Could anyone link to a writeup of Garmin's lineup, was interested for the longest time but still can't quite get my head around their offerings.
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I’ve loved my Series 5 AW since it launched, but I’m upgrading to Garmin Epix 2…
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I was able to dent a stainless AW4. I guess if you try hard enough, anything is possible. I'm just glad it didn't crack the screen.
My 3 years of experience with the AW was good and had no issue with the finishing of either the body or the screen. And I used it for sports, including swimming in the sea.
As a tool watch, the Garmin is probably the best smartwatch out there, no doubt. But I like my watches to look and feel premium as well, not just do good. I am probably a form before function guy
My 3 years of experience with the AW was good and had no issue with the finishing of either the body or the screen. And I used it for sports, including swimming in the sea.
As a tool watch, the Garmin is probably the best smartwatch out there, no doubt. But I like my watches to look and feel premium as well, not just do good. I am probably a form before function guy
I got more comments for wearing an Apple Watch (in the day) than I did wearing the fenix. The fenix was more Swiss Army Knife, and as such had features that a mere mortal would likely never use. It 'looked butch', but when the finish started fading in the first year, I grew unimpressed. But it *did* a lot, and most of it I'd never use.
But get the 'tool' you want. There are different hammers (like I was blown away seeing how many different hammers there are out there) there are different screwdrivers, and different watches. Get what you think will serve you best, but don't rain on people that like the Apple Watch.
Just keep moving. The longer people are sedate the more chance of mold and rust to take hold. It makes fighting gravity that much harder. Rock on!
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This similar discussion has occurred on many of the bicycling sites I am on. Is it better to have a dedicated bike computer, or use a 'watch'. In the end, use what you need. The fenix was overkill, to me, for a 'bike watch, plus having to glance at my wrist for speed and directions seems needlessly clumsy and potentially more calamity prone, but others would quit if they had to give up their do-it-all watch (although I doubt that, but)... Runners get into that discussion too. Use what you will use. I can see a fenix style watch being necessary for running. Apple *should* do better on making the AW work for exercise and outdoor activities. To have the battery life take that much of a hit, but we've all mentioned battery life numerous times...
Should Apple do a solar powered Apple Watch? (YES PLEASE!!!)
Hmm... It was solid. The finish wasn't. Like I said upstream, the guy that bought it was grateful that it was 'seasoned'. No (big) scratches or any dents. I used it for a month or three, and knew it wasn't going to be used enough.
But I have the Edge 1030, but mainly because it's larger, and has generally more battery life. Garmin does good stuff, so I was surprised that the finish was wearing off a little, but it's what's inside that counts. (I found charging it rather drama filled: it required a custom adapter to charge, but oh well)
It depends what you are doing with the watch and how rough you are. I’ve worn my aluminium series 5 for more than 2 and a half years now and don’t have any dents or scratches. The series 2 I had before it was 3 years old and clear of inclusions. It’s more down to the wearer than the actual materials of the product.
And luck. The stainless AW I had that had the dent, would have needed a new face if that dent was just a little more towards the top/face side. Never discount luck. I dropped a TAG Heuer and it landed on just the right spot to shatter the face crystal. I had it for less than a month. My luck ran out. Expensive...
That’s true too. I work with an engineer who slipped with a wrench and shattered his SS Apple Watch a couple of years back. General everyday wear should be ok though in the whole. I don’t exactly baby my watch and it’s in good condition.
Yes, you are right. For me the perfect smart watch would be an SS AW with the current design, but more shock resistant and longer battery life, both daily and throughout the lifespan.
There are loads of quickfit third party bands on Amazon. I'm not certain I'd go surfing with some of them as build quality could be a concern but for anything out of the water I'm sure they'd be fine. I own several. Their description might not have been updated to include the Epix 2 but that watch uses the same 22mm quickfit bands that several other Garmin watches use.
My battery life if I stuck to only 1 moderate workout a day, and just a couple GPS runs in a week, I could get up to 6 days before hitting 0.
I got 5 full days in France back in 2019, not doing any workouts, but walking over 15,000 steps a day, and even sleeping with it.
GPS workouts will eat a little more battery.
I was very happy with its longevity.
It would also charge from 0-100% in seemingly less than 2hrs. (Never officially timed it, but it was fast enough never to think about)
Well, that didn't last long 😂
Back to Garmin for sleeping and workouts, AW for everything else.
