Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First off, I'm a personal trainer and triathlete, and I've been a Garmin fan for years - their devices last a long time, and are the best at fitness tracking. Have been using a 920XT for maybe 10 years(?) now and it's still working great. What I loved about it most was the triathlon mode, and loved least was the Dick Tracy watch size of the thing. I was hesistant to switch to wrist-based HRM at first, but I think the tech on these has improved dramatically, as shown by my new Garmin Venu. Here are my pro's & con's: Pro's: - Lightweight, extremely comfortable, no metal in the buckle (I'm allergic to nickel, used in most watch buckles) - Beautiful screen, easy to navigate and set up (like my 920XT was) - Battery life is as promised. I'm getting about 7 or 8 days before needing to recharge. - Accurate HR, sleep, and run tracking - again, a Garmin strength - The lavendar is an absolutely gorgeous color - Accompanying phone app is Garmin's standard app, with lots of good information and easy to build workouts (but I'd recommend doing this on the web app instead.) - Garmin syncs to Final Surge, the online training log app I use - Has all the exercise modalities I use, and lots more: swimming outdoors, swimming in pool, biking indoors, bike outside, run indoors, run track, run outside/road, yoga, strength training, hiking. - Allows me to see phone notifications (that I want to see, can shut off those I don't) and quickly dismiss incoming calls (like those annoying daily car warranty robocalls) Cons: - When running outdoors and doing intervals, it doesn't "beep" very loudly at all - it's mostly a vibration. Wish this were louder, as my 920XT was. - Step tracking isn't very accurate - but I have yet to find ANY device that does this well. It's all based on arm movements. I did 15 steps today before getting out of bed! But seriously, don't let this discourage you...it's as good a step tracker as anything else out there. - The strength training mode is a little wonky - haven't figured out how it supposedly counts reps. But I just tend to ignore that anyway, as my strength training for myself and my clients is very movement-oriented, not just stationary lifts. - This model doesn't download music (there's a more expensive version if you want that). But personally this was irrelevant to me as I play my music through a bluetooth speaker when I'm inside, and I don't listen to music at all when I'm training outside. - The price is a little high as this category of devices goes, but way cheaper than an Apple watch and without all the excess fluff those have. But much, much better than a $35-$45 cheap fitness watch. You get what you pay for. Overall I highly recommend this watch for any fitness enthusiast.