Garmin CIRQA - two weeks in

 

I have been wearing the Gamin CIRQA for just over two weeks now.  For anyone not paying close attention the CIRQA is Garmin's first foray into the world of screenless fitness trackers.  Think Whoop or Fitbit Air.  The whole allure of a screenless tracker is less distractions.  Instead of constantly being notified of emails or total steps taken in a day, the screenless track just is.  The tracker sits on your wrist quietly recording your heart rate, steps, stress, and a host of other fitness metrics that would normally be recorded by a Garmin watch.

So.  After two weeks what is my verdict on the CIRQA?  Honestly the jury is still out.  

I like the CIRQA.  The band is comfortable to wear, gathers all the metrics that my Forerunner 265 would collect, and to my eye is not too big on my wrist.  For anyone who has been paying attention to the CIRQA release, the release has no been smooth.  There are plenty of bugs that Garmin still has to work out.  That said none of the bugs have been game stoppers for me.

So why is the jury still out?  Because I find I am missing the at a glance views of my current fitness levels.  I had not realized how much I enjoyed looking at my watch and knowing how many hours I had left for full recovery or what my training load was, or even how many steps I had taken.  Now of course this information is gathered by the CIRQA and contained within Garmin Connect.  But to see it, I need to pull out my phone.  With my Forerunner 265, a simple glance at my wrist gives me all the information I need.

This is still early day for the CIRQA and me.  Two weeks is not a long time to figure out what works as a daily wearer and what does not. And as much as I like being able to wear an analogue watch again, there is something to be said for tracking all those health metrics and being able to see them at a glance. DC Rainmaker, one of the most trusted voices in terms of reviewing fitness tech, has already come out and said the CIRQA is not for him.  He will continue to get all of his stats and information from his Garmin watch.  Whether I follow his lead, time will tell.