Garmin - fenix 6S Pro Solar Edition (010-02409-10)

Garmin fenix 6s solar. I wanted one that had a solar function and got this one gifted to me for my birthday lol. Had it for years now and I'm happy with it.

Ironman who’s just right of center… still use both. I’ve heard it described this way: the AWU2 is a great watch with some health features while the Garmin (Fenix 6pro Solar) is an exercise watch that tells time. I’ve not used the AWU2 in IM training but the only concern is event battery life. I wasn’t a fast finisher, just under the time cut. I fear the AWU2 may not have gone the distance for me. Even now when I ride or run outside, I switch to the Fenix due to the metrics. AWU2 just isn’t as detailed. Also for some weird reason neither connect reliably to my Horizon treadmill for longer than 2 miles. The Garmin does connect well to my Wahoo Kickr. Just my 2 cents..

Honestly, if battery life and music are priorities, I'd suggest a Fenix. The 6s was a great size for me. I find that running GPS and Bluetooth sucks about a day of battery on top of the normal watch functions. So the super long battery life of the Fenix is huge. When it was brand new, I only needed to charge my Fenix once/week. You can adjust that by changing the things the watch tracks in the background.

I have a Garmin Fenix 6s and I love it for tracking laps. It doesn't track kick sets, I think it needs arm movement, so I just track those in my head and you can adjust the distance in the Garmin Connect app. But other than that it's great and very accurate. Maybe only off by 25m each swim.

I never knew it had that function!! Thank you!

I would get the 265 for 1 reason only: The dual band GPS tracking. I have the 6s Pro and sometimes it shows the wrong pace and is extremely annoying.

I don't have any notifications whatsoever on my Fenix 6s pro. I just never set them up. Not a one. I work in a regulated area that prohibits certain distractions like that. That said, it's not a dumb watch, so it can have notifications if you set them up.

Fenix 7 should work great. (Double check for 100hz) I have fenix6s and it works but doesnt show live data and 25hz processor is shit with surfr. Also dowloading times are long. Not that i am slightly bitter with my yesterday 20m jump with 21+sec hangtime. According to surfr ai calculation 9m with 7second hangtime 🥲

When I got my first Forerunner, maybe 10 or so years ago, it was because Garmin was better for what I needed (HR, GPS, marathon training plan), and I wasn’t interested in a smartwatch. It was also way more expensive, for something I saw as just “cool”, but not as solidly functional. My SIL and her family are all gaga over Apple, which was a turnoff (“why didn’t you get an Apple Watch?”, as if it 100% has to be the best thing ever, also making me feel like I was some sort of dufus). Garmin was a sports watch with a few smartwatch-type capabilities, and Apple was a smartwatch that could do a few sports/health related things. And (at least back then), you couldn’t connect an HR strap to the Apple Watch for increased accuracy. Now, I just look over at my husband every day when he says “ARGH! I forgot to charge my watch!” either before he heads out to do something he wants to record, or before bed when he remembers he needs the alarm in the morning. His Apple watch is a few years old now, but it has been like that since Day 1. Every workout is an exercise in just hoping his watch doesn’t die before he’s done. Also, he uses Strava for his workouts, which is great, but after a hike or bike ride if I ask him any details from it, he has to wait until he can look on his phone or iPad. He can’t just look through the results immediately. While I’m now on my 4th Garmin (switched to a Fenix 5s by choice, then after a while the battery started dying in cold weather (I’m a XC skier), and most recently my fenix 6s developed an inability to reliably connect to GPS), I’m not regretting it. Except the ability to take phone calls on my watch - that would be nice, but it’s literally the only feature I’m jealous about. I will say the each Garmin I’ve had has been better than the last: FR 230 < Fenix 5s < Fenix 6s < Fenix 7s Pro SS. They are getting soooo expensive, so I bought the 7s recently when they were on sale, and refuse to go to the 8s. Never thought I’d spend $650 on a watch! It’s insanity. When I was shopping around and comparing features and reviews, I looked at Polar and Suunto also. But never for a moment looked at Apple. Oh, and I most definitely do not want a touchscreen. My new Fenix 7s Pro does have one, but it also has physical buttons, and the touchscreen can be locked out as needed. All I need is to have to deal with a touchscreen while wearing ski gloves. I’m pretty well immersed in the Garmin ecosystem at this point, between the progression of watches, Edge bike computer and Varia radar. I do have an iPhone and an iPad, and used to have an iPod, but that’s more because it’s easier to use the same interface for those. Overall, it’s just personal choice. One doesn’t really have to be dominant over the other. Each person needs to look at what each watch does, compare that to their priorities and preferences and needs, and go from there. There likely isn’t a wrong answer. For me, the battery life is king, especially in cold weather. And HR accuracy, but if the thing dies mid-activity, HR recording won’t help much. To ME, Garmin is more of a training tool, and Apple is more cool eye candy.

