fēnix® 5X Plus

4th? 5th? Whatever-th Garmin. Had a Fenix 5 Plus that had lasted through plenty of mtb crashes and banging against car parts as I worked on my vehicles and never missed a beat. Worn daily and only taken off to charge, only reason it was replaced was because my wife got a Forerunner 265 and I commented how nice the OLED screen was compared to my old digital and she surprised with a Fenix E for Father’s Day.

This. My old Fenix 5 Plus lasted 4yrs before my wife bought me something newer simply because she got a 265 Forerunner and I was marveling over the body battery and OLED display. Outside of that, the 5 was ticking along just fine with multiple beatings.

Garmin and don’t look back. I know that the AW Ultra 2 has vastly improved battery life but still pales to what is available on a generation or two older Garmin. My wife was a staunch AW user for YEARS and kept telling her to get a Garmin. Even purchased a new AW for her Christmas of ‘24 after trying to convince her again. A few month later she ended up wanting a Garmin for other metrics that she found the AW didn’t track and has now fully converted. I had a great Fenix 5 Plus that I purchased NOS in 2022 and it was still working just as well when I retired it in June last year as it was the day I purchased. Only reason I upgraded was because she and our daughter got me a new Fenix with the OLED screen for Father’s Day. We workout twice a week at the gym (weightlifting and cardio) for at least an hour each day, normal tracking through the week and during warmer months I ride my mtb once or twice a week if I can. With all that I have to charge my watch (Fenix E) about every 5 days. Solar versions will last much longer. All have the ability to sync with chest heart rate monitors and some ANT+ products.

So biggest thing is that it is not tied to any ecosystem so anything that the AW works “seamlessly” with is a dead giveaway of major Apple integration. To more clearly answer; 1. No Apple Pay integration, has its own Garmin Pay but I don’t use that stuff as someone that moonlights as a CS person. Security just doesn’t quite feel “there” yet to me but that is personal preference purely. 2. PTON integration, when I actively used mine I only had it integrated through Strava integration as that is my major tracking app for things. So can’t really comment on whether there is a PTON app for them. 3. Texting and Phone calls, I believe some of the hi gf er end models can but mine and the wife’s Forerunner 265 do not. However, if I don’t have my phone with me to answer a call it is for good reason. Same with texting. Outside of that model aesthetics and preferences all come down to what you want to do. I am hard on my watches as a mountain biker and someone that likes to get dirty and worth with my hands. I have literally smaller my watch against granite rocks and not come away with a scratch on the glass. My bezels all show the scars of well used wear but I have no issues otherwise. Have saw in the oceans and Lake Tahoe on the regular with the watches on and zero issues. The wife and I both wear them to bed for tracking metrics and don’t have any issues but then again I have been wearing mine to be since probably 2014 nightly, so I am more than used to it. Different models of different tracking so you will need to see what works best for what you want. I would suggest budgeting for the chest mount HRm for your ride metrics if you want deep and accurate metrics. I use my watch for mine but I don’t worry about target zones or anything like that, my rides are for fun not competition. But against that is personal preference.