Tactix 7 Series

Got 7X SS (non pro), and I have absolutely no plans to replace it. To be fair, my 5X should probably still be good enough.

Garmin Tactix 7 with the solar is what I use. Otherwise, Garmin ecosystem through and through - RINO radios, InReach messengers. Two things I wish Garmin had: First, aggregation in a guide-style app. To the best of my knowledge, nobody offers this. Ideally, it'd be nice for me to be able to, via low-power Bluetooth, get data from *everyone's* watches in my group as a guide, that way I could pick up anyone whose heart rate or respiration or HRV or O2 uptake is outside of expectations. Second, while I do love me some Garmin, I'm right now at 7 apps I've had to download to make the Garmin ecosystem go (BaseCamp, Connect, ConnectIQ, Earthmate, Messenger, Ballistix, Explore). I know they know about SSO, they just have apparently chosen not to implement it. I'd note, too, that Garmin stuff is about as close to bombproof as it can be. Their watches do work from -40F to 130F (tested personally), 3-4ATM depth, hard impacts (not that I'm volunteering to do human testing, but the same impact that destroyed an IP68 headlamp didn't impact my Garmin functionality; I used the watch light to make my exit). And, Garmin has meaningful navigation integration built in. If you lose your primary nav device, it's exceptionally helpful. Especially as a guide, where you might be navigating to a specific anchor and need nav with good resolution, it's immensely helpful. Can Coros do that? Probably. Suunto used to be my go-to, but the ecosystem is not great and Suunto has sorta been laggardly of late. I'd like to give the Coros stuff a whirl at some point. Among the Utah guiding community (which, granted, is more Skimo and canyoneering than pure mountaineering), Toyota trucks and Garmin watches are almost ubiquitous. Which isn't to say that there aren't alternatives, just moreso that Garmin is an eminently known quantity.

I switched from Suunto to Garmin 4 or 5 years ago. Use a Tactix 7 now, but Tactix or Fenix is probably what you want. I will say Garmin is essentially the Toyota of outdoor sports. You can beat on their stuff endlessly and it'll work. If they say something is waterproof to 3 atmospheres, they aren't lying about it (looking at you, Nikon). If they say it'll function in minimal external atmospheric pressure, then it will. Will it work 20 degrees below 0 (F)? Yes. 130 degrees F? Also, yes! They are expensive as hell, but I think I'm up to around 900 activities recorded on mine, yielding something like $1.25 per activity recorded. There's a dude here on Reddit that sells 20% off coupons for Garmin devices if that's your jam.

Garmin Tactix 7 user. I see absolutely no benefit over the Apple Watch besides battery life. My OLD Apple Watch was better for heart rate than this Garmin ever as been. I'm only wearing it because work gave it to me for free (and I only wear it while exercising). My wife, who swore she'd never use a smart watch now runs and sleeps wearing my ancient Apple Watch and she gets all the actually useful data that I have. Complaint about the Garmin: Several times, usually while cycling, it'll read 80-90bpm while my heart is actually 170ish. I won't even use the Garmin while cycling anymore. Sure it has extra bells and whistles that the Apple Watch might not have ...but if you can't be consistent and reliable with something as simple as HR, why waste the time/money? I'll get hate for this, but I think Garmin is more of a status symbol for "serious" endurance athletes more than it is its own unique and valuable tool.

I’ve been using tactix 7 for just over 3 years and never had any issues with it. I’m not bothered by “outdated” software as long as my watch records my sport activities reliably. I do not want advanced smartwatch on my wrist. I want a robust sport watch, hence I prefer Garmin over AW.

Some of the responses are from non-iPhone users, so their experiences will differ. Here is my (iPhone user) response to a different post, same-ish question. “I didn’t fully switch. I have an Apple Watch Ultra and Garmin Tactix 7. When I do wear the Tactix I miss the rich notifications from my AWU. My security cameras send screenshots whenever motion is detected. Apple Pay is great, esp using public transit. No need to pull out my phone, just tap and go. Calls/texts can be answered. All of the above can be done without your phone present, assuming you have LTE on your Apple Watch. It’s nice to leave my phone behind for runs/hikes or just a quick trip to the store.” Both tell the time. Both track steps. Notifications on Garmin will be just plain text. Nothing fancy. You will NOT be responding to text messages as it is not compatible with iOS. If someone sends you a picture, you won’t be seeing that on your watch (for most models I think). As others have said, your list of wants and needs lean towards an Apple Watch. Edit: Another thing to note about notifications… Apple Watch will receive notifications via Bluetooth, WiFi, or LTE. So you’d have the option to not be near your phone. Garmin will always need to be within Bluetooth range of your phone.