Budgets Smartwatches Good/Bad/Ugly

[Zellephant]

It’s not often that one is truly surprised, but the Zeblaze Stratos 4 has done that for me. I recently had the opportunity to test it and do e review on it, and I was honestly blown away.

We tested it side by side with trusted devices from Garmin and polar, and even dit some laboratory testing comparing its sensor accuracy with lab grade testing equipment, and it performed above average in all those tests.

If you want to read the review, it’s available here: https://mountainmerch.co.za/2026/06...-the-watch-that-had-no-right-being-this-good/

This is my first outing with product reviewing, so feel free to provide feedback on the review as well.

I would love to hear from others who have used one, or perhaps a similar unknown brand Chinese smartwatch and how it has performed from you? Opinions, complaints, niggles etc.

 

[Jam Sandwich]

It’s not often that one is truly surprised, but the Zeblaze Stratos 4 has done that for me. I recently had the opportunity to test it and do e review on it, and I was honestly blown away.

We tested it side by side with trusted devices from Garmin and polar, and even dit some laboratory testing comparing its sensor accuracy with lab grade testing equipment, and it performed above average in all those tests.

If you want to read the review, it’s available here: https://mountainmerch.co.za/2026/06...-the-watch-that-had-no-right-being-this-good/

This is my first outing with product reviewing, so feel free to provide feedback on the review as well.

I would love to hear from others who have used one, or perhaps a similar unknown brand Chinese smartwatch and how it has performed from you? Opinions, complaints, niggles etc.

Hows this watch holding up? Been looking around for a cheap smart watch. Currently have a second hand samsung watch 4 but the battery life is pretty bad now. If i use gps and hr monitoring on a 3 or 4 hr bike ride its down to 40% from fully charged.

Did some looking around though and that Mountain Merchant site seems a bit dodgy?

 

[FiestaST]

Huawei makes good watches & bands & often has sales on their SA store.

 

[Robocop]

Hows this watch holding up? Been looking around for a cheap smart watch. Currently have a second hand samsung watch 4 but the battery life is pretty bad now. If i use gps and hr monitoring on a 3 or 4 hr bike ride its down to 40% from fully charged.

Did some looking around though and that Mountain Merchant site seems a bit dodgy?

Have a look at these.

Honor Watch 6 AMOLED 1.46-Inch Smartwatch, Black : Amazon.co.za: Electronics

Honor Watch 6 AMOLED 1.46-Inch Smartwatch, Black : Amazon.co.za: Electronics

www.amazon.co.za

 

[Zellephant]

Hows this watch holding up? Been looking around for a cheap smart watch. Currently have a second hand samsung watch 4 but the battery life is pretty bad now. If i use gps and hr monitoring on a 3 or 4 hr bike ride its down to 40% from fully charged.

Did some looking around though and that Mountain Merchant site seems a bit dodgy?

My watch is still going strong. Did a three day hike with it last weekend, and when I got home, after using it to record HR and GPS for about 13 hours over the 3 days, it was still at just over 30% battery.

What makes you think Mountain Merchant is dodgy?

 

[geezer]

Looks like a good alternative to the overpriced Garmin offerings available. I see that it's currently marked down to only R1299 on the Mountain Merchant website.

You need some serious justification to spend this kind of money on a smartwatch.

 

[Zellephant]

Looks like a good alternative to the overpriced Garmin offerings available. I see that it's currently marked down to only R1299 on the Mountain Merchant website.

You need some serious justification to spend this kind of money on a smartwatch.
View attachment 1932808

Yep. The pricing of the garmins has gone loopy. Suunto still offers some decent value, but still not affordable by any measure. Garmin has the software and ecosystem side of this game locked down though, which is probably why people keep buying them.

But all most people need is for a device that can sync their activities to Strava, and the Zeblaze does that well - and from Strava it can be sent to many other platforms.

My feeling is, the Zeblaze is being discounted now to make way for the new Stratos 4 Pro - which is essentially the same watch, but will include downloadable maps and navigation - but also probably cost about R1k more.

 

[TheMightyQuin]

I bought the OnePlus Watch 3 a few months ago.

Absolutely love the watch and great battery life too.

I leave the face active for 12 hours per day and it still gives me 3 day's battery life.

 

[Jam Sandwich]

My watch is still going strong. Did a three day hike with it last weekend, and when I got home, after using it to record HR and GPS for about 13 hours over the 3 days, it was still at just over 30% battery.

What makes you think Mountain Merchant is dodgy?

If you googlw it you get the below... Ive seen this guy mentioned on the hubsa before..

Mountain Merchant" is a known fake online storefront and alias linked to fraudulent outdoor gear operations in South Africa, previously associated with names like Affordable Outdoor and run by an individual named Taun Bewsher. [1]

What You Need to Know

• • The Alias: The "Mountain Merchant" name and its variants (such as the old Facebook page or linked sites like Endura South Africa) have been flagged for taking payments for outdoor gear and helmets without delivering goods or having legitimate local distribution rights. [1]

 

[FiestaST]

Apple Watch man here, bought mine in early Oct 2025 & not even 2 weeks later I was laid off from my long, long, long running job lol

I kid you not, zero regrets

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

since I dont want to sell a Kidney for a smartwatch for tap to pay,
a used Samsung smartwatch aint half bad, upgraded from a 5 to a 7 recently,

definitely worth it as there is tons floating around from people upgrading constantly

 

[Zellephant]

If you googlw it you get the below... Ive seen this guy mentioned on the hubsa before..

