Garmin - fēnix® 7X Pro Sapphire Solar Edition

Wife loves her Forerunner 255 not too big or small for her liking. Lasts about a week and half and her exercise is close to what you describe. Definitely worth the look; if you did more rugged and outdoors I'd suggest fenix 7xss (have it and absolutely love it for my 1-2 week back country hiking/camping) or instinct 2 but since you're primarily in gym and paved areas the forerunner line or the venue line will be great. I personally haven't met anyone with a vivo but garmin generally does well across all lines. Like others have suggested watch several videos for each that interests you and then make an educated decision.

That battery life is wild. I have a Fenix 7x SS and ran a 30hr 100 mile race last weekend with navigation. I finished with 45% battery left.

thanks for review, i choose to go for fitbit charge as per reviews from https://www.youtube.com/@TheQuantifiedScientist/videos. I also had opportunity to user GARMIN Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar and it was amazing if you live quite a acitve lifestyle and have access to outdoor activities.

I’ve been a Garmin User since the 945 came out back in 2019, just ordered AWU3 on release. I constantly take my watch off to shower as I use a nylon band and don’t want a wet wrist for hours, so charging constraint are negligible. Garmin interface is kinda archaic, I’ll admit they have made some great strides over the past couple years. Nowadays having an actual smart watch seems more appealing over a fitness tracker, I will be keeping my Garmin for ultras though(Fenix 7x SS).

Fenix 7x Sapphire Solar. Got it used off eBay about a year ago for 1/2 price. It is my first fitness watch and I have been loving having it. I use the hell out of it and it has been a fantastic training partner.

I dont have a Tactix but a Fenix 7x sapphire (same watch aside from the ballistics/military functions,) and to the best of my knowledge, the Fenix/Tactix 8 just has a slightly better sensor (can do ECG testing seems to be the only real difference,) and a much higher price tag. Im very happy with my Fenix 7, and plan to use it for as long as physically possible.

I just switched from a Fenix 7X Solar to a Trex 3 Pro. I’d say if you aren’t a serious athlete or outdoorsy person? The Amazfit is fine. Garmin is the benchmark. However I did have a phone conversation on my watch for 30 mins while I was working on my car so that was neat lol

I just switched from a Fenix 7X Solar to a Trex 3 Pro. I’d say if you aren’t a serious athlete or outdoorsy person? The Amazfit is fine. Garmin is the benchmark. However I did have a phone conversation on my watch for 30 mins while I was working on my car so that was neat lol

Just got the Fenix 7X Solar/Sapphire on sale for $499. A great deal. Retail is quite expensive, I wouldn’t buy it at full price either.

It's most certainly worth it, but look on Amazon for used/refurbished ones. All my Garmin watches I've bought have been used/refurbished from amazon and they are like 40% off. I got my Fenix 7x sapphire solar for 499.

Garmin is the way to go, I have a Fenix 7 and love it. It's pricey but worth it if you want to track paddling, exercise, outdoor activities, etc. It gives a very accurate track line of your paddle. Also gives a lot of useful information like stroke rate, distance per stroke, speed, heart rate, etc. Can be good if you're working on paddling technique, endurance, sprint, etc. Can overlay those things together to see things like heart rate vs stroke rate, etc. not sure which Garmin watches have this feature, I imagine any of the ones that can track paddle boarding as an activity will give you all this data. Also very rugged so no worry about it getting damaged.

Fenix 7x solar wear it all the time no issues

The fenix 7x solar is the best purchase I've ever made in my life. I abuse this thing, mountain biking, distance running, swimming and I never even think about taking it off. Plus my battery lasts like 2 weeks. Its an amazing watch.

Its the solar, and all my workouts are outside. It seems to make a huge difference. Its usually 1.5-2 hours a day of GPS activities, nothing on autostart and I have a heart rate monitor so the watch isn't set to every second for HR data. I usually charge it when it gets down to 40%, and honestly could let it go a few extra days

Enduro 3 is simply the king of Garmin’s line up at the moment. No question. Unless you need the dive / speaker stuff I’d be going for that. The 7X PRO Solar sapphire is a great second. Instinct 3X Solar takes the third spot. I’m a bit sceptical of Garmins future, kinda feels like they have peaked with the enduro 3. MIPS could be gone. Garmin connect plus. MICROLED 8 Pro at 2k USD with a 4 Day Battery. The buggy firmware. The terrible way they have rolled out LTE / Satellite. Their best days may be behind them.

I had the fenix 7X sapphire solar, and I loved it, but I wanted to try ultra when it came out to see if it was up to par, since it had the nice screen and I am an Apple user, and while I used the ultra a lot and I don’t have any issues with it per say except the battery life. I ended up coming back to Garmin for the rugged look, size of the watch, and battery life, on top of also being a much better health and fitness tracker

I have fenix 7x solar and I got the Apple ultra 3 because of the satellite communications. I got rid of my garmin InReach (25$/month). I’m solo in the far out backcountry a lot. Now that watch and iPhone have two separate means of satellite communications that was good enough to ditch the InReach and save 300$ a year. I miss some of the metrics like body battery and readiness but have paid 25$ for a decent app for the watch. I’m happy with the switch.

The battery life on my Fenix 7x solar sapphire is a month or so.

I am in the Apple universe, and I have an Apple Watch Ultra 2. The thing's freaking amazing. But I don't use it for workouts, I use my Garmin Fenix 7x Solar. The Garmin is far superior in terms of outdoor tracking and GPS functionality. The Apple Watch is great for daily stuff and integration with my digital life.

I hike and ride mountain bikes. The Garmin GPS is, for all intents and purposes, flawless.

Some people just want a watch that you don’t need to baby 24/7. I get it if you use the GPS and complete the epic trail of your life that you may end up having to recharge the watch battery. Not everyone is Reinhold Messner. I ride my bike everyday and walk everyday, but don’t kick off any Garmin functions for my daily routine. I do watch the steps count. On my weekends off I sometimes will use GPS when I go off on a trail riding for ~3 hours just to look at the map details on my Fenix 7X Solar. I have a Garmin Edge so most other times I will instead use this on my bike. Love it when I don’t have to recharge my watch for around two weeks!

Dish rag typed everything I was going to. I’m a huge apple ecosystem guy. There are no fewer than 4 Apple TVs, 5 iPads, 8 Macs/macbooks, and 6 iPhones of varying ages doing various things in our two person household. But I’m a Garmin ecosystem guy for activities Cyclist/hiker for years. TONS of ANT+ devices on many many bikes and other equipment. There are competing cycling computers but not AW. Edge 1050 and 1040 in daily use here. Had an AW. My Fenix 7XSS lasts a week of heavy activity without charging - more in the sun. Easily 3 weeks of non gps activity without needing a charge. Apple watch was always practically speaking another everyday charge required device, and failed my number one use case - no look audio control via hardware button. I’ve had that continuously since I had an OG Pebble.

I like the Fenix watches, currently using a Fenix 7X pro sapphire solar and I’m very happy with it, it’s been like 18 months or so of lots of hard usage. Prior to that(2018- till I replaced it with the 7) I was also very happy with that watch.

I like the Fenix watches, currently using a Fenix 7X pro sapphire solar and I’m very happy with it, it’s been like 18 months or so of lots of hard usage. Prior to that(2018- till I replaced it with the 7) I was also very happy with that watch.

I use the fenix 7x solar. The battery life is really good. I just did 200k yesterday and I think the battery was still at 56% or so after 12 hours. The hardware is good but the software sucks. I just still don't know a good app to plan and manage the routes. You have to manually delete the files from the watch because it won't work if there are 100 routes on it. If you want good navigation you can just get a garmin edge. If you want good heart rate data you can get a chest strap.

I went from the Fenix 7x Solar Sapphire to Galaxy Watch Ultra when it first came out and absolutely hated having to charge almost every day. I was intrigued by the ring they came out with but didn't make much of a difference in battery life like it said. I bought the Fenix 8 as soon as it was released.

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 think it’s more about pushing buttons while completely submerged. I’d avoid that.

It probably has something to do with seals under pressure. 1-2feet isn’t much. The fenix 7x is rated to 100m. Anyhow, not my watch, not my problem.

I have the Fenix 7X. But there are many cheaper options in the Garmin lineup depending on your needs! Some watches are more specialized too, but the Fenix serves me great and has everything I need and then some, including massive battery life, and it’s just extremely usable. The flashlight is a godsend as well and I use it daily. Especially when you’re outdoors at night Just figure out what you’ll actually use the watch for and it will make your choice easier.

Garmin Fenix 7X had been great for me on multi day activities

I've used Garmin watches for years but don't think series 8 is value for money. I've just upgraded my Fenix 6 Pro to a 7X Pro. Search for DCRainmaker online - he does amazing reviews on these watches.

Fenix, at that range can prob pick up thr 7x pro these days in sales and specials, or look at the enduro 3 if your budget will stretch to the new range. I've tried lots, (do triathlons and alot of mountaineering, at all altitudes) and nothing comes close to the garmin ecosystem, especially when you start adding on inreach etc for sat comms and weather if going remote. I do alot of remote stuff and yea the inreach is super useful for trips that dont need a full on dedicated sat phone in which case it becomes a back up option but also allowing progress to be monitored remotely. Any other watch just are not durable enough or primarily handle the battery requirements. Sadly as far as I can see on a practical level garmin have no competition at present for high end users. Note I use a chest band also for HR, again garmin, but the one on the watch is perfectly good for most scenarios. Edit also in terms of wristwatch ive yet to find a barometer as good as the garmin for accuracy but also for ease of seeing trend. Again vital for safety.

I just bought a Apple Watch 10. As a runner I always used Garmin ( fenix 7x Pro latest ). I just found them to bulky lately and the smart-watch functions are not that good. Apple watch works so nice together with my iPhone and the Health app etc. It just works BETTER. Love my Apple Watch. It's just more fun to use.

This. According to my Garmin my sleep always sucks! :-D

If you could do like $50 more, I'd get a used Garmin Enduro 2 or maybe a Fenix 7X if you get a really good deal. Battery life is ridiculous (infinite on solar and battery saving mode, or can run GPS for weeks straight too), they're tanks, and they have tons of functionality for the outdoors. Great flashlight too which has saved my butt a few times when I didn't have a headlamp or it died.

I want to have a good and accurate sports and health coach. I had a Fenix ​​7x and it was measuring my sleep and walking speed incorrectly. I looked at some posts and they said that the battery life of the instinct 3 50mm solar version was not 40 days.

I want to have a good and accurate sports and health coach. I had a Fenix ​​7x and it was measuring my sleep and walking speed incorrectly. I looked at some posts and they said that the battery life of the instinct 3 50mm solar version was not 40 days.

Instinct 3 solar tactical or Fenix 7x pro is what I use for weight lifting.

I’m Apple ecosystem user, I used both Garmin and AW 7. Here is my opinion.. For my use AW was useless, battery last 2 days, I always had to keep track how much battery is left😡 And another flaw is very sensitive screen (to scratches). I am a heavy user, and I scratched mine very easily. Garmin on the other hand is really rugged watch, resistant to blows, battery 20days. In my opinion AW is for easy everyday use, if you don’t do much sport. It is nice, shiny, great screen and light fitness tracking. But if you do much sport you need much better battery, and deeper insight in your activities that Garmin provides. I had garmin, then AW, and garmin again. And I will not use anything else again except garmin. About HR, it is true that AW has great hr sensor and tracking, I tested it. But my fenix 7x pro is also great with hr, tracks sleep and everything. For real training I use Garmin Pro Plus HR sensor

I have been wearing a Fenix 7X Pro, but started to miss the smartwatch features of an Apple Watch. Been wearing my old Series 6 the last days. I was missing the battery life and the flashlight. I prefer the looks of the Fenix and wore it when I went out. Otherwise I like the Apple Watch more and preordered the AWU3. I am not very sporty, the metrics of the Fenix don‘t give me a lot. Right now I intend to keep the Fenix for hiking and cycling. Let‘s see how much use it will actually get. Happy for any inputs from others that use both watches about where they make the cut which watch to wear.

All the hardcore runners I know are wearing Forerunner watches. The hybrid guys are wearing Fenix. Battery life on either will be excellent. Fenix gets updates for years. New features, as others have noted, will be limited to the 8. Really depends on if you want the look/weight/features of one or the other. I had the Fenix 7x and it was excellent. Currently in the 8, it isn't radically different in terms of what I use it for.

For those activities the Garmin Instinct line will work fine. It’s not the most expensive line, but honestly I prefer it more than the expensive ones. I have a Fenix 7x Pro and prefer my Instinct 2x over it. Only thing the Fenix has over the Instinct is built in map navigation, but to be honest trying to plot a course on your watch is not a good experience, I’d much prefer to plot a course on my phone and just send it to my watch for step by step navigation, and in that aspect the two watches work the same. The screen on the instinct, though less advanced than the Fenix, is easier to read and more clear than the Fenix. The battery life on the Instinct 2x is one of the best Garmin has to offer, with potential unlimited battery life if you are in a lot of sun, on my Fenix I got about 3 weeks with solar helping it along the way. Lastly I like the band/case material and how the watch feels on the wrist more with my Instinct than Fenix 7x pro. I’ve damaged walls, scratch my car, etc with the metal bezel on the Fenix, but that does not happen with the Instinct. The instinct also has a raised bezel so it protects the screen more, and you won’t get the metal on metal grinding feeling when working out. I will be selling my Fenix since I got the Instinct. That is how much more I like it.

Try to search for Fenix 7X - it is not so new, released in 2022 and it still mate all your requirements.

