Garmin - fenix 3 Sapphire

I'm coming from a Fenix3 from 2016 and looking forward to receiving the Trex-3 as a replacement. The Fenix 3 battery only last about 14 hours on GPS before needing charge as its getting up there in age. I know I can just replace the battery but I also want some new technology. The Fenix 3 overreads GPS distances about 5-10% when compared to a couple handhelds that I use as a reference.

Are you doing freestyle? I only ask because I got a Garmin Fenix 3 sapphire for $120 CAD on marketplace. It keeps track of laps very well if you're doing freestyle. But if you're doing other strokes it kinda messes it up. You can adjust the settings to 25m or 50m depending on the pool. I ended up keeping track of laps in my head because I wasn't swimming that far and using the stopwatch.

Garmins are amazing. I bought the Fenix 3 probably 7 years ago (it was used then) and it still works very well! Very durable and lots of options. I’d like to upgrade mine but it still works so well. They have other good options as well but I’ve just used the Fenix series

My body has a Garmin Fenix 3 that still worked perfectly in 2022 when he upgraded. It was released and purchased in 2015. My 5 made it through 3 deployments with no issues being covered in fuel, dirt, hydraulic fluid and sweat.

I bought it couple of months ago, it is not a sports watch. I have had Garmin Fenix 3 for some 7-8 years and I think in some ways it is still superior to Ultra. Until it can mark a lap/segment manually while swimming, I don’t think it can be considered a sports watch. It can’t show the training segment goal (like in which target HR zone you should be). You can’t customize screens so that you don’t have to scroll between 3 screens via touch screen while running/cycling. Hopefully new WatchOS solves some of these pains, but right now it is not a serious sports watch.

Mi fenix 3 is very accurate while simming on free style in 25m pool. I am looking for a HR sensor now but like the watch except for the heavy weight.

If you want a smartwatch, you're in good shape. If you want a multi-sport activity tracker on your wrist, Garmins are far better. If you want accurate heart rate while you ride a bike -- indoor trainer or otherwise -- you need a chest strap. If you just need the strap for the bike, Polar H10 is the gold standard. The only reason not to get an H10 would be if you have a Whoop or you need a strap that also works for swimming, in which case you would want one of the Garmin multi-sport models. I am very happy with my Garmin watches, and have had a long series of them (Forerunner 620 --> Fenix 3, Fenix 5+, Fenix 6S, Epix 2 Pro), but when it comes to syncing Zwift into a broader fitness data collection platform you're best off just setting up Zwift to sync to Strava & Garmin Connect, and not using your wrist-based device as the primary recorder of your Zwift workouts. This didn't used to be true, but since Garmin partnered with Zwift to allow Zwift workouts to include calculated training load, it's no longer necessary to record Zwift rides also on a Garmin... assuming you use Garmin for other things already. A lot of this is somewhat moot if you're starting from scratch. If you're starting from scratch and only cycling, just buy a Polar H10 and setup sync from Zwift to Strava, and then from Strava to intervals.icu for actually useful metrics. If you're doing more than just indoor riding, then consider buying a Garmin watch, too. (I have had Garmin watches for ages and my wife has had an Apple Watch for the past few years. An Apple Watch is actually a smart watch, but while Garmin does have some "smart" features, like onboard music storage and the ability to see smartphone notifications, it's not even in the same category. Garmins are fitness-first. Apple Watches are productivity first.

I went with the Garmin Fenix series. They are great for anything you can ever want to do activity wise, and they last. My coworker still has his Fenix 3 and uses it everyday. I’d get the latest and greatest so that it lasts the longest. Fenix 8 sapphire Solar in whichever size you like.

In the pool I've had a bunch of garmins. Two instincts, a Fenix 2, 3 and 5. All have been perfect on freestyle and back without any antics. I don't swim breast in the pool. I don't swim fly at all except to break the surf zone. Where they will fail is mostly finning. Even CSS (side stroke) with arms. They need certain amount of arm motion/strokes. So a CSS lap without fins is like 6 strokes for me and it fails. They also fail if you do long underwater pullouts or something like over unders. If I doing free but I swim half over half under, it doesn't count the length. For all that stuff you need to use drill mode and count your own laps. But for basic laps with the core 4 strokes, no issues.

