Out with the Band in with the Garmin

author Richard Fennell calendar Aug 5, 2016 · 3 min read · Uncategorised  ·
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I have been using the Microsoft Band (both version Band1 and Band2) since they came out, and been reasonably happy. However, a year or so on my issues with it have remained the same

  • Poor battery life, I can live with charging it each day, but even with GPS Power-saver mode on I can’t go for any exercise over about 4 hours (bit of an issue for longer bike rides)
  • It is not waterproof, so no swimming (and worried doing the washing up)

Also there seem to be some build issues with the robustness of the Band2. I had to get mine replaced due to it not accepting recharging and the forums seems to report people suffering problems with the wrist strap splitting. That said, the warrantee service seems excellent, no complaints there, mine was swapped without any issue in a couple of days

In the end however, I decided it was time to to check out alternatives and picked the Garmin Vivoactive HR; basically the Garmin equivalent to the Band in feature set and price (it is a little more expensive in the UK)

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I have to say a couple of weeks in I am very pleased. It fixes those two major issues for me. Most importantly I seem to need charging it only about every 5 days or so, that is with with an hour or two of full activity tracking each day. The specs claim 10 hour+ for full activity tracking on a charge. Also it is waterproof and allows activity tracking for pool based swimming (swim mode is lap based and has no GPS enabled so less use for open water).

That all said there are still issues

  • The Bluetooth link to my Windows Phone 10 is a little temperamental for things like notifications and sync -  a restart usually fixes everything (but hey it fully supports Windows Phone 10 not just Android and iPhone!)
  • Shame they disable heart rate monitor for swimming (signal not reliable enough, unless you pair with a chest strap it seems)
  • Lack of open water swimming tracking (see above – but of you want full multisport tracking look at the Garmin 920XT, their top of the range watch it does it all)

But I think these are all minor issues for me, and the third party apps store for the device help such as adding triathlon support which attempts HR monitoring for swimming, without needing to upgrade to the 920XT.

So a good alternative to theBand2?

For me yes, it addresses my key issues. Band2 is a good fitness tracker with unique styling, but if swimming or longer activities are your thing I think the Garmin Vivoactive HR has it.