Garmin - Fenix 6 Pro

DC Rainmaker (who does the best multisport tech reviews out there) once described the Forerunner 935 as the Fenix 6P, essentially the Fenix 6 but with a plastic body. The feature set was basically identical. When it comes to running metrics specifically, there's unlikely to be any difference. Both are top notch.

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.

Have the battery drain issues on the Fenix 7 Pro series not been addressed yet? I just ordered one, because there was a decent sale. I've had my Fenix 6 Pro for almost 4 years now and it is still going strong and even battery life is still pretty It was actually pretty hard to convince myself to upgrade, given that there aren't that many compelling features that would justify the steep price. Even with the sale, I'm paying double than what I did for the Fenix 6 Pro. I'm not even 100% sure I'll keep it, but having browsed through the official forum and Reddit and seeing all the battery drain reports and people downgrading to 17.xx firmware is not helping.

A lot of Garmin watches cover lots of sports. The Forerunner 265 is a great watch. If hiking a lot and want maps, the Garmin 965 has maps. If money is no object, the Fenix or Epix models cover it all. I have a Fenix 6 Pro as well as a Forerunner 165.. Fenix watches are bulky and heavy. The FR 165 is very good for tracking swims and running but leaves out skiing but is thin and light on the wrist and still gets very good battery life.

Similar activies, used to have Garmin Fenix 6 Pro and upgraded lately to Garmin Epix Gen 2 Pro. I would recommend a Garmin Fenix or the Epix Gen 2 Pro as there is quite good deals on them as the Fenix 8 was just intoduced. If you're hiking in areas where it's sunny you can get an model with the solar watch face. There is a lot of ways to conserve the battery on longer trips. If you do mostly longer trips then maybe Enduro 3 with the longest battery life. I'm really happy with Garmin and their quality and also how they provide updates for years to come also for the older models.

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro and a HRM Pro strap. Wrist measured HR is unreliable also when cycling, cross country skiing etc.

Garmin Fenix 6 pro. For me, Garmin Fenix is the best watch series. It tells me how many laps I've swamped, my SWOLF, calories, strokes per min, strokes per length, swim style, and how much rest I should get. I love my garmin

Garmin Fenix 6 pro. Best for advanced swimmers.

You should first think about what you need from the watch, then choose between the models that offers that specs. Without knowing your use case, the Suunto race S is difficult to beat. I use a Fenix 6 pro myself. I like the maps to be customizable, but when it dies I will change brand. Prices in new Garmin releases are too high in comparison with other brands offerings.

I think you are in a hard spot here! When someone is serious about something, it is difficult to gift them something about that something. In the same way that you cannot gift a mouse to a software engineer unless it's the Logitech Mx 3 or superior, you cannot gift apparel to a serious runner unless it's something really good. My point is, if you want to gift him a watch, it is difficult to recommend you something that is below $300 or $400. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of watches out there that cost less and may work. For example, you can buy the Garmin Vivoactive or Instinct for around $200, or the Amazfit T-Rex Pro for $150 (this is a really good watch for the price). However, if he is really serious about trail running, you may have to consider a Garmin Fenix 6 (between $350 and $400 on Amazon) or a Garmin Forerunner 945 (I just saw it at $319 on Amazon). If he is into both road and trail running, the Forerunner may be a good choice, but if he is getting more and more into trail running, the fenix is the best option. Note: You won't get navigation in budget-friendly watches, but I haven't meet a racer that needed it. Generally, the course is marked and people carry their phones (I have offline maps just in case). Note 2: You can save a lot by purchasing the previous-generation model (that's why I recommended fenix 6 and forerunner 945).

Fenix 6 or above, Enduro 2 or above. All will easily last over 24hrs recording an activity. The Enduros will stretch to 48hrs at a push

On my fenix 6, pulse ox even busy at night absolutely cooks the battery. I also found it wasn’t a very accurate or useful feature other than pointing out I might have sleep apnea (which turns out I did, but based off other tests). The advertised battery life probably doesn’t include that, I’d be interested to see how it holds up if it turn that off. For reference I get probably 7-10 days on my fenix 6. Two hours of activity tracking a day, one of which is usually using gps. No pulse ox turned on ever. Using it as a watch only closer to 14 days

I always enjoyed hiking and trail running, but adding Garmin was a great addition. I've had the Fenix 6 and after lost it on a lake, got the Venu 3. Venu 3 is my go to choice, what an amazing and fast watch.