I have a Fenix 6s which does everything you mentioned, has lasted for ages, and was well within your budget. The top end Garmins all have very similar software, so it’s more about the look, screen, and build (more metal or more plastic). I don’t think you’d be dissatisfied by any of them.

I am pretty happy with my old Garmin Fenix 6s for pool and open water swimming. So far, I haven’t followed a pre-planned workout, so I can’t comment on that feature. Pool swims give time and strokes per length. Sometimes it misses a turn and gives a glitch, but it’s pretty rare. It can’t track a kick set, so far as I know. It’s OK at identifying stroke. For OW, it tracks you, gives speed, and stroke rate. It’s impressive as your watch is under water some of the time. Now, Garmin under-rewards swimming in general just because your HR is generally lower than running. It gives low (IMHO) calorie estimates sort of treats it as a recovery workout.

I have a 955 and a petite female wrist. The watch is big for me but it’s manageable. In the winter, it gets a bit caught on my short sleeves sometimes but that’s the worst of it. I came from a Fenix 6s which was much thicker and heavier so even though that watch face was smaller in diameter, it was much more in the way. It was too heavy. I don’t find that the 955 really bothers me, especially when running.

I have a Garmin Fenix 6s. Fenix series is definitely on the more expensive end, so this is a more hesitant endorsement. I would have gotten a forerunner in the 900 series, but they don't come in the small size. I will say though, the one I have is five years old and still going strong and tracks pretty much every activity you can think of, so I do like it. You can also download music to the watch too if you want to ditch your phone if that appeals to you. They just recently came out with the Fenix 8 line, so you could probably get a more reasonable price on the 6s or 7s depending what you're looking for.

Garmin for sure. Probably a forerunner or Fenix series. I personally use a Fenix 6s and it'll work for all those sports despite being 6 years old

Garmin Fenix 6s. I use it to track a lot more than just swimming though. And it's lasted, I've had it 5.5 years with no issues so far.

It's better in counting laps than my 6s. Haven't had any miscounts vs the occasional length missing on the old one. Hr seems to be just as accurate as it every is. Very comparable to non-water activities

def a garmin, i have the fenix 6s and its phenomenal for tracking swims!

I have (and love) a Garmin Fenix 6 Solar. It does all of the requested tasks and has held up brilliantly after 4+ yrs of heavy use unlike prior Apple Watches. For truly accurate HR tracking, you really need to pair with a chest strap. This is the case with virtually all wrist-based trackers. Garmin offers a variety of smart watch options but I can only speak to the older Fenix 6 I own. That said, I’d look at their product line to see which specs best match your goals then shop for sales since they are pricey but, in my view, worth it.

I have the fenix solar 6 the battery is great I use it to track my walks, hikes etc. I find the yardages are off at a lot of the courses I play though.

I got a fénix 6 that works great. Will sell it to ya for $250. In great condition. I use fénix 7 w whoop and it’s great. Lmk

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).

Looks at Garmin Connect 24hour HR monitoring data over many years of owning Garmins. Now I am confused, what is this HR data I am seeing on Connect from My Fenix 6 and before that the Vivosport I had? If it is not 24h HR monitoring then what is it? Totally confused, perhaps OP can come back and explain this to me. The way 24hr HR data over several years is not 24hr HR monitoring?? Perhaps the Op means it is not testing for AFib or other heart conditiions that TBH no watch can do no matter what their marketing management twonks claim in the website sales pages.

Fenix 6 here as well. I really like it.

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

I’ve a Fenix 6. It’s pretty chunky but the battery life is 3 weeks so I’m a big fan of that.

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

I have a Fenix 6 that I have linked to my Strava account and I love it. I’m more of a casual/recreational rider. I like that it tracks my steps and has a ton of activities you can record. I glance down at it all the time to see speed, time, distance and HR. The only thing is that I’m a pretty small lady and it’s sort of huge on my wrist.

I moved from fenix 6 to forerunner 970 recently and both are terrible at sleep tracking. My biggest problem is garmin algo doesn’t seem to sense awake times properly. I awake for 30 mins playing on my phone in bed and it counts it as REM! As much as I don’t like AW and like a lot of things about Garmin, abysmal sleep tracking on Garmin might make me move to AW.