Mountain Merchant" is a known fake online storefront and alias linked to fraudulent outdoor gear operations in South Africa, previously associated with names like Affordable Outdoor and run by an individual named Taun Bewsher. [1]

What You Need to Know

• • The Alias: The "Mountain Merchant" name and its variants (such as the old Facebook page or linked sites like Endura South Africa) have been flagged for taking payments for outdoor gear and helmets without delivering goods or having legitimate local distribution rights. [1]

Interesting.

All I can say is, knowing the people behind this company personally, they are definitely not a fake storefront. I have bought a number of items from them before, and got everything delivered on time and as agreed.

They are also pretty heavily involved in our local trail/outdoor community. I participate in their weekly sunrise hike most weeks, and it’s always a fun outing. I’m also working with them on and off on a sideline project developing an off grid communication and tracking system for off grid adventures and events use - and they are open a brick and mortar store next month in stellenbosch.

Also, to the best of my knowledge Taun only works for the company as an employee (but I might be wrong). Also, having spent some time with him, there is definately more to the story than the stories on the internet make out. Suffice to say, he has been interviewed by Carte Blanche and Devi about the allegations, and neither thought his story worthy of an expose, and the matter have been taken to court twice and dismissed every time due to lack of evidence against him. From what I can tell, the guys business went bankrupt during Covid, and a few people took it personally, and have been working hard to “cancel” him. But all around he seems a decent guy

 

[Smiggles]

Huawei but battery life does go down after a year or 2. Still happy with my almost 4 year old SE 2. Won't be able to go back to not having payments on the watch.

 

[Snyper564]

Still using my garmin fenix 5 for almost 8years - used daily hasnt skipped a beat

 

[Newusername]

If you googlw it you get the below... Ive seen this guy mentioned on the hubsa before..

Mountain Merchant" is a known fake online storefront and alias linked to fraudulent outdoor gear operations in South Africa, previously associated with names like Affordable Outdoor and run by an individual named Taun Bewsher. [1]

What You Need to Know

• • The Alias: The "Mountain Merchant" name and its variants (such as the old Facebook page or linked sites like Endura South Africa) have been flagged for taking payments for outdoor gear and helmets without delivering goods or having legitimate local distribution rights. [1]

Current active director of the company is Louise Brewsher, appointed May 2026.
Prior to that the active director was... Taun Kirby Brewsher.

He is well known, there is a lot of info out there outside Carthe Blanche about him, and it is certainly not a 'few people who took it personally'.

There is more, looking at the website alone, but this is not the thread for that.
And so many great reviews

Back on topic, it is great that there are really good budget friendly options for smart watches out there.
(Posted as a Garmin watch fanboy)

 

[Zellephant]

I loved my fenix 5 also, but sadly it took a rock to the face in a bike crash last year, otherwise I am sure I would still be using it.

Question is, what will you replace it with? That was the dilemma I found myself in last year. When I bought the Fenix 5 new in 2018, I think I paid like R7.5k for it. Which was a lot of money, but seemed worth it, as it was worlds ahead of anything else back them.

But now, there are tons of cheaper options, many, like the Zeblaze and the Amazfit (before they got into hyrox at least) offering the same or similar features and function - at a fraction of the cost. I also couldn’t stomach the R20k + pricetag Garmin was charging for the new fenix models - that is simply daylight robbery - so I rolled the dice on the Zeblaze, and it’s blown me away.

 

[Zellephant]

Current active director of the company is Louise Brewsher, appointed May 2026.
Prior to that the active director was... Taun Kirby Brewsher.

He is well known, there is a lot of info out there outside Carthe Blanche about him, and it is certainly not a 'few people who took it personally'.

Like I said, my opinion of him was my take away from my personal encounters, and asking him directly about this, as well as my direct dealings with the company and their products.

There is more, looking at the website alone, but this is not the thread for that.
And so many great reviews

It’s a relatively new business, and we all know happy customers dont tend to leave reviews, so I wouldn’t read too much into lack of reviews. But also, I don’t think this thread is the right place to besmirch a business based on hunches. Maybe time we all got back on topic.

Back on topic, it is great that there are really good budget friendly options for smart watches out there.
(Posted as a Garmin watch fanboy)

Agreed

 

[airborne]

Current active director of the company is Louise Brewsher, appointed May 2026.
Prior to that the active director was... Taun Kirby Brewsher.

He is well known, there is a lot of info out there outside Carthe Blanche about him, and it is certainly not a 'few people who took it personally'.

There is more, looking at the website alone, but this is not the thread for that.
And so many great reviews

Back on topic, it is great that there are really good budget friendly options for smart watches out there.
(Posted as a Garmin watch fanboy)

No one should be doing business with that guy, he is a crook through and through no doubt about it.
He's one of those scumbags that know how difficult it is to nab online scammers and to take people for amounts which makes recovery not worth the effort and cost. He has ripped off dozens if not hundreds of people.
I’d be very careful ordering online from this website.