I put on my garmin and select backcountry ski.

Fenix 6

Is it as comfy to sleep with? I have a garmin fenix 6 and cant sleep with that but can with the whoop

I do the same. Downvotes be dammed. I usually like to get out at around 130 and get it down to 38 in the cold plunge. 3 years on a fenix 6 without issue.

I have a Garmin Fenix 6 and I normally have mine on. I sauna 4 to 5 days a week and have had the watch for 4 or so years. Works totally fine!

Grab the cheapest watch and pair it with a good chest strap for more accurate data. Otherwise the movements give weird data. I pair a Garmin Fenix 6 with HRM Pro+. Pay attention to HRV for recovery.

I have 674,647 yards this year alone on my 4 year old Garmin Fenix 6, and have not had a single issue with it.

I've not used the brand myself, (I have a Garmin Fenix 6 that I really like currently), but I hear a lot of good things about Coros and they have watches around the price point your looking for. One of my favorite running Youtubers (he does a lot of ultra trail runs) did a review of the Coros Pace Pro a few months back: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzH-FBISb7I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzH-FBISb7I)

I’ve been using a garmin Fenix 6 for a couple of years and it’s been solid! The only thing I’d say (and it’s not garmin specific just wrist based sensor specific) is that for things with a lot of movement like burpees and KB swings it struggles to record - so I often pair it with a garmin chest heart rate sensor too for those workouts. If it were to break I’d buy a Fenix 7, now that the 8 is out (or soon?) but for me the jump from Fenix 6 to 7 isn’t enough to replace a fully working watch

I have a Garmin Fenix 6, which is a multisport watch not a dedicated swimming watch, and it's not very accurate for distance. My last swims: **Outdoor** Actual 1000m, reported 935m Actual 1320m, reported 1684m Actual 1000m, reported 1015m Actual 924m, reported 749m **Indoor** Actual 1716m, reported 2475m

My Garmin Fenix 6 is OK, but the distance can be wildly inaccurate. Outdoors is usually within about 15%, but indoors is worse. My last swim was 1726 meters by lap count, but showed as 2475 meters on the watch... 43% over. (I'm pretty confident in my lap counts since I learned the trick on this sub of doing it by letter instead of number, and thinking of names/places/words beginning with each letter. In my usual pool "O" is a kilometer).

Yes and my Fenis 6 goes 14 days. But they aren't comparable let's be honest, not the same use cases

I daily use a Fenix 6 ;)

Still on the fenix 6. I'm not even sure the fenix 9 is gonna make me want to upgrade. Probably could have just bought the 945 745 or even the 245. None of these upgrades is gonna make me fitter. Everyone has different needs but I bet the majority don't get much benefit from last year's line-up the way things have been going. The metrics are nice to have but hardly a necessity.

One aspect you didn't mention is battery life. I have a Garmin Fenix 6... after 5+ years it's battery doesn't hold up as well as it used to, but charging is still a think I have to do once a week or so. It's also very good at managing battery life during activities... if it's running low during a long hike, it'll do things like reduce GPS polling frequency and turning off sensors to conserve battery before dying on you entirely.

The Instinct 3 is perfect for you if you don’t need maps on the watch. It can load a breadcrumb trail but doesn’t have topo maps overlays. Otherwise look for the previous generation of the Fenix’s, ie. Pro or non- Pro 7’s or Epix. The other option is to check out one of the Forerunner series that has maps. Again previous versions are cheaper than the latest. The features gap between current versions of Garmins and previous versions aren’t that great in its core functionality.

I have a fenix Pro, with all phone related things turned off. I will only receive vibration for phone calls (as I keep my phone on silent). Otherwise it’s strictly for fitness/health

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. 😂