This is kinda opposite to my experience with Garmin. I’ve been in Garmin ecosystem for years and recently moved from fenix 6 to fr 970. I tend to wake up a couple times middle of night and it takes me an hour to go back to sleep. I usually play on phone or read a book in bed until I fall asleep again. Garmin always counts those as REM or light sleep. When you wake up mid night, do you get out of bed and walk around?

I’m getting like ~36 hours charge out of mine. No it doesn’t have the battery life of the Fenix but I get basically a fully charge while I’m in the shower/changing so I don’t think it’s going to be issue.

I literally did the same thing with my fenix 3/6 and tactix but being able to run without a phone and still have access to emergency services or family through the watch is far superior than battery life during my 20-25 hours/week training.

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

I have both. Have really liked the Garmin for cycling and hiking. For cycling, you can load turn by turn routes on Garmin. For day to day, AW2 is more powerful and capable. However, WorkOutDoors just added the ability to do turn by turn directions. Will try for first time this weekend and if it works well may sell my Fenix 6. Also have a Specialized e-bike and they just added the ability to also read AW heart rate which it could not do before. The Garmin can broadcast HR which the bike can read. So now they are on par there too.

I've gone on backpacking trips where I'm hiking all day and GPS tracking all of it with my Fenix 6. And I have to charge it every 4 days or so. An Apple Watch wouldn't even last that long with no GPS tracking at all.

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 Fenix 6 and love it, but I justify the usage because I backcountry ski and want an interface with my Garmin InReach. Its rock solid and does a ton but it's a tool. If you have a need for more, I would vote Garmin, but if not that AWU2 looks good enough for what you described.

This is a solid answer and comes pretty close to what Garmin gives. I’ve worn both Fenix (6,7,8) with AW (Since the series 2). What’s better to do is choose the one that gives you numbers closer to how you feel. I say that because HRV tracking ALL day is basically useless since literally everything can have an impact on HRV. Overnight is more important and waking is arguably the best time to take it (albeit easy to influence if you know what you’re doing) so there’s an argument to be made for both sides ultimately the one that works best for your needs and doesn’t dictate your day is the better choice

Bummer, no alarm is a deal breaker for me switching to this kind of tracker over something like my Garmin Fenix 6.

Nice time! My Fenix 6 used something like 25% battery at the same race.  Apple watch won’t last for a full. There’s a reason most people have garmin or other devices in triathlon.  Also every apple watch I’ve had tracks open water swimming like a drunk squirrel. 

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!

I switched from AW to a Fenix 6 Spring/Summer 2023 timeframe. I use my Garmin to track 2-3 hour long activities a day. I used to charge my AW in the morning while I got ready for work AND in the car to and from work to get it to make it through the day and for sleep tracking. I charge my Garmin once a week when I take an everything shower and I never worry about battery life at all.

Don’t waste your time with any of them. I’ve had Apple Watch (not ultra) and now have a Garmin Fenix 6. I remain unimpressed by both. The biggest benefits I get are: 1. Notifications on my watch (this also sucks sometimes) 2. Alarm clock on my watch. I am hearing impaired so this is big for me When I have to replace a new watch I will likely opt for the cheapest Apple Watch or cheapest Garmin, since the above are the only two features I care about

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.

wtf. How could you live with that battery life for 6 years? I go for bikepacking a lot. After 1 year I had enough. If Fenix is out of your budget I would even consider buying a used Fenix 7 or even Fenix 6.

Lightweight and more budget friendly is the 955 and 965 (mip and amoled), then you have the same as you are used to, the Fenix 7 will have the training readiness and DSW with mip display, or Epix/Fenix 8 (cheaper/expensive) for amoled. It will all depend on budget. The coros and suunto are not so strong options for the maps. But your Fenix 6 should have daily suggested workout, except the option to see weekly suggested workouts I think.

It's on Garmin's website for $549 with free 2-day shipping so you don't need to but it from Amazon. I'm pretty tempted to upgrade my Fenix 6 as it's starting to have issues syncing and occasionally turns off for no reason and it would be nice to get solar for essentially half off.

I'm lucky to get 10 days out of my Fenix 7 solar. I upgraded from the 6 when I noticed my battery life decreasing and they both get about the same. There has to be a setting somewhere I am missing that is draining my battery but for teh life of me I can't figure it out.

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

Had my Fenix 6 for 3-4 years before switching to Apple Watch Ultra. Both great watches, but I got tired of the lack of smartwatch features and dull screen on the Fenix. If I ever train for an Ironman or something radical in terms of training, I’ll switch back - but until then, I see absolutely no reason to. My Apple Watch Ultra lasts 2-3 days and that’s plenty when it charges so quickly when I shower and get ready during the morning.

