Failing eyesight & small watch display blues

[Lothian70]

Looking for a wee bit of advice folks re fitness trackers/watches. Currently I'm using a Garmin Vivosport. It's basic, but does me as I carry my phone with me so play music that way. What I'm struggling with is the size of the screen (it's small) - and my failing eyesight! I'm finding it more and more difficult to see times/distance etc. I just want to know how much longer I've to run for before I can stop

I really don't want to run with my glasses on, though that would solve the issue!

I was looking at the Garmin Forerunner 45 as the screen looks a bit bigger on this one and it has GPS. Has anyone used this one or maybe you can suggest something else? I'm not a hugely 'serious' runner and tend to stick to 4.5 - 5k, 2 or 3 times a week. I'm not looking for a fancy gadget but as long as the GPS is good and I can see the screen I'd be happy

[Instructor57 Graduate]

I have a Garmin forerunner 45 and love it , I also don't have brilliant eyesight anymore , but I do tend to run with my contacts in .

I have my watch set to show distance , timer , and pace in my runs and find the display size is fine even without my contacts 👍

[Lothian70 Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

Just bought myself the Garmin Forerunner 45 👍😀

[Instructor57 Graduate in reply to Lothian70]

That's great !Hope it's good for you 😬👍

[Doris8 Graduate]

I have Garmin forerunner 35 and find display when running easing to see and dont wear my glasses. Time and distance easily readable but as Instructor 57 said Garmin Forerunner 45 does the job too . Good luck🤞

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate]

Rather than upgrade could you not set your current watch to buzz/alert you to each km. That way you just keep track in your head of the total...?

[Lothian70 Graduate in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

I do that too but it tends to buzz a lot for different things so confuses me lol

[Rennur Graduate]

I suspect the choice is spectacles or a screen the size of The Oxeon Leicester Square. My eyes aren't what they used to be. They used to be my ears! (Apologies to Spike Milligan' estate.)I have I put wrong times on (not)parkrun due to poor vision. I did myself out of 20 seconds once.

I need to get my eyes tested. I think reading glasses only won't be enough any more.

[Rennur Graduate in reply to Rennur]

Told you so "Oxeon"!!!!!

[Lothian70 Graduate in reply to Rennur]

Lol yea I'm passed reading glasses and on to varifocals now.

[alpacagirl Graduate]

Contact lens! As I am very short sighted and have ageing long sight I have one lens for reading and one for distance - my brain sorts it out! They call it mono vision. I really hate wearing my glasses running so I know how you feel!

[Lothian70 Graduate in reply to alpacagirl]

I have dry eyes so contact lenses are difficult for me. I did try them briefly though. I think it was the 'moist' version or whatever they are called! You have a fab set up with different lenses though!

[Hidden]

Could you switch to an App on your phone and use an arm strap to run?

[Lothian70 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

I've bought a smart watch with a bigger display - hopefully that'll solve my issue

[TwiggyL Graduate]

I wear glasses 24/7 and run with them. Never had any problems except during the rain “screen wipers” would help 😂.

[chillednut Graduate]

I'm a bit late to this thread but I was wondering if it would be helpful to look for a watch that gives audio cues or alerts rather than just vibrating at each milestone. This may be a consideration for some people who are increasingly finding it difficult to read the screen. Some Garmins have it and some don't

[Lothian70 Graduate in reply to chillednut]

Thanks Chillednut, it might be worth a shot.