Never used Garmin connect. My Garmin etrex 30 doesn't have bluetooth, internet, or any other connectivity other than to GPS satellites, nor do I wish it did.
Not strictly true; it can also exchange data by Ant+. Sometimes it even works.
It takes (and can produce, if I want it to - but rarely do) GPX files which are an open, non-proprietary format, important thing for me personally.
This. Fanatical devotion to open standards makes you a boring Stallman-bearded weirdo, but if you're even slightly inclined to doing your own analysis or wanting data you can access decades in the future, it's just common sense.
Internet-of-Shit products that need to talk to some company's proprietary server for core functionality are a case of 'you get what you pay for'. This stuff's been around for long enough that we all know what happens when the company has technical problems, loses interest in its existing products, goes bust or gets bought out by EvilCorp. To expect any of it to work even five years down the line is rather optimistic, which makes the item disposable by default. Doesn't matter if it's a PE watch, a smart telly, an extra-tragic hipster coffee machine, one of those spooky speaker things or a wanky doorbell - in the absence of open source firmware they're all going to end up as largely useless lumps of WEEE.
If you want the smart functionality while maintaining control, you've got to do a bit more work. That's life.
Don't have that much interest in logging rides - I record rides on strava, which involves pressing a button on my phone at the start and again at the end. I rarely look at them, though, to be honest, so I wouldn't be that upset if strava went down and I couldn't log any rides - one of the main reasons I do it is so I know how many miles components on my bike has done but even so that's only out of interest, cos I replace them on being visibly/noticeably worn rather than after having done a certain mileage.
I think a lot of people need to get out of the mentality of "if it wasn't recorded and on the internet it didn't happen/wasn't worthwhile".
I am interested in logging rides, but my primary interest is where I've been. All the performance stuff is just a curiosity.
My primary means of logging rides is as GPX files. On a disk. If I'm interested in the route of some previous ride, I can open them in whatever tool is most convenient.
I have a script to throw a copy at Strava, which is a convenient analysis tool (particularly in combination with VeloViewer), and some of the social aspects are fun, but I've still got it all if Strava disappeared tomorrow. Tools like Viking or Memory Map or Basecamp aren't sexy, but they don't require access to the internet.