I personally didn't find Elevate 5 more precise nor accurate than the 4. I've upgraded fenix 7x to fenix 8, so I had a chance to compare. Actually the main purpose of this switch was to improve the accuracy of hr tracing. I also was convinced that results of chest strap and elevate sensor are very different from each other.

Best decision I’ve made, switched from an AW Ultra 2 and now I’ve been using my Fenix 7X Pro for over a year without any issues

I switched from the Fenix 7X to the Apple Ultra 1.5 years ago and don't regret it for a minute, even though I also thought the Garmin was cool. The Apple does everything better when it comes to smartwatches. In terms of sensors, at least the heart rate sensor reacts faster to changes than the Garmin. The sports profiles on the Garmin are slightly better than those provided by Apple. But there's the Workoutdoors app (one-time payment), which compensates for that quite a bit. Skiing works quite well with both Apple and Workoutdoors. I think workout suggestions are only available with Fitness+ on the iPhone + tracking on the watch.

I have the Garmin Fenix 7x and if you are just getting into marathon training one of the best things Garmin has over every other watch is it's race specific daily suggested workouts. You just put in what race you are doing and your goal time. All the major ones are already in Garmin's calendar system. From all the previous data Garmin has about your running and fitness and your sleep and recovery, Garmin comes up with training plan that changes based on you and where your at to help you reach your goal. Most of the new Garmin watches should have this feature now. It has been a game changer for me. I highly recommend it.

Best option is Enduro 3, Fenix 7X Pro or Fenix 8 Solar 51mm

I agree 100%. If a person wants to be healthy either watch is fine. Most folks in this forum are garmin enthusiasts and really appreciate their watches. But at the end of the day, being fit is much more about the person wearing the watch than the watch itself. My current daily driver is a Venu 3/Fenix 7x/instinct 3 Solar/Apple Watch 10/Apple Watch Ultra 2.

I am also training for my first marathon. I started running a couple years ago after allowing myself to get in the worst shape of my life. I have read A LOT on this topic. I love tech, so I watch videos and read articles and try new things. Apple Watch Ultra 2 is definitely the best smart watch for marathon training. I have owned the Pixel Watch 2 & 3, the Galaxy Watch 7 & Ultra, and many Apple Watches. I have never owned a Garmin, but I have thought about picking up a lower cost used model to test out and see if the tracking and analytics is as awesome as people say. I use Runna for my training plan and Athlytic for all the data analysis. They both only have apps for Apple Watch in the smart watch world. I don't really want to wear 2 watches. I want one watch to track everything for the total physical health metrics. But what has kept me using the Apple Watch and not buying a Garmin is: * I want cellular on the watch so I don't have to have my phone with me. I need to be able to communicate with my wife and kids on long runs. * I want to wear one watch and that watch to be a smart watch so I can do things like handle Ring notifications from my watch quickly. I get notifications from several important apps to me that I can manage quickly or turn off with a Running Focus I set up. * I like the integration into the Apple ecosystem that I have integrated so many aspects of my technological world. The Garmin watch cannot do many things that the Apple Watch can do, but the Apple Watch can pretty much do everything a Garmin can do. It just doesn't do that specific set of things quite as well. But with Runna and Athlytic, I feel like it closes the gap quite a bit for my use case. The heart rate and GPS tracking is so close to what Garmin does. Have you watched the million Youtube videos on this topic? The margin of error is so minimal. That's my take. I may still try out a Garmin if I can find a good deal, but I really really doubt it will cause me to want to replace my Apple Watch. We all have our preferences and use cases, but I am pretty confident about this topic and what works for me. Best of luck on your running and watch choices.

Well, I just bought a used Fenix 7X today to test out and see what I have been missing, so I guess we will see if I am a Apple shill or not. Do you have something to add to the discussion besides snark? Share what you use and why.

I mean I have both an AWU2 and a Fenix 7X Pro. The Fenix 7X Pro cost more than my UW2 and requires a subscription to get all of the native Garmin features. It no longer receives new features. I just wish that Apple would release a MIPs round watch with physical buttons. At this point I'm losing faith in Garmin.

The 970 will have support for a longer time and have the newer UI. And it is lightweight. I went from a fenix 7x to forerunner and no regrets

I wore a Fenix 7 and AWU for a new months. I looked ridiculous 🤣 A whoop like band would rock!

I went for a Fenix 7 to AWU2 to the 965. Personally I absolutely LOVED the AWU. As a smart watch there is no equal. I don't shower with my watch on and always put it on the charger. For me, I was so used to all tbe extra data available from Garmin Connect after every activity which I didn't get from Apple fitness or Apple Health. I missed the sleep tracking analysis and body battery. I missed going on a vacation without the need to take a charger with me. I tried to get the Garmin experience using other apps but I couldn't get everything in one place/app like I could with Garmin. I chose the 965 because of the screen. The AWU has a beautiful screen and I couldn't go back to a MIP display. I al going to purchase the 970 because I like pretty things and will sell my 965 to recoup some of the cost of the 970. Is it a waste of money to go from the 965 to the 970? Most probably but i just don't care. I work hard and something as simple as a new watch will make me happy for the next two years so why the hell not

It took me a while to get used to the heft of the fenix. It it noticeable while running or any activity in which your hands swing.

Obviously I can’t speak for all the results, but one critique I’ve seen time and time again, is that he has small wrists - he has admitted as much - yet complained about the inaccuracies of the fenix 7x (which is 51mm, so by extension any other large watch( Obviously his tiny wrists isn’t going to give an accurate rating with the default strap no matter how hard he tries, as the watch would bounce around and give inaccurate readings when running etc. My own, personal anecdote is that I find my Garmin 8 (51mm) far more accurate than my Apple Watch Ultra 2.

After the first week of using Race S I did a full factory reset of the watch and was ready to return it back to the store, but at the end couldn't force myself to do that because there were some elements of experience that I really liked. At the end I decided to sacrifice some features of Garmin for the simplicity and comfort of Race S and haven't used my Garmin Fenix 7X even once in the last 3 months. I am more of a trail ultrarunner so I don't really do structured workouts. But I use map and navigation a lot. I provided the same feedback with regards to turn notifications on the Suunto Forum. They heard it, at least the beta testers who have a direct channel to the Suunto team, so hopefully a change is coming. I provided tons of other feedback and a few minor bug reports as well. The main problem with Garmin is that I simply no longer trust reliability. Garmin may have a lot of software engineers but their software engineering culture is crap - they don't make nearly enough effort to ensure quality and bizzare bugs and crashes make it to public releases on every software update. Every single update may fix a few issues but introduces a bunch of new bugs. Even when serious bugs are reported in their beta forums, they tend to ignore that and release updates with those bugs regardless. They simply don't respect their users, and I no longer want to pay my money for that. I was fairly active on Garmin Forums and with their customer support and reported a lot of issues. In almost 5 years they addressed only one software issue of many issues that I had reported. The Suunto software development team isn't agile for sure, but at least they do a much better job ensuring the quality. I think that despite preferring Suunto I'll probably move to Coros in the future. I do prefer the design of Suunto but Coros is simply more agile in terms of new features and software updates. They sponsor a lot of prominent trail ultrarunners, including Kilian Jornet, and seem to understand this user segment.

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

As someone who owned both Fenix 6X and Fenix 7X, I fully agree with the above. Fenix 6 series is fairly mediocre in terms of GPS accuracy, but Fenix 7 is very good. Also, it is worth mentioning that not every Fenix 7 has dual-band GPS - only pro or sapphire models do.

If you have the bucks Garmin Felix 7X is your ticket. But costs a lot. Similarly, Garmin Quatix 7 , which is better for OTW. Polar Vantage M2, would be my choice. But it doesn’t count stroke rate.

I have a Fenix 7X and could never give up the flashlight on my wrist. Such a simple thing that's so useful.

It's on par with a phone flash. Built in white and red LEDs.

Ive had the 945lte, Fenix 7x and now the Fenix 8 and i have NEVER had any bugs or problems. I might be lucky or the people complaining might be unlucky... Just remember this: if you enjoy a product and it just works flawlessly you would maybe recommend the product to 1-2 people. But if you had a really bad experience people tell 10+ about it and complain on forums.. If i could do one thing over i would go for the Fenix 8 Solar and not amoled. If you love long battery life go for Fenix 8 Solar or enduro 2 or 3. Especially if you plan to log long activities like hiking.

I used these features on my Garmin Fenix 7X: 1. Music. Kills battery life but recharging the watch takes a lot less out of your storage battery than a phone. 2. Text and phone call alerts. Leave phone on silent. 3. Watch is damn near indestructible. Can't say the same about cell phones. Keep phone safe in bad weather and rough terrain. 4. The flashlight is truly useful. 5. See your current mileage without opening FarOut. 6. Track steps, elevation, GPS track....feed tracks into something like Relive to play them back. Sure, some of this only appeals to nerds like me. I dont see how to justify the cost other than as "I want one". It's entirely superfluous and redundant to your phone's capabilities. I never hike without it.

I went from a Fenix 7 Solar Sapphire to a Pixel Watch 3. Day to day I prefer the Pixel Watch 3. Having to charge it daily isn't too bad as it sucks onto the charger neatly so I just charge when I shower and it's good to go when I need to leave the house. The Fenix is great as you don't worry about charging for two weeks but charging is annoying as you have to plug it in and it comes out really easily, say if it's knocked. General use the PW3 is lovely. Intuitive, fast enough, I can even view my cameras on it. Fenix takes a while to understand. Even though it's touchscreen I used buttons all the time. And never enjoyed using the map. Having Google Maps on my watch for walking directions is brilliant. I also use YTM so having that is excellent. The main thing I miss is the sapphire screen. I can't wear my PW3 bouldering now as it would get wrecked. I also do OCRs so can't wait it for those. I got a sweatband to put over the watch when I boulder now so that's not too bad. But you definitely have to take it off in certain situations as the screen is so delicate. With the Fenix I just wore it no matter what and even though the band was messed up the face was flawless. I also didn't like how the Fenix doesn't support Health Connect. Which do I prefer? Hard to say. Glad I got the PW3 but kinda annoyed that I sold my Fenix as I would probably use PW3 day to day and Fenix when I'm doing activities. If I were you it sounds like a Garmin is a better fit.

I have a Garmin Fenix 7 SS and use it mainly for tracking heart rate during warm up, wod, and cooldown. Sometimes I’ll preprogram the workout in advance but I don’t see the point anymore. I just like the visualization that tracks heart rate and calories. It does have a VO2 max calculator if you use it while running or biking. I preprogrammed a custom CrossFit workout that runs for the whole hour with GPS. The single drawback is that it can be a bit bulky and my wrist straps sometimes tap the buttons. I’ve gotten around just by flipping the watch to the underside of my wrist.

I got it in November with a $500 discount at Best Buy. Just keep track of the sale prices. They are still selling the 7 (I think) so it’s still totally up to date. I don’t even know what the 8 has that the 7 doesn’t.

I’ve only had the Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire but I’ve beat this thing up in the gym, on hikes, and use it to track my runs, while I swim in the river, and wear it to bed. I personally don’t like bright AMOLED screens so this one I’m a bit biased towards. Battery life is amazing for what it offers. The biggest issue is the Bluetooth isn’t perfect and it’s kinda frustrating, it’s always needing you to refresh the app for it to connect. I’ve always hated watches but now I’m obsessed with this one since I got it and it has the flashlight, probably the most useful tool I’ve ever had in my life. You’ll use it daily and it’s so helpful in the most random times. Get the Fenix 7 Pro

Garmin Fenix 7 Solar Sapphire ~ I have to remind myself to charge it because I do it so rarely. Twice a month, max, and I run/ride most days (5+ per week). Love it, but I don't use enough of the apps to really justify it, I guess.

No watch has exceptionally accurate sleep sensing as you don’t have leads attached to you when sleeping with a watch. I find that the elevate 5 HR sensor is likely a bit better, but between owning Instinct 2 and Fenix 7 Pro SS, they both will track my heartrate within 1 BPM to the gym machines I use that can measure HR such as the stair stepper, treadmill, bike, etc.

I love my fenix 7 Sapphire in gold https://preview.redd.it/yh2e2b9pnc1e1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a18406ee7da222dc7c8b2702df48882f9f190a15

For your needs? Forerunner 970. Otherwise? Fenix 7 Pro Solar Sapphire. Don’t bother with the 8’s.

If you want “daily wear”, then I think Fenix is the way to go. I have a Fenix 7 Pro SS that I got in lieu of an Instinct 3 Solar. Aside from the better touch features on the Fenix, it looks more suitable for work and non-workout functions. I run with it and it doesn’t bother me at all

I got the Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar in July for $500, but wish I would have just gotten the 970

With the sensors I use, I get 11-12 days on a Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar.

I converted to the Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar three years ago, and aside from wishing I'd went with an AMOLED display option, the functionality of the watch is significantly better than any Apple option (excluding smart watch stuff). I found it great for hiking and download hikes to the watch from Alltrails. I use the hike, ski, bike, strength training, walk, run, yoga, swim, and more. All the data is integrated in Garmin Connect, so I eliminated Apple Health. The watch itself is a bit thick, but the 47mm model still works for me. I leverage the 5 buttons for quick access. I still get 11-12 days of battery use per full charge with my current sensor configuration. I do think the AMOLED display is better overall. Maps and watch face options are better with higher resolution and a broader color palette.

Fenix 7 pro sapphire solar. No hesitation

I made the switch from Apple Watch to Garmin (AW7 to Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar) last year because I needed more battery life and didn’t want to charge my watch as often. I still loved the smartwatch experience, though! Here’s a link to help you manage notifications: https://www.lifewire.com/avoid-notification-overload-apple-watch-1999672 When it comes to Garmin watches, I’d suggest the Enduro 3 or Forerunner 970. They’ve got the latest tech, or you could go for the Fenix 7 Pro if you’re on a budget. They’ve got tons of features and long battery life for tracking your activities, and you can still use your iPhone.

