UKC

I’m looking into a Garmin, Fitbit or similar but having never had one before am quite clueless.

(When not injured) I track my runs with the free version of Strava on my phone. I’m not bothered about any of the complexities the premium version offers so don’t need Sufferscore recording etc.

Ideally I am after something with built-in GPS so that I don’t always have to carry my phone, that easily uploads to Strava and can be used day-to-day for step counting, calorie tracking and HR as well as distance and elevation on long runs. Nothing too fancy, and middle of the road, price-wise.

I could trawl through user reviews online but thought I’d throw it out to you lot and see if anyone has any recommendations or experience with similar devices.

Thanks in advance!

Given your criteria I would look at the Garmin Forerunner 45, 245 or 645. Lots of overlapping features so really down to what’s important to you. All reliable and easy to use even for a Luddite like myself.

I have a garmin 735xt which I really like. It’s really light weight and does what I want it to. It was massively reduced when I bought it (40% off) and has a HR strap which I like.

You can get them refurbished for £99 on ebay

I've recently got the garmin forerunner 35 which is nice and simple to use has optical heart rate and gps but not a huge amount else.

I picked mine up lightly used for about £35.

I was doing what you're doing, then got a Garmin 35 because I was fed up with Strava's inaccurate distances. The 35 does exactly what I wanted, which I think is the same as your wish-list.

I do still carry my phone, for safety in case of accidents when I'm off-road, but it's nice not to have to faff around recording with strava.

I’ll second the 735xt I’ve  had it 2yrs+ now and it’s one of my all time favourite purchases. I use it in the hills to track and navigate as well as to track runs at home and bike rides. 
 

It syncs to strava automatically as soon as it reconnects to your phone 

I picked up a ForeRunner 45 and it's great. My everyday watch and activity logger now.

Another vote for the forerunner 45, the current pace feature has helped me regulate my speed, rather than setting off too fast, and overall increase my speed. 

I got a Garmin 245 for Christmas and it does everything I need, as well as being simple to use. Automatically syncs to Strava and I have not had any accuracy issues. I still carry my phone in case of emergency, plus the watch has an emergency button which sends your location to selected people. Battery life is excellent too. 

I use a Garmin 235 with the Garmin software (which I find very user friendly for an old analogue-era person like me) but it seems to be compatible with Strava too. Mine’s about 3 years old and doing fine.

When you say you want elevation on your runs, do you mean you want to see current altitude as you are running ( ie to help with nav ) or just afterwards want an idea of altitude gain ?

If the former, then you'll need a watch with a barometer ( GPS altitude is nowhere near accurate enough to navigate with ) and I don't think any of the watches already mentioned have a baro.

Here's the Garmin page with all watches with baraometer - the Instinct at £199 is a good option

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/cRunning-p1.html?FILTER_FEATURE_BAROMETRICA...

My daughter and OH both have Garmin Forerunner 35 - really great intro to GPS watches (and the world of Garmin Connect and Strava).  Very easy to use, connect to satellite signals quickly and automatically upload activities to Garmin Connect via phone (and hence on to Strava).

About 3 weeks ago I replaced my old Forerunner 610 with a Forerunner 45S and it's brilliant!  Very small and light, good battery life and super-convenient to use.

We use ours for running, orienteering and walking.

I was in your position a few months back and did quite a bit of research but, possibly unlike you, I wanted something that I could use not just for running but also with remote trekking (to back up a "proper" GPS) and mountaineering in view.

I looked at Forerunners but was not sure they do what I was looking for. Then the Garmin Instinct Solar crossed my radar and I decided to buy (when it was reduced in price). I do not use it with other apps (Strava or Garmin Connect) apart from Garmin Basecamp but I am very pleased with it and find it accurate.

Perhaps others contributing to this thread will be able to make more informative comparisons with what other people on here have suggested than I am able to. Anyway, HTH.

Depends what you mean by 'navigate' 😉

For crossing a desolate wilderness or mountain terrain in a whiteout with only your watch to rely on, then yes, barometric altimeters all the way (provided you calibrate them correctly).

For a quick cross check of your nav when out for a run then , on my 245 at least, GPS elevation is near enough IMHO.

I have Garmin 310xt, 910xt, 920xt and Fenix 6 - the 3 earlier ones are Triathlon/multisport style watches, the Fenix 6 is a 'smartwatch' with all the features to compete with Apple and Suunto etc. Pretty expensive but bought for maps and 35hr battery life - the previous models could not manage a Bob Graham or similar at my pace... The Fenix has optical HR but it is useless when running at pace, usually over-estimating by getting confused with cadence. This screws up the training advice that the software offers and shows a gentle jog as a maximal effort sometimes. I use the Garmin HRM-Run strap which also offers running dynamics - cadence, L/R balance, 'bounciness' etc - for all proper running. Strava will link to Garmin Connect, I don't use it though (it's for the young folk on social media I believe...).

All the smartwatch options are there, most of mine are turned off (floors climbed, calorie intake, move now etc) but I do look at sleep quality, resting HR, training status and predicted times for standard race distances - all close to what I could achieve ten years ago!

Fenix 5 and earlier models can do a lot of the same for much less money but without the long battery life, might be worth seeking out one of these but you will have to budget for a proper HR strap at £60 or so.