Garmin watches

[flatlander51]

Interested in getting a Garmin watch. Anyone have one who is willing to give me some input???

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I’ve got the descent. It is their dive watch, but has most of the functionality of the rest. What kind of feedback are you looking for?

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

I've got a Fenix 5... I love it, and I'm a mechanical watch guy. The thing is truly impressive. What do you want to know?

 

[Jacack]

I've got a Fenix 5... I love it, and I'm a mechanical watch guy. The thing is truly impressive. What do you want to know?

I have it also and love it too, also have the quatix 5 for work. Both are great just take some time to get everything setup

 

[Arrowslinger]

I'm a buyer at a retailer and a Garmin dealer. The 5X Plus is a great watch......just really depends on what you're looking for. I personally use the Fenix 3 as there's not a ton of difference in the 3 and 5 unless you go to the X and Plus series. The Fenix 6 should be out before hunting season, so Fenix 5's should be priced well soon.

 

[Matt W.]

I've been a Fitbut user for years. I like tracking my daily fitness, runs, workouts, etc. and getting notifications of texts and calls on my watch. I have Fitbit Surge that I keep debating replacing as it is well worn..... The Garmin Instinct one seems more like what I would be looking for. Anyone have much experience with the Instinct?

Amazing to see how these things can connect to dog training collars, inReach, etc. Do the Garmin apps work well? Fitbit is fairly simple and intuitive to use... ??

 

[sodaksooner]

fenix 5x here. Couldn't justify the +. I use it for mostly running and biking, but lost my oregon on the mountain last year. so fired up the Fenix and it does a decent job of plotting the route. You can do waypoints but honesly haven't figured that out yet. I did notice it is not very accurate on the altitude compared to the Oregon 450 that i HAD.

 

[tdhanses]

The Instinct does all the key things needed for the outdoors.

 

[TheCougar]

I have the 5X. I really like it. It’s a big Ol fatty, but you get used to it. No complaints here. If you don’t want the maps, I would probably lean towards the Instinct.

 

[steelheadmike]

I have had the Instinct for almost a week and it does everything that I need or want it to. Its tough, light and easy to use. One thing I really like about the Instinct is that it is NOT a touchscreen because it will make it relatively easy to use with gloves on.

 

[TheCougar]

I have had the Instinct for almost a week and it does everything that I need or want it to. Its tough, light and easy to use. One thing I really like about the Instinct is that it is NOT a touchscreen because it will make it relatively easy to use with gloves on.

Can’t speak to other smart watches, but none of the Garmin Fenix or Instinct series are touchscreens. Mixed feelings about that. No doubt the maps would be easier to navigate with a touchscreen, but even with conductive fingertips it would be hard to navigate due to the small screen size.

 

[Matt W.]

Can’t speak to other smart watches, but none of the Garmin Fenix or Instinct series are touchscreens. Mixed feelings about that. No doubt the maps would be easier to navigate with a touchscreen, but even with conductive fingertips it would be hard to navigate due to the small screen size.

Good info. Definitely going to handle one of these before I switch from my Surge. Thanks!

 

[rfra]

I've been a Fitbut user for years. I like tracking my daily fitness, runs, workouts, etc. and getting notifications of texts and calls on my watch. I have Fitbit Surge that I keep debating replacing as it is well worn..... The Garmin Instinct one seems more like what I would be looking for. Anyone have much experience with the Instinct?

I have had an Instinct for a week and I'm returning it for refund tomorrow. The sensors are all worthlessly inaccurate. I've spent time on the phone with Garmin, have tried multiple positions, and test several different types of exercises from runs to stair climbs to calisthenics to weight training and literally none of the workouts/activity types have recorded usable data. If you want watch that has an outdoorsy appearance, tells time, can see your text messages, and record an outdoor GPS track then it should be fine. If you want any of the other advertised activity features or want a fitness tracker, it's not a useful device in my opinion.

 

[Matt W.]

I have had an Instinct for a week and I'm returning it for refund tomorrow. The sensors are all worthlessly inaccurate. I've spent time on the phone with Garmin, have tried multiple positions, and test several different types of exercises from runs to stair climbs to calisthenics to weight training and literally none of the workouts/activity types have recorded usable data. If you want watch that has an outdoorsy appearance, tells time, can see your text messages, and record an outdoor GPS track then it should be fine. If you want any of the other advertised activity features or want a fitness tracker, it's not a useful device in my opinion.

Good info. Thanks. What are you trying next?

 

[rfra]

Good info. Thanks. What are you trying next?

Today I returned the Instinct and picked up a Fitbit Ionic. I'll give it a week and see how I like it. I just finished about 1.5 hours of mixed workout/testing and the Ionic's HR, accelerometer, and barometer sensors are all performing excellent so far, miles ahead of the Garmin. It will remain to be seen if its usable in the field for trail runs with GPS tracks.

 

[bridgermgmt]

IMO the best deal at the moment is a fenix 3 used or new. I’ve had them all and garmin seems to be pulling an apple by releasing a new flashy model with 1% more benefit to it. I returned my 5 and 5x plus. And my fenix is the 3+ model.
3+ it doesn’t cost as much and does almost as much
3+ I won’t be out 6 bills if I break it
3+ it has more than the instinct and costs the same or less

 

[Dos Perros]

I've got a Fenix 3 HR and I like it. I didn't think I would but I've come to depend on it for things I would have never imagined.

 

[tdhanses]

I have had an Instinct for a week and I'm returning it for refund tomorrow. The sensors are all worthlessly inaccurate. I've spent time on the phone with Garmin, have tried multiple positions, and test several different types of exercises from runs to stair climbs to calisthenics to weight training and literally none of the workouts/activity types have recorded usable data. If you want watch that has an outdoorsy appearance, tells time, can see your text messages, and record an outdoor GPS track then it should be fine. If you want any of the other advertised activity features or want a fitness tracker, it's not a useful device in my opinion.

Have had mine since release, haven’t had this issue at all. Every product made has a few lemons.

 

[rfra]

Have had mine since release, haven’t had this issue at all. Every product made has a few lemons.

Glad its working well for you. The Garmin tech told me that the HR sensor can be affected by different skin types, so it's quite possible their tech just isn't compatible with my body, while the Ionic works great... so that might well explain one of the three problems I had with it. As with most things, sometimes it just takes some trial and error to find what works best for you and your situation.

 

[Jordan Budd]

Interested in getting a Garmin watch. Anyone have one who is willing to give me some input???

I just finished a review for the Garmin Instinct. For a $300 GPS watch I think it will be tough to beat. I needed a watch that could function as a durable reliable backcountry watch and also be a good everyday at home watch. My heavy hitters needed are a good altimeter and GPS accuracy for coordinates/waypoints. The instinct does a ton of other things that I really like, but those two are the reason for me to buy a higher quality watch. The Altimeter can be set so it isn't reading off of the barometer.. an important feature on any watch if you want altimeter accuracy. I bought the Suunto Traverse Alpha a couple years ago and that's a great watch, but I prefer the Instinct after using it. There are probably things that the Suunto does better in the backcountry if your big into using it all the time, but the Instinct has it beat on the everyday features. That Fenix looks legit too!