I'm 65 years old and have a Fenix 7 Pro Solar Sapphire. If I had it to do over again, I probably wouldn't have gone for the Solar. If they have eyesight issues, then I'd go for the largest watch that's comfortable. Most of the mid-range and higher models have all of the health-tracking features. The main benefit of Garmin is battery life and that can be nice when you're older.

In the US, the Fenix 7 pro sapphire solar is less than the Forerunner 970 it appears. And the Enduro 3 is pretty close in price as well. Part of what makes the Fenix 7 pro sapphire and Enduro 2/3 good choices for hiking and other outdoor activities is how durable they are compared to other models. When I'm scrambling down over rocky terrain, I don't want to be overly worried about brushing it against stuff.

I love my Garmin. I have a Fenix 7 Sapphire solar, which is more watch than you need if your primary activity is running. I wanted all of the mapping and other utilities because I hike and backpack in places where there is no cell service.

I have a Garmin Fenix 7 solar sapphire and I adore her

I have a Garmin Fenix 7. I bought it on discount because the eight has come out. It wasn’t super cheap. I paid a little over $500 for it. But the 6 was even cheaper. I needed strong mapping functions because I do a lot of running and hiking in national forests. But I absolutely love it.

I switched from WHOOP to Garmin. Never looked back. And I'm a data freak. But with WHOOP I felt like a slave to my data, while Garmin is more like a feedback source. Biggest difference for me was with heart rate data. Whoop shows you how much you've spent in a certain threshold. Garmin does that and also shows you exactly how your heart rate changed over time. That way you clearly see how you perform in intervals, marathons, sprints and mixed trainings. I got WHOOP hoping to get my stress under control. I haven't been able to track it there. Meanwhile, in Garmin you get alerts if your heart rate spikes out of the blue. And that's exactly what I was looking for.

Fenix Solar Sapphire 7

I love my Garmin Fenix 7 solar sapphire.

I had Fenix 7 SS and now FR970. Fenix was good, it looked nice (with straps it can be nice for formal attire) but FR is lighter and not in the way. Perfect for triathlon, what I am doing. I also sleep with the eatch. Maybe the Fenix is more durable in case of gym (if you kick stuff) and mtb (hopefully you do now fall). But for cycling I use hrm with Edge. Much better then riding with watch. In the end it comes to your preference of looks. But also, FR was just released, and Fenix 7 Pro is, I think, on maintenance mode, so more features in the future for FR

I use a Fenix 7 Pro SS. Works well enough for hiking. However, I personally don't like using it as my only navigation tool. The screen is rather small and the maps are a little laggy. I like the feature that let's me know if a fork is up ahead or if I'm off trail. I will also reference the map every so often just to get an idea if what is up ahead. It is no replacement for a map on your phone though. I find that putting my phone on airplane mode and battery saver mode gives me batter for an entire day if I am only using it for the camera and occasionally looking at a map. The combination of my phone and the watch has been pretty nice though. I'm never concerned about battery life and always know where I am.

Welcome to the whoop family..... I wear both the fenix 7 sapphire and the whoop band... Whoop tracks your lifestyle and sleep better than Garmin ever will....but Garmin will always be more accurate when it comes to steps and workouts. For some reason Garmin doesn't capture REM sleep accurately..... Hoping they fix soon because their training readiness scores will always be off due to this....

I upgraded my forerunner for a fenix 7 thinking I would be getting a big feature upgrade... but I feel like I should have gotten a model with the amoled screen. Honestly feature wise they all feel the same to me. Maybe I get a little more battery life with my fenix. But I would go with the shiny bright screen if I could do it all again.

Yup... And I regret it.. 😅

😂 😂 True.... So yea get the one with the brightest screen and the longest battery life. It's nice not to have to charge your watch for 2 and a half weeks. 😂

Just bought the new Fenix MIP. I would say the same. Pricey, but hopefully worth it for a long time like my 735xt I just retired!

Can’t blame ya for that. I will admit, the fenix feels bulky, and I didn’t even get the 51mm size. It took a few days to get use to the extra weight.

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

I am currently using the Garmin Fenix 7 + MyFitnessPal specifically for that purpose. The calories burned throughout the workout are quickly synchronized with the MFP app, through the Garmin integration. As a disclaimer, I only use the Strength workout from the watch, and start/stop the set.

Another vote for the Fenix 7. It’s extremely durable and gives you plenty of metrics about sleep, HRV, VO2 max, ect. The battery life is great and I don’t have to charge it every day unlike my old Apple Watch that would die after less than 12 hours. They’ve also have good running workouts that I’ll sometimes do.

I have heavy black full sleeves both arms and I've found none that work. I have a Garmin Fenix 7 that's essentially just a watch now since I had my sleeves done last year. I have an Oura ring which isn't much for fitness and it's all beat up just in a few months or wearing doing yard work and I'll ditch it once my annual sub is finished. I've heard the newest Whoop might work, thinking about trying it but it's nearly $30/mo which is significant and I'm not sure I'm ready to stop wearing a watch.

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

Garmin fenix 7 has been pretty great (upgraded from forerunner 45). My only 3 sad spots - a HIIT workout type doesn’t track runs as part of the WOD. You can make a button that fast switches it to a different workout type (run) and then back (hiit), but that’s moderately annoying. So either you don’t get running metrics, or you play hit the button during the WOD - I do like the watch itself, but grips can hit the button and stop the workout (maybe I’m just being dumb?) - if you have an iPhone not all metrics go into the apple health apps. BUT I really like the garmin connect app so I don’t care very much.

IMO, a Garmin watch suits your needs better than apple. The way that it tracks health metrics and lays them out in the app is better. Apple watch is a smart watch first and a health tracker second. I’ve had both for long periods of time. I’ve had an Apple Watch since gen 3 and upgraded to all the versions aside from the newest one. Prior to that I had Garmin watches. A little over a year ago I saw my good friend’s Fenix 7, and got very curious. It seemed to do everything having to do with fitness better, and the battery lasted literally 10x longer. I do miss controlling Spotify and having cellular on my watch, but giving that up was well worth the switch. I can’t see myself going back unless Apple somehow makes the battery last for a week or more, and even then I’m not sure I’d switch again. Having the ability to customize the faces is pretty huge as well. I never much liked any of the default displays Apple allowed. Take whatever you’d have spent on an Apple device and spend that on a Garmin.

Garmin Fenix 7 - gives me more than everything I need for golf and all my other sports

True. My Fenix 7 stopped receiving new features befor i had to charge the watch. Which is good because the charger port suck big time

Fenix7 here. Run about 3times week + crossfit also 3 times a week. Always chest strap connected and runs right now are around 25km/week. Charge it every 2 to 3 weeks. FR165 definitely has a smaller battery than fénix series

I don’t think it’s “much more.” It varies from person to person. For me, the Apple Watch Series 6 and the Garmin Fenix 7 are within +/- 1 bpm compared to the Polar H10. However, I do agree with you that a cheap chest strap (connected to an iPhone via Bluetooth) is the most affordable way to measure heart rate accurately during workouts.

If you want it only for running, then look at forerunner 255/265 or 955/965 (these with 5 in the middle have MIP screens, these with 6 have AMOLED). I’m recommending these since they’re smaller and lighter, but if you like the looks of fenix 7 go for it. In terms of HR recording you’re gonna need chest strap for running if you want to get accurate measurements. Measuring the heart rate from wrist is good until it come down to trainings with variable intensity, for example the watch alone is very bad at recording hr during intervals. In terms of GPS, fr 955/965 have the best one (multiband gps). The difference is visible when recording next to high building or in the forest. The type of screen is something where you need to see comparison between these two, I’m personally in love with MIP for its visibility when being outside and way better battery life. But everyone prefers something different so this decision is up to you. I personally have fenix 7s which i bought mainly for everyday use and hiking/biking. But I started to run with it and it’s perfect for me. Everyday training suggestions are very nice, especially if you wear the watch all the time. It’s taking many factors into account (for example sleep, stress, training load, your performance and many more) so every training is adjusted to you, no need to think what you should do.

I have a Garmin Fenix 7, it has dedicated climbing tracking which I’m reasonably happy with, but it’s probably not what you’re looking for as it has a screen and Garmin’s cycle tracking is very basic (no symptom tracking). In terms of safety I feel quite confident that with a nylon Velcro strap it will break before my skin does if it does get caught on a hold, might be worth looking for something similar if you go for a wrist tracker. Another thing to keep in mind is potential damage from scraping the wall, my watch is meant to be quite sturdy but I still use a screen protector and replace when it gets too scratched

I KNOW. It’s so hard to go back. I had a Garmin instinct before buying my first Apple Watch back in 2021 I think. The Garmin seemed awesome coming from a Fitbit Ionic before that I had forever. But now, trying to go back to even a Fenix 7 feels like I’m going back in time. The only time I’ve really been able to break away is while wearing my Garmin on vacations. For some reason I like it because it can get dirty (especially at the beach) and the charging is basically nonexistent.

This is my answer. I've been using it for 2 years, and the data is excellent. Many people will say the heart rate on a watch is not accurate enough, but I bought a Polar heart monitor to compare, and they're almost always within 1 to 2 BPM across full workouts. ... I also have had problems with grips stopping the clock, but if I wear the grips a little high on my hand, it usually is fine.

It’s accurate enough for me as an amateur hobbyist putting in 100-150 miles a week on the bike with lifting in between. I like pouring through the data but understand there’s a margin of error and that the margin is acceptable. I find the stats to generally track with my perceived effort and fatigue. I have a chest strap HRM that use indoors but not on outdoor rides because comfort is more important to me. Also, my Fenix 7 is pretty indestructible (somehow I find myself bumping into walls, corners, doors, drawers etc without any major damage) and the battery can last for the longer pieces and I generally only have to charge every couple of weeks instead of every day. The other big thing is that I’m in the Garmin ecosystem with a Garmin head unit as well so all the data feeds to one place and there’s efficiencies that come with tracking in one ecosystem vs multiple devices that may not quite capture the same data the way the app requires to provide analysis.

Fenix 8 or forerunner. Debatable about the 965 or 970 as most people were disappointed with the 970 which is basically the same. I’m waiting for the Fenix 8 pro that should be out around August 2025 hoping it has LTE or some upgrade on it worth upgrading from my beat up Fenix 7

I think a week is pessimistic, I have the Fénix 7 and track workouts 6 days/week. A charge will last me at least 20 days. Granted, I’m not hiking with GPS for 10+ hours a day, but the watch will give you an estimated time based on charge it will last. I just checked and found that at 83% my watch estimated 46 hours of gps tracking on run. You might be right, a week may be about all you get depending how long you’re tracking each day. I do think that you’ll get a lot further than with your phone though

It's tedious to set up workouts in the web interface. However, there is a "Free" option when you open the activity that I use every time I lift as a way to watch my heart rate recover and timer to monitor time under tension, and rest time between sets. For big movements where the watch is actually moving in space (squat, deadlift, etc) it can ascertain what you're doing and record it. I've never done anything with that information, but you could go in after the fact and clean it up I guess. For subtler movements, or those that don't involve your arms at all, it can't tell which lifts you're doing. I'd personally just get a small weightlifting notebook from amazon and keep track that way. Or there are approximately 2342309 available apps that do it also if you want to mess with your phone. But overall, the Fenix 7 I have is pretty much limited to just being a mildly accurate rep and rest counter for me.

New old stock Fenix 7. 380 bucks and it's amazing.

Garmin user here: Macrofactor for food Garmin for cardio Hevy for weight training Both sync to Strava automatically. Note that garmin's training readiness score has nothing to do with weight training whether you track that in Garmin or not. If you measure accurately, after 6 weeks Garmin & Macrofactor are agreeing on my TDEE which is very satisfying to see.

I've been wearing the Fenix 7 since it came out. Maybe a few years? Personally I focus on my cardio capacity as much as hypertrophy so I really like it. It's helped a lot with sleep, zone 2 training and increasing my VO2 max. Not very useful for weight training but I think it estimates calories burned solely based on your HR well.

Seconded, Fenix or Epix are great. I have an Epix but tbh a Fenix suits my needs better

A 2nd hand fenix 7 would be my choice. I have an epix gen 2 which is basically the same thing except with an OLED screen (and a much shorter battery life as a result).

Don't be afraid to look at other Garmin watches.... As a casual runner I got a great deal on a Fenix 7 (330GBP) and it does a great job with my running but also a good looking watch for daily use, gym work and golf. Plus it has great battery life. The size and weight really doesn't make much difference on my mediocre runs and I get a lot of other use out of it which I wouldn't if I just got a forerunner.... Justifying the purchase a lot more. Just bought my wife a venu for the same reasons.

Sorry for the late reply, never saw the notification! If you're still interested, it's mostly that I can wear the Fenix much more in daily life as in my opinion it looks far classier and suits most occasions. I don't know if the forerunners can use the golf apps but that's a big one for me. My main point was really that the Fenix feels like a watch for daily wear that does a great job as a running watch too

Fenix 7 is fine, even without dual band GPS it's still very accurate. I was using Forerunner 255 with dual band GPS but almost always use single band all systems mode and it's still accurate. Now I'm using Quatix 7 which based off Fenix 7 and doesn't miss the dual band.

A chest strap is what you want for cycling. The amount of times I've seen even high end smart watches (Fenix 7) report half my heartrate when I make a sprint is absurd. I cannot trust anything but a chest strap.

I have a Fenix 7, and bought a Garmin 530 for road cycling because the heart rate isn't correct. When doing intervals, it will easily ready at half or two quarter heart rate, and that SUCKS This is the case with a fit bit as well, so I believe it's just because of the way watches measure heart rate.

