In the Vivoactive 3, Garmin has tried to build a device which is predominantly an everyday, normal persons', lifestyle-focused fitness watch. Think of this as more competition for your high-end Fitbit than a "serious running watch for serious runners".

Affordable; Long-lasting battery life; Lightweight design; Versatile and capable of tracking multiple activities; Degree of data detail

Garmin Pay isn't supported in the UK yet; Some connectivity issues; Screen less attractive than Apple/Fitbit competition

The Garmin Vivoactive 3 ($269.99) is one of the most full-featured fitness trackers with smartwatch functionality you can get. It manages everything from contactless payments to stress measurement. While it doesn't track the most advanced running metrics, like foot-ground contact time, it does calculate cadence, pace, and distance using GPS. If you use it with an Android phone, you can even reply to text messages directly from the watch. It could stand to be a bit thinner and lighter, but you'd have to lose the heart rate monitor to make that happen. If you're a fitness enthusiast in the market for an everyday watch and tracker, this is the one to get, and our Editors' Choice. At a Glance Handsome yet simple with a round face, the Vivoactive 3 works as casual wear, a gym accessory, and even with business attire, provided you swap the silicone band for something more upscale. The standard size bands and swap out easily with a little spring-loaded lever you can press with a finger...

The Garmin Vivoactive 3 is an attractive, durable wearable that hits the sweet spot between fitness tracker and smartwatch functionality.

24/7 heart rate and stress monitoring; Great features for runners; Tracks wide range of activities; Supports contactless payments; Compact and fashionable

May feel heavy and bulky to some; Charger is proprietary

Garmin Vivoactive 3's predecessor - the Vivoactive HR - was a great multisport watch; so good, in fact, that I went out and bought myself one. It isn't the prettiest-looking thing, but it excels at tracking a range of activities, it supports external sensors, including external heart-rate monitors...

The Garmin Vivoactive 3 is following a bit of a trend this year in wearable tech, especially in the realm of fitness watches. Although it's primarily a multi-sport watch like the Garmin Fenix 5 or the TomTom Adventurer, Garmin wants you to wear the Vivoactive all day, every day – and that's why it's...

Lightweight; Great battery life; 24/7 heart rate monitoring

A little ugly; On the pricey side

The Vivoactive series has given us some of the most interesting, and least appreciated, fitness watches going.

It is a really awesome watch with so many good functions and is a big step from my previous watch which was the forerunner 35 but it has one problem, it gets scratched very easily because the glass curves off the side like the Apple watch so mine got scratched 3 days after I got it, besides from...

I needed a true running GPS running watch to track my miles and workout intensities. I was using an Apple Watch (which was good, but not exactly what I wanted) prior. The Vivoactive is exactly what I was looking for! It's a great watch and unbelievably light weight.

I bought this a few months ago and to be honest I'm quite disappointed. There are some good features, but for me as a runner, it's unsuitable. I have had GPS accuracy issues from the start and the battery in GPS activity tracking mode will not last more than 4/5 hours.

I bought it a week and a half ago, and it has been very helpful with my runs, and I can't wait to try it for skiing. The customizable watch faces are really although you can't do much. The battery life seems to be not as good as they say, but I have not worn it till it died.

My first Garmin watch and definitely rates above average. The Garmin pay feature is super handy (if your bank is supported) and the amount of customisation is limitless. The wrist based heart rate can be a little erratic at times (74bpm while doing a 5km run, I don't think so) but it seems to...