Garmin - fēnix 8

No kill like overkill, baby! I got a Fenix 8 51mm Sapphire Titanium AMOLED. Probably don't use anywhere near all the features, but it rocks.

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.

I purchased the fenix 8 (47 mm) this week, upgrading from a fenix 5 (51 mm). The fenix 8 is remarkably light, with a gorgeous AMOLED display. I’m loving the touchscreen and the incredibly long battery life. My fenix 5 lasted a solid eight years—and could probably go longer—but it’s now down to about a five-day charge. I can’t imagine using an Apple Watch and having to charge it every day. I’d say go with the 47 mm and save a few dollars.

What size Fenix 8 did you go with? I had the Forerunner 970 first and then made the switch to the Fenix 8 47mm and while it is slightly heavier, I barely notice it and overall much prefer the watches aesthetics and premium feel.

I mean the Garmin FR970 is the same price as the Ultra 3 so you’re not really saving any money. My Fenix 8 is actually about $500 (CAD) more expensive than the Ultra 3 as well. Prior to switching to the Fenix 8 about 3 months ago I had the Ultra 2 since launch and I generally prefer the Fenix 8 as a fitness tracker over the Ultra. Firstly, I get nearly 2 weeks of battery life with my AMOLED display Fenix 8 compared to approx. 2 days with my Ultra. As someone who does multi-day hikes etc. this was a huge feature for me. I also love the more in depth fitness & running metrics I get from the garmin. Another big plus is as someone who has sleeve tattoos I’ve never once had the Garmin auto-pause during a workout or a run whereas that was a regular occurrence with the Ultra no matter what band I used and despite trying the epoxy sticker “fix”. Another bonus is the built in flashlight on the Fenix 8, I never imagined how useful this would be and wasn’t a consideration when initially purchasing the watch. I also much prefer the circle watch face as opposed to the large bulky square that is the Ultra. Of course there are things I miss from the Ultra, the display was much nicer and the watch was buttery smooth as opposed to the Garmin. The smart features were far superior on the Ultra but the bottom line was I rarely used them which is why the Garmin was ultimately the better choice for me personally.

I believe you can get about 20hr of (multiband/all systems) tracking with the 970 so 2 full days might be possible but it also... on the edge. Unless you hike 5hrs a day of course. For the fenix8 47mm this would be up to 35hrs (or 28hrs with always on) Also, using maps will increase battery usage. But can't you just bring a small powerbank with you? That way you can simply charge when needed and the battery in the 970 is so small that you can bring a very compact one. But yeah, battery wise the fenix8 is the winner, easily. In the same pickle here, the 970 is on the lower side battery wise for me even though I really prefer the looks and weight. At the moment it's too expensive for me, don't want to spend 750 euros on it, so waiting for a nice deal anyway but with a 100k in mind a 20hr battery life max IS enough but still... would like more.

Garmin had a bug on eOS, where it couldn't fully start the app normally, but that was fixed recently. It works just as good as on a normal Android phone. And my Fenix 8 51mm gets 21+ days of battery life, while exercising every day for at least 30mins. I am no longer using a Fairphone or e/OS, but my partner is and it works fine with his Fenix 8 47mm.

Garmin had a bug on eOS, where it couldn't fully start the app normally, but that was fixed recently. It works just as good as on a normal Android phone. And my Fenix 8 51mm gets 21+ days of battery life, while exercising every day for at least 30mins. I am no longer using a Fairphone or e/OS, but my partner is and it works fine with his Fenix 8 47mm.

Did you really find the 47mm Fenix heavy? I barely notice it, it’s that bloody light, surreptitious, and comfortable!

Screen is the same size on both, I went with the 47 because it’s lighter and slimmer, fit under big jacket sleeve easier. 51 will have its use case if long battery life is a must and want that amoled, but I think 8ish days on my 47 is good enough

Honestly, have been big fan of iwatch since day one, but recently moved to FENIX8 47mm and at first kind of missed faces Utra, on the other side, tracking activity, incredible battery life - it is not same league, sport - it simply is different universe. I have been looking for some kind of visual improvements, than I have got this amazing bezel, new watchstraps, new PRO face and they just look so fenomenal, when I put iwatch ultra 2 on side by side, I simply prefer this over it - since it simply looks more premium. Ultra is now in same situation as the other watches, which I use once per year for some occasions. But Fenix 8 is new king who rulez in my kingdom. https://preview.redd.it/l29rz7m54oof1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80929f8a0d11c56695cbd021489a12c0815e5842

Honestly, I used to have an Apple Watch. It kind of makes you move, but since getting the Fenix 8 — oh, I wish I had bought one of its predecessors a long time ago — I’ve started to really work on stress and realized how badly alcohol was affecting my health. Same with overeating — not so much the quantity, but the quality (which I’m currently working on the most). It got me into jumping rope, running just enough to reach a VO₂ max of 47, checking all the stats, and trying to understand what they really mean. I came to realize that being healthy and athletic isn’t about always pushing into the red, but quite the opposite: surprising your body with both strong and calm efforts, longer or shorter. What I see is that you haven’t yet found that foundation — the “basement” — where even walking makes a difference. That should be your motivation. Not just one pie chart with results taken out of context. Sure, it’s better than nothing, but why do we all use Garmin? Because it doesn’t hold your hand — it makes you think about the whole complexity of your lifestyle. It helps you observe how things affect your stress levels, how having coffee after 4 p.m. impacts your sleep quality… 😉

During my run with apple watch I sometime missed the haptic queue in some interval training but with Fenix 8 I haven't missed any yet, I have the 47mm version could it be the size that I can feel the vibration more?

Oh it’s the Fēnix 8

I love it! I made a move from AW to Fenix 8 a month ago and I gotta say...its the best decision ever for fitness watch. The sizing looks great on your wrist, 47mm I think is the sweet spot.

I had the Fenix 8, 47mm and wore it on a 165mm wrist. I felt the weight was too heavy and bulky. I’ve since gone for the 970 and that feels much better. I suspect accuracy will be better as well as it doesn’t bounce around on my wrists as much either. Hope this helps