Another vote for the Garmin Fenix 7 or 8. You get the surfr app with the 7.

Garmin Fenix 7 (with or without solar charging)... They are VERY affordable now (since the Fenix 8 came out last year)... They do A LOT while standing up to hard environments

I’ve had some issues with my vivoactive 5 and my Fenix 7 now. Often it’ll track an extra lap or 2, usually if I do 1500m I’ll end up with the watch saying 1525m or 1550m. That said, this week I swam 1500m by my lap count and the watch ended up tracking 1600m. I think it also has to do with the fact that I was in a crowded swimming lane and had to stop/change strokes halfway through laps to avoid running into people.

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

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 is the only answer here. ok maybe coros too, but avoid AW if you want accurate readings. there’s a reason i have two apple watches that sit in the bottom of my drawer of my desk. especially if you do underwaters apple watch is trash. it would tell me i did almost half the yardage i was actually doing and never wore it again. fenix 7 never misses…

I like tracking my hikes. I use a Garmin Fenix 7. It’s fun to know exact mileage and vertical gain. I love the mile splits so I know my pace which is only really important for figuring out when and where I’d be done for the day. It can vary widely on the trail from 17 min miles all the way up to an hour a half. I also loved seeing my fitness metrics improve on my thru. I felt it in real time but I can look back at my heart rate during earlier climbs vs later climbs and it’s a completely different profile. I am a bit of a science nerd so this may not be your cup of tea but I liked it. I’ll also echo the practical benefits like flashlight, track back, friends and family notifications, and fall detection. I also carried a Mini InReach.

I love my fenix 7. I think most watches would do the trick but I highly recommend getting a chest strap to connect to the watch for heart rate. Gives you the most accurate heart rate and I think that is what allows vo2 max calculations on runs over 20 mins. I didn’t think I needed music but the fenix 7 downloads playlists from Spotify so I have music loaded on and just connect to my headphones. I don’t always run with headphones for various reasons but sometimes it’s nice to have.

Used fenix 7 would probably be in your budget. Try and get one of the ones with the flashlight, its probably my favorite feature on the watch.

I’ve had the Garmin Fenix 5 and 7 and I love them both. The only reason I upgraded was because I wanted to be able to play my YouTube Music (yeah, I’m the guy that uses YT music) and the 7 is the earliest model you can do it on. Somethings I would say is I didn’t get the solar because not only is the battery life great, but charging it is really fast too. Finally if you get one there are a few tricks you need to teach yourself (or dm me and I’ll help you out): Download your maps Send a gpx file to your watch Send an AllTrails gpx file to your watch Navigate with a loaded gpx Use the TrackBack feature Use the Navigate Back to Start feature

Garmin. I started with the original instinct solar, but now have a Fenix 7, edge bike computer, garmin scale, garmin heart rate strap... garmin has always just worked for me without a ton of work or research to figure out how it works. It's all very intuitive for me. I also love using garmin connect to have all my data from cycling, running, and working out in one place without having to import and export stuff from different apps or devices.

It depends on your budget. Flagship is Fenix, and many other watches are reskinned versions of Fenix. For example, Enduro is Fenix with a longer battery and MIP screen, where Fenix uses AMOLED. Epix is Fenix with a more expensive case. Tactix is Fenix with custom software that is aimed at the military. Aquatix is Fenis with customisation for sailing, etc Then you have a lower batch of watches aimed at running. I have no experience with those versions. Personally, I had Fenix 7, then I went with Enduro as long battery was important for me, and I didn't care for AMOLED and a microphone to access a voice assistant on a watch.

A used fenix 7 solar might fit your needs and budget. Easily gets me through a long weekend with high accuracy and HR monitor turned on, could go a quite a bit longer in expedition mode if needed.

Just got a FR 570 to replace a Fenix 7 - WAY more comfortable to wear because lighter weight and less chunky profile, also maybe the lugs sit different relative to the back of the watch, so it lies flatter on my wrist than the difference in thickness might suggest. Probably less durable/beatable than a Fenix long term, but so far so good. Excellent choice for your use case. Note that if you want maps you’ll need the top model.

I'd take advantage of a sale on the Epix 2 or Fenix 7. Garmin's last, and think of it more as an investment and not a purchase. I'm not sure what your long-term fitness goals are, but a Forerunner or Fenix/Epix model will be able to cover anything you throw at them long-term. The biggest thing I've been telling my friends is, if you ever have dreams of doing a triathlon, get a Forerunner 255/265 and above since that's when the multi-sport/triathlon mode starts.

I had Fenix 7 as my daily driver for last 6 months and in the end decided it was too big and heavy for me and switched to FR 970. Cannot say that this watch is super satisfying, but it is WAY more comfortable to wear every day. I would probably try Fenix 8 sapphire with titanium case/bezel since it is very lightweight, but the price is crazy for this model plus it is still chunky.

I have the Garmin Fenix 7 and absolutely love it

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.

Yes. For an Ultra I think you'd be looking at the Enduro or Instinct Solar. You could also consider the Fenix 7 Solar or Forerunner 955. Gotta look at the battery life. Solar per se doesn't necessarily do much, it's more that these watches are lower-power or bigger-battery too.

Sounds like a good plan. I can't remember which Fenix was the first to be a dive watch but the only other is the much more expensive Descent. If you don't need the additional features from the Descent and the Fenix replaces a dive computer, it seems like you end up getting a really good value. It's worth comparing to some of the Forerunners if the dive aspect doesn't look that strong to you. I think the 255, 265 and 570 do everything you need for actual training functions. The 955, 965 and 970 add maps and the 970 adds a running tolerance function that might be helpful for marathon training. How much do you run now? Do you have a training plan picked out? While Garmin has all of Daily Suggested Workouts, adaptive training plans, and fully pre-set training plans, they all have their issues for a marathon. I actually quite like DSW but more for filling in the gaps and helping maintain balance. https://lifehacker.com/health/what-its-like-to-train-for-a-race-with-garmins-training-plans

Garmin Fenix 7 owner here. It has great battery life (a week or more without GPS active). The software quality could use some work. The Spotify integration has been downright unusable, and the watch sometimes congratulates me on running my PR mile no matter how fast it actually was.

I had a Fitbit charge 2 for about 6 years and loved it until google took over and screwed up the compatibility and syncing. I now have a garmin fenix 7. MASSIVE step up. The battery doesn’t last as long, I use to get a week with 8hrs of tracking, now I’m charging every couple of days but that could be because I have all the bells and whistles turned on which aren’t needed. If you’re a data nerd and want more info than you ever thought was possible, then seriously look at garmin. I just have the free topo maps on it at the moment and pay no subscription. And quality seems good enough to navigate by. I haven’t tried it out in the bush yet, but to be honest i wouldn’t rely on it for navigating and would stick with map and compass or phone app where I can zoom in and out so much easier. It is geared towards running, but hiking, alpine are all options in there as activities. I love that it’s ocean proof too and can even track sailing.

I used the ultra for about a week. I can't stand charging every day. I don't care enough to type texts from watch and don't believe ultra HR monitor compared to Fenix. I get around 2 weeks of battery on my fenix7

Both Garmin and Coros make sport watches that are fine for what you need. I jumped from Garmin to Coros because of the crazy price jump of the Fenix 8, Connect+ subscription service and bad firmware updates for my Fenix 7 that Garmin has not addressed for more than a year now. The trust has been lost.

I got an AW after my first two Garmin’s (Vivosmart HR and Vivoactive 3). I lasted about 6 months with it, before I got my current watch, the Fenix 7. I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. I couldn’t cope with having to charge my watch every night, which was my main reason for changing back to Garmin.

Garmin Fenix 7 something or other. Garmin Edge 530 on the bike with a Varia rear light/camera. I don’t see any value in Strava, I just use Garmin Connect.

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 🥲

Apple watch ultra 2 is your only real option for longer battery life and esim and the rest of the features you want. You do know that if you have a spotify premium sub you don't have to have an e-sim to listen to music, as you can download playlists and save them onto the device, unfortunately offline spotify is only available on wear os watches (not an option for iPHone as locked to android), apple watches and garmin. Garmin may be a good option as can do offline spotify playlists, and has built in route options or can pull them from strava, syncs data with strava way better than apple does; and the models that offer music all offer at least up to 10 days battery life, and they can offer way more than garmin does in terms of built in training metric and analytics and features. Note offline music + gps on watch is a heavy battery drain - so 1hr or gps activity + offline music and you are looking to recharge every 4-6 days (maybe longer) depending on the model, compared to multiple charge per day on AW (assuming you sleep with it) or daily charge on AWU2 If you want a mic and speaker look at venu 3, FR570, FR970, Venu x1 and Fenix 8 series. Otherwise you could go with vivoactive 5 or 6; FR265, FR965, FR955 and prior fenix 7 (and its variants like Epix 2 etc).

f you're looking for a reliable smartwatch with great battery life and accurate heart rate and GPS tracking, here are the top three options that I recommend: 1. **Garmin Fenix 7** * **Price**: $600+ * **Battery Life**: 18 days in smartwatch mode, 57 hours with GPS tracking. * **Features**: Rugged build, excellent GPS accuracy, heart rate monitoring, and long battery life. Ideal for outdoor activities, running, and gym workouts. * **Why**: One of the best smartwatches for outdoor enthusiasts, providing accurate health tracking for active users. 2. **BP DOCTOR GP 8** * **Price**: $189+ * **Battery Life**: 5-7 days * **Features**: Blood pressure monitoring, GPS, heart rate tracking, and sleep monitoring. * **Why**: A well-rounded health and fitness tracker that includes important metrics like blood pressure, ideal for users serious about tracking their overall health. 3. **Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE** * **Price**: $600 * **Battery Life**: 2 weeks in smart mode, 36 hours with GPS tracking. * **Features**: Advanced health and fitness tracking, including heart rate, GPS, and the ability to make calls. Great for runners and cyclists. * **Why**: Excellent battery life, solid GPS accuracy, and ideal for those who want more than just basic fitness tracking.

Hi, I own forerunner 970(before that multiple forerunner devices 945, 955 solar, 965) fenixes(6 pro, 7 solar, 7 pro, 8) and edge 1050(before 530 and 830), also im reviewer for suunto in my country. Based on cycling, its ok... i mean it never will be dedicated bike computerm but its ok, U can pair multiple sensors. Power sensor works ok, but U can't set avg power counting with 0 or not like in garmin. About app, its really nice, even it shows peak power and speed for 30sec, 1min, 3min, and 5min. I had it before launch to this day and it is pretty stable(also i never experienced losing training session on garmin). About indoor cycling, smart trainers are not supported and I hope this will change soon because garmin in top in this matter. For running its also great Now there are some diffrences between app and watch with recovery metrics at this moment

I have the Fenix 7 and can tell you I will not buy another watch without maps. Great for when you are in a strange place and familiar areas. I am from South Africa but was able to run through the Norwegian forest on my own because of maps and Garmin Explore. Even at home if I want to run a new 20k, I just go to Garmin Connect, generate an automatic map and have a brand new course. If I am in a foreign city, I can put my hotel as a point in my watch and will always be able to find my way back even if I have no data coverage.

I'm beginner runner, but I hike, hunt & fish, golf and do a pile of other activities. I had $500 budgeted, and was able to grab a Fenix 7 on sale for 60% off when the Fenix 8 was announced. I also looked at the Forerunner 965, but it's much more running focused and I wanted a more do it all watch. Was it overkill? Yes. Would I buy it again in a heartbeat? Also yes. It's been stupidly useful for me. I've found the other features from sleep to body battery to health check-up well worth it. If you're planning to just stick to running, the Forerunner will do you well. If you want a more do it all, also look at Fenix/Epic/Instinct.

Figured I would update! I ended up doing the fenix 7 that is on sale. For that deal I figured I couldn’t pass it up. A little more than I originally was going to spend but I am excited. Thanks for all the comments.

Easy, turn off AOD (always on display) and instead use something like raise to wake. Doing that on my Epix 2 pro 51mm gives 32 days instead of about 13-14. Its longer on the Fenix 7 and earlier because the MIP display consumes less power than the AMOLED display. Edit and also turn off pulse-OX during sleep if you don't need to keep track of your sleeping oxygen levels (most people don't need to)

I have had several Garmin watches over the years I used them, including the Venu 2, the Fenix 7 and my last was the FR265. All were terrible at sleep tracking for me. No wearable is accurate at sleep stages but for me apple reflects how I feel. I found Garmin had me getting terrible sleep every night, never catching my actual sleep properly and having me sleep when I was wide awake. The nap feature was a total disaster for me, giving me 3-4 naps daily while I was a work at my desk, certainly not sleeping. Oura overestimates deep and Rem significantly, no way I am getting 3 hours of deep sleep a night. As for sleep scores they are junk science. Sleep is complex and the idea that a watch/ring can pair it down to a simple number when it can't accurately measure sleep stages is ridiculous. Even sleep labs are not accurate in doing this. If you have 2 techs look at a the data in a sleep lab they will not agree. It just is far too complicated. It is better to look at the amount of total time slept if you are going to look at sleep at all. Body battery and stress scores in my opinion are just gimmicky features that I never paid attention to. I prefer to listen to my body rather than a watch. I did appreciate the activity tracking of the Garmin but again when the sleep data is being used for a great deal of the metrics the data became useless for me. The idea that more HRV readings is better has been created by the fitness world, just like the idea that you should take 10000 steps a day. More HRV measurements, particularly continuous measurements are not needed, one reading in the morning is really sufficient.