I also use a fenix 6. I just turn it to cardio during CrossFit. I want my heart rate and calories burned. I started CrossFit last year. I ran a lot before I started CrossFit. So I already had the garmin going in.

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 ;)

Yeah I left the Fenix 6 for AWU2. I didn’t miss a smartwatch as much as I thought I would. Coming back to a Fenix at some point. I just recently got a subscription to Bevel though and really enjoy the metrics it gives. Looking forward to its full integration with Garmin Connect in the future.

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.

I have the 6 and I am pretty happy with it. You van actually track weight lifting with it - but I typically only track cardio with it. I think the data is better with cardio. Weight lifting is nice on it, but then you have to spend time configuring it. At the end of the day, cardio was what I wanted to track anyway.

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.

I’m partial to the garmin Fenix series mostly of cost and utility. The solar version may suit well if your backpacking over several days and need gps. They’re also pretty bullet proof, taken multiple hits while mountain biking and it’s still going strong

Actually the buttons on apple watch ultra are far better. The buttons on my new Fenix are spongy crap with no click.

I just bought a Fenix solar last night and so far it's a giant POS. The UI is ass, syncing Bluetooth is stupid, Garmin pay is garbage and the battery life isn't anywhere close to advertised.

This , I’m convinced so many people don’t actually exercise. I own both the Garmin Fenix solar and an Apple Watch Ultra. As much as I love the Fenix I went back to my Apple Watch due to the identical battery life on the Garmin if you do any sort of real gps training. Also despite my phone being on do not disturb the Garmin watch vibrating and showing me notifications anyways.

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 - They have a lot of watches at different price points. There is built-in GPS and the battery lasts for several days, unlike a smart watch that you typically need to charge every night. The Garmin app easily syncs with other fitness apps, if that's important to you. If you have a smaller wrist, go for the "S" models that will look and fit better.

It pretty much depends what you want the watch for has been my conclusion. I've owned the AWU1/2 pre-ultra versions, garmin fenix 6/7/8 and prior versions. When I'm focused on fitness and endurance sports, the garmin is my primary watch. When I'm in a different phase, I strongly prefer the AWU for all its stuff. Problem for me is I prefer to have a single ecosystem that is seemless so I can focus on my goals. The reality for me personally is the garmin helps me with my goals when fitness is my goals and the AWU doesn't do quite the same for me. That's enough to have me wear my garmin - it's effective as a tool for me. The AWU is just the watch I like better, but it doesn't have actual impact on me. If I were simply wanting a casual fitness watch + smart watch, I'd wear an AWU all the time.

Any Garmin Will do. Chose what you like from a looks point of view. If you are keen on practicality, I will suggest you go for one with a flash light. I am a big fan of Fenix range my self

Garmin with MIP display (non amoled, always on) and solar charging. I would vote for Enduro 3 or some from Fenix lineup if you can afford and if the size fits you.

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.

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

Yeah I feel like apple sleep tracking is similar to its specificity with fitness tracking. Instead of in depth (and maybe somewhat disappointing data) it gives you the positive fluff version to encourage general day to day health. I compared whoop vs. AW vs Fenix and Apple was the only one that just skipped my mini awake times. Found that strange

Yeah I mean none of them are perfect but I do think Garmin has been best so far.

Its the Fenix without speaker/mic and without diving features, but better overall performance as tradeoff (longer battery life, MIP screen, better solar charging, more lightweight...)

Know a guy who has used his twice for 100k and both times its died around 60km in. Not the speediest runner but easily makes cut off. The gps in it is shocking too, he would routinely get more distance and elevation on almost any run I've done the whole full smart watch in the past and happily have gone back to a fenix now. Im good with seeing notifications and being able to answer calls. Happily run disconnected from my phone and contact

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.

I would suggest any Fenix or even any forerunner over any vivoactive or venu of you're serious about training. Sure you can get by with most basic stuff on those watches but if you get serious about training or want better features you'll have wanted at least a forerunner model

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.

Ok, just hear me out for one second before you think I'm crazy. The red light on the Fenix line is AMAZING. I use it every single night multiple times as it makes walking around at night super easy and not at all straining on the eyes. Honestly, it might be my "I'm not giving up this watch for e.g. an Apple watch, ever" feature. The Tactix light is green. I have no idea how well that'll work at night. But I absolutely LOVE the red light.

Another vote for a Fenix. Great overall wellness tracking between sleep, fatigue, steps, stress, HR, and intensity minutes. But the reason I like it more than anything else is the battery life, 15+ days if I'm not GPS tracking or playing music off of it.

