Lots of threads but not wanting to hijack.
Kiddo #1 needs to be have his freedom extended a little but I’m not prepared for him to have a smart phone like his friends…
However, his summers are 2 days a week in bike camp so he’d like to be able to log his activities and trails ridden on these days. He also rides with me and another bike group and wants to get into the local race development team so I believe he would get motivation from strava/gps logging his rides.
By the summer he’ll be ready to go further afield without us having to deliver him places.. but the dirt jumps are in the forest which we share with bears and cougars, amongst the other risks of injury so 2-way call/sms communication would be super.

I’ve found 3g sim enabled android watches.
I’ve found gps/hrm watches..
what I haven’t found (aside from the Apple watch I guess) is an Amazfit/Xaiomi/makibes budget level watch that will do 2-way call/text, GPS/Strava without needing a phone.

Any leads?

You don’t have to carry a smartphone to use non-SIM watches. You just need to connect to a phone or tablet at the end of the ride to upload your data to Strava. I can’t really imagine that trying to read the Strava results on a 40 mm screen is going to be much fun anyway, so why not just a cheap Android tablet that you tether to your smartphone to upload the data from a regular watch? It’ll give you a much larger range of watches to choose from, plus much better battery life.

Or just buy a cheap Android phone and lock it down so he can only use it for emergency calls.

Agree, i’d think strava reviewing would be through the Strava website on a PC rather than on a 240px screen..
I’d think he’s less likely to loose a watch than a phone whilst he’s out and about and ‘less’ to carry too.

You don’t have to carry the phone. You can leave it at home and upload the data later. If you’re only going to check the Strava results on a PC when you get home, you don’t need a SIM in the watch.

I get that, but without the phone there’s no voice/sms and this is a key want.
I’m looking for 2 way communication without a phone on a Strava capable watch.

So you want a smart phone that he can strap to his wrist so he doesn’t lose it.

Any good?

https://www.smartgeekwrist.com/standalone-smartwatch-sim-card/

Moochies seem to be advertised a fair bit, though I’m not sure if it will be able to do things like log rides.

https://moochies.com

So you want a smart phone that he can strap to his wrist so he doesn’t lose it.

No, I think I’m essentially looking for a fitness tracker watch with dumb phone capabilities.

That smart geek list helps thanks.
There are a few moochies type products out there but you’re right, I don’t see them being able to turn their GPS location tracking into GPS data logging.
I’m sure there’s an obscure Chinese watch out there that’ll have it all.