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#1
02-20-2022, 10:51 AM
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Semi-smart watch
Requirements:
Solar powered with optional charger (USB?) Long battery life - days/weeks with solar charging Heart rate - optical is fine No need for: GPS Maps Music Various exercise modes Logging Uploading data Touchscreen Just glancing around the universe, it seems that any watch that meets the requirements also includes at least some, if not many, of the features for which I have no need. This raises the price considerably, and I'd be paying for a lot of features that I don't want or need. Let's say I'm on a backpacking trip for a few weeks. I'd likely come off the trail every week or so to stock up on food, but this is where solar charging and battery life come in. Heartrate is just nice to have. I seem to brush up on my theoretical maximum heart rate in many cases, and while I feel a bit stressed, I don't feel like I'm going to pass out or collapse. So maybe my max heart rate is a bit higher than normal. Still, it's nice to glance at sometimes to put things in perspective. I'm just using online HR calculators, not a real VO2max test. So what can I buy that has the required features without spending 600 or 700 or 800 USD? It seems like solar efficiency and long battery life put me into the realm of newer (fancier) watches with features I don't need and higher prices. Technology moves on - I get it. Most people want more of everything, but I just want more of a couple of things. I could ignore the extra features, but the price is the price. A Fenix 7 Solar (better solar charging, better battery life, better HR monitor) is around 800 USD. And I don't need a sapphire crystal. Suunto and others seem to be in the same range. When dinosaurs rode bicycles I did triathlons I wore some sort of Timex Ironman, but they're a lot different now, and seem to go for less than 100 USD.
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It's not an adventure until something goes wrong. - Yvon C. Last edited by reuben; 02-20-2022 at 12:30 PM. 
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#2
02-20-2022, 10:56 AM
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You dont want a smart watch, based on what you're describing.
Forget heart rate and buy a citizen ecodrive. they reange in price from about 100 bucks to the sky is the limit.
__________________
http://less-than-epic.blogspot.com/
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#3
02-20-2022, 12:17 PM
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If you really don't need heart rate, then yeah, I also think a Citizen Eco-Drive is the way to go. The Eco-Drive technology is very reliable in my experience. They have so many models, you're sure to find one that you like.
OTOH, I REALLY like my Garmin Instinct Solar that I bought during the Black Friday sale last year for $250. Heart rate is on the home display screen, so you can see it at a glance all the time. It does have an incredible number of functions as well, like those that you listed. Just ignore them for the time being, but you never know, once you start exploring those functions, you might like them. Or you may find it handy when you're out in the woods and you need some assistance with direction finding. Now that Garmin has released the newest version of the Instinct (the Instinct 2), You might find the first gen Instinct Solar discounted even more, or you might find a used one from a person who upgraded. I use mine when I'm cycling, and it automatically loads my rides to Strava. You can turn off some functions to increase battery life, which is incredibly long anyway when the watch is worn in "regular" smartwatch mode.
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#4
02-20-2022, 05:36 PM
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I was going to echo the instinct solar, too. Garmin is marketing the new generation as indefinite battery when exposed to 3 hours of sun per day. I wonder why you want a smart watch at all? Anything wrist based for heart rate isn’t accurate, so there’s no real benefit to paying the premium for it when you don’t want the rest of the features of a smart watch. Just get yourself a watch and you can check your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply it by 6 if you really need to know.
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#5
02-20-2022, 06:02 PM
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Maybe my use of the term "smart" is misleading or incorrect.
I want the three features listed, which I've edited and hopefully clarified. I realize that optical pulse sensors lack some accuracy, but they're good enough for my purposes. To me, smart is anything more than date and time, but maybe im dating myself (yuk yuk).
__________________
It's not an adventure until something goes wrong. - Yvon C. Last edited by reuben; 02-20-2022 at 06:04 PM.
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#6
02-20-2022, 06:42 PM
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I had a withings /Nokia watch for about 6 months. It was just smart enough to convince me I wanted a real smart watch. The things I miss about it
30 day battery life Classy appearance Everything else it was able to do is done better by my apple watch.
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#7
02-22-2022, 09:49 AM
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Garmin is probably what you want. Yes, they almost all have GPS and smart features (notifications from phone). But, the battery life for most is good - at least a week if you aren't actively using the GPS. They have a few solar options, but even without it, the batteries last.
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#8
02-22-2022, 09:51 AM
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Quote:
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#9
02-22-2022, 09:55 AM
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Solar charging hasn't really taken hold, I'm guessing there's a pretty big gap between solar input and necessary wattage.
Tag Heuer Connected otherwise? https://timeandtidewatches.com/hands...r-better-golf/  I think these Frederique Constants are cool, but there's a lot of hate in the watch world regarding the brand. You also have to grey market them since they don't distribute this model here. https://watchilove.com/frederique-co...future-classic 
Last edited by rice rocket; 02-22-2022 at 10:00 AM.
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#10
02-22-2022, 09:57 AM
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The heart rate thing pretty much locks you into getting some kind of Smart Watch.
Maybe Tissot had a watch that would meet your 3 requirements along with less connectivity + smart watch nonsense? Tissot isn't exactly great though. I have had a couple Citizen Eco drives and other than the HRM feature not being there I agree they are astoundingly good budget watches. The current one I have doesn't get worn much cause I've never gotten a band on it I like. I should have sprung for one with a bracelet. I had one with a Bracelet for > 10 years that was super comfy. Optical wrist HRM is near on 100% worthless IMO anyway. If I could get a Garmin with that deleted I would get the version with no optical HRM. It makes the watch a lot less comfortable and the HRM is near useless for hard exercise and intervals IMO. (I have a Garmin Instinct Solar at the moment)
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#12
02-22-2022, 10:14 AM
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The newest HR sensor as seen in the Fenix 7 is a lot better than the outgoing model in my experience. I run a few days a week and the HR is good for what i'm looking for out of it.
The battery life on the apple watch is a joke. 
__________________
http://less-than-epic.blogspot.com/
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#13
02-22-2022, 11:06 AM
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#15
02-22-2022, 11:23 AM
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Steve Jobs would never have let the Apple Watch go out the way it did. He would have told the development team it was a terrible piece of trash (but would have said it with a lot of explicit language) and made them keep working on it. The battery life would have been a biggie. The UI would not have been good enough for him. The screen having to turn off until you made a gesture in the early ones would have gotten a lot of dirty looks. I think at this point he would have very much soured at the way all these devices are "greedy for attention". The device is supposed to set you free, not make you carry around an external battery for it. I think he would have soured on Jonny Ive faster than Tim Cook did too, or at least provided a very important check & balance.. Ive was responsible for a lot of the design stumbles that occurred after Jobs died... Someone after Ive left has been responsible for starting to undo some of the worst of what Ive did to the Macintosh and to the iPhone but I'm not sure the Apple Watch has started to get that treatment and it's going to be harder. Last edited by benb; 02-22-2022 at 11:33 AM.
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