Honestly, I just use the indoor climbing widget and dont really log anything. I'm mostly using it for heart rate tracking tbh.  Outside, whether I'm on ropes or bouldering, I use the mountaineering widget because I like to track my heart rate and see the GPS route after. I love looking at the distance after bouldering especially, it has superconcentrated activity in a very small area and you've still gone 5 miles.  I dont really have uses for the features on the bouldering widget. Also, I have a fenix 7 with a silicone strap and while it gets scratched, it's held up quite well. 

I'm still half convinced the reason I run still is because I bought a Fenix 7 when I started trial running and am a cheap bastard and need to justify my purchase.

I switched from a Fenix 7 to a AWU2. At the beginning, I was worried about 1) battery life 2) health tracking 3) fitness sensor connectivity (cycling, mostly garmin equipment) 4) fitness app connectivity. I run, play tennis and work on my triathlon form. I track all of those activities, ok - if I forgot to charge the day before to a long run, I need to quick charge the watch. But, I can enjoy my music with my AirPods, can leave my phone at home because 1) I can pay 2) can call / write a message. Never had <2 days. Health tracking alternative is “Bevel”, but I don’t need my watch to verify “yes my sleep was nice”, or “shit, just slept 4 hours after I was drunk”. But the trends gave me insights I did not had before. “Health fit” is doing the app integration, and with “Watch Link” I can use the HR sensor for my bike. The sensor is as accurate as my chest strip before, but now I can leave it also at home. I don’t regret it, even if I need some other “specialized” apps now, but I think they are doing better. Buuuut, free water swimming tracking is a pain. Anyway, during my investigations / test measurements I found out that even the Fenix was just a rule of thumb. Now I can directly see that’s shit, before I was trusting the values - shit in details as well //and hey, now I can unlock my car / smart home locks with my watch. Ever had something useful in the Garmin store?

I'm really happy with my fenix 7 But since there are several watches that do what you want, what other things interest you? Waterproof? Maps & back-to-start function? Solar?

I've purchased both a Garmin Fenix 7 Solar and a Samsung Fit 3 device. I haven't found anything quite like the Fitbit One which seriously bums me out. I love the way the One worked when it was able to sync properly. I had switched to an older Inspire for a while, but knowing that you need to switch to using Google instead of whatever the original system had been by early February 2026, I've been looking into other companies to see what they have to offer and what could possibly work best for me. The Fitbit app has also been giving me some grief with the Inspire, so I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it too is totally phased out. The nice thing I'd found with the Garmin is that it can set up an auto step goal for you each day if you're looking to improve your distance each day (you of course don't have to do that, just change it in the app) and you don't necessarily need to go into any sort of 'activity mode' to start using it for just daily distances unless you want to use GPS tracking routes. I ended up purchasing a stretchy wrist band that fit the Garmin on eBay so it could fit around my ankle to track from the time I get up until I go to sleep at night. I'm not someone who actively moves my arms back and forth when walking (I might also walk and use my phone, hindering the arm sway), so that was the best option for me and is closest to getting the steps taken each day. I haven't played around with the Fit 3 too much yet. I'd gotten that on Amazon, but I did the same with that tracker as well, purchased a band that isn't silicone to wear it on my ankle. The only difference I had noticed so far is this tracker needs to be recharged much more frequently than either the Fitbit One or the Garmin device. I want to say I'd read it can be anywhere from 3 days to 13 days for battery life depending on what features you have actively tracking. You can disable to screen from turning on unless you press the side button and I believe you can also disable the heart rate portion of the device if you're not needing that information as well. Removing both does help prolong the battery life. The nice thing about both Samsung and Garmin is they have a nice range of watches to choose from, especially if you're looking for something pretty simple and user friendly. You can compare up to 4 or 5 devices on the Garmin website and connecting it to a phone was pretty simple as well. Unfortunately I didn't find a website to sync with with either brand, I too miss having that capability with Fitbit. Both brands also have the motion sensor inside the devices, so you don't have to use the GPS to track an entire activity. You may also check with the relative to see if the place they work or if they have medical insurance to see if either has some sort of walking or fitness program where they can get a free device for signing up. I've never used an Apple Watch, so hopefully someone else can speak on what they're like as I know the Samsung device wouldn't be useable with an Apple watch. Best of luck in your search! :)

I have a garmin Fenix 7, and I absolutely love it. It tracks gps accurately, and has stats such as stroke rate and distance per stroke, but for super accurate hr, I would connect a chest strap to the watch. Often if I don’t, the watch alone doesn’t track the hr super accurately.

I think it is interesting to take a look at some of this stuff, but it really doesn't impact training for the most part. The main thing I get out of my wearable (Fenix 7 Garmin) is that I have started to use it for HR instead of a chest strap. It's just easier and one less thing to remember for a ride or clean at the end of the day. Accuracy is excellent - the watches have come a long way IMHO. With Garmin this is all out of the box, no sub required, it is nice. I wouldn't really bother with it otherwise.

yeah my fenix 7 also bumped with my racket quite often 🤣. one of the possible solution is to wear the watch in my racket/dominant hand.

I have a Garmin Fenix 7 series that I love. It's decent with tracking climbing/bouldering and of course excels with running. Does well with hiking too. Battery life has been great.

I’ve order it. My experience: I now have a garmin fenix 8, which a have for 2 weeks, and i waited for the new aw to return this, it’s awful 😂 Before this i had a fenix 7 for a day, which i return it because i found out garmin wont provide major upgrades for it. Before this i had a aw 3 gps, that I’ve use for 8 years. I think it will be a great upgrade since i’ve order the cellular one.

Same here! I’ve been using a Fenix 7 for trail running and multi-day hikes, and the battery life is just insane compared to my old Apple Watch. The solar charging isn’t magic, but it definitely helps stretch things out when you’re out in the open for hours. Totally recommend it!

Took the Fenix 7 on a 4-day trip in Snowdonia, full GPS mode on, checking the map fairly often, and I still had over 40% battery left at the end. Plus, it handled the rain and mud no problem.

Hi all, Got my OnePlus Watch 3 recently, and I’ve always wondered how it would compare to my Garmin Fenix 7 for fitness tracking — since fitness is a big thing for me. --- Run Summary Distance: 4.39 km (OnePlus) vs 4.40 km (Garmin) Time: 25:59 vs 25:55 Average Pace: 5:55/km vs 5:53/km Best Pace: 4:11/km vs 4:34/km Max Speed: Both 12.3 km/h --- Heart Rate Average HR: 176 bpm (both) Max HR: 187 bpm (OnePlus) vs 192 bpm (Garmin) Min HR: 154 bpm vs 156 bpm --- VO₂ Max OnePlus Estimate: 41 Garmin Estimate: 45 Lab-tested VO₂ Max: 44.5 → Garmin is closest to lab --- Running Dynamics Cadence (avg/max): 168 / 200 spm (both) Stride Length: 1.01 m (both) Vertical Ratio: 8.6% (both) Ground Contact Time: 266 ms (both) --- Power & Respiration Power (Garmin): Avg 332 W, Max 430 W Power (OnePlus): Avg 283 W, Max 460 W Breathing Rate: Avg 42 bpm (both) Min/Max Respiration: 21 / 54 bpm (both) --- Recovery & Training Recovery Time: 46 min (23 min intense) — both Stamina (OnePlus): Start 100%, End 66% Aerobic Effect: 4.1 (OnePlus), 4.4 (Garmin – Threshold) Anaerobic Effect (Garmin only): 1.8 Training Load (Garmin only): 138 --- Conclusion VO₂ Max Accuracy: Garmin is more accurate (closer to lab) Both watches track key stats very well Garmin Fenix 7 leads in training feedback, power data, and clarity OnePlus Watch 3 holds up surprisingly well — especially for a lifestyle-focused smartwatch that also looks better One big con for me: OPW3 doesn’t show training loads (low/high aerobic, anaerobic) — which is huge for me. I split my training into HIIT, Zone 2, sprints, and weight lifting based on those metrics. I’ll use it for another week or so and decide whether to send it back. Honestly feels weird wearing something else after having my Garmin daily for the last 1.5 years.

I am missing the workout functionalities of my garmin.. Training loads, more insights.. However this watch looks better, has better functionalities regarding smart features. Not sure what to do..

I am missing the workout functionalities of my garmin.. Training loads, more insights.. However this watch looks better, has better functionalities regarding smart features. Not sure what to do..

I am missing the workout functionalities of my garmin.. Training loads, more insights.. However this watch looks better, has better functionalities regarding smart features.

I did send the OnePlus watch 3 back. It is good if you are mainly into running and are an average person who doesn't really take working out seriously. Pace is spot on I'd say compared with my Garmin. I just didn't like the app and the metrics it provides, I was missing training loads, acute loads, VO2 max was off by a few points. My lab results tell me that my Garmin was very close though.. You will never get the same what Garmin provides from the OnePlus watch 3, I debated myself for a few days before sending it back. If you just run casually, don't do weight lifting much or don't care about all of that. Get the watch. Also the app is not so good haha. It provides however great basic metrics. I never took my Garmin off in the last 2 years, so it was super difficult for me. Which Garmin do you have?

Personally, I love my Garmin Fenix 7. Yes, it's expensive, but it's super accurate, tracks the data I'm interested in, and it lasts a long time. You can buy a watch with fewer bells and whistles, but your boyfriend will want to upgrade. If you don't want to spend that much, there are a lot of other great running gifts such as nice quality running clothing, a new hydration vest, a race he's been eyeing, etc...

Garmin Fenix 7. Great GPS tracking and great battery life. I've had other Garmin watches previously and this is definitely my fave.

Some of the Forerunners are not that far away from Apple. My 965 barely lasts 10 days and I think 970 is worse. I miss my Fenix 7 Solar.

I have a Garmin Fenix 7 watch that I've been testing extensively in the real world. I use it on various exercise machines to do different zones of cardio and it always exactly matches the heart rate monitors on the cardio machines I use.

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 can only assume you've never ran a competitive race and heard all the Garmins beeping at exactly the same location every km.

BULLSHIT. GARMIN REPLACED MY FENIX 7 WITH ANOTHER ONE THAT ALSO ONLY LASTS FOUR DAYS. NOW THEY ARE DUCKING RESPONSIBILITY. DONE WITH GARMIN AFTER PURCHASING 13 DEVICES.

I have Apple everything, and enjoyed the Apple Watch. Don’t think I’d go back to an AW from my Fenix 7 until they improve their own performance monitoring capabilities and battery life. I don’t even run, but just having a watch I don’t need to think about when I go on a week long trip, or back to back days of snowboarding, is just so much better. The flashlight is also incredibly useful. Thought I would miss the very refined touchscreen, but tbh the buttons are better 90% of the time.  I occasionally miss the level of notification customization the AW has, and  the standard Fenix 7 is just a tad too thick and heavy, but that’s about the only notable complaints I have.  Other minor gripes: Charger sucks too but it’s hard to consider it an issue when you only use it 2 or 3 times a month. Watch face customization is very limited, but fortunately I found one for $5 that I love so now it’s not much of an issue. 

My Garmin Fenix 7 allows me to set run/walk intervals. I start my watch like in going for a run, I just can't do the suggested run or it won't time the intervals. Super happy with it.

Sooo I'll start in general... Garmin is a great option for you except for weight training if you use your watch for more than just basic hr recording during an activity. I use Hevy (paid subscription) while I workout but start a strength training activity on my Garmin to get hr data. Depending on your budget and the Instinct 3 is a good option, however not having maps will not be great for hikes. If you are looking to do hikes i suggest the Fenix 7 or Epix gen 2 ( there are pro versions of those watches which include newer hr sensors and an ecg sensor) Getting certified refurbished items from eBay is a great option.

I am liking my Garminfenix 7 solar (aolar charges a bit). Way more data than I need, but my main complaint ith the apple watch was NO On the water GPS tracking (even wrote then because location data for walking, running, outdoor swimming but NOT rowing). So I am a garmin gal. Yep I wanna know my spm and can initiate a 5K and it doesnt just guess the distance. :)

Idk if anyone commented abt this or not but get the fenix 7 not the 8. Basically the same thing for less cost/issues

Yes. They were no help and kept asking about stupid things 🤷. Later they shared instructions for resetting Fenix 7. The battery declined rapidly after firmware update and nothing helps. I tried this https://forums.garmin.com/apps-software/mobile-apps-web/f/garmin-connect-web/355158/troubleshooting-guide-for-high-battery-drain and nothing

I rock the Garmin Fenix 7 for MTB, I only use it for tracking and strava. I come home, and I immediately swap, then put it back on to sleep. I don't know why, personal preference, i suppose, but I always like something on my wrist. I also swim and lift but usually don't wear anything for it.

I'm guessing you aren't a strava whore? I unfortunately am. I have the Garmin Fenix 7. I wear it for 2 reasons, one that I already mentioned. The second, so my wife and buddy can track me in the event of a gnarly MTB fall. I had one last year and was fortunate that my buddy was headed to the mountain and helped me get out.

I forgot to add, I wish I didn't put it on to sleep but can't break the habit. Nothing worse than waking up, feeling great and your watch tells you that you slept like shit and need a rest day. I try to ignore it but it messes with me

What’s your experience on the comfort aspect or managing the data from each? I use a fenix 7 now but am considering also carrying the AWU for races to basically have phone right before and after the race but bringing my actual phone in a belt. Would track the race on fenix, have the AWU for phone, Apple Pay, and transit apps since Gamin never released a feasible cellular option for this. I would probably then stick with the AWU for day to day but use the fenix still for runs. Trying to figure out how to manage the daily and then activity data between the two systems and if this is even worth it.

I use a garmin Fenix 7 for swimming, cycling, hiking, mountain running, long ultramarathons and its fantastic at all of them!

Fenix 7, I like tracking my HR in the sauna

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.

