If those are your only options, get the Amazfit.
The FE is pretty much a rebranded Galaxy Watch 4, which has quite crappy GPS (I should know, it was my former watch). Fitbit charge 6 doesn't have the best GPS accuracy either.
I can't say exactly watch 4 > watch 7/8, but I had a watch 4 40mm then a 6 classic 43mm and now the 8 classic and I can say the jump between each was pretty big in terms of snappiness and battery life. Id imagine going from a watch 4 that's several years old, your battery is likely super worn and the new watch would be a huge upgrade maybe double to triple, plus the screen is now sapphire. My watch 4 was scratched pretty bad, but my watch 6 looks literally brand new. I just went to the beach and had my watch in the sand on accident, not a single scuff on the screen (sapphire is very hard compared to sand and dirt and quartz :) ) id say do it man. Better health tracking, better battery, smoother experience, and much more durable screen.
I can't comment on Garmin watches, but does he already have an iWatch or a Samsung Galaxy watch? I track all my rides with my Galaxy watch with the strava app on it. Just food for thought. When I was looking at Garmin I was lookin at the Fenix models.
I wore my galaxy watch for 3 years climbing with no protection on it and while it got some scratches, it never really got anything on the screen and nothing cracked, it's a pretty durable piece of hardware.
The only time it really got in the way of climbing was on the occasional very large sloper where you get an arm on the hold and on crack climbs.
I don't wear it anymore because I no longer enjoy smart watches in general, but it was a pretty solid piece of tech in terms of durability.
coco16778
