Which Watch? Please Help

[Block]

I have a Fenix 5 and although it looks cool... I’m not impressed with anything it does... watch technology ain’t ever guna catch up to IPhones... the temperature of ur wrist!? Wow useful... have tried EVERY possible adjustment for elevation and it’s a joke. I work on a boat and no matter how it’s set,, it will end up telling me I’m somewhere between + or - 100 feet from day to day... when driving up or down a mountain it will be anywhere from 500-1500’ off becuz it just doesn’t update very fast.. it struggles to ever connect to satellites.,, the mileage varies from other apps big time so I can’t say I even trust that..

 

[Brendan]

I've been using a Fenix 5 daily since it came out - love it. Track all my workouts, everyday watch use, backup GPS to my phone in the woods. Temperature is useless on any watch and I haven't really checked altitude although you can calibrate it to make it more accurate.

 

[rob86jeep]

I have a Fenix 5 and although it looks cool... I’m not impressed with anything it does... watch technology ain’t ever guna catch up to IPhones... the temperature of ur wrist!? Wow useful... have tried EVERY possible adjustment for elevation and it’s a joke. I work on a boat and no matter how it’s set,, it will end up telling me I’m somewhere between + or - 100 feet from day to day... when driving up or down a mountain it will be anywhere from 500-1500’ off becuz it just doesn’t update very fast.. it struggles to ever connect to satellites.,, the mileage varies from other apps big time so I can’t say I even trust that..

The temp works, you just need to take the watch off for a few minutes.

The elevation is accurate but just needs to be calibrated every now and then. If you're at sea level, calibrate it and it will be accurate again.

It might not be perfect, but what other watch beats it?

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

I have a Fenix 5 and although it looks cool... I’m not impressed with anything it does... watch technology ain’t ever guna catch up to IPhones... the temperature of ur wrist!? Wow useful... have tried EVERY possible adjustment for elevation and it’s a joke. I work on a boat and no matter how it’s set,, it will end up telling me I’m somewhere between + or - 100 feet from day to day... when driving up or down a mountain it will be anywhere from 500-1500’ off becuz it just doesn’t update very fast.. it struggles to ever connect to satellites.,, the mileage varies from other apps big time so I can’t say I even trust that..

I have a Fenix 5, and haven't experienced those issues \ my expectations on performance may be different...
If I may, I just want to point out a few things. The temperature read out comes from weather forecasts from your phone rather than a sensor on the watch - so it's the same you would get from a weather app (at least thats the case for my Fenix5). (EDIT - my bad, I thought you were talking about the weather app rather than a temperature app - for that you have to pair an external sensor, or just take your watch off for a while so your body heat doesn't impact the reading)

As for the elevation issue, the Fenix like other ABC watches, uses barometric pressure to estimate your altitude, so as the weather changes, it's guess of your altitude will change. The way I combat that is to calibrate the altimeter the same day I know that I'll want that information. Elevation is more of a curiosity for me, so I personally don't find that to be very problematic.

When you use the tracking function, you can set it for continuous tracking which will constantly update your location and alt, or you can set up UltraTrac and it will update less frequently in order to preserve battery life, while still providing good information, but maybe that is something you might want to adjust?

But you're right... for hard data at your fingertips, it's pretty much impossible to beat OnX or smilar apps on your phone.

As for the other functions, I've found mine to work really well. I use the mark location feature regularly, so I know where my car/camp/or where I left trail is located and can always find my way back. I also love the compass feature. The storm alert is also helpful, and has helped me at least a few times when I wasn't aware of the change in forecast. And I find the text/phone alerts helpful because sometimes I just don't hear/feel my phone go off. Finally, the battery life is great (about 3 weeks with lite use). And for me at least, it gets it's GPS signal as well as pretty much any other hand held I've used (but I've only used a handful of other gps watches/devices so my sample pool is limited).

The step count feature usually works great, unless you're using trekking poles - but other than that I LOVE the thing and I'm not at all a fan of digital watches.

