Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
I don't know if you've decided on this yet or not, but I wanted to say that I've enjoyed having a Garmin watch very much over the years and I'm starting to learn than an Edge and a watch complement each other well.
Off the bike, the Venu isn't a full blown smart watch, I think they struck a very good balance and it's useful but not overly complicated. Knowing who's calling, texting, or emailing winds up meaning you know it isn't urgent and I feel a little less tied to my phone. It's useful for tracking hiking and other things. And knowing what time it is.
I bit the bullet and set it up and tried it (successfully) in broadcast mode on a ride today. Worked well. No dropouts or anything that would make me regret not having a chest strap. The initail setup for stand-alone mode was straightforward, but now I need to wade into the customization. I installed a watch face that looks nice and analogish. I'm going to try the sleep tracking functionality tonight. I hope it doesn't wake me up to tell me I have insomnia.
One good thing: The notification sound doesn't bother Polaris' brother (unlike the Edge, which totally freaks him out).