Garmin - Fenix 6X Sapphire

Thank you for your review. It was really a pleasant read. Before the release of the Fenix 8, I was strongly considering it, mainly due to its diving features. However, when it finally launched, I found the feature set underwhelming and decided it wasn’t worth the price for such a limited offering. Instead, I shifted my focus to the Enduro 3, but due to delivery issues with the local representative, I ended up purchasing the 7X Pro. To my surprise, around the time of purchase, Garmin rolled out firmware version 18.xx, which became notorious for its battery drain issues. Despite widespread reports, Garmin neither acknowledged nor resolved the problem. Instead, they seemed to prioritize releasing new features and updates, many of which introduced additional issues. Frustrated, I reverted to using my trusty 6X Sapphire as my primary watch. Although I occasionally give the 7X Pro another chance, my trust in it has eroded. I simply can’t rely on it for races or long adventures because I don’t know how it will perform or if it might fail unexpectedly.

I've only been swimming for last 7 months, but Fenix 6x has been doing great!!! Over 100 swim sessions.

It's fantastic. It also depends how much accuracy is a factor in your workouts. Nothing is going to beat a chest strap, but I'm okay being within 5 beats+/- with my Fenix.

Fenix 6X Sapphire! Works really well in open water. In the pool, it may lose a lap here and there but I've never lose more than 4 laps in a 3000 yard swim.

Garmin Fenix 6 and 7 are having some hot deals right now. Go Sapphire for the extra protection. But if you only need the bare minimum, Forerunner 2xx

why not both? if you get like a Fenix 6 used then you can also get a Garmin 130 Plus for the bike. I use my watch for the overall measurement, but the 130 allows me to have a screen in front of me (I don't sync the bike computer to my workouts).

I went from Fenix 6x sapphire (51mm) to forerunner 970. Got sick of how heavy and clunky it was and I’m a bigger guy.

Yep, AWU2 and Garmin Fenix 6X sapphire. My AWU2 is my daily driver, use it for most things up to and including short 10km hikes, short workouts, etc, however when I do a longer hike or I want to record more health metrics ( I prefer the Garmin fitness metrics) as opposed to just having the smartwatch functionality, I’ll wear both watches and use my Fenix to track my hike, map my route etc.

I was just about to make my own post asking about this! Currently running a Fenix 6x Sapphire, had it for about 4 years now. Mainly used for running, cycling, gym, and the occasional swim/hike. Connectivity to my Wahoo Smart trainer is a must. I almost always wear a chest strap (Polar H10) as the watch HR is unreliable as fuck. What would I lose moving to one of the newer Forerunners? And conversely, what are the benefits of upgrading to say a Fenix 8? Thanks

All I wanted to say is that being more expensive is not necessarily better. I owned 9 different watches over many years of trail running. I did extensive analysis of accuracy which included, for example, comparison of tracks and distances of multiple runners who finished the same race. I owned Fenix sapphire 6X, which was top of line at the time - it was quite mediocre as a trail running watch in PNW. Then I owned top of the line Fenix 7X, which was one of most accurate watches I ever owned. Then I owned a very inexpensive Suunto Race S which was easily on par with the experience Fenix 7X term of accuracy. A friend of mine owns Enduro 3, and I have compared tracks and distances between it and several other watches, so I know for sure it is less accurate. See this thread: https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/enduro-3/383891/gps-accuracy-issues-on-enduro-3 And towards the end of the thread there is a side-by-side comparison that shows that the one of the most expensive Garmin watches is easily worse than an old Fenix 7X or much less expensive Suunto Race: https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/enduro-3/383891/gps-accuracy-issues-on-enduro-3/1951075#1951075

Same. I can’t actually see me ever upgrading unless it dies. I’m not sure what else I need/want from a watch.

Garmin Fenix 6x. Love it.

I’d go with a garmin or suunto. A used/refurbished garmin fenix could last you a long time. I’ve been using a refurbished 6x for like five years or something (with some Apple Watch use here and there).

I had Fenix6x and Epix2, and both times I sold them with feeling “Stop eating this cactus”. I like body of Garmin, buttons, battery, features, but Garmin OS and interfaface are so… professionals only and non-friendly

See that’s the thing man, that’s the way it used to be, but it’s not like that anymore. A marathon will use maybe 30% of the ultras battery life, and even less if you turn off the always on display. I went from a AW 6 —-> fenix 6x —-> Apple Watch Ultra and there really isn’t a notable difference, it’s one a 1 day battery anymore. I’ve only killed it once on a 15hour continuous bicycle ride, and I spot people doing Olympic and Ironman triathlons with the ultra.

