How to get the essential features of a fitness watch without overspending
There are a number of affordable fitness watches like the Huawei Watch Fit 2 (left) and Garmin Forerunner 30 (right) that offer essential GPS and heart-rate monitoring without breaking the bank, with the Watch Fit 2 being a top choice for value and functionality. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
The smart watch segment of the tech market is saturated with devices that have all the bells and whistles and might just end up costing you an arm and a leg - and I can say without a doubt you can get by with some of the cheaper watches.
Instead of looking at a whole bunch of specs and price lists, I will tell you what has worked best for me.
I do a lot of running, between four and six hours per week, and use two watches in rotation at the moment.
Affordable GPS Watches: Forerunner and Huawei Watch Fit 2 for Active Lifestyles
The Forerunner in particular is a very old watch now, as it was first released in 2017. The Huawei Watch Fit 2 is a bit newer as it came out in 2022.
The point is though, both these watches are by no means new, but serve me well as someone who does way more physical activity than most.
Both watches cost around R2000 when they were new - I bought the Forerunner about three years ago at the above price, and the Watch Fit came with the Huawei phone I bought a couple of years ago.
Both these GPS watches measure steps accurately and offer wrist-based heart-rate monitoring - which is what you need to earn Vitality Points for example.
Now there are many other swanky features available on the Apple watches, for example, but the GPS and heart-rate measuring are the only essential functions you need along with the stopwatch, obviously. The cheapest new offering from Apple is the Watch SE, which starts at R5199.
Huawei Watch Fit 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 55: Which Offers Better Value and Functionality?
Personally, the Watch Fit 2 is my favourite between the two as it sports a touchscreen, fast charging, and excellent battery life. The battery life on the Forerunner is on its last legs now, but when it was new, it was more than decent.
The cheapest Garmin Forerunner on sale right now is the 55, which is around the R3400 mark, while the Huawei Watch Fit is just under R2000 on Takealot.
It’s also worth pointing out that until 2017, I didn’t even have a smart watch and used various cheap Casios from Game for about seven years, and I ran some of my best times back then.
But if you have to have a smart watch, the clear winner from a value and function aspect, for me, is definitely the Watch Fit 2.