7 in Fitness Trackers
Garmin - fēnix 8 Solar 51mm
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Based on 1 year's data from Mar 28, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
61
3
"this bad boy gets 18 days of battery life. ... My biggest issue with all other watches is having to charge it every single day especially if you workout a lot. This watch I can charge twice a month lol. ... My Fenix 8 has an OLED display and still lasts 7 days always on or 18 days move rist to wake. ... 18 days is good enough for me personallu."
"i still LOVE my Fenix 8 51mm for its ... battery life. ... Until everyone else figures out what Garmin has known for years from a battery life perspective nothing else can compare for overall usability."
"I love the insane battery life ... I’ll miss that battery"
68
11
"The HRV and stress is not gimmicky in fact it was the heads up for my sister in law being diagnosed with cancer …her stress was screaming with no other really identifiable reasons (in 2022) ... in my case my stress was exceedingly high … for months & months and I kept having warnings and then I completely crashed with full on burnout ... Post my hysterectomy I saw crazy stress again ( not as bad as when I burned out but pretty intense) for the first 6 weeks & then it improved a little but it’s only come back to a normal place post 12 weeks & energy levels too only back to normal at 5 months …I didn’t have keyhole. But all that data correlates with the recovery pattern for major surgery & the fatigue was chronic for weeks ... the stress marker was defo the alarm bell for my sister in law and was indicative for me."
"What I love most are the customizable data screens. ... I’ve tailored the cardio profile specifically for my workouts. ... For example, in a “CrossFit Rounds” workout, I’ve set it up so I can track laps during an AMRAP and see if I’m going faster or slower than the previous round. ... The customization options are endless."
"People who buy garmins, specifically fenix, forerunners and now the x1 ... are buying them because they want accurate data about their health metrics. ... And in that field, you have no idea what you're talking about if you think any brand comes close to producing accurate data about your health."
25
5
"They’re also pretty bullet proof ... taken multiple hits while mountain biking and it’s still going strong"
"the sapphire glass is super awesome, no more dealing with cracked glass protectors lol."
"Will be in the river all day here in Montana and something about swimming with the 970 just doesn’t feel right. It also collected some weird dust and particles in between the screen and the bezel from sleeping with it last night. I feel like I’m slowly gravitating back towards the Fenix 😅 ... Unfortunately I just don’t think it really suits me for every day wear in the mountains. ... better waterproofing ... dive features"
15
2
"The flashlight is the best ever on a watch."
"The main thing saving the fenix for me over the 965 is the flashlight, I didn't even consider it when purchasing but it's massively useful, I use it every single day."
"That damn flashlight. Stupidest thing I never thought would be almost indispensable"
12
8
"The standalone GPS function has bailed me out more than once"
"If you are an ultra-marathoner or need accurate GPS due to being in NYC or hiking in the tall trees, also go with the F8."
"Hiking- get offline maps and offline navigation (think satnav from car on watch) - so can create routes and get tbt directions on watch and via audio. Plus love the climbpro feature. Maps will work with all outdoor activity so can use for paddling as well as running / hiking etc (have a couple of paddle routes for when on canals / rivers especially canals in towns - great way of seeing parts of a town via water)."
Disliked most:
4
32
"fenix 8 pro has LTE and satellite connection which not working at all, or working in a very bad way. ... I made many runs, never had a possibility to send message via garmin messenger, call via garmin messenger, even livetrack, on LTE, has big lags, stuck in random places, etc."
"I miss the smart watch features and being able to leave my phone at home. ... I don't want my Garmin Fenix 8 because it's not connected if I have an emergency. ... The apple watch also has better fall detection so I feel like it has my back more."
"If I mute an whatup group, my phone receive silent notification from that goup, however the watch receive all notifications.. i has to disable all notifications from whz 😂"
0
7
"the sleep app on garmin, sucks, for example it I wake up at 6am and stay up for 2 min, or les idk who it works, it stop reading the sleep.."
"the garmin has inferior HR tracking and the sleep tracking is terrible ... if garmin can’t track optical hr or sleep properly, guess what- all those metrics it spits out are junk lol. ... the optical sensor on the garmin is garbage- again confirmed ... garmin and Samsung garbage for metrics, sensors and sleep tracking ... inaccurate sensors of garmin"
"The sleep tracking on Fenix 8 is horrible. I get up in the middle of the night like many folks. That seems to reset my sleep so I only get counted half of the amount of sleep."
0
7
"During runs and activities, the Garmin watch cannot maintain bluetooth connection to the Airpods, and music starts cutting out. It gets resolved temporarily by pressing play/pause in the Spotify app on the watch, but the connection will cut out again within 5 minutes. I've searched Garmin forums and found that this issue has persisted since the Fenix 6, with no indication that Garmin plans to fix it. The #1 feature I bought a fitness watch for is essentially broken."
"when i am listening music from my phone: no interface for watch, no next / skip, or the most important the wheel for volume 😂"
"bad BT module in almost all newer Garmin watches which leads to connectivoty drop outs and issues."
5
13
"dancing with a fenix 8 will look & feel ridiculous."
"It’s quite a bit thicker too ... and so has a feeling of sitting up on your wrist"
"But the 970, because it's thinner, lighter, and not as bulky as the Fenix 8, doesn't *feel* like a 47mm watch (at least the ones I've become used to). It wears smaller, and that's a good thing."
6
10
"and I'm not getting as good of readings coming out of the optical HRM, leading to a lot of the stuff being off like sleep, stress, HRV, body battery. ... I don't know if the latest HRM hardware is a regression for me or if the chonkiness of the watch on my (tiny) wrist leads to light pollution or what."
"the heart rate for CrossFit and weight lifting was wildly inaccurate compared to other devices."