OP - for me at least, I can't recommend this thing enough, but like Block said, your mileage may vary.
Cheers to both of ya

 

[WI in the west]

I’ve had the instinct for a few months now, love it so far. It’s confusing at first but not to bad to get rid of any fancy things you don’t use. Now that it’s set up to how I like it it’s pretty awesome. Elevation can be off a little bit when you get sweaty under it I hear though and experienced, but minimal for the hunting scenarios I was in

 

[Block]

The temp works, you just need to take the watch off for a few minutes.

The elevation is accurate but just needs to be calibrated every now and then. If you're at sea level, calibrate it and it will be accurate again.

It might not be perfect, but what other watch beats it?

I’m not interested in recalibrating the elevation daily,,,it’s OFF in less than a full day every time on the ocean at sea level... When I’m doing 10-15 mile hikes with 2000’ gain... it’s OFF by up to 500 feet or more at times. That’s UNACCEPTABLE...

Take the watch OFF to get a temp reading!? How convenient... I think they can do better and will do better eventually..If the sensor wasn’t touching your wrist it might give an accurate outside temp reading...This doesn’t seem like rocket science...

At this point the watch is for style as ur phone does EVERYTHING better...

 

[Brendan]

At this point the watch is for style as ur phone does EVERYTHING better...

Definitely not true, but I do agree with you temp and elevation don't work great, but that's pretty much any watch. But, it all comes down to what you use it for. (Barometric Elevation, GPS based works fine)

Tracking workouts year round - runs, bike rides, gym, hikes. Heart rate strap integration, cadence sensors, etc. Much better than a phone.

Battery life. Much better than a phone.

Durability. Much better than a phone.

If all you're using it for is a watch, elevation, and temperature - get something else. But the way I look at it, I get everything above, I need a watch anyways, and it's a backup GPS if my phone dies (Which has happened to me)

 

[Block]

Definitely not true, but I do agree with you temp and elevation don't work great, but that's pretty much any watch. But, it all comes down to what you use it for.

Tracking workouts year round - runs, bike rides, gym, hikes. Heart rate strap integration, cadence sensors, etc. Much better than a phone.

Battery life. Much better than a phone.

Durability. Much better than a phone.

If all you're using it for is a watch, elevation, and temperature - get something else. But the way I look at it, I get everything above, I need a watch anyways, and it's a backup GPS if my phone dies (Which has happened to me)

Im not trying to be harsh,,, I am just being honest. I’m not impressed by this watch in any way, the battery is terrible if ur actually tracking a hike all day..it wouldn’t last for a multi day hunt...

Btw there’s tracking apps for your phone that blow this watch away.. they show
Ur hike/workout on a 3D map..

 

[Brendan]

Im not trying to be harsh,,, I am just being honest. I’m not impressed by this watch in any way, the battery is terrible if ur actually tracking a hike all day..it wouldn’t last for a multi day hunt...

Btw there’s tracking apps for your phone that blow this watch away.. they show
Ur hike/workout on a 3D map..

I've used multiple tracking apps for my phone as well. I carry a phone and this watch. I've done multiple years using both and testing in the field. Just don't agree with your take at all - I think there are things the watch is better at, and things the phone is better at, and there's a place for both.

I'd never track all day with my phone either. If I need to do that - Inreach gets the call for me.

 

[Brendan]

FWIW, the Fenix 6 series does look interesting, but EXPENSIVE.

Garmin Fenix 6 Series In-Depth Review

It’s no coincidence that in just a few hours one of the toughest trail running races on earth – UTMB – will begin in Chamonix, France. The journey will take competitors on a 171KM loop with literal mountains of elevation

www.dcrainmaker.com

The Fenix 6 series is a slate of more than a dozen different watch variants, with battery life extending upwards of 120 days. Yes, days. And GPS-on time for ultra-type scenarios at nearly 150 hours. Or in full expedition mode GPS-on time at 56 days. Yes, again, days. Obviously, there are some caveats to those numbers – but we’ll get to those. Oh, and did I mention there’s now solar charging of the unit?

