Garmin vívosmart® 5, Health & Fitness Tracker, S-M, Black

Why it's worth it

The Vivosmart 5 is a slim band that feeds Garmin Connect, which is the most serious free training platform out there. Body Battery, Pulse Ox and respiration tracking all come at no ongoing cost, which makes this the sensible pick if you resent subscriptions.

Garmin Connect is free and genuinely full-featured, which is rare. No premium tier, no locked charts, no upsell every time you open the app. Endurance athletes have trusted this platform for years, and the band feeds straight into it. If you already own a Garmin bike computer or watch, your data all lands in one place.

Body Battery is the most useful daily number on this list. It blends heart rate variability, stress, sleep and activity into a 0-to-100 energy score that drains as you spend yourself and refills when you rest. Published reviews found it tracks how tired people actually feel across multi-week training blocks. If you're alternating hard and easy days, it tells you which kind of day today should be.

From our review of 5 fitness trackers and activity bands, by Eleanor Vance, Health & Beauty Editor

What we like

• +Garmin Connect is free and genuinely full-featured, which is rare
• +Body Battery is the most useful daily number on this list
• +The sensors cover the health basics without asking for money
• +It broadcasts heart rate to other Garmin gear

What to know

• –No built-in GPS, and that's the real cost of the slim build
• –The screen is small and monochrome
• –No ECG, and the app can overwhelm newcomers