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.

Issue isn’t normal use. Issue is when using with the fitness or when GPS tracking. My Ultra 1 won’t last me more the 18 hours on long hikes. And this is in low power mode with GPS pushed to my iPhone. If you’re tracking a multi day hike, or plan on being in the wilderness more than 2 days, the watch is useless to carry with you. Especially if you’re in trouble (satellite doesn’t help if your battery is dead) The new Garmin Fenix offers 28 days of battery life, solar charging and will last 4+ days under intense use. Plus it has Garmin InReach built in.

Yeap. The elephant in the room. 16 days battery life on my fenix.

The new fenix has both satellite capability and cellular fyi I don't know if the emergency service is included though l. Guessing it's gonna be a membership like what I needed for the inreach

Thing people forget is that AW also charge in about 15mins compared to a Garmin. I had an Apple Watch and threw it on the charger when I took a shower and that would give it a significant boost. Try that with my F.Pro 7 and it’ll gain 2% Obvs I prefer the Fenix’s battery life, but I find charging takes so long it’s a much more noticeable interruption

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

Garmin does not have all those features in most watches. Which model can I control my smart home? I cannot directly download apps on my Fenix. I also cannot access Apple Music.

I agree with all the positives stated here and one more that's important to me. I hate square, rectangular watches. I love the way the Fenix, Epix or most of the round smart/fitness watches look.

Functionality-wise the Fenix and Forerunner are pretty similar, especially considering the new Forerunner 970. The Fenix has diving, but other than that, not much beyond the 970. The other big difference between Fenix and forerunner is styling as well as sapphire glass, for a small amount more weight. My gut is that sapphire is nice but not essential unless you're doing lots of mountaineering backpacking. I got an Epix, which was essential the Fenix 8 of a few versions ago, but at that time there wasn't a Forerunner 970/965. I'm glad I have the more rugged Epix with sapphire glass, but I doubt I would have had any issues. Given what little you've shared, I'd probably look at the Forerunner 965. it's the most budget friendly, and I don't imagine many need the microphone/speaker of the 970 (though the flashlight is cool) and that the Fenix is probably overkill. No wrong choice here though!

Bought one relatively recently, I wanted MIP but didn't like the Fenix weight/cost. This seemed like the best option, for ~€300. The 255 would have saved €100, I probably don't need all the 955 features but I didn't like the 255 styling. I'm not sure if it is any more "future proof" but maps is kinda neat. I want at least 5 years out of the tech I buy, and with MIP being less and less common I can't see why I would stop using this before it dies.

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!

I would go Fenix personally if money isn't an issue. Better looking, better build, longer battery, and better (more waterproof) buttons. I really don't like the look of the forerunners so that may also be a big bias for me.

Funnily enough, a lot of people do more than just road running..... a forerunner is not great for swimming, cycling, heavy trail running etc. Ive run multiple half marathons in my fenix no issues as well as doing many other activities without the worry of cracking a plastic watch and having enough battery to do so. I also did say that I was bias towards the look.... but it still remains that I think forerunners look cheap.

Garmin Fenix varieties are good, solar options if you're in the sun etc for extra battery too, but full charge is like ~15 days without non stop Ox readings You can also get a face cover [over clip] and or a screen protector like for your phone on the watch face. Maybe worth looking at!

Fenix is great for running but it’s overkill. Has more features than most runners could poke a stick at, a little on the heavy side too

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

Basically any Garmin from the 255 and up. Fenix is the best but pricey so forerunner should be more than enough

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.

Appart from the battery life, flashlight and physical buttons, the AWU outperforms the Fenix on every points. Better smartwatch, top notch sensors (see videos from TheQuantifiedScientist). Sure you need to use 3rd parties app to match Garmin Experience (WOD, Athlytics, HealthFit) but otherwise you won't regret it.

Its a lot smarter then my casio. My casio cant show me the way home after a hike in the forest. It cant show me maps. Therefore its a smartwatch. Its full om smart features a regular watch cant do. I once had a apple watch. Now i can’t think of one feature that watch did that my fenix cant do, rather the opposite. Ooh one thing, the apple watch could answer calls. But that was just annoying. So i would argue fenix is smarter then Apple Watches in many ways not all but many.

Its called a fenix. Its like a mercedes, audi, toyota, skoda… something in the middle.

As a Garmin user, I'm quite jealous. This doesn't replace my Fenix for exercises but would be a great companion for everyday activities and I could wear my classic watches again.