Different strokes for different folks man. To me, 5 days of battery life would be poor if I was using a garmin. I’d get around 10-12 days on my fenix 6x with 5-6 GPS workouts a week.

4 years isn't that much. My F6X has more than 5 years on it and my battery life is still more than good enough. Not as new, but far from what OP is experiencing.

my vote would be for a used/refurb fenix or enduro series, many can be found in local facebook marketplace or certified on ebay. my opinion is based on the following: I have owned a number of Garmins several forerunners, a fenix 3, fenix 5, fenix 6x. Instinct x2 Current setup in a 6x and pro hrm strap. My fenix 5 bricked two years ago and I sent it to Garmin for service. They told me it was dead and sent me a refurb 6x at no cost, that 5 was many years old and well out of warranty. That entire experience was really impressive. The battery life is pretty good still on the fenix and charge it every week or so. Since its 51mm I can read it without my glasses on I tend to lean towards chonky watches. Coros apex pro, just returned a pace pro today. The apex I owned was great and battery was insane, I picked it up used while my garmin was being serviced. eventually I missed the Garmin eco system. In the last few months I having been eyeing a new watch and had read about garmin going pay model so I again looked at Coros. I picked up a pace pro, unfortunately the first order was lost. It ended up being returned as I had a hard time reading it without my glasses. The screen was nice and bright at stock settings but in the three days I wore it ate through over 50% battery therefore having to charge less than weekly was a big change. From what I read they changed their settings and I could not toggle between 12 and 24 hour time on the watch or app I want military time on my wrist as I work nights in a hospital and regular people time on my phone. I had to switch my phone to military time for it to show on my wrist. Eventually I will more than likely pick up an enduro 3

I have used the watches apple watch ultra 1 and 2, Garmin instinct 1 and 2, Samsung Galaxy watch 5 pro, Galaxy watch 7, Galaxy watch ultra, and Garmin Fenix 6x, and Garmin Fenix 8. They all have their pros and cons. I can answer questions if you'd like just ask. But I would say either get a Garmin or polar fitness watch or if you want something with more of a smart watch features get the watch that matches your phones OS. The standard apple watches can be prone to scratching and cracking unless you get one with a sapphire face. The curved screen is hard to put a screen protector on but they do make them.

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’ve used Apple Watches since the first waterproof one - series 3? - no issues. I found my Garmin fenix 6 was terrible for laps, I’m currently on an ultra (1) and it’s fine. I sometimes end up on an odd length but usually ok.

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).

My Fenix 6 is over 3 years old. Oceans. Running. Sweating. Golfing (sunscreen). Dropped. Absolutely robust. It’s my workout and sleeping watch.

Look for a Garmin Fenix 6, 7, or 8. The Fenix 6 does everything you are looking for.

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 had the Garmin Fenix 6 which I really liked. But during an ultra trail in Thailand I got lost big time in the jungle. The watch didn’t tell me anything, eventually I found my way again but my watch got snagged on a tree and went down a waterfall. So I thought about a new Garmin but their pricing is stupid now plus they will start going to the subscription route. I live in Thailand and I see a lot of the trail runners here use Suunto. Also the person who helped me find the trail again had a Suunto and the maps seemed good. The maps for garmin might be good but they’re not good in this part of the world, almost unusable.

2 generation old Garmin. I got "gifted" a Fenix 5 (released in 2017) and it's more than sufficient in both functionality and battery life. I was so smitten, and since my wife was jealous, we found a Fenix 6 on FB Marketplace for $200. I'm sure the newer ones are way fancier but I'm not ready to spend $800 just yet.

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

Just adding that my fenix 6's hr works fine swimming (indoor and outdoor). You can also edit the display and make the HR larger/only thing displayed

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

+1 on this combination, with the free version of HealthFit being sufficient (I pay to support the dev). I don’t think you’ll be able to get a 1:1 feature match. OP will need to evaluate the most important aspects for them in Garmin and see if the AW will suffice. Coming from a Fénix 6, LTE was the deciding factor for me to switch to a Series 10.

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.

My older Fenix 6 gets a pretty reliable measurement.

I bought the waterproof strap and found it to be uncomfortable. I have to say, my Fenix 6 seemed to do a pretty good job in the pool yesterday. I’m just getting back into swimming after a hiatus, and it seems like the algorithm has been updated.

Love mine! Had the Fenix 6 and AW Ultra. It’s lightweight, great readability and comfy.

