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[Doc Holliday]

So my Omega recently crapped out, and I need a new watch, but looking to switch over to something with more usefulness

Looking for something that is not only good for tracking general activity (heart rate, sleeping, distance on runs, etc), but also something that will tell me altitude and is generally useful on backcountry hunts.

What should I look at?

 

[northernalpine]

I’ve used a few different flavors heavily over the years and offer this same perspective to friends:

Garmin has the best overall ecosystem compatibility / support but the worst overall battery life.

Suunto has the best battery life by a wide margin but the ecosystem compatibility is limited compared to Garmin.

The Garmin Phoenix series is pretty legit, but I had to charge the Phoenix 7 I had every 4ish days.

I’ve been using a Suunto 9 Peak for about 2 years now for HR tracking during workouts/running, plotting/tracking routes, and backup GPS during hunts. It’ll go 10-12 days between charges using it with active GPS all day and about 18-20 days if I just use it for daily workouts.

I’m a sucker for low maintenance things, but everyone has different needs.

 

[Portabeardo]

I’m using the Garmin instinct 2 tactical Solar. My old one (non-solar) crapped out after four years and would hold about a five to seven day charge. The solar at about 60% charge is a month. Has altimeter and all kinds of stuff on it I forget about. Highly recommend.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dlee56]

I’ve been rocking a Garmin Instinct Solar (1st gen) for 2-3 years now and it’s been awesome. Depending on what features you have on the battery life can be from a week out to 1.5-2 months. But it charges in about an hour so I don’t mind having a few extra features running all the time.

 

[TJfromTX]

Used many of the Garmin products over the years (3 different watches, vivoactive, the instinct gen 1,and another one I cant remember) and eventually landed on my 4th Garmin which I've been happiest with by far, the Fenix 6 pro (they are up to a Fenix 7 now)
Does everything I need it to do, is tough as nails and has great battery life.

Zero experience with the Suunto or Apple watches, so I cannot comment

 

[ianpadron]

I've got a Coros Apex 2-Pro and can't say anything bad about it.

Excellent battery life, really durable, user friendly, pairs reliably with my phone.

My wife is a big trail runner and she told me to steer clear of Garmin and get a Coros or Suunto, simply due to battery life as I'm often away from reliable power for a week or more while doing things I'd want my watch for.

 

[Luked]

I have a Garmin Epix and so far am really liking it.
Has great battery life. It is a rechargable not soloar. But I am getting around 16-17 days on a full charge.
That is not using any of the GPS features as I havent had any use for them yet. But it has a ton of great info on it. So far I am really happy with it.

 

[doc holiday13]

Suunto Core

Battery last about 14 months or so. Depends on how often I'm using the functions. Its an ABC. The compass needs occasional calibration but its easy to calibrate. The temp readings are not accurate when you wear it because body heat.

 

[Q child]

So my Omega recently crapped out, and I need a new watch, but looking to switch over to something with more usefulness

Looking for something that is not only good for tracking general activity (heart rate, sleeping, distance on runs, etc), but also something that will tell me altitude and is generally useful on backcountry hunts.

What should I look at?

Which Omega did you have?

 

[Matt5266]

I love my Garmin Fenix 5X

 

[jayhawk]

I think South Park tried ordering a digital sports watch once, but they got starvin Marvin instead. So whichever one you go with just be careful when you order it!

 

[pcrossett]

I've got a Coros Apex 2-Pro and can't say anything bad about it.

Excellent battery life, really durable, user friendly, pairs reliably with my phone.

My wife is a big trail runner and she told me to steer clear of Garmin and get a Coros or Suunto, simply due to battery life as I'm often away from reliable power for a week or more while doing things I'd want my watch for.

I would second the COROS watch as well, I think mine is 4 years old now and going strong. It is the dumbest smart watch that I could find that tracks sleeping, heart rate and has a lot of options for tracking exercise (run, hike, bike, ski, etc) and you can push texts or call notifications to it if you really wanted.

 

[dailyherold]

I like the Garmin Forerunner line. Very thin and light, so easy to wear with all clothing and disappears when asleep. Has ton of multi-sport features as well, close to Fenix.

I got one of these straps to go with it and it's pretty fantastic. Never adjust, very secure, super comfy.

 

[menhaden_man]

Wife got me a Garmin Instinct solar for Christmas... I've enjoyed it and the battery goes about three weeks before needing a charge. Haven't used the GPS mapping tool yet but altimeter, weather, barometer, moon phases, compass, sunrise/sunset is all pretty useful for hunting and fishing around my home.

 

[mtbraun]

Just moved up to the Garmin Fenix 7 solar. I've charged it once in the last month, and that's in the dead of winter with much less sunlight exposure.

 

[Theringworm]

Garmin is the answer. Fenix (not Phoenix), Epix, or Tactix will be your top performers with an easily navigable user interface and more tracking/data fields than you can imagine. Garmin Instinct, Forerunner or Vivoactive if you don’t need all the frills or don’t want to spend the coin.

The top three mentioned have close to or beyond a 30 day battery life depending on the model and solar capability. Find what you neee/want and go for it. I have to been running the Felix 5x since 2017. Other than a new band, zero issues.

 

[Castronova]

I also have the Garmin Epix. It tracks sleep, heart rate, o2, transmits HR to my bike computer, tracks my runs annd bike rides etc. the ecosystem is awesome. I used in the mountains/hills of Virginia last year in the woods and it never lost signal. It’s been great.

The face gives me sunset/sunrise, alt., etc.
Battery gets me around 16 days, gps use shortens that. Certainly not charging it enough for it to be a negative of the watch.

 

[Q child]

Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m. Not one of the flashy ones, just the standard. Wife gave it to me 16 years ago and it worked great for a long time, but a few years ago it stopped on me. I sent it back to Omega twice already and paid hefty repair bills....they claim to have fixed it both times and it works for awhile then stops again.

Bummer. That vintage of Planet Ocean is really nice. Good luck with your smart watch purchase.

 

[Nate Strong]

So my Omega recently crapped out, and I need a new watch, but looking to switch over to something with more usefulness

Looking for something that is not only good for tracking general activity (heart rate, sleeping, distance on runs, etc), but also something that will tell me altitude and is generally useful on backcountry hunts.

What should I look at?

Garmin fenix

 

[Doc Holliday]

I’ve used a few different flavors heavily over the years and offer this same perspective to friends:

Garmin has the best overall ecosystem compatibility / support but the worst overall battery life.

Suunto has the best battery life by a wide margin but the ecosystem compatibility is limited compared to Garmin.

The Garmin Phoenix series is pretty legit, but I had to charge the Phoenix 7 I had every 4ish days.

I’ve been using a Suunto 9 Peak for about 2 years now for HR tracking during workouts/running, plotting/tracking routes, and backup GPS during hunts. It’ll go 10-12 days between charges using it with active GPS all day and about 18-20 days if I just use it for daily workouts.

I’m a sucker for low maintenance things, but everyone has different needs.

View attachment 676423

I got a good deal from Suunto on a refurbished 9 Peak Pro and in the color I wanted. Comes with a 2 yr warranty. Free shipping from Finland on DHL and will be delivered Friday. Thank you