Ok, so I'm wearing the Epix today. So far I like the watch very much, I think I'm going to keep. I have not put it to the test yet, but I did get a couple things done. I will add more to this thread as I evaluate it further.
1. It is not to bulky, of course it's bigger than an average watch, but right in line with many of the other high end Garmin units. You get used to it pretty fast.
2. The band seems pretty rugged and wide. I did like that very much.
3. The operation buttons are actually laid out good and very easy to figure out and navigate even thought this unit has a ton of options.
4. It has a nice color touch screen, which is very nice, my fat fingers seem to do OK, but the buttons seem to do everything the touch does so you have two options. That made me happy if I'm wearing gloves. That was thought out pretty well.
5. It is very quick and easy to save/mark your current location on the move, dropping a pack etc... That could come in handy in a pinch situation. Basically hold down one button for a couple seconds and done.
6. The screen is very clear and does work in sunlight as advertised very well.
7. I got the unit that came pre-installed 100K topo maps. Not sure that is worth the money, not much ore, they are nice, but you can easily install the 24K Topo yourself with Basecamp. I will probably do that anyway. The nice thing is you can turn off any overlays you want.
8. It does come with 1-year subscription to Birdseye Aerial Photo service. I downloaded several hunting units to the device very easily. You have to split up big units into two files but go on easy. The unit has I think 8 gigs of memory so will hold a lot of units at once. You can actually see the aerial views pretty darn well for a watch screen. Not saying it will be awesome or it will compare to a large screen GPS or phone, but we are talking about a watch here. That process was very easy to do with Basecamp. You can turn the Topo/Aerial/Street layers on and off pretty easily.
9. One thing I really like is the unit turns off the GPS unless you call for it or use it. That saves big time on the battery. That was one thing I was worried about. It locks onto Satellite signal super fast. I'm still playing around with and trying to figure out the Gloness settings. So far the battery seems to be doing good, but only 24 hours in at this point. 95%+
10. I also like when you put it on a screen it says on that screen until you leave it. Great when trying to navigate.
11. I have not done any navigation yet, but will add to this post as I get more evaluation done.
12. I love the compass. it shows the direction and the exact single degree the watch is pointing. That is great when you are wanting to double check without getting a big gps or compass out. I will be testing to see if is is as reliable as I want.
13. It does have all the training/health options to I have not gotten to those yet.
Overall, so far at least I do like the watch. It is a little pricey, but it gives you that backup/second GPS without having to carry a heavy one. I love that idea. I'm pretty good with map and compass, but I have gotten so darn dependent on my GPS when I'm hunting. I would like to have a backup on deep hunts and especially solo hunts, but have never wanted to carry one. Geez, now I will carry my phone, GPS and now the Epic watch. That sounds bad just typing it.
Let me know if you have anything specific you want to ask. I will do my best.
I have gotten to the point I really use the GPS tops and aerial photo layers a lot. They really help me to be a better hunter and hunt more efficiently At least in my mind.
I also just got a Garmin Rino 650... I have the Rino 600 to but I wanted the one so I can swap OnX cards. I'm kind of a GPS freak I guess.