Most people coming from apple go vivo active or venue. Venue being closest to a smart watch. Personally, I'm a instinct guy. Although I'm wearing a Fenix today since I didn't charge my Instinct for 2 weeks and it died before bed. I've swam tens of thousands of meters (more like hundreds but..) in pool, open and salt water with my Garmins. Done free diving (only to about 40ft, I'm not very good) and press the buttons regularly sub surface. I've also done cliff jumping with every watch, and haven't lost a garmin to water intrusion. I would definitely select a 100m rated model for water sports. Any watch can fail but I've had 6 garmins and none have. I also had a bunch of Casio and Timex over the years and not one failure.

Man, I charge both my old Fenix and my Instinct once a week. And I do about 10-15 hours of logged activities a week (at least 10 with GPS) the other 5 are gym and pool. It's still half full (or close) when I charge it. At worst it's got a day or two of life left. I charge either each Thursday or Friday. If garmin really screwed up the 8 that bad that you need to charge it each night, than it's bad news for garmin. Also, if the Fenix is lighter it's a good thing. I prefer my Instinct to the Fenix now. Initially I thought the heft was nice but now I realize for sports a lighter watch is better. Granted I don't notice it most of the time, the mass is annoying at times.

It's the case. Premium case but it hurts reception. My Instinct has never dropped Bluetooth but my Fenix does. Also sat reception is better on the Instinct.

This is my experience with 3 Fenix and 2 instincts. Great example. I'm standing still on a hike (maybe a viewpoint, water break, shoe laces, etc). Instinct doesn't add hundredths of a mile continuously like all my Fenix have. Haven't had an issue with the Fenix while moving fast but anything slow (like mountaineering) it's wildly inaccurate.

Great review, enjoyed the read and given me new t think about before I make a decision. I own a AWU and have been strongly considering swapping to the fenix8 but just haven’t been able to pull the trigger yet, I’m too reliant on some of the Apple smartwatch features that I use day to day but I feel let down by the lack of native fitness and maps on the AWU. I really want the Garmin maps for hiking and fitness tracking/ coaching. My last Garmin was the Fenix 3 which was a great sports watch for its time.

UI has been trash forever. The desktop version needed for maps and other devices is even worse. I've tried to switch back and forth between apple watch over the last maybe 10 years. I keep sticking with Garmin. The active part of my life keeps winning. But I keep finding myself more and more hoping the Apple Watch Ultra 3 gets a useful battery life and that would probably get me off of Garmin for a watch due to the convenience of apple watch. But on the other hand going to the mkiii from my Fenix would be amazing for my gear arsenal. So as I said. On the fence...

Garmin are top-notch. I've had a Fenix 2, a Fenix 3, and currently use a Tactix 7. I've never been let down. I use my watch for swimming, cycling, running, skiing, paddling, and hiking. Between the Fenix 3 and the Tactix, I tried an Apple Watch SE Nike edition. It lacked a lot of the features of the Garmins and had crap battery life. After less than a year, it went into an unrecoverable boot loop after a swim. They replaced it under warranty, and 3 months later the same thing happened to the replacement. I would never buy another, and if I did, I wouldn't trust it for aquatics.

How accurate is the GPS, especially when running through woods or on overcast days? I've found Apple watches and even lower end Garmins don't handle position tracking very well in those conditions. Sometimes they'll be as much as a half mile off for a several mile run. That's the only time I can't fault the Fenix series watches, the GPS is nearly flawless. The only thing I've found more accurate is a handheld.

You can try and grab a Garmin Fenix / EpiX line...comes with a price but this developer made a 'cross-training' app and its pretty cool that I use for the workouts. Obviously that's not the number one selling point but if you also hike/bike/run/bike etc...the Fenix line and Epix line are far superior than the Apple Watch.

Get a garmin Fenix, doesnt really matter which model as long as it’s not ancient, off eBay

Same here, though I would argue it's not that pretty.

You can't go wrong. There are features that the newest Fenix (or Epic pro) have that the others don't. So if you care about ecg monitoring that might change the model you are looking at.

