Top 9 Waterproof Garmin Fitness Trackers
List of waterproof Garmin watches that include basic activity tracking, all day heart rate monitoring, automatic sleep tracking, push notifications, in built GPS to multi sport tracking.
Not too sure which is the best Garmin Fitness Tracker right for you? Don’t worry, we’ve pared down Garmin’s production of fitness wearables to a list of the top 9 of Garmin activity trackers (with and without heart rate monitor) most suited to each category from activity tracking, running, swimming, cycling, multi-sport and triathlon. As well, the prices will suit any Garmin fitness fan, as prices range from a touch under $100 to $600.
Please also note that ALL Garmin Fitness Tracker Watches can be used for water activities like swimming and you can strap it on whilst showering.
Here we highlight the main features of the best Garmin fitness tracker Wearables –
Garmin Vivofit 3, Garmin Vivomove, Garmin Vivosmart HR+, Garmin Vivoactive HR
Garmin Forerunner 920XT, Garmin Forerunner 735XT, Garmin Fenix 3 HR, Garmin Forerunner 630
Garmin Vivosmart HR+, Garmin Vivoactive HR, Garmin Forerunner 630
Garmin Forerunner 920XT, Garmin Forerunner 735XT, Garmin Fenix 3 HR
Garmin Swim, Garmin Vivoactive HR
Garmin Forerunner 920XT, Garmin Forerunner 735XT, Garmin Fenix 3 HR
Garmin Vivoactive HR (not for triathletes)
Garmin Forerunner 920XT, Garmin Forerunner 735XT, Garmin Fenix 3 HR
9 of the Best Waterproof Garmin Fitness Tracker
Garmin Vivofit 3
- Most suitable for – general activity tracking
- Displays your active steps, active distance, calories burnt off, minutes of moderate intensity, sleep patterns and the time of the day.
- Vivofit 3 does provide inactive alerts to alert you to move more plus it even allows the user to set daily activity goals and when you meet the target the device will adjust the next day’s goal whilst gradually pushing you toward a more healthier lifestyle.
- Does not provide the following – smart notifications, heart rate monitoring, GPS
- Syncs to the Garmin Connect App to give you statistics and breakdown of your activities
- 1-year battery life
- Most suitable for – general activity tracking
- Stylish analogue smart-watch which automatically record both active steps and sleep (from light, deep and awake periods) patterns. As well it has an accelerometer to measure distance covered for indoor running.
- Does not provide the following – smart notifications, heart rate monitoring, GPS
- Garmin Vivomove does provide inactive alerts to alert you to move more
- Syncs to the Garmin Connect App to give you statistics and breakdown of your activities
- You can style your watch with interchangeable silicon bands
- 1-year battery life
Garmin Vivosmart HR+
- Most suitable for – general activity tracking and running
- A sleek Garmin Fitness tracker with a built-in GPS and heart rate sensor. It will display your active steps, active distance, floors climbed, calories burnt off, minutes of moderate intensity, sleep patterns, heart rate and the time of the day
- For runners, the HR+ will map your run or walk and provide metrics from distance, time, running pace and more
- Does provide the following – inactive alerts to alert you to move more, heart rate alerts, music control, smart alerts, smart notifications from sms, calls, emails, calendar reminders and anything from WhatsApp, Instagram to Snapchat, and so on
- It has Move IQ which can pick up any slight changes to your activity from walking, cycling, swimming, elliptical to running which is then automatically timed
- Battery life up to 5 days – which will depend on GPS usage and type of activities used for
Garmin Vivoactive HR
- Most suitable for – general activity tracking and multi-sport activities like swimming, rowing, cycling running, skiing and golf
- GPS tracking can be used for running, cycling, swimming
- A versatile all-round sport’s lover tracker with a built-in GPS and heart rate sensor. It will display your active steps, active distance, floors climbed, calories burnt off, minutes of moderate intensity, sleep patterns, heart rate and the time of the day
- Does provide the following – inactive alerts to alert you to move more, heart rate alerts, music control, smart alerts, smart notifications from sms, calls, emails, calendar reminders and anything from WhatsApp, Instagram to Snapchat, and so on
- Syncs to the Garmin Connect App to give you statistics and breakdown of your activities
- Battery life up to 8 days – which will depend on GPS usage and type of activities used for
Garmin Swim
- Most suitable for – swimming
- Built for swimmers, it has a focus on training, and it will display your swimming metrics from lengths, distance swam, pace of your swim, stroke count/rate, calories burnt whilst swimming, type of swimming stroke, and a SWOLF score for measuring your performance. In addition, much like a watch you get time, date, day and be able to set an alarm.
- Does not provide the following – activity tracking, smart notifications, sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, GPS
- With Garmin Swim you can set drills and timed sets for your training
- Syncs to the Garmin Connect App to give you statistics and breakdown of your activities
- 1-year battery life
Garmin Forerunner 920XT
- Most suitable for – triathlon, swimming, running, cycling, rowing
- Garmin Forerunner 920XT is a superb multi-sports fitness watch with a built-in GPS. It will display your active steps, active distance, floors climbed, calories burnt off, minutes of moderate intensity, sleep patterns, and the time of the day. Plus it provides running dynamics, swimming metrics like Garmin Swim, record VO2 max readings, and live tracking.