Well, that didn't last long
Back to Garmin for sleeping and workouts, AW for everything else.
Why is that?
I'm more reliant on Siri timers and reminders than I care to admit. Plus, I can never find my phone (and the AW pings it more reliably than Garmin does).
I used to be a Garmin Fenix owner before moving on to the AW Titaniums. The only thing I miss is some of the metrics in Garmin Connect which I think is a better app but, the AW for me is far better.
I use mine as a Home Kit controller for heating, lights, locks, security cameras, smart plugs and garden temperatures etc. I use it to pay for everything these days and rarely carry a wallet at all. I use it to set reminders through the day and of course, to record runs, hikes and other walks etc.
Battery has never been an issue. I normally pop it on charge an hour before bed (20% left) and it's 100% charged when I take it off charge. I wear it through the night so it can record and monitor HR and resting HR. My Garmin Fenix used to run out of juice in the middle of the day as it was harder to get into a pattern of charging. Each day the AW is charged so it's easy to remember but the Fenix I'd forget about it until it was too late.
The screen is great and is very hard wearing. My current AW6 space black titanium is in perfect condition. To my eyes, I think the AW look smarter when using one of the leather straps and can easily be used with a suit and not look out of place. It's my ultimate one stop watch. To move back to Garmin would be to give up so many features that I use on a daily, hourly basis.
I use mine as a Home Kit controller for heating, lights, locks, security cameras, smart plugs and garden temperatures etc. I use it to pay for everything these days and rarely carry a wallet at all. I use it to set reminders through the day and of course, to record runs, hikes and other walks etc.
Battery has never been an issue. I normally pop it on charge an hour before bed (20% left) and it's 100% charged when I take it off charge. I wear it through the night so it can record and monitor HR and resting HR. My Garmin Fenix used to run out of juice in the middle of the day as it was harder to get into a pattern of charging. Each day the AW is charged so it's easy to remember but the Fenix I'd forget about it until it was too late.
The screen is great and is very hard wearing. My current AW6 space black titanium is in perfect condition. To my eyes, I think the AW look smarter when using one of the leather straps and can easily be used with a suit and not look out of place. It's my ultimate one stop watch. To move back to Garmin would be to give up so many features that I use on a daily, hourly basis.
I ended up getting the Captain America vivoactive 4. My battery life seems to be on par with what you were getting. After about 5 days it was down to just below 40%. That was after 2 workouts and keeping it bluetooth paired maybe 3 of those days. I was surprised at how fast it charged!
The only time i use my Garmin for sleep tracking is when i'm camping.
I do prefer my Fenix 6S Pro over the Vivoactive. I'm still sorting out whether i'll keep the Vivoactive but i can find use cases for each watch.
I did not realize Garmin has a feature called TrueUp that syncs all activity tracking and data between the two watches and the app. It's kind of cool to see a workout done with the Cap America watch show up in the history section on the Fenix and vice versa.
Well a month in, how do you like the Epix. I absolutely love mine and looking forward to the upcoming additional metrics we are going to get that the 255 and 955 have now. Its in beta, so should be a month or two.
Perfect timing - I was just looking at it this morning, as I’m wearing a polo shirt today at work, so it is visible all the time and I thought to myself how great it’s been so far. Crazy that I’ve charged it twice in the past month - love that benefit. Yeah, I saw that they’ve got a beta now with some of those other features. I was tempted to jump on the beta program, but figured I’d just wait it out since I’m still learning the watch and all its features.
Yea I'm waiting too. I don't like beta testing. LOL Glad you're enjoying the watch too.
I think Epix 2 has even better screen than AW. During activity that screen is super black and letters are shinning even in the direct sunlight. Might have less colors than AW but still very very good.
Enjoying this thread, Garmin watches seem quite appealing based on what little I have learned about them. I definitely second the recommendation for the DC Rainmaker videos, I only watched like 5 mins of a 40 (!) min video, on one of the Garmins, it was very well done and illustrative. For now and the foreseeable future, I’m content with my Apple watch as it’s a recent (9 months) experience, but it’s nice to know there are other good options out there and ones that do lots of cool stuff that AWs don’t like solar charging and lots more (and just different) fitness and health related stuff.