This is my perspective as someone who uses Whoop and wears an SMP or a Speedy that I rotate according to how I feel. Also, I've tried Oura, and liked it, but it wasn't for me. And I have an AW Ultra that I use when running and hiking, and this is after a few years of using a Garmin Fenix. Most people think of Whoop as simply a fitness tracker, which it is, but it is much more. What seperates Whoop from other things is how it shows you the impact of your behaviors. Yes, I think Whoop was less than honest about their upgrade policy with the new 5.0 and MG release, but I still can't find anything like it. The "magic" of Whoop is that it allows you to pre-select certain behaviors that will appear in a daily journal. Each morning you take 30 seconds to check yes or no on these items, e.g. Did you consume added sugar yesterday? Did you eat a late meal? There are endless options. As times goes on, Whoop continues to show you how these behaviors are impacting your sleep so that you discover how far before bed you should stop eating, or what's the latest time of the day you can drink caffeine without it impacting your sleep (even though you may think it doesn't because you fall asleep quickly). I'm not trying to sound like an advertisement for Whoop, but I think most people evaluate Whoop without knowing what it really does. So when I run or hike I use my Ultra for reasons that don't overlap with Whoop. But the rest of the day, when wearing my SMP or Speedy, or when I sleep, I wear Whoop because it is providing overall health insights that I find valuable and have led to lifestyle changes that I may not have made otherwise--even as a person in great shape who works out six days a week.

You could try an Apple watch but personally, I wouldn't touch that thing with a 10 foot pole as a fitness watch. Garmin real strength is its capabilities for tracking running, hiking etc. I know what you mean with the weight lifting but I still find it very valuable. After my set, with several button taps, I've corrected the rep count if it's off. After my work out, I take 5 minutes to edit it in the connect app to the correct exercises. People spend more time scribbling workout notes, sets/reps in a note book. I've used my garmin for weight training for 5 years now and couldn't imagine not using it now. Not to mention its capabilities for gps tracked activities. But if you want a smart watch with some weight lifting track, how with Apple. If you want a fitness tracker, stick with your Fenix.

Coming from a Galaxy Watch I was kinda of disappointed with the weightlifting tracking of my Fenix. It's great on everything else but I felt like it's not as friendly to the non cardio active crowd.

garmin epix/fenix no complaints

Short answer ; none Long answer ; Garmin is not an optimised at all for bodybuilding (I am nodybuil for the last 20 years and have Garmin for the last 10). So just get the one that is in your price range. Any Garmin will do hiking. One thing though, with bodybuilding the watch can and will suffer from repeated contact with the bars and gear. For that I only take Sapphire models. So Fenix or EPIX.

Seconded, Fenix or Epix are great. I have an Epix but tbh a Fenix suits my needs better

I use Garmin. Watch battery lasts a week at a time workout charging and the watch itself is nice. If I'd gotten a less fancy version than the fenix, my watch battery would last even longer

This is what I do. I have a Garmin Fenix as my sports watch and switch to the Vivosmart when I am wearing my Speedy.

As an ultra runner with both a Garmin Fenix and AW, Garmin is by far superior for fitness and running metrics, but it’s the only time I wear it. For the rest of the day, I’m wearing my Apple Watch. I think for casual athletes, Apple is fine, but all the hardcore mountain & trail athletes, serious runners, and triathletes I know are all using Garmins or Coros.

Garmin Fenix and Epix Series are far better than this. https://preview.redd.it/cpxhwtjkuuje1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4d50186d95b15e90086bfa4491d354424f3c0bd I am glad. Haha

I was looking at the Fenix! It's pricey but it did seem to have the most functionality that would be useful for him. I don't know that he would mind losing the running specific data as part of his WOD but then again I think he's the type that would like to know his pace/HR to target. As long as there is a process to program the switch from hiit to run and then back to HIIT I would guess he would suffer the moderate annoyance if he wants to mine that data. And we are not an apple house lol and I agree, Garmin connect is pretty slick. I've found their race predictions to be hilarious but other than that their metrics are pretty spot on!

It's good, you can track entirely on the watch. You can have plans and follow them (even skip parts and do them later). You can enter weight and reps on the watch (if you follow a plan it will suggest the weight from the plan), it will try to count reps and you can adjust if they are incorrect. It will even try to detect your exercise if you don't follow a plan. You can later select multiple sets on the phone and enter the correct exercise. No phone needed for tracking. You can see your pause countdown, there is an annoying bug, if you follow a planned training it will always guide you to the page of the training overview after each step, so if you want to see the countdown manual input is needed every time. Not a problem in free mode. Only thing you won't get from Garmin is a good evaluation of your progress like [strenghtlevel.com](http://strenghtlevel.com)

Return the Apple watch get a fenix

Most of them are decent at hr without a strap but you’d want something with the elevate v5 sensor for the best data and unfortunately that’s fenix only. The 255 or 955 would be the best bet here but the 255 doesn’t have maps. Also the 965 is great if you want oled instead of MIP

I take my Garmin Fenix with me everywhere. Boulders (slopers not included) and sometimes trad. The outer ring is kinda scuffed but it's held up really well. There's also the Coros HRM that looks interesting and is near the shoulder for wear.

