Best value for money budget HR/GPS watch

[Slick Nick]

I’m in the market for my first “training” watch and as the topic suggests I’m not after the most expensive watch out there but rather the basic yet cover it (almost) all need to have’s like HR and GPS. More like the Corolla of the watch world vs Bentley. Lastly is 2nd hand an option? Budget is R5k. TX!

[RobbyB]

A second hand option is a Polar V800. A solid (old) watch with a lot of sporting options - including triathlons. Very accurate GPS and with a heart rate strap with a H10 heart rate monitor is pretty much faultless. The H10 will allow itself to be read by two devices (like on an IDT).

The H7 HRM is older but works fine reading to a single device. Make sure the strap doesn't have any cracks on the rubber side. Can pick one up for R3k or less on BHub.

[Rolf Hansen]

I have had my Huawei GT2e for close on two years now and I love it. 

Battery lasts around 2 weeks and I can play music from it on my Bluetooth headphones while riding. This works well for me as I usually don't carry my phone while riding.

It really is an amazing watch for the money. Currently R2 499 from Huawei and this includes a Huawei Smart Scale - https://consumer.huawei.com/za/wearables/watch-gt-2e/buy/

[117]

If you're on vitality, save up another 1000 ronts and get a Garmin 530 computer + every monitor you'll need (cadence, speed and hrm). Or get a Lezyne for around 3000 ronts and a hrm for about 800 more. 

I went the watch route first. It's a great tool, but painful to look at/read/understand when your bumbling along a tech section or belting down your favourite fast downhill and you're needing both hands on the bars. 

I now have both and the watch is exactly that... A watch. School fees

@Rolf Hansencan you get your Huawei to connect to the strava app? 

[Slick Nick]

Thank You guys for the advice thus far - VERY helpfull. Keep ‘em coming please I’m taking notes.

[Dexter-morgan]

I used to be a very big Garmin fan but now they are having connection issues with Phones, so you need o repair them every time you move out of Bluetooth range, so stay away from Garmin for now.

[Fisan]

1 hour ago, Dexter-morgan said:

I used to be a very big Garmin fan but now they are having connection issues with Phones, so you need o repair them every time you move out of Bluetooth range, so stay away from Garmin for now.

Samsung? Had that problem when I got a new watch. There's a phone setting where you reset all your network connections (you lose all saved bluetooth devices and wifi connections). That sorted it out. Quite a common problem for Samsung and Garmin devices.

[LBKloppers]

55 minutes ago, Slick Nick said:

Thank You guys for the advice thus far - VERY helpfull. Keep ‘em coming please I’m taking notes.

You're on a cycling forum so I assume you want to cycle.

If you decide going for the Edge series from Garmin or anything similar, only allows for a very specific cycling realm and nothing else. I did that and while cycling, its great. But, what about it when you stop cycling. I changed to a Garmin Forerunner 35 at the time and suddenly I had something taking my whole lifestyle into account. It is now some years later and I still think the Forerunner to be the best all rounder at a budget out there. The Forerunner 55 is a very good option and well inside your budget.

A lot of people will argue about the accuracy of heartrate measurement between the chest strap (edge or equivalent cycling specific) and wrist. Many will tell you to buy this, not that etc. Here is what I did. I had the chest strap from a the Edge and I compared the heart rate measurements for my rides a couple of times and although there were differences, it gave me a clear indication how I was doing. My max were almost always the same as were the averages. As an athlete, that is all I needed. These days, I use a Garmin Forerunner 935 simply because I got it for a bargain. My fallback is still the Forerunner 45 in my cupboard.

[LBKloppers]

1 hour ago, Dexter-morgan said:

I used to be a very big Garmin fan but now they are having connection issues with Phones, so you need o repair them every time you move out of Bluetooth range, so stay away from Garmin for now.

I had that problem with my Forerunner 45 and my Sony ZC2 quite a while ago. I discovered that I was confusing the entire system when I mixed using the iPad and the Sony. Stopped using the iPad for this application and it all came right. Never had any new connection issues ever again.

[Fisan]

Unfortunately Garmin is a hit and miss in this price range. You will always feel that you're missing just that one feature for R1000 more. Still good devices though. That said, my recommendations would be:

• Suunto 5 peak. Quality device, multi sport, loads of features. R5k on the dot.
• Coros Pace 2. Relatively new to the market compared to other brands, but a proper competitor nowadays. R4.75 through official distributors 

[Rolf Hansen]

1 hour ago, 117 said:

If you're on vitality, save up another 1000 ronts and get a Garmin 530 computer + every monitor you'll need (cadence, speed and hrm). Or get a Lezyne for around 3000 ronts and a hrm for about 800 more. 

I went the watch route first. It's a great tool, but painful to look at/read/understand when your bumbling along a tech section or belting down your favourite fast downhill and you're needing both hands on the bars. 

I now have both and the watch is exactly that... A watch. School fees

@Rolf Hansencan you get your Huawei to connect to the strava app? 

Valid point. Huawei Health can not connect to Strava without an additional software tool that has to be purchased.

[Dexter-morgan]

4 minutes ago, Fisan said:

Samsung? Had that problem when I got a new watch. There's a phone setting where you reset all your network connections (you lose all saved bluetooth devices and wifi connections). That sorted it out. Quite a common problem for Samsung and Garmin devices.

Tried that, was recommended by Garmin Forums, still nothing.

[Frosty]

With technology, the unit you buy will always be replaced by a better one within a year. 

The Garmin Edge 130+ is probably the best bang for your buck, but has a very small screen.

The Lezyne, as previously mentioned, I has as many features as the Edge 5xx series, but at the same price as Garmin’s 130. The Mega C has been discontinued, so if you end up going the Lezyne route, the Mega XL is the one. The price is new, and under you budget, so you can spend some change of a reliable HRM.

The best/most reliable HRM currently is the Polar H10, but costs R2,4k so you’ll be slightly over budget. There are others, like a Tickr or Lezyne, but I’ve heard more problems from them compared to a Polar. All my Garmin straps have served their time.

[Navias007]

Hi, as mentioned above by LBKloppers we assume your cycling whether it be Road/Gravel/ MTB.

I purchased a Suunto Spartan in Nov 2017 because I too had a tight budget. I had endless issues with the accuracy of the wrist HRM functionality. If HRM is important for you then you must look at the HRM strap for accuracy. I have had 3 Spartans replaced because the accuracy was so bad and eventually they upgraded me to a Suunto 5.

I still see a vast difference between my Suunto 5 and my Garmin (130) with HR, average HR and even the ascent and descent. I don't use my Suunto to download to Strava at all because of the inaccuracy.

Just my 2cents. 

[Rolf Hansen]

22 minutes ago, Rolf Hansen said:

Valid point. Huawei Health can not connect to Strava without an additional software tool that has to be purchased.

Well it seems there was a recent update. Huawei Health does sync to Strava now.

[FDP]

Garmin Instinct (Solar) is a very solid option.