher end model for more features (touch screen store music) but love the battery life 20+ days if not using GPS.

I was in a similar boat to you a few months back. Wife got me the Fenix 8 Pro for Father's Day. It is wayyy more watch than I need but has been a lot of fun to leverage in my health tracking and training. From the research I've done it seems like there are a bunch of watches in the Garmin lineup that provide the data without needing to spend $700+.

Things I've enjoyed:
-maps & gps: really useful if you like to hike l, especially in placed with mediocre cell reception
-holistic health data collection: when paired with garmin's AI training plan becomes pretty powerful for managing recovery and knowing when to push vs pull back in training
-storage: it has been freeing to be able to leave my phone at the house on runs. Being able to download a podcast or playlist that will Bluetooth to my headphones is just kinda cool

Challenges:
-there are sooo many configurations and so much information available it can be overwhelming. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and am still finding new features and fidgeting with shortcuts/widgets in my third month of ownership
-it is expensive, I wouldn't have bought the model I have for myself but have really enjoyed the Garmin system (thanks Mrs. Couyon!)

Upgraded from a Fenix 6 pro last January when my company gave me a service award. I rock the Enduro 3, which is similar to the Fenix 8, but has the old style screen (Not Amoled). Battery life is close to a month and I track all my sports and activities with it. I use it as backup navigation and it acts as a remote for my InReach mini so I can just leave it clipped to my pack. I've owned the Fenix 5, 6 and now Enduro 3 and have no complaints about any of them.