I’ve been wearing my garmin fenix in it for over a year. No issues

I swapped my Omega for a Garmin Fenix and haven't looked back. I'm a cyclist in the garmin infrastructure so it makes sense. Its one of the best sports watches, comes in a range of sizes to fit different wrists and I think it looks stylish as well compared to the square apple watch.

I did bench the other day and it would count my reps well, but I would have to hit a button between sets. It allows you to change weight each time, if you want to record that

Garmin Fenix, used Garmin for years, battery measured in days not hours

i have a fénix and i won't bring it. You can get miles and ascent trivially from FarOut. just tap on a point behind or ahead of you. For me the fenix is a training tool, it's not for the main event. your stats will be: * Steps: Many * HR: Light/moderate aerobic * Sleep: Shit * HRV: Shit * Status: Overreaching * GPS: The same damn trail as everyone else. Also the power saver mode GPS is pretty bad and [can remarkably *over*estimate distances. ](https://www.tendigitgrid.com/d/159-garmin-ultratrac-review-and-data-accuracy) Number Go Up is fun but not worth it. Track for the folks at home with the Inreach on 1hr tracking. Your watch won't broadcast to your family like the Inreach will, it's redundant and less functional for long distance location tracking. I have ONCE briefly, used a pre-loaded Course on my Inreach for snow navigation on Wonderland Trail. Probably it would be nicer on the Fénix but not enough to bring it. Ill probably stick some Sierra courses on the Inreach ahead of time though.

But nobody say what garmin works with messages better of do it APW with same iPhone. I switched APW to Fenix namely this reason. I dont miss any whats app call or telegram call or messages from it with fenix. But AWU at all is very very good thing, especially if calls and messages from all messengers not matter for you (I apologize in advance for my English)

whoop, using the bicep strap so my wrists are free during workouts. i prefer the no screen no distraction myself, especially when working out. also have a garmin fenix as well as a daily watch.

In my opinion, yes, though it depends on how much you value battery life and what activities you do IMHO. I have a garmin fenix and have been switching back & forth before watchOS 11 for several reasons, particularly missing training readiness, body battery, etc. Apple Watch is still innacurate in some places as well, particularly badminton (there is no way I burned 1.4k calories in one workout apple? My Garmin suggests under half that, which feels far more likely) But with the training load & vitals updates I feel it's a far closer pair and more often than not I keep on the Apple Watch, even for hikes & whatnot. The UI/UX on the Apple Watch, build quality, external app functionality, music player, etc. are heads and shoulders above the Garmin IMHO. And this is all comparing a top of the line Fenix amoled (~800$) to a watch that is 1/3rd the price. Though of course, there are cheaper Garmin options that all offer different featuresets, so it's not a fair comparison.

If you do find a similar app, please do let me know. Only reason I switch back to my Garmin from time to time.

Yes, I carry a Garmin Fenix and record each day’s hike as an activity. You absolutely do not need a smart watch to hike but it a lot of fun and convenient to have. I love all the stats for each day’s hike. HR. elevation gain and loss. Pace. It’s also convenient to have all the information the watch provides right on your wrist. How many miles you’ve gone. Elevation. (On a nasty up hill I’ll just know the elevation I need to get to and can glance st my wrist for progress without overthinking the distance.) Sunrise and sunset times. Day length. I set a notification to go off 1.5 hours before sunset. That’s my dummy check reminder I need to be looking for a campsite. I also set a lap notification for 1.0 miles. That way I can mentally keep track of how far I’ve gone. The newish elevation acclimation widget has been interesting. Most of these functions/information is as lap available on a cell phone. But it’s nice in watch form. The battery needs of a smart watch are negligible. I did need to recharge it daily.

Fenix is so sick get that one

I use it for weights tracking. It’s not great but I don’t think you’ll find anything better. It’s not hard to be diligent enough to track the mistakes and adjust it accordingly mid workout.