- Strapping on a chest strap heart rate monitor like HRM-Run or HRM-Tri will give you access to six running dynamics numbers: cadence, length of your running stride, contact time on the pavement, contact time balance on the pavement, vertical oscillation including vertical ratio. The 920XT boasts a metronome function that can guide one’s running cadence training with audible alerts and wrist vibration
- Other advanced heart features include – a recovery check within a few minutes of your aerobic workout, a recovery time for rest before the next workout, VO2 max estimation of a run when HRM-Run is in use, VO2 max estimation for cycling when using a heart rate tracker with power metre. From those data, the wearable can measure your race times over several distances. For swimming, HRM-Swim or the HRM-Tri is recommended.
- Does provide the following – inactive alerts to alert you to move more, heart rate alerts, music control, find my phone, smart alerts, smart notifications from sms, calls, emails, calendar reminders and anything from WhatsApp, Instagram to Snapchat, and so on
- Syncs to the Garmin Connect App to give you statistics and breakdown of your activities
- Battery life up to 24 hours in training mode
Garmin Forerunner 735XT
- Most suitable for – triathlon, swimming, running, cycling, rowing
- Garmin Forerunner 735XT, much like the Forerunner 920XT, this is another superb multi-sport fitness tracker with a built-in GPS. But the difference here is it’s own heart rate sensor. That means you do not need a chest strap on.
- This powerful Garmin Fitness Tracker will display your active steps, active distance, floors climbed, calories burnt off, minutes of moderate intensity, sleep patterns, heart rate and the time of the day. Plus it provides running dynamics, swimming metrics like Garmin Swim, record VO2 max readings, and live tracking
- Strapping on a chest strap heart rate monitor like HRM-Run or HRM-Tri or HRM-Swim will give you access to running, cycling and swimming dynamics such as ground contact time balance, stride length, vertical ratio, VO2 max readings, lactate threshold, running race time prediction and recovery check/time.
- Garmin Forerunner 735XT does provide the following – inactive alerts to alert you to move more, heart rate alerts, music control, find my phone, smart alerts, smart notifications from sms, calls, emails, calendar reminders and anything from WhatsApp, Instagram to Snapchat, and so on
- Syncs to the Garmin Connect App to give you statistics and breakdown of your activities
- Battery life up to 11 days in normal watch mode
Garmin Fenix 3 HR
- Most suitable for – triathlon, serious fitness nuts, swimming, running, rowing, paddle boarding, cycling, hiking, rough terrain activities
- The Garmin Fenix 3 HR is the premium fitness tracker with navigational performance. It now features wrist heart rate sensoring capability as well as GPS satellite reception which gives it the ability to track in tough surroundings. Hence you can track your heart rate and map your run with the fitness watch only
- Like the Forerunner 735XT and FR9 920XT, as long as you strap on a chest strap monitor, it can provide more advanced running, cycling and swimming dynamics from VO2 max, vertical oscillation, vertical ratio, provide recovery time and recovery check plus there is the race predictor, which can guesstimate your finish time from the present VO2 max information. And what sets this apart to other garmin Fitness Trackers is the outdoor navigation on offer such as TracBack®, three-axis compass, barometer and altimeter feature
- Other advanced running form metrics include contact time and balance on the ground, running cadence, running stride, and other Physiological metrics that measure your heart to obtain the heart stress score, effectiveness of training and Lactate threshold. For swimming numbers, the metric features are the same as Garmin Swim, whilst for golf, paddle boarding, you can expect similar metrics from this unique Garmin fitness tracker as it literally gives you the tools to really rough it out and train in any conditions and rough terrains thrown at you.
- As mentioned, the Garmin Fenix 3 HR provides a complete navigation and tracking capability to guide anyone on and off the crazy path using GPS plus ABC (altimeter, barometer and compass). The TracBack function also helps to navigate back to the starting point and in the same direction you came from. As well, the sensors in the tracker provide trends to weather updates, elevation and heading
- Other interesting navigational features include GPS mapping of your route, create markers of your movements and locations like start and finish line, checkpoint, campsite and other notable markers you can leave bread-crumbs for
- Garmin Fenix 3 HR does provide the following – inactive alerts to alert you to move more, heart rate alerts, music control, find my phone, smart alerts, smart notifications from sms, calls, emails, calendar reminders and anything from WhatsApp, Instagram to Snapchat, and so on
- Syncs to the Garmin Connect App to give you statistics and breakdown of your activities
- Battery life can last close to 16 hours, if you are in GPS mode
Garmin Forerunner 630
- Most suitable for running
- The Garmin Forerunner 630 is truly a GPS fitness tracker for runners which comes with awesome running dynamics.
- When you strap on both the FR 630 and the HRM-Run chest strap you will be able to record running metrics from contact time and balance on the ground, VO2, running cadence, vertical oscillation, stride length of your run plus vertical ratio and measurements to race times. Other advanced running form metrics include physiological metrics that measure your heart to obtain the heart stress score for recovery periods, training effectiveness and Lactate threshold
- As well, the Garmin Forerunner 630 can provide recovery feed-backs as to when you should lighten up on your training load after an activity.
- Does provide the following – inactive alerts to alert you to move more, music control, find my phone, smart alerts, smart notifications from sms, calls, emails, calendar reminders and anything from WhatsApp, Instagram to Snapchat, and so on
- Syncs to the Garmin Connect App to give you statistics and breakdown of your activities
- Battery life can last close to 16 hours, if you are in training mode
There you have it, 9 of the best Garmin fitness tracker we have sourced out for you from the many Garmin wearables. The selection presented on this post will suit many types of fitness fans from the casual, semi-serious to the really serious fitness guy or girl.