 

[Backyard]

Any review of the instinct, MLGrace.

Here ya go.

Garmin Instinct GPS Watch Review

Last year I picked up my first GPS watch and for the most part it did what I needed. But for a wristwatch, it was pretty bulky, had more features than I would ever use, the menu system was somewhat complicated, and it cost $600! It also didn’t function well for me as an everyday […]

www.rokslide.com

 

[Carr5vols]

Here ya go.

Garmin Instinct GPS Watch Review

Last year I picked up my first GPS watch and for the most part it did what I needed. But for a wristwatch, it was pretty bulky, had more features than I would ever use, the menu system was somewhat complicated, and it cost $600! It also didn’t function well for me as an everyday […]

www.rokslide.com

Thank you. Sold me on this watch.

 

[rob86jeep]

Im not trying to be harsh,,, I am just being honest. I’m not impressed by this watch in any way, the battery is terrible if ur actually tracking a hike all day..it wouldn’t last for a multi day hunt...

Btw there’s tracking apps for your phone that blow this watch away.. they show
Ur hike/workout on a 3D map..

I'm with you. There are things that can improve, with technology though. We need to remember that all this is packed into the size of a wristwatch. I would love for my computer to be the size of a watch, but we're not there yet. For the size, and what it offers, I don't see anything that can beat it yet. There are other watches that can do better in a single/few categories, but nothing compares to everything that the Fenix 6 offers yet (for it's size). You can't compare watches to phones, just like you can't compare phones to computers.

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

Take the watch OFF to get a temp reading!? How convenient... I think they can do better and will do better eventually..If the sensor wasn’t touching your wrist it might give an accurate outside temp reading...This doesn’t seem like rocket science...

At this point the watch is for style as ur phone does EVERYTHING better...

It's not rocket science and they already have a solution. If you don't want to take the watch off, get a Tempe sensor... you can pick them up for about $25, and put it on your pack or whatever, and it connects via Bluetooth to your watch.

 

[MNBill]

Phone might be better at some things....until it takes a dump in the back country. Redundancy is a good thing. I needed a watch anyway so why not get one with some bells and whistles? I like my Fenix 5x!

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

FWIW, the Fenix 6 series does look interesting, but EXPENSIVE.

Garmin Fenix 6 Series In-Depth Review

It’s no coincidence that in just a few hours one of the toughest trail running races on earth – UTMB – will begin in Chamonix, France. The journey will take competitors on a 171KM loop with literal mountains of elevation

www.dcrainmaker.com

The Fenix 6 series is a slate of more than a dozen different watch variants, with battery life extending upwards of 120 days. Yes, days. And GPS-on time for ultra-type scenarios at nearly 150 hours. Or in full expedition mode GPS-on time at 56 days. Yes, again, days. Obviously, there are some caveats to those numbers – but we’ll get to those. Oh, and did I mention there’s now solar charging of the unit?
[/QUOTE]

I have had my Fenix 6 for a month and it is amazing. I have had prior Garmin watches and they were okay, but this thing is the last watch you will ever need. It is lightweight, versatile, and will tell you things you didn't even know about your health. I continue to be surprised at how well this thing is designed.

 

[boom]

I just got the Instinct and like it. It has the features you listed without a lot of stuff I don’t need or won’t use.

i too have the Instinct. two back to back days mtn-biking and using the GPS tracking stuff will take a major chunk out of the battery reserves. i dont think it will last 7 days of GPS usage. right?

 

[kfili]

Another one for the instinct Love mine

 

[Brendan]

I've never had an issue with battery life on my Fenix 5 on Backcountry Hunts. But, I don't leave it on tracking. It's used as a watch, alarm clock, backup GPS.

If you want to leave any device on tracking all the time, you're going to need power reserves. Although some of the new watches have extended tracking / battery life functionality - I like the Inreach for this as I carry it for safety and communication anyways, and I set the interval to 15 or 30 minutes to extend battery life.