Apple Watch will do fine for a long time - only got a Garmin last year. However once you go to only having to charge your watch once every two weeks you just can’t go back to Apple. I have a Garmin Fenix (on the $$ side) but I wear it every day as my normal watch too and have had zero issues making the switch. However there’s heaps in the range, I love accuracy, maps, long battery and lots and lots of data so I can overthink every run - so Fenix it is! The forerunners are great and the vivoactives are a good mid range model. There’s other brands like Suunto, Polar etc. For true accuracy on any wrist watch you may need a chest monitor. But if you really like your Apple Watch I found it pretty good unless you’re somewhere with not much reception

This is not clear. Which activities can't you wear a sorts watch? Do you mean like work or formal dinner where sports watch might not match your outfit? If that is the case, you should consider the garmin fenix. More premium build and you can get different watch straps that can be changed quickly if you need to dress to impress.

I used the fenix for weight lifting. You can configure your training plan on the website connect.garmin.com. Its delicious. The heart rate sensor has its issues during weight liftin. But thats for watches in general. If you combine it with sleep tracking its a good choice for you I could recommend

It not not super great and many things depend on how you use it. I created workout plans for my trainings and use them to follow and log what I do. Here you can find more details: https://gelberhut.com/strength-training-with-a-garmin-in-a-gym/

Garmin Fenix, I bought a second hand one on ebay and I absolutely love it and the best bit is the charge lasts for over a week.

I've had 4 different smartwatches before Garmin and my current Fenix is the most "motivating" watch I've ever had. I can justify the price as long as it helps me stay active, which improves my performance and health, which becomes more and more important as I hit 46 this year.

Yes they are pretty rubbish for swimming. I just switched to a Garmin Fenix which hopefully will be better. The Apple Watch managed lap counting ok for me but open water was a disaster and the rest of its counting (calories etc) was also well off by the looks of it. Your does sound even more broken than just being rubbish though. It should be able to count laps fairly accurately, I think most of them can do that ok.

I don’t like AMOLED I don’t like scroll wheels I’d get the 255 or add some for a fenix (for the maps )

There should be, but it isn’t. I have 255 and it’s great, capable, light watch, but it has weak display and no touch, changing straps is a hassle. So I waited long for 975, but I’ll go the Fenix way very, very soon :) Maps are definitely better on the 965 than on 255, navigation there is really rather basic.

Agree, although I use a Garmin Fenix and heart rate strap to record cardio/respiratory data and log rounds and times. To monitor training load, I use the Session/RPE method. Essentially, it's time in the exercise multiplied by the Rate of Perceived Effort on a 1-10 scale to estimate your training load for the session. In a CrossFit class, I separate the weightlifting/strength piece from the HIIT WOD. (I add the warm up separately, even though it's minimal load. If I do any significant yard work, I add that in, too, because that's a workload that will sneak up on you over the hours.) I add up each day to get the week's training/work load, then divide it by a rolling 3-week average of training load to get my load ratio. Anyway, here's a link to a scholarly article on the Session/RPE method and its reliability in monitoring load: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5673663/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5673663/)

Fenix has always been dead on accurate for me. But I’m using an Epix now. Basically the same but my old Fenix didn’t do HR

Personally I turned off most of the “smart” features of my Apple Watch last year. I found 95% of it was just some garbage spam notification from a social platform or some other app vying for my attention, like having a 2 year old with me everywhere I go grabbing at my wrist. Once I disabled them all, at that point my watch just became a health tracker with the ability to pay for things (and occasionally tell me the time). Garmin watches are superior to apple in that regard, so it made sense to switch. Also, and this is purely subjective, I think the garmin epix and Fenix line look infinitely better than apple stuff. The chunky bezels and circular shape make it look like an actually fashionable watch instead of a toy screen on my wrist

Bro, it's literally a fitness tracker first, then 2 miles of data sheets from all that tracking...then all the "smart" gibberish as a barely visible dot on the horizon. At least Enduro/fenix/Tactix/Epix line are like that.

I would say for your price point the 255 Music is the best option out there. If you see the 265 Music with a good deal go with that (8GB instead of 4GB storage, OLED). The weight and size is still great. The 955, 965 are great as well (16Gb storage I think) but in my opinion to bulky. Forerunner 165 is nice but lacks some features. Fenix and such models are too heavy (my opinion ;)

I’d also recommend the Garmin Fenix. I have a glass screen protector on mine and put a plastic case on it when I climb which I would definitely recommend. I’ve cracked screen protectors but the watch itself is totally fine.

To add to everyone else’s comments - mines have lasted very well. My first Forerunner works after a decade, I just replaced it with a Fenix a few years back. After four years it’s never had any issues. Yes they aren’t the cheapest but it is worth the investment.

