fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition

i sleep with it everyday (47mm). dont really notice, but i swapped out original silicone band with nylon band on day one

Had a 265, moved to a 47mm Fenix 7 Pro because I wanted full mapping since I started trail running and MIP display and didn't care about potential new features. Yes, the Fenix units weigh more, but a good chunk of that weight comes from the stock chonky silicone straps. The difference between case-only on my kitchen scale was \~10-13g if I remember correctly. When running, I definitely noticed the additional swing weight on my wrist with the F7 on stock silicone, but don't really notice it now that I have it on a nylon band.

Not sure why but when I start an MTB session on my Fenix7ss it always reports incident detection disabled. I think my old Garmin explore did have it but my current edge 530 also disables incident detection when in MTB activity. That all said my old Garmin explore used to set off incident alerts even after stutter bump braking which was very annoying. If using on smooth groomed trails that may have been ok. Also other cycle activity types (non mtb) may have incident detection allowed on a fenix7 (I haven’t checked) .

Nope :) it’s all good if you interested in how your improving over time. I use a fenix7ss for my activities . One note I forgot to add & it’s only a suspicion is that if you alter your end of length stroke maybe need a longer reach or an extra short stroke it can also alter the recorded times for that and the next length. One will appear faster & the other slower (or vice versa) which can be annoying reviewing the post swim stats .

Depends on the (Garmin?) watch. My fenix7ss swim app records time per length , hr , pace, SWOLF, strokes per length, garmins view of calories burned . It can record if you’ve set a new distance pace record for specific (set by Garmin ) distances & it also best guesses what stroke you used . And a lot of averages max values in the session summary (max pace, average pace etc)

This is cheating sort of. But I got mine for about $445 brand new black friday. It's the 47 mm. I opened an Amazon store card and I got $100 gift card. I used that store card to buy the watch which gave me 5% cash back, not their digital rewards. And I got 2% cash back for choosing Amazon day delivery, again, not their digital rewards. So after tax I'm all in for just under $350.

7. This post is about 7. Though somebody posted up in another thread that they got and 8 for super cheap. Like $400 or $500 or something. But that's because they had someone that could get them the employee discount.

Long story: Relentless Approach A short story of my journey in seeking the best health and fitness monitoring ecosystem burning **$$$$$** along the way. I just sold my Apple Watch Ultra 2 (black) last week and switched back to Garmin. Honestly, I couldn’t believe how much shorter the battery life was than what was advertised. It’s frustrating when reality doesn’t match up to the marketing, especially after spending so much. Thinking back, my Garmin Fenix 3HR might still be my favorite. Three weeks—21 days!—of battery life and not a single touchscreen in sight. That sapphire screen and titanium case made me feel like I had something unbreakable on my wrist. Maybe it just clicked because I’ve been a loyal Casio guy since 1996. There’s something about those no-nonsense watches that just feels right. Later, I tried the Samsung Watch Pro. It claimed three days of juice, and for WhatsApp, Telegram, and messages, it didn’t disappoint—three days plus, actually, before it needed a charge. Decent, for someone always on their phone. But after about 10 months, I let it go, chasing something new. Then in 2023, things got interesting. I bought an iPhone 15 Pro Max even though my main was still a Samsung Android. I hadn’t used an iPhone since the 6s and was curious what had changed. A year later, my mom ended up with the iPhone—Face ID just works better for older folks who struggle with fingerprint sensors, and her social circle was deep into iPhones. So back I went to Samsung and grabbed a Fold 5, keeping up my fanboy streak since the days of the S5 and Note 2. Of course, when the Fold 6 launched, I upgraded. Around the same time in 2023, I picked up a Fenix 7 (47mm), no flashlight, MIPS tempted me. A few months later, I passed it to my son—his old Instinct needed to retire. That led me to an Epix Pro in March. Loved the features, but honestly, the Always-On Display meant battery dropped to about five to six days, which was a letdown. Then came the brand new iPhone 15 Pro with Apple Watch Ultra 2 (natural titanium). Again, the battery life let me down. So I circled back to the Epix Pro—this time, no AOD—and suddenly, I had nearly two weeks of battery! I missed always having the display visible, but the extra days were worth it. Still, in December 2024, my curiosity struck again. I bought an iPhone 16 Pro, mainly for the new camera button, with another AWU2 (black). Apple’s health tracking is impressive with Welltory, but the short battery life was a thorn in my side. Just one week ago, I sold it and once again put on my Garmin Epix Pro. Now, I’m keeping an eye on the Fenix 8—and maybe even holding out for a Fenix 9 if Garmin follows their usual two-year update cycle. If I’m honest, I’d rather not count the money lost from 2023 to September 2025. The lesson here: don’t follow my footsteps if you value your wallet. Garmin works best with Android—that’s just a fact for me. On Android, the Garmin Connect app lets me toggle app notifications on and off individually, so I can really control what pops up on my wrist. With iPhone, everything seems to show up by default, and while you can kinda work around it, Apple’s system is just too tightly locked down for my taste. Apple Watch gets all the privileges, as you’d expect. In the end, here’s my takeaway. If iPhone’s your main device, go for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 (when it launches), but keep realistic expectations for battery life. If you love Garmin like I do, Android gives you the freedom to make it work best. There’s just no perfect system—each has trade-offs. Right now, I’m using a Pixel 10 Pro with the Epix Pro. Part of me regrets not going for a MIPS screen Garmin for even better battery life, which is why I’m looking ahead to see what the Fenix 9 will offer, maybe in 2026. I wished small form factor phone specs is on pared with big devices like S25 Ultra (Technological limitations). Who wants to carry a big phone exercising or running, it's just don't feels right.

do you like hiking at all? The fenix series as well as the Forerunner 965 IIRC have some pretty awesome integrations with AllTrails...I'm also a huge proponent of buying used on Facebook...it takes some research, but the used market is solid for these devices and a great way to start...I've bought 6 watches(family of 4) only one was new(fenix 7 pro saphire titanium) as it was a great new price during some sort of seasonal sale... :) I couldn't recommend the garmins more over any apple or fitbit devices...tjeu are great watches and battery life measured in days instead of hours is a luxury you will also appreciate....On my fenix 7, I love the flash light...totally unexpected top 3 feature. :)

I recently switched from a Coros Pace 2 to a Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Saphire Solar and absolutely love it. Feels much more substantial than the Coros and battery life is awesome. The Coros battery life had severely degraded over the last 6 months.