"the garmin has inferior HR tracking and the sleep tracking is terrible ... if garmin can’t track optical hr or sleep properly, guess what- all those metrics it spits out are junk lol. ... the optical sensor on the garmin is garbage- again confirmed ... garmin and Samsung garbage for metrics, sensors and sleep tracking ... inaccurate sensors of garmin"
Algunas 1.0Fenix 8 Solar 51mm. 22d. No workout tracking, no notifications. Just passively tracking my life.
Conscious-Archer-816 1.0I was holding out for the 8 Pro, but after the reveal I went with the 8 51mm Solar. I am team MIP display and that not being an option on the 8 Pro I was immediately turned off on it.
FireFighter-116 1.0Im in garmin ecosystem for 1 year and I dont see such problems as other users. I mean, im using a Fênix 8 51mm solar now and didnt notice bugs and the battery doesnt reach as much as advertised, but performs very well. My former epix 2 had some bugs, but Garmin fixed. Charging port its ok. However, my old t Rex 2 from amazfit had magnetic charging port, which was nice.
NevaljaliPerica 1.0Fenix 8 51mm AMOLED around 14-16 days - no activities at all. Fenix 8 51mm MIP around 18-19 days - no activities. MIP should be double battery life. It sucks
The only solution is to wear them both. The only problem is which one goes on which arm. I keep flip flopping. So far left arm is for Fenix and right for AWU. If Apple Watch Ultra had at least 5-7 days of battery life, a way to operate it with or without touchscreen, had a flashlight, and offline maps it would be unbeatable. I doubt any of these things are coming any time soon.
notinsuit 1.0I have a Fenix 8 Solar and I have to charge it weekly. That’s 52 times a year
The hyperbole is unwarranted since the Fenix 8 Solar 51mm, which is basically the best Fenix, battery-wise, is so far from charging it once a month, that it’s ridiculous. It’s not a smartwatch (unlike the Apple Watch, for example) and the battery everyone brags about is perhaps if you’re not using it to track anything. I’ve had mine for 11 months now and I’m literally charging it weekly. I like the running metrics, especially since the last update, but still, where’s my one month battery?
Ok_Organization8849 1.0I replaced my Fenix 8 51mm solar a few days ago and I'm totally happy. I like the app much better. My Suunto works much better with rouvy than Garmin (there I always had to run two activities) and also when running Zone Sense is a game changer So from my side: I'm glad to have changed and don't look back anymore
Pohq 1.0Be aware you will be losing a lot leaving Apple Watch. You’ll get lots of benefits of course but the UI / Apps / Software / Music Streaming are pretty bad. It’s going to feel especially bad coming from a polished OS experience. Having said that loads of pros. Top notch fitness tracking. Battery for days. Flashlight. Super rugged looking and performing hardware. No phone on your wrist distracting you lighting up like a Christmas tree all the time. The software and the bugs are what let Garmin down. If you can cope with that I have an Enduro 3. IMO best watch Garmin make. Second Fenix 8 (non pro) 51mm solar.
It’s the king of Garmins line up in my opinion. If you don’t dive or need a speaker then no point getting the 8. The enduro is an 8 without those features. It’s also lighter. Super comfortable and has battery for weeks.
PronouncedNuculur 1.0Fenix 8 51mm MIP and Forerunner 970. The Fenix 8, because it will do anything I want and the battery lasts forever, but it was just too big for daily wear and so bought the 970. The 970 is great for daily wear and has the same sapphire display to be just as durable and would be fine as my sole watch, but I can’t be bothered to sell the Fenix and so now it’s my workout watch and vacation watch.
I have the fenix MIP 51mm and a forerunner 970. Unless you are diving, I don’t think the fenix adds much. It’s quite a bit thicker too and so has a feeling of sitting up on your wrist whereas the forerunner, I think fits more natural. I wear the forerunner as my daily and wear the fenix for workouts and take it on vacations so I don’t have to worry about charging.
If you are set on 47mm and AMOLED, go with forerunner unless you dive. The forerunner has basically the same features and is lighter and considerably thinner. If you’d consider MIP, it’s only available on the fenix and makes for significantly longer battery life, but I get ~6 days on the 970 with AOD and I can’t imagine needing more than that. I do take my MIP Fenix 8 on vacations though so I don’t have to worry about charging, but it’s just too thick for daily wear.
RoutinePermit9226 1.0For me it is the Fénix 8 solar 51mm
I have a Fénix 8 solar and I recommend it to you. It's the best watch I've ever had
I have a Fénix 8 solar and it is the best Garmin watch I have ever had. I recommend it to you
I have a Fénix 8 and for me it is quite reliable in sleep and cardio. And if you want more precision in your sleep, I recommend the Index Sleep Monitor
I have a Fénix 8 but for the use you are going to give it, the Forerunner 255 or 265 would be good for you
Since the differences are not many, both watches will serve you perfectly but I would go for the Fénix 8 which is aesthetically more beautiful and resistant
I have a Fénix 8 and it is the best Garmin watch I have ever had. I recommend it to you
I have a Fénix 8 and it is the best Garmin watch I have ever owned. I recommend it to you
Yes the 5 buttons are essential. I have a Fénix 8, it is touch-sensitive and has 5 buttons. I never use the touch screen, I always use the buttons.
Buy a Fénix 8, I have one and I recommend it 100%
I would buy the Fénix 8
The Fénix range is Garmin's top one and therefore when new functions come out they will surely put them first and for me it is also aesthetically pleasing, the Fénix 8 is beautiful, I love it. I have a 51mm Fénix 8 solar. También por la duración de la batería que es impresionante
SailorCrypto 1.0I just bought the Fenix 8 (51mm, Solar,Sapphire) and so far I love it. It will take me awhile to adjust since I’ve only had AW’s. While this one is charging I slap on the AWU3.