I got a garmin fenix - expensive but does all you ask!

I’ve used a Garmin Fenix, Garmin Swim 2, and Apple Watch for swimming and by far the garmins were superior. My Apple Watch would die after about half an hour in open water, regardless of water temp, and was always inaccurate with my laps and interval times in the pool. The swim 2 and fenix work much better.

I personally love my Fenix, and yes, most Garmin things revolve around running—but I do HIIT, strength training, and backpacking, and the recovery seems quite accurate. My overall fitness suffers when I don't listen to the readiness score and overdo it.

i hated my garmin fenix chunky edges on my 4.5 inch wrist which is tiny for my first one i went for the cheap apple watch 6 decided i liked it and went to a series 9 never looked back and also im in the apple ecosystem partley so this has been a great help

In all honesty, if you are serious about Triathlon tracking for training and competitions... I value my tracker GREATLY. It is a tool I rely on, almost bordering on necessity (for me at least). Garmin Forerunner is a tired and true line - if I didn't have my Fenix, I'd be rocking a Forerunner! And for a specialized discipline, I'd use specialized trackers (Garmin, Coros, Suunto). I also have seen people using the Instinct line as a more budget friendly option. \[not sure if anyone here can expand on their experience with the Garmin Instinct\] I've had FitBit and they don't last. After a years and multiple issues, I switched to Garmin and have been headache free! Costs a little more, but saved me money in 15 months time. Highly recommend saving up for it.

I'm very disappointed in my Fenix for gym (and it sounds like the same fault applies to all garmins) because of the logging of reps. When I do a workout it will assume I used the weights I specified, but then it seems to either auto-log reps, which is a disaster for things that don't involve hand movements, and require me to correct them, or assume I did zero and require me to enter the whole lot. If I'm doing 60 sets I honestly don't have the patience to manually enter the rep number, so I use a phone ap instead. The thing that really annoys me though is that it would be so easy for Garmin to make a tiny programing change and start with the assumption that you hit your target. Surely for most people who have a reasonably well-made workout this would mean they only need to change a small fraction of their reps. I have suggested they make that tiny change, as have others, but so-far it has fallen on deaf ears. Hopefully more people will suggest it, until eventually they do it. But for now I'd say stick with the apple watch.

Garmin Fenix. I will always be team Garmin. Apple is a smart watch with fitness features while Garmin is a fitness watch with smart features. There are certain garmins that have more fitness functions and features than others - even among the new models. Some are more “lifestyle” watches (like venu). So just be aware of that when choosing. When I went from my venu2+ to my Fenix, a host of new features opened up for me that I now could not do without. Check out the r/garmin sub for sure if you think you might go that route

I am an AWU → Garmin Fenix convert and have done pretty extensive testing with both, and against dedicated sensors. I have found for basically all metrics where the watch sensors are the source, the Apple Watch is more accurate when compared against the Garmin watch, although dedicated sensors are more accurate than both. I haven’t tried the Garmin chest strap or dynamics pod, but I have compared to a Polar H10 for HR and a Stryd pod for running dynamics. It’s always H10/Stryd > Apple Watch > Garmin. The discrepancy is much higher for HR than running dynamics. I think it is straight up irresponsible to rely on wrist-based HR is you’re using HR as a part of training, but the running dynamics from both watches are more than good enough for most people.

Just buy a fenix and turn notifications etc off. Calls it the only thing that I have on but that also can be turned off.

Honestly, there's a TON of overlap between Whoop and any other tracker you need. It'll have your HR and HRV, recovery scores, and target strain. The ability to broadcast HR to your phone should let you cover runs and bike rides in strava. Look into various Garmin options if you want something that can record multisport events, I think Coros can do those too. But if you just want something for easy workout tracking that records swim laps and ride/run HR + GPS route, a cheap Fitbit would do the trick as well. Personally, I use a Whoop plus a Garmin Fenix. The whoop is overkill, honestly, since Garmin has a "body battery" recovery metric and can tell you how hard to go with the training on any given day. I use the Whoop because I deal with behaviors very similar to exercise bulimia and I need something that literally tells me, "you've worked hard enough today, it is time to stop." If I didn't need that, a Garmin would absolutely be sufficient on its own.