Other than the Fennix 7, nothing Garmin has compares with the sensor quality Apple has in the latest models. It was around the 8 that Apple surpassed Garmin with fitness tracking accuracy and with the Ultra and 19 or 10 they surpassed it with location accuracy as well. Garmin will still win with battery life and I’ll rather keep my watch for the QOL benefits, for me it’s mainly unlocking my Mac, the odd payment and some other health metrics that I specifically use the watch for. I’ll answer a call if I’m too lazy to walk back to my phone. The eSIM support is handy for me to be able to leave my phone at home without the safety hit of being completely offline. I have tested the fall detection already, obviously not intentionally, not sure if Garmin has something like that, but it would the also require a phone to be of any real use in an emergency. I’ll be upgrading my ultra next year if the rumoured Blood pressure and sugar monitoring come out. I am hypertensive so that would be very useful to track if it gets worse

I have a Fenix 7 and it's very good at tracking laps. I swim 10k+ yards a week and it only adds a "phantom" extra lap maybe once a month, and it's usually because I did something weird to throw off the rhythm. That said, you have to switch to drill mode for kicking or other armless drills-- it doesn't autodetect that.

All new garmins are a good replacement for apple watch. I have both but my garmin fenix 7 is my daily and watch is only for a specific app workout. Mine is MIP display so lasts for 26 days

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.

Depends on your budget needs, pre-owned a Fenix 7 is pretty good at all you’re asking. If you’re looking for the latest tech, the Enduro 3 has most (if not all?) Fenix 8 functions at a slightly lower price point.

Many garmin watches can read and log what they call stress. “Stress” is not necessarily mental stress, I think of it as a measure of how much your body is working. It could be from working out, it could be from digesting a steak dinner, it could be from trying to fight a sickness. It could also be mental stress. My Fenix7 is able to give me a warning when my stress is high and when it goes back to normal levels. I think many other models have that feature, too. Having this measurement of stress, garmins give you the data of “body battery”, which level goes down when stress is high and goes up when your stress is low (like for example when you’re sleeping well). If you use your garmin watch for working out, it will also tell you how much your workouts are fatiguing you and how much you should push to avoid overtraining but still challenging yourself. This feature is called “training load”. I think that most watches introduced in the last three years have these three features.

I'm a Garmin user but for much less money, Coros watches look like like a good option. I cross shopped those before getting a Fenix 7 and they have some great reviews.

Fenix 7 will have a lot more options than the forerunner 165 and its battery will last a lot longer. Fenix 7 has more storage (16gb vs 4gb), longer battery life, better multi-band sat, barometer, spo2 while you sleep (that doesn't kill the battery as fast), and you get full mapping, pace pro, more activities. The only reason i'd go 165 is if you really want a color screen and only ever jog/run.

I have a Garmin Fenix 7 watch that records my runs, walks and rides. They then get uploaded automatically.

I trialed a Fenix 7 and got used to the battery and customization options. Didn't think I needed all that. Came from an old AW, so missing the music streaming and phone connectivity.

I use both daily. Fenix 7 Solar on the Garmin side, AWS10 for Apple. For steps, notifications, Apple Pay and a few dev related things I’ll keep both. Exercise is always recorded with my Fenix, maps and navigation are so, so much better on the Garmin and I only have to charge it once a week.

Went from AW to garmin fenix 7and have 0 regrets about it

The *55 series is only a year older than the *65 series and has the same generation HR sensor, GNSS chipset, etc. The software is almost the same between the two, including a lot of the recent updates like a meditation activity, passcode, and auto lactate threshold detection. Arguably the FR *55 is more up to date than the Fenix 7 series which is a sore point for Fenix owners. So 955 vs 965 isn't really that big of a difference besides the much higher resolution, much brighter and more colorful screen. Some of the other reason people are recommending older devices is because the difference between high end and mid range is bigger right now than the difference between generations, so for example battery life is better on a 955 vs a 570, or the number of running metrics is higher on a 955 vs a 570. The screen is better on a 570 vs a 955 though so technology advances have brought some good updates to mid range.

Fenix 7. Skip the screen on the 8 and go with one that holds up better in bright sunlight. HOWEVER, if these are truly your only options I’d say forerunner. Slightly less rugged, but has everything you need for a little less than Fenix series. Doesn’t have a flashlight though

Used to do Apple Watch and switched to Garmin, but not for daily tracking. I did it specifically because of the data it gives me for workouts, and the training plans. It’s a training watch. I think all the stuff you mentioned for me I don’t really need a lot of frills around, really. A simple line chart showing me VO2 max over time is fine. My Garmin Fenix shows me my current estimated VO2 max right on the face. I do like how Garmin charts HRV, but neither Apple or Garmin should be considered best for this if you really care. Wrist is just not an ideal location for it, even if Whoop had done well. I use Oura for sleep tracking. Apple and Garmin BOTH are kinda weak here. What Garmin does do well is show me trends of HRV, and from that it can be useful in terms of telling me recovery impact to training. Ultimately I view Garmin as a training device and Apple Watch as a lifestyle device. Both are about the same for daily tracking of activities and Garmin can feed Apple Health. If you like Apple nudging you to “close the rings” you’re maybe more of an Apple Watch candidate than Garmin. If you like Garmin telling you that today you should run intervals or ride a long zone 2 ride then you’re a Garmin candidate. I also hated having notifications and apps and stuff on my wrist. It was cool at first and then it was annoying and distracting. My big motivation away from Apple Watch was this. First I stopped wearing it at all. Since my goal is training data I was doing activity tracking from my phone and it was unwieldy. I looked at trackers like Fitbits and Whoops and stuff and settled on Garmin. Admittedly I kinda needed out on the data and the maps of the Fenix. I do some remote canoeing and hiking and thought the maps would be really useful. I think the only thing I really want from my watch is some ability to control audio from it. Admittedly Garmin isn’t strong here: they do have Spotify but no way to do Apple Music or Audible or anything, and what you can do is limited. So if I want to run or ride with music or a book my phone always comes with me. I remember when Apple Watch first let you do music from the Watch back in like 2016 and it was really cool at first, then I didn’t care and was bringing my phone on runs anyway. Since you asked about badges and motivation and whatnot: as mentioned Apple has really nice stuff, but I view it as more pedestrian oriented. Ultimately I didn’t ever feel motivated by it. Garmin seems to have tried to get into the social game, too, but I don’t know many people that use this and do gamification. They have a great badge system built more around training than anything else. That said… As another poster mentioned, I also use Strava and Strava as a social media platform is far more motivating for me. If you’re into training at all, look into it. Strava tells you about your previous times on a segment, for instance, and whether you’re getting a PR. It does Q/KOM (Queen or King of the Mountain). It can show you routes and segments in your area. It has a great interface for breaking down training data as well. Garmin is better for like overlaying cycling power with heart rate and elevation, but Strava gives you a lot of this data as well. You can feed Strava with either Apple or Garmin. At the end of the day my opinion on why to chose Garmin is if you want the training planning and tracking. If you have a goal like a race then it’s a pretty cool coach. If you have a program you’re already following and just want to track against it then it matters a lot less. The only other winning thing is depending on model you can get Garmins with incredible battery life. My Fenix 7 gets almost a month on a charge. My wife charges her Apple Watch daily. I’d probably go without a smart watch before going back to an Apple Watch because all of the cool features of an Apple Watch are lost on me.

Also, two words with the Fenix 7: Torch watch! Honestly I use the torch way more than I thought i would!

Quite happy with my Fenix7. But difficult to validate. There is no reference in OpenWater, as you never swim in a straight line. So +-20% in distance compared to the perfect line is totally fine with me. With uneasy weather it's easily +50% distance that you actually swim.

I’ve got a Garmin Fenix 7 solar I love it, it was pricey I think I paid about £600 maybe just under with a discount code for it, but it’s been brilliant. Battery life is 15 plus days maybe 10 with heavy use. I use it for other things too like tracking my runs and other workouts, it likes to my fitness pal, OS maps etc. The best thing I find is that you can load routes onto it for a hike then you can use that instead of having to use a phone (obviously always have map and compass though) Looks like you can get them for about £400 now as they’ve released the Fenix 8. It also looks really cool

Any of the modern Garmins (Forerunner x55 series, Epix, Fenix 7 or above) - great 24/7 tracking

Apple -> Fenix 7 -> Back to Apple. I miss the battery, that’s about it. The direct integration into iOS is just too valuable for me.

You are not missing anything. Garmin is overpriced and is selling because it is well eatablished brand, not because their watches are worth it.  If you do not need specific advanced metrics, other brands will provide you with same key data for much less money. Garmin procides user with more features and data, but some that data is unreliable and some of those features are half-baked.  I believe Garmin watches have accurate sensors, but due to bad quality assurance in produ tion or whatever reason, many HR sensors started exhibiting issues with accuracy later after months of usage. Garmin acknolwedged HR issues last year but still did nothing to fix it which leada me to believe it is hardware issue as well (they just go quiet in those cases). Also, Garmin hardware quality is not always the best, just look at button failures on their Garmin Fenix 7 and Epix watches - still ongoing issue with those watches sold today at very high prices. Not to mention bad mic amd speaker on Fenix 8 or bad BT module in almost all newer Garmin watches which leads to connectivoty drop outs and issues. It is the best that you do research as you did.

Suunto is also serious competitor. Many Garmin users know about some features not working as advertised. That surprise is not specific for one brand only. It is funny how you skip what I wrote and dance around it. What I said stands - there are other brands that offer beter quality and more features for the money.  You cherry pick one feature that does not work reliably on Amazfit and think that Garmin is better because of it. I never said all features work great on any watch (This OP was about Garmin, not other watches). I said that there are some half-baked features on Garmin watches that work unreliably, which should not happen for such expensive watches.  Finally, DC rainmaker is good but leans heavily toward Garmin. For example, he never mentioned thar Instinct 2 is painfully slow in everyday operations, especially in saving activity and loading a route, and only admitted that fact when he was confronted by several negatively surprised commenters. He never mentioned washed out disolay of Instinct 2. Then in T-rex 3 review he said thst Amazfit does not support its watches for long-time as Garmin does while completely disregarding the fact that Garmin silently stopped feature updates for Fenix 7 and Epix watches it was still selling at high prices, which is much worse than what any other brand did. And so on.

Fenix 7. Tracks laps and open water distance perfectly. Program workouts. Has on wrist heart rate but it doesn't work well in the pool - but that would be any watch. I use their heart rate strap.

Please forget about things like status symbols. You're only working on your health for yourself. I take sports very seriously and devote a large portion of my free time to it. I've tested the Fenix ​​7, the Fenix ​​7 Pro, the Fenix ​​8, the Ultra 1, the Ultra 3, the Series 11, and the SE3. In the end, I stuck with the SE3 Cellular because it's the most sensible device for me. Sure, I have to charge it more often, but it can run a marathon, and that's enough for me. I'll probably run another ultra or two, but honestly? Do I really need to spend three times as much on it just for that?

I typically use my whoop daily and it’s pretty good as an all arounder for different activities. I basically never take it off. Plus side is battery lasts forever + no screen to ding up. If I’m doing something like hiking or running where I want GPS I’ll use Garmin fenix solar 7 (double watch!!)

The Fenix 7 is the model when touch screen was released- this makes using the map much easier. It is very time consuming to pan around the map with just buttons.

This, as a fenix7 user, it does everything. And has a crazy long battery life

I used my fenix 7 a couple of hundred times in the pool. I wear it in the shower and when swimming in lakes and oceans. No problems at all.

Garmin will add less laps if you stop less or segment your workouts accordingly. Kinda like saying user error? But it’s because the watch is too sensitive? Example: I swim 25 underwater. I get to the wall to stretch for 30 seconds, and then swim back to complete the lap before I do 1500 freestyle. I usually end up with 75 or 100 meters when I complete that first warmup lap. And it’s because it is detecting movement consistent with the movement of pushing off a wall while I’m stretching. If I don’t start my watch until after I stretch and warm up and I just track my main set in one big block it’s spot on. If I am doing intervals it also adds half laps periodically, but for the same reason: it’s detecting change of direction movement. To minimize this I look at a wall clock instead of my watch to know when to blast off again. Solution for garmin: stop moving your watch when you’re not swimming if you told your watch you were swimming. They could probably fix it by making it less sensitive to changes in direction. But for now I can get 100 meters just by putting my goggles on if I want. Watches: forerunner 245 and fenix 7. 25 meter pool. Freestyle only.

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.

Agree, I bought a Garmin earlier this year and the 7 pro was the most watch for the (sale) price. Went sapphire glass and haven’t noticed any scratches yet although the bezel has some scuffs, so I think the glass upgrade is worthwhile.

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.

40 hours of battery life vs a month with the fenix solar. If I am camping or on the road, I really don’t want to worry about charging my watch.

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

And you forgot that you can have a steering mount for the watch with the HR monitor so no bike computer needed and still have 20 days of battery life at least on the fenix solar 😎

Had it since launch. It's been wonderful but over the weekend I got a 970. First off, the non solar has a much better MIP screen than any solar. I looked at getting a Tactix 8 or Fenix solar but as soon as I tried both on they were a massive disappointment and would never consider them. Tbh, while I thought I would not be thrilled with the transition to amoled, in all honesty I have no real negatives. You can customize it to be whatever you like. To me the 955 will be like my blackberry phone from years ago which I would easily call "a classic" and one is the best of its time. But unfortunately it no longer has a place in my wrist.

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.

