I ran 7.5K with Amazfit Balance 3 vs Garmin aspect by aspect

On a 7.5k out of doors run, the Amazfit Balance 3 virtually trailed a high-end Garmin Forerunner by simply 30 meters, maintaining tempo on coronary heart price and cadence too. The actual divide solely cropped up when elevation, coaching load, and the way each watches really judged the full effort.

---

A robust end result the place it counts

I examined the newly launched Amazfit Balance 3 in opposition to a high-end Garmin Forerunner throughout a 7.5km run in sweltering European warmth, with temperatures above 30°C. Garmin recorded 7.53km, whereas the Amazfit got here in at 7.50km. That is a distinction of simply 30 metres throughout the total run, which is a wonderful end result for the Balance 3.

The Garmin logged a complete time of 44:44, whereas the Amazfit confirmed 45:14.99 for exercise time. That distinction wants a bit context. At the beginning of the run I used to be twiddling with the Balance 3 controls, so the primary kilometre was barely messy on the Amazfit aspect. That reveals up clearly within the lap information.

Garmin recorded the primary kilometre at 5:48/km. Amazfit had it at 6:12/km. After that, the 2 watches had been on par. Kilometre two was 5:53/km on each. Kilometre three was 6:00/km on each. Kilometre 4 was 5:57/km on each. You get the thought.

That makes the headline common tempo look a bit worse for Amazfit than the precise run suggests. Garmin completed with a median tempo of 5:56/km, whereas Balance 3 confirmed 6:01/km. But take away the untidy begin from the psychological calculation and the Balance 3 appears to be like far more convincing.

---

Heart price was higher than anticipated

The coronary heart price end result was simply pretty much as good. Balance 3 is a big watch and I’ve small wrists, so I used to be not anticipating miracles from the optical sensor. Large watches can transfer extra throughout runs if the match will not be proper, particularly when the case has extra floor space sitting above the wrist.

But the Balance 3 can be comparatively skinny, and that appears to assist. It sat higher than I anticipated and the numbers had been very near Garmin. The Forerunner recorded a median coronary heart price of 146 bpm and a max of 162 bpm. The Amazfit recorded 144 bpm common and the identical 162 bpm max.

That is a powerful exhibiting. It doesn’t show the Balance 3 will match Garmin in each exercise, particularly throughout intervals, chilly climate runs or something with plenty of wrist motion. But for this regular out of doors effort, the center price information was greater than adequate.

The cadence numbers additionally lined up effectively. Garmin recorded 176 spm common cadence and Amazfit recorded 175 spm. Stride size was an identical at 0.94m. Ground contact time was shut too, with Garmin at 259ms and Amazfit at 253ms.

Vertical metrics weren’t fairly as tight. Garmin confirmed 8.0cm vertical oscillation and eight.4% vertical ratio. Amazfit confirmed 8.6cm and 9.2%. That will not be wildly off, however I’d deal with these numbers as directional relatively than instantly interchangeable between platforms.

---

The watch feels completely different from older Amazfit fashions

The Balance 3 is a handsome watch. The show is giant, sharp and simple to learn outside, which helps throughout a run once you solely need a fast look relatively than a stare-down together with your wrist. It feels extra polished on the wrist than many sporty watches, with out wanting like a fragile gown watch.

What’s value noting is that tThis mannequin has 5 buttons, which makes it really feel completely different from different Amazfit watches. That is partly helpful, as a result of bodily controls make sense for sport. But there’s additionally a studying curve, and that explains a part of my messy begin.

Zepp OS 6 additionally modifications the texture of the watch. The design is barely completely different from earlier variations and the interface takes a bit adjustment. It will not be troublesome, however it isn’t one thing I’d choose after 5 minutes both. The {hardware} is robust, however the interplay mannequin wants a couple of runs earlier than it turns into second nature.

---

Garmin nonetheless wins on interpretation

The larger hole was not distance, tempo or coronary heart price. It was interpretation. Garmin rated the exercise as threshold, excessive cardio, with a 3.7 cardio coaching impact, 0.0 anaerobic impact and an train load of 134. Amazfit rated the identical run a lot tougher, with 5.0 cardio coaching impact, 3.1 anaerobic coaching impact and a coaching load of 335.

That is a significant distinction. The coronary heart price information was shut, so this appears to be like like an algorithmic distinction relatively than a sensor drawback. Garmin noticed a managed threshold-type effort. Amazfit handled it as a a lot heavier session.

Granted, Garmin has much more information on my as I’ve been carrying their look ahead to years. So I think that’s a part of the rationale it judged my effort in a different way.

Power was additionally completely different. Garmin recorded 316W common and 513W max, with wind information enabled. Amazfit confirmed 300W common and 367W max. Running energy remains to be very platform-specific, so I’d not learn an excessive amount of into absolutely the numbers. It is best used for development monitoring inside the identical ecosystem.

Elevation was one other mismatch. Garmin recorded 49m ascent and 26m descent. Amazfit recorded 6m achieve and 4m loss. The route was principally flat across the lake, so the Amazfit determine is extra believable.

---

Early verdict

This was a greater end result for the Amazfit Balance 3 than I anticipated. GPS distance was virtually spot on, coronary heart price held up effectively, cadence was mainly an identical and the lap pacing after the primary kilometre was very near Garmin.

The caveat is that Garmin nonetheless feels stronger as soon as you progress past uncooked monitoring. Its coaching impact, load, energy and elevation dealing with inform a extra acquainted story for critical coaching evaluation. Amazfit offers you numerous information, however among the interpretation nonetheless feels extra aggressive.

For most runners, the Balance 3 did the core job effectively right here. It tracked the route precisely, stored coronary heart price shut and produced usable working dynamics. For those that rely closely on coaching load and efficiency modelling, Garmin nonetheless has the sting. But with every passing 12 months, Zepp Health is decreasing that hole.