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

I would say it is not correct comparison. You need to compare Apple Watch with Garmin Fenix. Standard model (not AMOLED) last 24 days. X version - from 30 days. I'm using 6X Pro Solar Titanium and even after 2 years of using it is keeping 30 days on one charge. Neither Apple nor Samsung can bring me the same experience

I’ve had both. I am primarily a runner but right now doing triathlon training as well. I have the forerunner 955 and it does well beyond what I need. I like it a hundred times better than the fenix I had.

I’ve had both fenix and forerunner. Even as a multi sport athlete ( although primarily a runner) I hands down love my forerunner way better.

Forerunner 970 and call it a day. It's specifically designed for a cost no object triathlete. You can get a Fenix or MARQ if you like but they're heavier. Might be better at golf, scuba and flying if any of those are relevant to you.

Update. I went to rei today and tried a fenix. It feels double the weight of my 965 and bulkier as well

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.

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.

I use a fenix for activity tracking and an Oura ring for sleep tracking. Two devices is unfortunate, but the oura’s small size, sleep tracking, and readiness metrics are worth it.

"Its been 10+ years since the first AW launch. If i ask you to list various health and training insights provided by AW natively it wont even cover 20% given by Garmin."---Because that was never the intention of the AW. AW was not released as a Garmin watch competitor, it's more of a do-it-all watch. You can easily install 3rd party apps to get whatever metrics you want but Garmin can't do what AW does. I like Garmin's long battery and for me AWU is more than enough as well. "I would not trust any algo developed by them compared to a company like Garmin using a dedicated FirstBeat analytics "-----I was a Garmin user before and FirstBeat is nothing fancy. If you stay in this sub enough you'll see all the posts about the algorithm miscalculation. This post seem like biased praise for Garmin rather than reasonable analysis. I have number of time that my Fenix and FR965 froze during hiking and running, and I don't even bother making a post complaining their shitty CPU and hardware. Wear whatever you want and relax

I run a Fenix as well, but look at the instinct line as you may find something there

Hands down Garmin Fenix or Enduro.

I’ve switched back and forth between Apple Watches and Garmin (Fenix). Right now I use an Apple Watch, but I might buy a Fenix as well at some point. Apple Watches are superior in being a *smart watch* - if you have an iPhone. Better notifications, better integration, looks cleaner (better for up to business casual), and it is decent for activities. I love cellular! The Fenix (and probably all other Garmin watches) are superior *Activity Watches*. Way better tracking, nice screen for maps, more customization in data screen, more durable. I like physical buttons, the flashlight of the newer models. But they aren’t good as smart watches. Simply not good enough integration with my phone for what I need, so sometimes stuff aren’t up to date. No cellular is annoying For someone like me who mainly bike, and thus have my Edge, I don’t need to focus on activity watches. I just bring my Apple Watch to be able to ditch my phone without going off grid. And in day to day life I just prefer the Apple Watch. One of each would be superior.

Fenix or Coros if you want/need the navigation, otherwise any of the other basic Garmin will be fine

Fenix fan, too, for the maps as I am also an avid outdoor person.

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.

Garmin Fenix is impossible to kill

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.

As an FYI: With The Garmin, you can configure your watch and the app to NOT display any data that you don't like or do not want to see. I have been using Garmin watches (fenix) and head units (Edge) since 2012 with no significant 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.

I use a Fenix and and instinct. 100% accurate in the pool unless I'm doing under/overs (15m under, 10 over, 15 under, 10 over) then it will miss some laps. Most people aren't doing the legal 15m pullout (I do it to circumvent no underwater swimming) so this isn't an issue. Other than that, as long as I'm stroking with my arms, it rarely misses a length. I've had an Fenix 2/3/5x in the pool and mostly use my Instinct in open water because I don't mess with a HRM (wrist is fine, I don't care that much for the OWS and if I do I use my HRM pro).

The Apple Watch is deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem, and most notably in messaging, and events (events is a surprisingly broad subject). It is a superb smartwatch that happens to have a lot of fitness features. Garmins are sports watches first, that happen to have some smart watch features. Forgetting the software featres, the Fenix and Tactix are highly rugged and that's a feature for them.

Fenix owner: I've never even once used the maps when running.