100% agree with your review The problem with Garmin is simple, it is as so many say a pro sport watch and bc of that you should live with all the bugs and shitty ui, messed up settings menu bc must are a hard core athlete. At the same time any more advanced athlete just smile seeing garmin watch bc from a training perspective most of garmin metrics are just toys with some very basic failures like z3 is endurance when zones are set by maxhr but all of a sudden when you set zones by lthr your endurance zone is correctly z2, no recovery weeks scheduled pushing people to fatigue themselves to disaster, no way of editing hrv which combined with very shitty sleep tracker makes some days where your garmin forgot to track your sleep destroy whole training readiness calculation without any possibility to edit that one day etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm an Epix user but it is my first and last Garmin product and I will move to AWU next month or so (waiting for AWU 3 and IP16). Garmin is great as a simple activity tracker and if you need one just any old fr955 is enough to track everything you need. With Fenixes you jsut pay extra 600$ just for looks which some like and some not that much. PS. For me Garmin loses bc of a shitty strategy of keeping the simple stuff like new watchfaces only for new models where with any other IT product like a phone, awu, brands have learned to support fully for 5 years or so. (I know I can download new watch faces but they drain more battery and works shittier than the building ones /like no touch gestures etc.) ps. this forum is full of Garmin fanboys so your post will probably will be downvoted to oblivion, bc only positive posts are welcome here. (which is stupid bc it makes people at Garmin think their products is so amazing that they can ask 1100$ for that without solving at least some basic problems). ps2 besides watch faces (this part is for garmin fanboys) major problem was when my watch decided to burn down my house ;;) If any of you use ant+ lights or actually any sensors like a trainer, hr strap etc., your should already know that if you enter a glance menu or any settings menu for some stupid reason your watch connects to your sensors. With lights it works the same way but for some stupid reason Garmin likes to turn them on for a sec, but not always remembers to turn them off. So I was outside my house in the evening ready to start my run just to see through the window that my watch decided to Strat my light, I wanted to let it be but eventually returned home jsut to see my lights on the desk being charged and a smoke coming from desk bc it is not enough to turn on your with without any reasons (like I want to run not ride) but it sets the light on the highest strength (1300 lumen). So yeah I love Garmin and their watches 😀

I mean 400-500$ garmin watch like epix2/fenix7 is a good deal nowadays. I love the mapping, activity menus are ok, just in reality most of the metrics are a bit of BS lifted by a good marketing. Again 400$ is a good price for a tracker but asking 1100$ for a nicer UI menus (which are here only bc owners of FRs got them sooner and it would be hard to sell a much more expensive f8 with shitty menus) and a very low quality speaker and mic is a really brave strategy. I know Apple is not that amazing but it is ok for running, for cycling I use my Wahoo (apple added power meter support and thats something), I keep my music on my MacBook so it will be much easier to sync both (garmin does not support lossless format so I gave up on music bc I hate converting it every time) listening to podcasts is really troublesome with garmin etc. Maybe it is just me and my expectation for Epix I own were much higher. Overall I like it but I think it could be so much nicer with some very small tweaks (like you really need a phd to learn how the garmin energy settings works and when they overrule AOD setting and when not etc.) The thing about awU for me is that I bought Garmin to use my phone less but instead due to lack of or troublesome ui I always take my phone with me anyways just for music and messages. I hope with AWU and some basic apps like notes, reminders etc. I would have easier time leaving my phone at home. Hopefully ps. I love enduro3 and I would strongly consider it as an expedition watch (without any music etc.) jsut as a watch I take on a trip instead of AWU with good mapping etc. But that would make all the metrics obsolete and paying for that 899$ again is just not wise. (now when I think about it, I will probably switch to AWU and buy a used enduro2 just for longer trips and use it alongside my future aWU)

I will make it simple for you ;) If you want a device where you run often and you want something which is a very nice smartwatch and let's you leave your phone at home bc your podcasts and music and notes and reminders are all there with you, just buy AWU (if you use an iphone and remindrs etc. it will be amazing). If you run often but you need some kind of training support and want a feeling that you are doing more then a casual runner but music, notifications etc. will be so cumbersome that you will take your phone with you anyways and you are ok with that, just buy enduro. It's like a lack of comfort due to daily charging (which you can do during a shower) vs a lack of comfort due to crazy amount of bugs, very low quality software and milllion of funcions where half does not work, bu the battery is like crazy good. for me garmin is less usefull bc I read a lot about training and can easily set my owna training plan and I found out that what really makes my run much easier is that I can in seconds sync my book I'm listening too and go out for a run with my watch. With garmin it is just too complicated. if you add all the software bugs in garmin on top of that, yeah it is just not a watch for me PS. any even cheapest personal trainer will be better then garmins automated one and probably much much cheaper. So for me AWU plus eventualy a personal trainer is a best bet bc metrics from garmin like body battery etc are mostly just gimmicks. this guy explains t well: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEmN6JiDGF0&t=646s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEmN6JiDGF0&t=646s)

Obviously a Fenix 8 Micro LED. For real though, Fenix/Epix watches will give you full golf functionality minus a feature or two which are reserved for the golf specific watches. If you are budget conscious I would look for a Fenix 7/epix 2 series watch. If you have money to spend, a Fenix 8 will be great for everything you can imagine. Forerunner watches do have some golf features but they are dumbed down a bit to basic distance to green and score keeping.

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

the fenix/epix (mainly pros) options are go-to options as all rounders. I also had Instinct if you want a casio/military like watch with 25+ battery autonomy Currently I've been wearing fenix 7 pro and I am very happy about it

garmin forerunner (255 or 265 are good choice )or instinct series both have solar models if you want even more battery, or garmin fenix 7 or 8 but they are bit more expensive. also coros pace 3 its a great price to performance sport watch with great battery life

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.

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.

There is Garmin Swim (IMHO essentially it is a ForeRunner, but swim has been put in focus; review here https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/10/garmin-openwater-review.html). However, modern Garmin watches are all able to track pool swim as well as gym workouts (you might have to set exercises later in the app if you want to track muscle groups affected). Essentially ForeRunner is for runners mostly, Forerunner 9xx is focused on triathlon, Fenix is mostly for outdoors - but again, all of them can do almost the same. I’d go with Fenix if budget allows.

All true except advanced metrics. They are also present in Fenix (it has even more features for hiking) and Instinct. Forerunner is not more advanced. The rugedness is mostly about the bezel. In fenix and instinct it has a rim which gives extra protection to the screen. But that means rugged watches are more bulky what can be a problem in the gym. The real question is lightness of forerunner vs battery life of fenix /instinct

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.

The charger on the Garmin was one of those nightmare features. Had many times where I woke to a dead or low powered Fenix because someone had sneezed several houses down the road and my connection to the charger had moved slightly, stopping my Fenix from charging. Not sure who designed this charger, but it was the worse design ever. Made worse by the fact that the charging point on the back of the Fenix slowly worsened over time with sweat from workouts. I had to buy a rubber stopper to cover it. Very annoying design flaw.

I would say the app “ Hevy” for the gym if you like inputting sets and weight is the best one. You can make your own splits but if you want to make more than 5 splits you have to pay. Which let’s be honest anyone who is seriously training doesn’t need that. Progressive overload is king. Also in regards to running programs you can also now customize work outs in the Apple workout app. I have both Garmin Fenix and Apple Watch Ultra . I use the ultra for work . But my Fenix for working out and running . I couldn’t get away from the programming of Garmin . Also the physical button presses while doing activities is just more guaranteed.

I've had two versions of the Garmin Fenix now. The first lasted me 6 years, and I've had the second for 1 or so. I love it. It has a lot of versatility for activities, and the Garmin ecosystem (bike computer, heart rate monitor, etc.) is nice to plug into. I chose the Fenix because I do a lot of swimming in addition to cycling, but they have other models that are great too. It does great routing for hiking and running. It's a really dynamic device!

Really? Can you tell me what I’m missing because I just got an AWU2 and tbh I hate it compared to my fenix. The features I thought I’d enjoy like responding to texts, phone calls, etc I never even use

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.

Get a chest strap for triathlons, one that works in water. The 965/Fenix/Epix are the same or minimal difference. The latest are the Fenix 8 nad forerunner 970. Get what looks good to you, because features are 99.9% the same. Also Fenix is a big bigger

Fenix/Epix are the same, Forerunner 9xx has 99% same functions but a bit lighter and not as tall, but only available in one size

I've been impressed as well. I'm a triathlete and ultra runner. I use it for running, biking, and swimming. I've found it more accurate than my Garmin Fenix especially when swimming. I do use my Garmin during events just bc I need that battery life but during training it suits me well. I can run for 3 hours with headphones connected and cell service (I don't carry my phone) and have battery left.

My Fenix is perfect for me. I want to download and have it guide me on a bike ride or a run. I like to know how far/fast I’m going. I like being able to see my texts and decline calls, but I don’t want to send messages or talk from my watch. I don’t want to charge my watch more than every ~7-10 days. I don’t care that much about accurate HR, sleep, etc… but having those things accurate-ish is ok with me.

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.

The ROI on a Whoop wasn’t worth it to me. When I could pay a higher up front price for a Fenix that would last years. My watch gives me the same info plus tells me the time plus all of the other things. Also, charging it every few weeks > every other day.

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.

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

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

I made the same change. AWU to 970. And two days in I wished I had the fenix. So I sold it and bought the fenix instead. I am very satisfied now

Pick the one that: 1) is within your budget, and 2) is most visually appealing. Both basically do the same things and have few differences in software/battery that will make a big difference to your use. My vote is always the Fenix :)

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.

Everyone is recommending fenix for good reasons. However, IF you’re mountaineering ever goes to technical rock / ice…. Then I’d recommend Coros. Does everything fenix can, but the gps works the best for vertical movement

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!

Also love Garmin. I've had several Fenix watches. Currently own an AWU2 waiting on my AWU3 because having a full phone when I run, Apple Music, and 1-2 days of battery life are everything I need. Wallet is pretty nice too.

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.

Watch does all three things. Bike compy does one thing. Used Fenix on eBay is a good deal. 

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.

Epix is a better watch, however it is heavier and chunkier. For what it's worth my wife would never wear a fenix/epix due to the size. Ive always worn a fenix.

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!

Hu there fenix is strong, i wish i had bigger wrist. My foreunner 970 is already big so cant imagine fenix on my tiny wrist lol. But both fenix and forerunners trully have real running metrics. I cant believe the venu 4 does not even have daily suggestions based on pac and only has them based on heart rate. A big no no for a runner targetting an specific distance and time. I have been rethibkibg to sell my 970 for a 570 due to the size of 43mm. But i may miss battery, flashlight, running tolerance and impact load more than size lol. Like my wife says you need to give up on something.  4 years ago i used to train daily on hills and fast runs too, so i injured myself like crazy. Thus the reasoning behind running tolerance as it would guide me to increase mileage in a safe manner.

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

Epix sadly is a dead watch (nothing new will be developed and you will be lucky if an update arrives) if you have the money and want to stay in the ecosystem, then Fenix is the way to go. Easy choice.

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

Garmin’s notification integration with iOS is dogshit. They make great sports watches. They are not even close to AW in the smart watch department.

Have you tried the Fenix?

the cheaper forerunners and Fenixes are great for this, simple, cheap, reliable and near indestructible

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.

Getting a Fenix with the purpose of fitness tracker only os wrong. It's like getting the best 4x4 vehicle because the road to your moms house has some sand on it.

Ok then its not an overkill. I personally never follow whatever the watch says avoit rest days though. I'll go with whatever my legs say.

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)

Garmin Fenix is what I use

Second the Fenix. There’s also some good deals on last gen Epix out (which is basically Fenix with a brighter display) for OP’s budget.

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.

Instinct 2X or Instinct 3 Solar would love to be your best climb companion and they promised to be rugged and not easily scratched like the forerunner, Vivoactive or Venu. Fenix would like to concur to the above but it is worried about being a bigger hit to your wallet due to its price tag.

For someone who is new and cares mostly about sleep tracking and GPS activities it’s honestly all kind of the same. You can run with an Instinct and you can hike with a forerunner. Choose based off of look, price, battery life for your particular activities. A Fenix or Instinct pretty much does it all and with great battery life. Doesn’t really matter in the end unless you care about very specific advanced metrics. I personally think most of the Forerunners are ugly so I gravitate towards Instinct because I’m also not willing to overpay for a Fenix when there’s other brands that cover 90% of a Fenix for half the cost. If you want to research alternatives: If you’re looking at an Instinct, check out Coros Nomad. If you’re looking at a Fenix check out Suunto Race 2 or Vertical 2 or upcoming Coros Apex 4.

I got a Garmin Fenix last year, no regrets. I tend to break things but it’s holding up quite nicely. I even take it caving, which I probably shouldn’t.

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

I feel like they added the green strip just because they knew that otherwise almost nobody would get the Fenix this round. 😂 I am not a fan of the green either, but put up with it anyway, only way to get the hardware features I wanted in the thinner body (and for way cheaper) compared to the Fenix.

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.

Garmin all day, fenix

Fenix or Epix and yes they integrate with iPhones. Some fitness apps will connect to Garmin. If you want a slimmer watch you can also go for the new forerunner.

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

I do both and have Fenix.

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.

The Garmin Fenix is great - you can often find refurbished models a generation out of date from Garmin directly that are right in your price point.

Garmins are very behind gw in the smart features department. Second major difference with gw world is feature sets - all watches have different combinations, the only safe choice is fenix. All other models require deep analysis. Venu3, the smartest watch of its time, does not have timer presets and does not show sunset in the weather app, other models do. Third, be familiar with software update policy. Unlike wearos, Garmins software updates do not assume new UI and features, you can get some of them or not, but you may not expect them.

Garmin Fenix is impossible to kill

Instinct battery life is great, but it doesn't have maps. You can put a course on it and it will buzz when you need to turn, but the 955/965 enduro/epix/fenix lines all have built in maps where you can see roads, topolograpic lines, and other points of interest.

