Garmin Fenix 5X - Initial Impressions

[Wyoming Shooter]

I've been using the Garmin Fenix 5X https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/560327 for about a month. I am impressed. Two features stand out for me: the integrated heart rate monitor and full color mapping. Although I enjoy my "traditional" watches (e.g. Sinn UX), the Fenix 5X will likely supplant all others.

On the upside, this is a great watch if you're into fitness of most any sort. This thing tracks "activities" from bicycling to trail running to golf. The user can access a variety of reports using the "Connect App" on a phone or tablet. Most cool, and useful.

The GPS nav feature is also outstanding. I can do pretty much everything on the Garmin Fenix 5X that I do on a full-size GPS. Think saving current location, navigating to a destination, back tracking, etc. I have read on the interweb that it's possible to download additional (e.g. topo) maps to the Fenix 5X. I've not tried that.

In addition to the above, the Fenix 5X does all the stuff that "smart watches" do - alarms, text message alerts, etc.

The watch seems to hold a charge well. Charging is done by a proprietary cord. I assume this was necessary to make the watch water proof.

On the downside, the thing is expensive - about $700. It's also a bit bulky. I've caught it and banged it around a bit. No signs of damage thus far though.

For further info, I suggest DC Rainmaker's vids on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...nmaker+fenix+5.

From the Big Empty, ELN.

[voodoo_man]

I pre-ordered mine and so far I am really liking all of the features. Phone connectivity is very good and overall level of function is superb.

I have a Fenix 5 Sapphire with chest heart rate.

[TAZ]

I bought a Fenix 3 HR when the prices dropped after the announcement of the 5. I will concur with the above opinions. It's replaced my Apple Watch and Seamaster as my EDC. Great set of features and I can get about a week of charge using various fitness apps at least 5 days a week. 3 of those using GPS to track my cardio walk/jog/waddle activities.

Haven't tried to actually navigate with it yet.

[NH Shooter]

From the name of the product I couldn't figure out if it was a GPS or a flashlight...

[Casey]

I've had my Fenix 5 Sapphire since early April, and I love the thing. I was back and forth on getting this or an Apple Watch, and I think I made the right call. Sure, you can do more from the Apple Watch in terms of responding to notifications, but all I really want from a smartwatch right now is to know whether or not I need to take my phone out of my pocket, and the Fenix handles that just fine. Granted, the two devices are in very different categories. The fitness tracking capabilities of the Fenix are phenomenal, and based on many reviews I've seen, the accuracy of its tracking blows the Apple Watch out of the water. A few high points:

Outstanding battery life. I'm spending about an hour each day doing some kind of outdoor activity, be it running or walking, and using the GPS for that plus regular daily wear, and I easily get a week on a single charge.

Tons of custom watch faces. I still haven't found the perfect one, but there are some very good options out there, and they usually have enough customization of data fields to keep me happy. Oh, and the watch face is constant-on, unlike the Apple Watch, so I don't have to worry about tilting it every time I want to see what time it is.

Fairly intuitive menu system. Once you figure out how to navigate through the UI, it becomes pretty easy to do whatever you want to do. And the menus are context aware, which is nice. In other words, when you're using a widget like the HRM, hitting the menu button jumps to the HRM settings rather than forcing you to scroll through all the menu options to find the settings for that particular widget.

Lots of external sensor options. I use mine as a standalone HRM when I'm just walking around the neighborhood, but I pair it with a Garmin Tri external HRM when running, which gives me access to tons of data. Almost all of that is overkill for someone just a couple months into Couch to 5k, but still...

[Drang]

Is the 5 as big as than the 3? (Or even bigger??? ) I was looking at a 3 and a Forerunner 235, for the fitness tracking and the fact that they can use the Garmin app that turns your watch into a shot timer. But the 3 is big enough to be one of those crew-served watches the young kids that can't tell time using an analog clock like to wear.

[voodoo_man]

Is the 5 as big as than the 3? (Or even bigger??? ) I was looking at a 3 and a Forerunner 235, for the fitness tracking and the fact that they can use the Garmin app that turns your watch into a shot timer. But the 3 is big enough to be one of those crew-served watches the young kids that can't tell time using an analog clock like to wear.

The 5 can be bought in three different sizes. The standard size is 47mm which is a good size for what it is.

I'll probably be buying my wife the 5s as she liked the size for her petite frame.

Watch faces: I got the WF4Cool watchface. It's simple and shows heart rate directly on the screen. Colors adjustable and allows for a few other things in the full version which is only 2.5eu, which I haven't bought yet...

[Casey]

Is the 5 as big as than the 3? (Or even bigger??? ) I was looking at a 3 and a Forerunner 235, for the fitness tracking and the fact that they can use the Garmin app that turns your watch into a shot timer. But the 3 is big enough to be one of those crew-served watches the young kids that can't tell time using an analog clock like to wear.

My understanding is the 5X is the same size as the 3, while the 5 has a similar screen size but a more compact case, and the 5S is a fair bit smaller.

vm - I tried out the WF4Cool face. It's alright. My go-to right now is SC8, which packs a bit more data on the screen (including seconds, which is nice).

I forgot to mention one other thing I really like. The adjustment holes in the band are spaced much closer together than most watches I've seen, which is nice, as it allows for fine tuning the fit. Most watches I've had are inevitably too tight or too loose... the Fenix gets it just right. Hopefully, there will be some aftermarket bands available before too long, because Garmin's price on OEM bands is outrageous.

I also neglected to mention my only dislike, which is that the watch is thick enough that it does not fit comfortably under the cuff of any of my dress shirts. Not the end of the world; if I'm wearing a dress shirt, I really should be wearing a nice watch. But it is marginally annoying.

[voodoo_man]

I tried the SC7 and 8 before going to this watchface. I wanted specific things, like heart rate day/date and large font time.

If I find a better one I'll post.

[YVK]

Can somebody post a pic on a wrist just to get an idea of size? I am considering this one, dunno 47 or 51.

Anyone knows the difference between Fenix and Chronos?

Also, how water proof is it? I swim several times a week.