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

I have had 2 Garmin watches (fenix 3hr and Fenix 6)in the same time my friend has had no less than 5 AWs. The build quality is unbelievable on Garmin and the battery makes Apple look pitiful. 2-3 weeks on a charge. I forgot I had my fenix on and did a mud run. Didn’t even phase my watch. Literally dragged it through the mud and it just kept going. Apple Adds a good product but Garmin is next level.

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

Garmin doesn’t bring new features into their older watches, but my Fenix 6 lasted five years - the battery was degraded so I went for an upgrade (Enduro 3).

Its pretty close to what I had on my fenix watch. I have been a gsrmin fan for over 10 years but when my fenix 6 started to die, I couldn't stomach the price tag of the new ones. So I got this and an active 2 and still didn't spend anywhere near what a new fenix would be. For my needs, its more than enough!

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.

Garmin is strong on fitness and sleep tracking. It can't hold a candle to the smart watch phone functionality of Samsung or apple. That said, Samsung and Apple can't hold a candle to the fitness metrics Garmin produces. I use a Fenix 6 and couldn't be happier. The 8 has more smart watch functionality from what I read

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.

My Fenix 6 can do 36hrs of gps tracking when in ultratrac mode, take one of those and a battery pack.

I'm using VA5 after my Fenix 6 crashed a few weeks ago. Same experience.

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.

V5 has extra LEDs that are only active during activities. It also has integrated conductors for ECG measurements. Otherwise, it's the same as the V4 sensor, so all day heart rate accuracy and pulse ox accuracy is comparable between V4 and V5 sensors. Fenix 6 has the V3 sensor.

Care to elaborate for cycling? I’m thinking of an AWU3 just for a change and because I feel priced out of the newest Fenix releases. I will keep my Fenix 6 as well though.

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 moved from the fenix 6 to 965. It’s been working good so far. I much prefer the light weight.

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.

Correct. I wear my Pixel watch 95% of the time *when not on the bike*. I still use my Fenix 6 when I want to record long runs or hikes or canoe efforts. On the bike I use an Edge 840 as I'm normally riding > 4H at a time, and even when I'm not I want the big display.

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 have had a Fenix 5 6 and now on a 7. Each has lasted me for 3+ years and have sold them off. Every time I have had issues, Garmin has been very helpful. Sorry you had a bad experience, but I don’t know the Instinct line.

I wouldn’t do that. Having used both Apple and Garmin products for swimming, I’d urge you to go for the Garmin. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the Apple, it’s just that the Garmin is better and the battery life is a godsend by comparison

Garmin will track your laps (while swimming any style). But if doing drills (FS kicking, one hand FS, BF kick...), you'll have to manually start/end each drill during your current Garmin poolswim session. With an Apple Watch it will track almost every lap, despite doing drills. So depends on what you'll do in the pool. Cheaper versions like a Fitbit , will track your laps no problem. You don't need to go to he GPS smart bands/watches just for swimming.

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.

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

I have a Fénix and I love it! Literally wouldn’t want to live without it. I find myself using some of the basic features on it daily (like the flashlight). It’s a huge investment, and after having it she may yearn for more tech so I’d get the fénix. I have a gorgeous one, imo. I also have an Oura for what it’s worth and I love that they each do their own thing, but for what she does hands down a Garmin watch

I used Garmin for about 7 years, about 5 models (all from the Fénix line which is their flagship), I loved them, I really did, I was obsessed with them, and it is not just the battery life, the look, they look so gorgeous, like a proper watch compared to the black rectangle the Apple Watch was (Always On Display wasn’t so much of a thing back then). Then I received an Apple Watch as a gift , and everything changed, for starters it was so much more comfortable and light, I’m not a big guy so the massive Garmin Fénix didn’t really look that good on me looking back at old photos of me wearing them, a smaller profile watch looks much better. Then there’s the matter of the smart features, I am now an Apple Shortcuts power user (it is silly but it is true) I have so many and the fact that they integrate to the Apple Watch simply cannot be understated for me, I couldn’t go back to Garmin now, it is just so much part of my life now. There’s also Apple Music which just works fantastically on Apple Watch, albeit not Garmin’s fault but the integration with Spotify in their watches leaves so much to be desired in comparison. Every now and then I look a Garmin watches and still think they look better “on paper” but maybe not on me. In terms of Running, I have to be honest, Garmin does it much better than Apple’s simplistic implementation, but then again I don’t do that much running anymore, I used to run much more back then, probably encouraged by the watch 😄 , but now I focus more on weightlifting and other workout types, I found it is better for me.

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 - 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.