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.

I had Fenix for a very long time, then I bought AWU1 then fenix 8 and again AWU2. Why I again bought AW? I don't need tons or obsolete metrics, I can top up battery while in the shower, UI is more intuitive and smoother. Then I have LTE so I can enjoy not taking phone with me to listen to music.

965 has golf. But the face isn’t recessed so it’s gets scraped more than a fenix or epix

Flashlight on my Fenix is worth A LOT of money to me. Having had it, I could not go back. I would happily pay 200 extra for it I use it so much. Maybe more actually! Having a flashlight on your wrist is incredibly handy.

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.

Fenix with talkytoaster maps which have higher detail for mountain areas

I personally ditched the fenix and went for the epix because of the display. The fenix has almost nothing extra that is meaningful to me. The lower cost is definitely a perk of the epix as well!

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.

Garmin guy here - Changing the battery in the Fenix is a screwdriver job. It's easy as pie. Of course, does Garmin tell you that? Well, of course not.

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

I do yes. I wear my Garmin Fenix for any workout.

I would also buy a Fenix for the titanium and the sapphire glass, two really nice features lol

I have the s70, but have used garmin watches in the past. Fenix is a great watch and if you can get it for that price go for it. I had a fenix 5 and it was a beast.

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.

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.

No smartwatch does swimming or lifting particularly well, imo. The development of swimming software has always been secondary to the watch’s software for biking and running. That said, i do use and find acceptable the swim function on my garmin (I’ve had a swim 2, forerunner, and fenix). I don’t pay attention to stroke detection so I can’t speak to that but it does everything else you’re asking for.  For lifting, paper and pen is still king. I track my lifting workouts on my watch so i get “credit” for them and the workouts help me reach some of the silly little “challenges” garmin has, but it’s too fiddly, prone to errors, and doesn’t provide me the same information I get by writing down my lifts & how I felt. 

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 moved from Fenix to PW3 because my $900 Fenix screen died. Garmin told me to go pound sand. PW has been totally fine for normal daily function. I never have any battery anxiety and I keep the screen on 24/7. A morning top up during showers is enough to keep it going. Keep in mind, Auto Screen off is only for when not tracking activity. If you are tracking a long run (Marathon/Ultra) screen stays on which sucks. I would not trust PW to track anything beyond 200-250 minutes (I know, extreme use case)

That's fair. I haven't looked into these options. That's the part i agree with OP on: My 43mm Fenix with Dual gps, Garmin live track, always on screen still had juice for up to 20-25 hours of running. That's a lot of pain and suffering on the knees😅 😜

Garmin Fenix… excellent monitoring of performance and movement!

Here is my reason, have you noticed that the major reviewers even when they are testing Garmin or Suunto watches are always wearing the Apple Watch Ultra on their wrist? Here is why, as great as Garmin watches are and I back this statement up , I have owned 3 Fenix's and 2 forerunner 9 series over the years. Running and Cycling are in comparison small parts of my week, even though I run 30 K a week and cycle almost 200K a week. The rest of the week, I am an employee, check email, read and respond to texts, I am a husband, a father , a podcast / music listener , a walker ,a gym goer and the Apple Watch is just an all round everyday watch for me with all the smart features. Sorry for the long winded reply.... and with regards to your last comment, I totally agree , when I was a Garmin Wearer, 99% of the time I saw someone with a Garmin, it was easy to strike a conversation as they were a runner or a cyclist. With the apple watch.....not so much lol

Switched 5 years ago. Echoing the comment here: this is **not** a smartwatch, but a **sports/adventure watch.**  You won’t be reading your emails, getting texts, or calling a Uber, and the screen is nowhere near as responsive as the AW. If you’re looking for a phone one your wrist, Garmin is not for you. But if you’re training for a sports race, anything from a 5k to an ultramarathon, or even just trying to stay generally fit, the load tracking and suggested workout feature alone is worth it. The battery of data signals you get to tailor and improve your training is worth the switch alone, to a Foretunner or Epix or Fenix. Not even getting started on navigation in the mountains, which is really good — if you hike, camp, trail run, cycle, or generally enjoy being out, you will love your Epic or Fenix.

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. 

Buying a $800 product for 360 vs 5 days out of the year, and how 24hrs in a typical day is spent. Thats how I’d decide 

Because it’s basically running a calculator vs a fully fledged computer. Garmin also offloads most of the compute to the phone, which is why many Garmin users are shocked to discover that many workout functions require a working internet connection via Bluetooth to the phone to operate.  Same reason an old timex runs forever 

None of the complex metrics are done on the watch. Not. Even. Close. 

No I don’t think YOU do. Garmin Connect often requires an active internet connection. It really annoyed me when I owned my Fenix.  Look it up, it’s true. 

No, I don’t think YOU do. Garmin Connect often requires an active internet connection for many features. I discovered this when I owned one. It pissed me off. 

That's the main reason I switched. Loved the Pixel watch for its functions but charging it near daily was a deal breaker. My Garmin Fenix lasts three weeks

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.

Garmin forerunner, Fenix, epix, Enduro. And nothing else matters

The battery and value is great, but the finish and sizing falls short in comparison to the Fenix. I do not care for the speaker and mic though

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.

## Why is the Forerunner better for running than the Instinct or Fenix? The Forerunner series is specifically designed for runners. It offers precise running metrics, a wealth of training features, and specialized performance analytics like Running Tolerance, Running Economy, and even biomechanical values such as pace decrease on ground contact (Forerunner 970). Forerunner models often have better screens (touch, higher resolution) and detailed training suggestions for runners. The Forerunner 265, for example, has a bright AMOLED display that is easy to read while running. Instinct models typically use older sensors and are more geared toward outdoor adventure than pure running performance. The Fenix is also excellent for running but is positioned more as a hybrid multisport watch with a focus on outdoor activities and rugged design [9][10][11][12]. ## In what way is the Forerunner less suitable for hiking/backpacking? Forerunner models are less rugged and lack some of the outdoor-specific sensors and navigation aids of the Fenix or Instinct lines. Battery life is generally shorter, which is a disadvantage for long trekking tours. Features like a barometric altimeter, special navigation functions, and inReach compatibility—which are crucial for hiking—are limited to higher-end Forerunners or are better represented in Fenix and Instinct models. For hikers, map quality on Forerunner watches is also limited or only available on premium models like the 970 [10][13][14]. ## How useful are animated workouts and training suggestions? Animated workouts (yoga, strength training, etc.) are easy to follow on Garmin and motivating, especially for learning technique and form. For runners, the suggested training programs on newer Forerunners are highly useful. They provide daily personalized plans that factor in your fitness level and recovery status. Users report that these features simplify planning and improve training consistency, as the watch dynamically adapts the training [15][16][17][18]. ## Are maps on the watch actually useful for running or hiking? For anything else? Full watch-based navigation and mapping features—found particularly on the Forerunner 970 and Fenix series—include offline maps, turn-by-turn navigation, and visual guidance. For everyday runs on familiar routes, they matter less, but for trail running or hiking where orientation is crucial, they’re invaluable. Maps offer extra value for safety, route planning, and are also popular among cyclists and those exploring new routes [19][12][20][14]. ## Does the Forerunner 970 passively monitor heart rhythm to trigger an ECG? Yes, the Forerunner 970 is the first in its series with an integrated ECG feature, which uses case sensors to record an ECG for issues like atrial fibrillation in about 30 seconds. While the function is always present, the ECG is only triggered manually and does not replace a doctor’s visit. Heart rate is constantly measured, but for a full ECG you must actively launch the function [13]. ## Smartwatch features: Can you read texts or see who’s calling? Does Garmin support RCS messages? Garmin supports push notifications for calls and text messages, and (on Forerunner 570/970) you can answer calls directly from the wrist using the speaker and microphone. However, full support for Rich Communication Services (RCS, e.g. Google Messages) is not yet widespread; Garmin generally handles SMS/MMS, and you can reply with pre-set responses. RCS compatibility is under development and not guaranteed [21][22]. ## Is the speaker/microphone on the 570/970 useful for anything besides answering? How playful is it? The Forerunner 970 has improved audio hardware to make phone calls and use voice assistants (Google Assistant, Siri, Bixby) directly from your watch. The speaker is for calls and notifications but not for music playback. No particularly playful functions are supported; it's aimed at practical uses like telephony and voice commands. The 570 offers more limited audio features but still allows basic call management [23][24][25]. ## What makes a Garmin better than competitors Coros, Suunto, Amazfit? Garmin is regarded as a market leader due to its extensive ecosystem, powerful sensors, wide variety of sport profiles, and detailed analytics. Garmin watches generally provide robust navigation features with maps, access to third-party apps (Connect IQ), precise GPS/heart sensors, and strong accessory support. Coros impresses with battery life and durability, Suunto with simplicity and outdoor focus, and Amazfit mainly with budget-friendly offerings. Garmin is overall more versatile, especially for ambitious athletes and users seeking a deep combination of fitness analytics and smart features [10][23][25]. *** [9] Forerunner 265/745/965, Instinct 2 or fenix 7S https://www.reddit.com/r/GarminWatches/comments/1bl6twt/help_me_choose_forerunner_265745965_instinct_2_or/ [10] Garmin Instinct 3 vs Garmin Fenix 8: Every Difference ... https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/01/garmin-instinct3-vs-garmin-fenix8-very-detailed-review.html [11] Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Garmin Instinct https://versus.com/en/garmin-forerunner-265-vs-garmin-instinct [12] Garmin Forerunner 570 and 970: Advanced Tech for Those ... https://runlovers.it/en/2025/garmin-forerunner-570-and-970-advanced-tech-for-those-who-want-to-run-better/ [13] Garmin Forerunner 970 im Test: Die beste Sportuhr 2025 ... https://www.heise.de/bestenlisten/testbericht/garmin-forerunner-970-im-test-die-beste-sportuhr-2025-hat-jetzt-ekg/xx73c4h?wt_mc=rss.red.ho.beitrag.atom.beitrag.beitrag [14] Garmin Forerunner 570 vs. 970: An Easy Choice! All ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jLMnfnER8c [15] Support: Animated Workouts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0noz60nliY [16] How the Garmin Tracker Reignited My Love of Running https://www.wellandgood.com/fitness/garmin-watch-daily-suggested-workouts-review [17] How to Use Animated Workouts on Garmin Enduro 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p6LzkJw9Hw [18] Garmin Coach Review https://stephaniehnatiuk.com/garmin-coach-review/ [19] Garmin Watches + OS Maps: The Ultimate duo for easy ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19HBRpmPhFw [20] New to Garmin Watch Maps - Need Your Advice for Hiking ... https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/16eznyf/new_to_garmin_watch_maps_need_your_advice_for/ [21] Google Messages may work with Garmin for satellite ... https://9to5google.com/2023/08/28/google-messages-satellite-connectivity-garmin-evidence/ [22] Garmin fenix 8 RCS Text Messages? https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/1inrdo6/garmin_fenix_8_rcs_text_messages/ [23] Garmin Forerunner 970 In-Depth Review: Brillance at a ... https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/06/garmin-forerunner-970-in-depth-review-brillance.html [24] Garmin Forerunner 970 speaker and microphone quality? https://www.reddit.com/r/GarminWatches/comments/1ktyxq2/garmin_forerunner_970_speaker_and_microphone/ [25] Garmin forerunner 970 Review ❌ all the cr*p bits ❌ a ... https://the5krunner.com/2025/07/28/garmin-forerunner-970-review/

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.

Vivoactive and Venu (non X1, that thing should have had a name of its own) don't have the advanced running metrics. So it's Forerunner , then check whether the features you want are in Instinct, Fenix, Enduro or Epix if you like one of those better.

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.

Garmin Fenix but I bough it more for the gym and mountain biking. The golf app is amazing.

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

This is what I did. I bought the Fenix with the intention on switching completely, but I realized that I missed a lot of things about my AW. So now my AW is my daily wear and also for occasional shorter runs, walks, etc. I use the Fenix for hiking, diving, long activities, etc.

If you bike, then Garmin probably the best option if you want a dedicated bike computer. I also like that as an eBiker my Fenix watch shows all my bike status specs, watts etc for the one that is able to send the data.  Went back to Polar since I like Polar's overall approach to activity instead of steps+intensity minutes+floors etc fragmentstion. Plus now I can wear a smartwatch as a phone on one wrist and screenless Polar on the other when not working out.

I am a triathlete and training data 📊 📈 is the most important thing to your health and improvement! I’m fun of garmin products and I have been wearing Fenix watches for many years! Since this year I started running long distances and and I noticed watch is big, heavy etc and few times damaged my wrist also, so I decided to jump to Forerunner series but couldn’t decide should I buy forerunner 965 or 970 🤔 there is always 200 euros 💶 between 2 watches! And also as I know 965 has more longer battery 🔋 life…

If you are using a treadmill I’ve had good results with the HRM-Pro strap combined with my Fenix watch.  

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

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.

People have to stop comparing these. These are for two different people. I would never wear an Apple Watch based on battery life alone. I specifically got the Garmin for a wrist based gps and mapping tool to track and orient myself. You buy an Apple Watch to use smart features and be connected to your phone. Garmin has never been in that market. It’s a whole company based on gps systems for outdoor activities . You buy an Apple Watch to have Apple ecosystem. you can’t use half the feature of the fenix on an iPhone bc they only want you to use their watch… Garmin are all specifically made for their audience even down the the model . Apple watches are just to keep you plugged into your phone and have no bearing on actual outdoor activities despite calling it ultra. The Millitary has been orienteering with Garmin wrist based gps systems forever. You’d never catch an Apple Watch on patrol in Afghanistan. 😂

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.