"Sell" me on your outdoors smart watch

[mxgust]

My Garmin stores music from Spotify or other music apps that I can then listen too in the middle of no where via my Bluetooth AirPods

I have hundreds of songs stored on my watch

Makes convenient on runs / hikes where I don’t take my phone


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Awesome, thank you

 

[txtransplant]

I've been eyeing up the Fenix Solar but I'm curious to know what's out there. What do you have? Pros/Cons etc. Thanks!

The solar is gimmicky and unnecessary. The watch will be under your sleeve most of the time, and the sapphire version can go a full month without charging already. I’d suggest getting the sapphire.

 

[M1SF1T]

I have a Garmin Forerunner 735.

I only wear it for running, biking, and jump rope workouts.

I tried all the BS for a while but realized that I don't care about all the metrics and analytics of steps or sleep heart rate, just want to track my mileage and times.

 

[AndrewMT34]

I used to have a Suunto Core. A few years ago I bought the Garmin Instinct. My bird dogs collar/tracker syncs up to it and shows me her distance/direction and I get a notification that she’s on point which is super handy.

 

[vdocLU164]

I've been using my garmin instinct solar now for about 2 years. I absolutely love it. It's definitely a little beaten up. I work construction for a living but it's handled the abuse very well. It's also been inside multiple deer from gutting and butchering. Only time I take it off is to charge it. I love the tracking features. I've used it while scouting to see my path threw new tracks of woods and I've used it blood trailing animals. Could I get by with out it? Of course I survived many years with out it. But after having one I wouldn't want to give it up.

 

[cfdjay]

Geez fellas!! Garmin should repost this thread! I'll have to check it out. Almost everyone shares my sentiments. I tend to like the "idea" of things like all the bells as whistles of a Fenix but ultimately I won't use them.

 

[sneaky]

I've got a Garmin Instinct Tactical that, if you want what it does, does what you want. But I never wear it any more. As I've aged and gotten more farsighted I can't read the faces on these new watches, with 12 different things shown in 6-pt font. If I have to put my glasses on to read my watch that's a barrier. So I just don't wear a watch any more. My phone does everything I want - time of day, GPS/tracking, camera, etc. I'm done with watches.

You can change the face to display whatever size text you want. I've had a 5X since they came out. Replaced a band with their nylon one, and it still keeps trucking right along.

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[sneaky]

I just mean it's obsolete after a couple years. My Garmin (can't remember the flavor) watches both went about 18-24 months before they crapped the bed and wouldn't hold a charge longer than a day or interface with the app without it crashing. My Fat-Bit was about a year. Dad gets about 2 years from an Apple Watch, Mom's the same, and she used to get about a year from a Fitbit. The ownership cost per day on them just doesn't pencil out personally from what I've seen, and they were more of a headache than a help.

What did you do to your Garmins? I've had my 5X for probably 6-7 years and it still works just like the day I bought it.

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[Big_Sky]

I have had the Garmin Fenix 5x since they first came out with it. The 5x is bullet proof and imagine the 7x is same way. Now have switched to the Garmin Epix 2 (basically Fenix 7 with Amoled). Wanted the Amoled screen vs the transflective. Works great even in direct sunlight. 5X just sits on the night stand now.


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[sneaky]

I have had the Garmin Fenix 5x since they first came out with it. The 5x is bullet proof and imagine the 7x is same way. Now have switched to the Garmin Epix 2 (basically Fenix 7 with Amoled). Wanted the Amoled screen vs the transflective. Works great even in direct sunlight. 5X just sits on the night stand now.


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How's the battery life on it compared to the Fenix? That amoled has to take more juice seems like

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[Big_Sky]

Definitely takes more power but works for everything I do. Was fully charged early this morning. Tracked a workout for 1.5 hours today and as of now it is at 95% battery and 15 days. I have the always on display turned off. Screen comes on when I raise and turn my wrist, clicking a button, when I get a call or message or when I touch the screen. Touch screen works great but you can always use the physical buttons too.


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[FI460]

I have had the Garmin Fenix 5x since they first came out with it. The 5x is bullet proof and imagine the 7x is same way. Now have switched to the Garmin Epix 2 (basically Fenix 7 with Amoled). Wanted the Amoled screen vs the transflective. Works great even in direct sunlight. 5X just sits on the night stand now.


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Garmin Fenix 3 HR sapphire for me. I've been wearing it almost 5 years and it still works like new. If it ever gives up I'll replace it with whatever the current Fenix sapphire is.

 

[tdhanses]

I ran a Garmin Instinct from the day it was released to today, had to replace the band twice other then that no issue and battery life stayed relatively the same the entire time but man that is a basic watch anymore.

I upgraded today to an Apple Watch Ultra, pretty amazing but come with two big cons I could get past, price and battery life. Other then that it pretty much replaces having a phone other then web surfing.

Truth be told I may still use the instinct for hunting but not sure why.

 

[OrangeMan73]

How well does the Fenix interface with an inReach?

 

[displacedtexan]

How well does the Fenix interface with an inReach?

I have both.

I've never connected them.

Now I feel like I'm missing out!

 

[cali_hornhunter]

1st gen garnish instinct has cool features I have been looking to maybe upgrade to a Fenix, but it’s survived this long through years of wild land firefighting, hunting and everything else it’s definitely a good watch

 

[Sapcut]

Once I got a smart phone years ago, I haven’t worn a watch and it’s been years and glad of it. Then my wife got me the latest Apple Watch 7 with cell service and other normal Apple features. I love it and can’t imagine not having it. Battery is ridiculously good and works well in conjunction with iPhone. However, I’ve never had any other smart watch to compare it to as others have mentioned. My watch is very convenient when I happen to leave my phone in someone else’s car. Not knowing where they’re at or going, I just call them on my watch.

 

[tdhanses]

How well does the Fenix interface with an inReach?

The instinct was great so I don’t see why the fenix wouldn’t be as well.

 

[mtwarden]

another satisfied Garmin Instinct owner, mine is the solar and have two trips where that feature came in very handy

 

[Venom One]

Another happy Instinct user here. Wore G-Shocks for years and the Instinct is very similar in build - it's durable and lightweight.

Bought the Instinct mainly for it's GPS capability and love being able to just glance at my watch for directions rather than having to dig my phone out. I've never been a "smart watch" person, but I'm bad at carrying my phone around at home so I'd miss important calls/texts/notifications. Wearing the watch solved this issue.

The Apple and Samsung watches are probably superior smart watches, but for an outdoor watch, the Instinct is tough to beat. I've considered a fancy Fenix model, but concluded that I much prefer a non-metal, lighter weight watch.

My only gripe with the Instinct is that sometimes the information is hard to read. Sometimes it's the angle of the watch, but sometimes the letters/numbers are small and aren't crisp enough to make out the data.