I have a Garmin Fenix which supports both pool and open water swimming. It’s expensive but you can buy a slightly older model or wait for a sale to make it more affordable (or find one 2nd hand on eBay)

I like my Garmin Fenix. Someone here pointed out that grips stop the workout and that’s true. Straps and grips and a certain angle can hit that button and it sucks. Other than that it does its job really really well. I hate whoop though. It being maybe 3% more accurate with some metrics isn’t enough for me to have to wear the whoop and watch (smart or otherwise). Couple that with the subscription cost. It’s just not worth it for your everyday/local comp person. They’re all trash if you have tattoos on your wrist though. The internal HR monitor struggles there. I use a chest strap or just rotate the watch to the inner part of my wrist.

It's OK at counting reps. It's mid-at-best for determining the exercise. The calorie estimation based on HR during weights is pretty bad.

Can't go wrong with Garmin imho. I've had a fenix and a couple of forerunners, and they've all worked great.

I would agree with you on that. I had Garmin fenixes for years, Garmin Epix pro, Apple Watch Ultra, amazfit trex 3 (current watch) and just got a whoop. Imo for weightlifting nothing beats the Apple Watch (ultra or not doesn’t matter) due to all the different apps available. I was using Hevy and the ability to do a live workout between the watch and the phone at the same time was dope: want to change exercice or do more complex changes during your sessions, you simply edit the workout on the phone. But if you want to do just a 5lbs increment on your lift, you can do it from the watch directly live. Only thing I am eager to test with whoop, which is a important part my decision to do the free trial for a month, is to see muscle strain and how it work in tandem with the cardio based strain. Whoop is the only wearable to do that ( but it seems you can do it with Bevel now)

Garmin fenix works fine in sauna

You can make workout plans and start/end sets on the fenix. You can even edit I think but it is complicated. I think there is even a automatic rep counting but I do not use it since it was mediocre on another watch and I hate to edit it if it goes wrong. The building of workout plans with the connect app is ok but not great. Same goes for the workout on the watch, it is ok but it could be way better from a usability perspective. Now the bad part for real strength training: No graphs of your progress, no real inclusion of metrics into the overall trainings load. It only measures times (of the sets/the workout) and heartrate. No high heartrate - no real inclusion in the training load. No graphs of your weight progress. It is just not the focus of the fenix. Still a great watch but if your main focus is strength training you might better use a dedicated app.

Another happy Fenix user here. I bought it for the battery life, as I do ultras on occasion and prior watches would not last for 50+ mile races. So far, the only initial downside was the weight, but I'm used to it by now and hardly notice anymore. Otherwise, the battery life if phenomenal and has never failed me in a race (or for days afterward).

That's what I did, I had a Forerunner and when it was time to upgrade, went ahead and upgraded to Fenix.

Garmin Fenix is the best for snow sports

Please don’t use the Fenix watches for swimming. They may be advertised as such, but very unreliable. Very lengthy replacement process also.

If you are using a treadmill I’ve had good results with the HRM-Pro strap combined with my Fenix watch.  

I've used either a Forerunner 9xx or a Fēnix for about 6 years. If you give it about 5 minutes before you swim to leatch onto as many satellites as possible after it says it has a GPS fix it's pretty good. If you dive in as soon as you get the tick, it's crap.

I've had Apple, Garmin and Samsung smart watches but only got "joy spark" from the Garmin Fenix/Epix. The Garmin Fenix/Epix have an intangible attraction that doesn't equate to any feature or activity. One aspect of wearing a Fenix/Epix that I have to admit is attractive to me is that it signifies that I'm a performance athlete.

Garmin ecosystem is chocked full of goodness. Since I run and cycle, it’s great for multi sport. A lot of folks who only run seem to love Coros watches and their environment. I think either of those (with Strava integration) would be an improvement over your Apple Watch.

People have to stop comparing these. These are for two different people. I would never wear an Apple Watch based on battery life alone. I specifically got the Garmin for a wrist based gps and mapping tool to track and orient myself. You buy an Apple Watch to use smart features and be connected to your phone. Garmin has never been in that market. It’s a whole company based on gps systems for outdoor activities . You buy an Apple Watch to have Apple ecosystem. you can’t use half the feature of the fenix on an iPhone bc they only want you to use their watch… Garmin are all specifically made for their audience even down the the model . Apple watches are just to keep you plugged into your phone and have no bearing on actual outdoor activities despite calling it ultra. The Millitary has been orienteering with Garmin wrist based gps systems forever. You’d never catch an Apple Watch on patrol in Afghanistan. 😂