The music and podcasts via Spotify work pretty well on my Fenix. What makes it clunky?🤔

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.

do you want more of a smartwatch that can also track fitness? or do you want a fitness watch that has some smart capabilities? that's basically the math when comparing Garmin to pixel or apple watch. I have a Garmin Fenix because I do a lot of hiking and like having the maps on my wrist. But if it weren't for that, I'd probably get the Garmin Instinct

Oh yeah good call. Battery life is super important to me. I do ultras so having 24+ hours of gps is necessary. And when in regular life, charging once every 10 days or so is pretty sweet

Garmin supports those apps (atleast last time when I looked). The best watches for swimming would be a Garmin Quatix but the Fenix is almost the same watch. Both are well made and support for sure Spotify. Strava is connectable within the Garmin App.

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.

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

I have a garmin Fenix and I love it. I think it’s use for cycling training is fine, but definitely not a must have. I find it much more useful for running, hiking, etc, where its easier to look at. Having a map is also very handy.  Wrist heart rate is nice and easy, but too inaccurate for training. Sleep tracking doesn’t tell you anything you don’t know, it’s just too inaccurate. Body battery is highly sensitive to sleep, so also kind of pointless. I don’t ever use the training features really.  However, some of the other features I use regularly. I cannot describe how handy a wrist alarm is for waking up peacefully without waking your partner. My watch has a flashlight, which I also use daily. The smart watch features are also much more useful than i expected, it’s nice when you’re busy and you get a notification to quickly be able to dismiss, rather than bringing your phone out. Overall I’ve been surprised that the features I didn’t think I’d use I have ended up using way more than the features I bought it for.  Overall: don’t get one for training purposes. Do get one if you are attracted to the smartwatch features as well. 

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.

Battery life is #1. My Apple Watch died before I was done from full battery when I hiked longs peak. I like physical buttons on my Fenix personally over a tiny little touch screen - that also has to be backlit and wastes battery. I think newer models are moving towards touch screens though, mine doesn’t even have the option. It just has a button you can press to light the screen if it’s dark but in the day I can see it just fine.

Yup, I was comparing the fenix and the enduro at REI and the fenix felt and looked like a normal watch while also having the features I wanted.

It sounds dumb, and I never thought I’d use it when I got my Fenix, but the flashlight might be one of my top used features. I’ll never own a watch again that doesn’t have one.

The 255 is a great piece of kit, Lightweight, battery is great, not a bad smart watch with the MIP screen…. HR tracks well to AW, Fenix and Amazfit TR3. Couple of beats between them.

I have the 965 and my dad has the Fenix, Fenix has much better golf capabilities. They'll both give you yardage keep score and do the basics, but Fenix goes much further.

So I’m trapped under a building and what I’m doing with my Fenix? Checking HRV and training status? With an AWU I can potentially call for help and use the siren

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.

Is there no “drill mode” on the forerunne? That’s how i track kick sets on the swim 2 & fenix

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

I keep asking myself the same question. I’ve had a Fenix in the past and I love my Edge 1050 but when I run I want my Apple Music with me and my Watch phone for emergencies. The Watch Ultra does enough running tracking for me. I’d like a little more but not at the expense of the clutter that another watch would bring. The main problem is that you are paying for a huge overlap in functionality if you have both. Two lots of sleep tracking, HRV, oxygen, VO2 Max etc etc. Yes I fully get that ultimately the fitness metrics on the Apple Watch are more basic. I honestly don’t know how people run both.

 🖐️  I fell for the allure of the Garmin Fenix in 2022, used it for a year.  Pros: nice design, rugged, tactile buttons, 10 day battery life    Cons: No cellular, MIP display indoors, mp3 transfer (I mean…who still has MP3’s lol), inefficient processor, HR inaccurate at times and often delayed (which sucked during interval workouts), software UI/UX is archaic, strength training profile is bonked, charging is slow, third party app support nonexistent) I came back and never looked back. The Apple Watch (Ultra) is a better smartwatch and health device. Plus with added third party apps I don’t miss Garmin at all. 

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.

I have the fenix and use that as the cycling computer with a seperate chest strap.

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

The Fenix is much heavier than the Forerunner. I had a Fenix and switched to Forerunner because of the weight.

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.

I use both Apple Watch and Garmin, If you want a smartphone on your wrist, get an Apple Watch. If you want a \*watch\*, get a Garmin. Are they worth it? i.e. A Fenix for $1.5k? No, they are not. I use one, I like it, but if you're price sensitive, no, they are not worth it. Never used the Forerunner, sorry, don't know.

