What do seabreeze people currently like and use under $500 ?

A full on smart watch doesn't interest me but I'd like to be able to track and improve heart health and sleeping patterns over time.

Fitbit Charge 5 ticks a lot of boxes but has the appearance of a prison tracking bracelet.

Garmin Instinct looks good in a Casio G-shock styling but doesn't do ECG and the USB plug for charging doesn't seem salt water friendly.

Any recommendations guys?

Oura

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CH3MTR4IL5 said..
Oura

Very interesting, I never knew they existed. So you are very happy with yours?

For an extra $100 ($599) you can get an AppleWatch which has everything and does everything, and you'll spend so much (fun) time customising the faces and their complications with the apps and information you do or don't want to see at a glance.

For example I have watch faces setup for walking, boating, windsurfing, training, and a few generally pretty ones.

For an extra $100 you can have everything, and so much more.

e.g. waterspeedapp.com/

Pros: Too many faces and apps (that can be used as face complications) to mention.

(constant) Heart rate monitor, ECG, Blood Oxygen monitor, sleep monitor. More than you want or need. (?)

Apple have a dedicated precinct full of buildings and people exercising; running, walking, swimming, cycling, etc. etc. all day every day that they have a **** ton of data to precisely calibrate their fitness tracker, so it's awesome. (too many sports to list, but for example they include badmington, yoga, kickboxing, stairs, Barre (what's that?), basketball, social dance... you get the idea; some serious motion tracking has been going on to calculate what it is you are doing and how much you are buring)

Little touches, like if you receive a call and you place your hand over the watch it recognises this as it needing to shut up and go into silent mode.

Don't need wallet, nor phone, while out and about anymore. Has wallet with cards and covid pass etc.

It's a (very, very sharp) screen, so it's not fixed in its form like most of the alternatives are.

Cons: Bands, while excellent, are a rip-off.

Initial setup was a pain as had to upgrade software on both phone and watch : \.

Might have to wait for supply.

Yet another distracting toy.

I get what you're saying but I'm just not ready to go full Inspector Gadget

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knot board said..

CH3MTR4IL5 said..
Oura

Very interesting, I never knew they existed. So you are very happy with yours?

I love it, had for 2 years and just upgraded to the new gen one.

have used garmins for years, 2 apple watches (both lost in water), oura is my favourite.

What sets it apart for me is the scoring system, you can actually see what is affecting your sleep/performance and it gives you practical advice on what you should do ("eat earlier", "don't exercise as hard late in the day", "go to bed between 2200-2230).

in the last case, i was going to bed too early and not being able to get to sleep- the gadget recommended a later bedtime, straight to sleep and better night's rest.

Garmin instinct for me. Salt water is fine. Battery life is genuinely 2 weeks between recharge unless using the gps frequently. Phone notifications for text messages, email etc is surprisingly useful. I like using the GPS for windsurfing, showing me basic tracking, speed data etc.
None of the watches are that good for monitoring sleep stuff (you should see the amount of very careful wiring that occurs in a sleep lab for accurate measurements).

I've heard good reviews of both the Oura Ring and the Whoop 4.0 strap. Both come without a watch face and need a phone to be present for real time monitoring.
I'm a Garmin fan myself and have the Fenix 6S which covers everything you'd ever need and is quite customizable. Battery life on the Garmin is around 7-10 days depending on what I turn off during the period. Best to work out what features you actually need before you buy into them. ECG ? when are you ever going to use that ? and what do you do with the results ? My particular Garmin has pulse ox. I turned it off as it drains the battery quicker and after looking at the data for a few weeks, I really didn't find a use for it.
Sleep monitoring is good as I now have an insight into why on some days after 8 hours sleep I still feel depleted. I love the Garmin for it's rugged build and strangely the fitness challenges which really do push you to be "beat yesterday". I also have a few friends that are on the Garmin platform, so the healthy competition with them also promotes activity.
Like I mention - work out what you need to monitor and what your intent is and buy something to fit that need. BUT think about what you might need next month too. I initially purchased mine for heart rate and GPS tracking, but since having it, its become so much more with training plans, fitness data and safety being unexpected and much used additions.
Good luck and enjoy the experience. My tracker has made me more accountable for my activity and at 54 years old am possibly the fittest I've been in decades because of it.

I got a Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR to replace my Ambit 3 last year... was $300 because nobody wants blue apparently, but now the top-line Suunto 9 Bars is only $450 I think if I was buying again, I'd seriously consider an Apple Watch... for the versatility. I really didn't want a smart watch though, touch screen is such a waste for me, I never use it.

2nd hand apple watch 5. 3 hundy off gumtweee.