I had a Samsung amart watch a few years ago and the battery life was appaling I changed to a fenix and haven't looked back. But looking back now I dont really want a watch to send a text on or to take a phone call, ive my phone for that, when im in the car ive hands free and when im somewhere else but need hands free ive my ear phones. I honestly dont know why else anyone would want a smart watch for. My garmin does everything I want it. Track hikes and work out, I can read the texts on it if I can't look at the phone. I love being able to track my hikes and use the map function I wouldn't use a Samsung watch again. Unless there was a game changer which I can't see happening

It is overkill, but it's so freakin sweet. If you can swing it, get it. I bought an S50 and fell in love with the Garmin connect app, it's way more motivating and useful for fitness. I ended up returning the S50 and got the fenix. You don't need a garmin golf subscription for the fenix or S70 to see the better hole maps and green heat maps. You also get wind adjustments which I've found to be very accurate. I'd get the fenix because of the looks, the flashlight, the golf features without the subscription, and all the cool health metrics and training. Edit: the only thing the S50 would be better for is cheaper club tracking, since the CT1 trackers work with the S50. I bought the CT1 trackers and felt that tapping the club to the watch was not easier than just setting which club i hit from the watch screen.

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’ve got an Apple Watch SE for hiking, running and cycling and I think it’s great for what I want. I’ve had Garmin in the past and still have an old Fenix I use sometimes for hiking, but I didn’t wear it all the time because it was big and clunky, and the only thing I ever really did with it was look at my tracks on Garmin connect when planning new walks. I found it too much of a faff to use for running in any useful way. By the time I’d remembered how to press which buttons to access whichever nested menu I needed, I could have run a couple of hundred yards. Whereas my AW is on my wrist all the time except at night and if I forget to tell it I’m running it notices and asks me if I want to start retrospectively. I charge it overnight because I’m not interested in sleep tracking so the battery life thing isn’t a nuisance. I have access to all the extra apps I need (like Zwift or Kamoot or OS maps) and I write my workouts to Garmin Connect anyway so I still have that continuous record. So far, it’s working well for me.

Went from a garmin fenix to an amazfit t rex 3. Almost a month battery life and great workout tracking and maps.

I have not used the Venu line, but my daughter has a Venu 2s and has been very happy with it. I’ve always stuck with the Forerunner & Fenix lines myself, because they suit my needs better (outdoor running & trail running).

Yeah I had a farming watch years ago, finally retired it for apple watch for several years, and now got a Fenix a few months ago. Sleep tracking on this $1k thing is really disappointing. Way worse than Apple Watch. TBH I was hopeful the training feedback would be useful, but the other week I was getting sick and it told me I was optimally ready for training. Went out and body said hard nope. Several days of being totally run down and non functional and my watch continued to say good to go. Weeks later and I’m finally recovering, and the watch has me pegged at not ready to train. I wear it all day except in the shower, or on the bike where I use a Garmin 540 with their fancy chest strap. I’m really disillusioned with their claims now AW has some garbage sensors. Useless for me tracking HR during runs even with a tight strap. GPS was pretty bad. Battery is OK for daily use but can’t support activities or camping. But how Garmin sleep tracking is SOOOO bad is beyond me

Fenix if you can afford otherwise any instinct imo.

You say heavy, after one day of wear, no one would really notice the difference in weight between the two. I'm v thin with basically female size wrists and tiny arms (I am male for reference) and run at a v high level with the Fenix and the extra few grams have never bothered me at all; haven't even noticed them after I went from a Forerunner to a Fenix.

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.

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

Forerunners and Epix are not supposed to use the button under water. Fenix is better in that regard, I think if you check the comparison also lists as water proof.

Tactix 8 is nice but don't count on any help from solar i have had the fenix and tactix solar and i actually prefer my amoled for length of batt life. i have put it in batt saver mode in full lux not on me for 3 hrs and achieved 1%that went down after wearing it .my casio does way better with solar this is the only thing that is a disappointment!

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

My Fenix rocks and gets 90% of everything. I’m the instances when it doesn’t, it’s generally because of a multi joint movement into another movement. For instance, something like a DB Snatch into overhead walking lunges, it might only pickup the lunge portion.

I had both, currently the fenix. Personally I never used the phone features, such as notifications, calling, payments etc. Notifications on my wrist, most horrible thing to have. But tbf I don’t get any notifications on my phone. Only calls and messages of 4 people. Sportswatch? Phone on your wrist, AW

Hard to beat the Garmin Fenix / Epix / Enduro line in terms of battery life. Note: leaving a watch on the map screen drains a lot of power regardless of watch brand. The Instinct is a good second choice if you only need a breadcrumb track to follow; no maps. Maps , on the watch, gives you more information on terrain but shouldn’t be a deal breaker. You could always refer to your phone. Look at previous versions of the watch to fit your budget.

Garmin Fenix is the best for snow sports

solar garmin. everything i need, nothing i don't. paired with a polar HRM.

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.