Garmin - fēnix® 7S Pro - Sapphire Solar Edition

https://preview.redd.it/2rcsj00wjqrf1.png?width=2782&format=png&auto=webp&s=7b6878d4d1f0a615c46203df89d721be01f4dc8c I have fairly small wrists (just under 13cm) and I wear the fenix 7s, I'm on the 2nd to last hole so it'll go even smaller if I had to. I think it looks appropriate for my proportions.

All true except advanced metrics. They are also present in Fenix (it has even more features for hiking) and Instinct. Forerunner is not more advanced. The rugedness is mostly about the bezel. In fenix and instinct it has a rim which gives extra protection to the screen. But that means rugged watches are more bulky what can be a problem in the gym. The real question is lightness of forerunner vs battery life of fenix /instinct

Had AW 6, 7, 10... Had Garmin Fenix 7 somewhere between AW... Now with Garmin instinct 3. ALl has pros and cons. none is perfect. For me it's great to switch from time to time... I would happily do the same between iphone and android, but the cost of switch in terms of software is crazy...

Fenix7 here. Run about 3times week + crossfit also 3 times a week. Always chest strap connected and runs right now are around 25km/week. Charge it every 2 to 3 weeks. FR165 definitely has a smaller battery than fénix series

For most a garmin a more than enough and that battery is a huge win. I went from galaxy watch to fenix and would not go back. Sounds like we are aligned :-)

Im not an Apple Watch expert, so let me know if I'm wrong with the following: In my experience, Garmin's mapping abilities are more robust. For instance, I can create custom maps on CalTopo and upload them to my Garmin, and it works seamlessly. I don't need any additional apps, and I have full trail detail including ascents/descents, any campsites or points of interest, etc. I can also stitch together multiple activities for multi-day hikes easily. Even the AllTrails "Send to Garmin" feature is super convenient. For instance if I'm going to a national park this weekend, I can upload all of the trails I'm interested in hiking in just a few clicks, sync my watch, and I'm good to go. These types of features and more (along with battery life obviously) sold me on the Fenix. In the backcountry subreddits I see a lot of lamentations about the AW's lack of mapping abilities.

IMO, a Garmin watch suits your needs better than apple. The way that it tracks health metrics and lays them out in the app is better. Apple watch is a smart watch first and a health tracker second. I've had both for long periods of time. I've had an Apple Watch since gen 3 and upgraded to all the versions aside from the newest one. Prior to that I had Garmin watches. A little over a year ago I saw my good friend's Fenix 7, and got very curious. It seemed to do everything having to do with fitness better, and the battery lasted literally 10x longer. I do miss controlling Spotify and having cellular on my watch, but giving that up was well worth the switch. I can't see myself going back unless Apple somehow makes the battery last for a week or more, and even then I'm not sure I'd switch again. Having the ability to customize the faces is pretty huge as well. I never much liked any of the default displays Apple allowed. Take whatever you'd have spent on an Apple device and spend that on a Garmin.

I don't think it's "much more." It varies from person to person. For me, the Apple Watch Series 6 and the Garmin Fenix 7 are within +/- 1 bpm compared to the Polar H10. However, I do agree with you that a cheap chest strap (connected to an iPhone via Bluetooth) is the most affordable way to measure heart rate accurately during workouts.

I have a Garmin Fenix 7, it has dedicated climbing tracking which I'm reasonably happy with, but it's probably not what you're looking for as it has a screen and Garmin's cycle tracking is very basic (no symptom tracking). In terms of safety I feel quite confident that with a nylon Velcro strap it will break before my skin does if it does get caught on a hold, might be worth looking for something similar if you go for a wrist tracker. Another thing to keep in mind is potential damage from scraping the wall, my watch is meant to be quite sturdy but I still use a screen protector and replace when it gets too scratched

It's accurate enough for me as an amateur hobbyist putting in 100-150 miles a week on the bike with lifting in between. I like pouring through the data but understand there's a margin of error and that the margin is acceptable. I find the stats to generally track with my perceived effort and fatigue. I have a chest strap HRM that use indoors but not on outdoor rides because comfort is more important to me. Also, my Fenix 7 is pretty indestructible (somehow I find myself bumping into walls, corners, doors, drawers etc without any major damage) and the battery can last for the longer pieces and I generally only have to charge every couple of weeks instead of every day. The other big thing is that I'm in the Garmin ecosystem with a Garmin head unit as well so all the data feeds to one place and there's efficiencies that come with tracking in one ecosystem vs multiple devices that may not quite capture the same data the way the app requires to provide analysis.

Just a few weeks since my switch, but still in love. ;) 90% of "how the watch works" just suites perfekt to me and my usage. I am just missing a view things like, control spotify via watch or the sync of the focus modi.

Its the Fenix without speaker/mic and without diving features, but better overall performance as tradeoff (longer battery life, MIP screen, better solar charging, more lightweight...)

can't say for garmin but general rule is like that * garmin have more features. you can route maps on watch which means you can set a point where you wanna go without use of phone while on suunto you need to do that via your phone which can be annoying in areas where singal is questionable. also suunto have no names on watch itself on map but yea, their maps re more snappier, faster, etc. * garmin have way more data. now some were locked behind subrsicption, i'm not sure which data excat. suunto have less data but imo better organized * application on phone matters for me alot and there suunto is just better. they have one app for everything which imo is more user friendly. garmin have more apps for each purpouse one and steeper learning curve (my father have garmin edge 1040 bike computer and yea) but thats just from user to user, at the end it matters how you fell. * smart functions there is no question that garmin is better. suunto is really behind. you will get basic notifications with opiton to control music on your phone and call my phone function and function to turn down phone call with a SMS and thats pretty much it. garmin here have huge edge with their stuff * battery life on the other hand, here suunto wins no question at all! while in smart watch mode they re about the same, maybe 2 or 3 days difference, on gps mode there is just too much difference IMO, garmin is more than 2x behind in battery. now, does that matter to you? are you gonna do some multi day hikes or really some long lasting stuff like running 100km or you just in general wants more battery life? thats up to you. * as of GPS accuraccy, i can't really speak but i ve doubt you will be dissapointed by any of those watches. GPS recievers came soo long way in few last watch generations on all devices including Polar, Coros, Suunto, Garmin, even Amazifit and others that you can't go wrong with any of those devices in terms of gps quality. yea there re some minor + - offs bettwen watches, for example i can compare Vertical vs Fenix 7x pro sapphire on same route we logged 4,45km on Fenix vs 4,6km on my Suunto, I ve started my watch slightly faster soo there might be 50m. we also both logged slightly different alltitude gain, me with around 1065m alttitude gain vs my friend fenix 1059m allitude gain, my highest point on watch was more towards official readings of 1242m (it showed 1243m while my friend logged i think 1236m or similar soo yea, if you are like "well well, garmin for 800€ can't beat vertical from suunto i ve got for half the price" kind of attitude then sure, be my guest but in reality those re soo minor difference that if you re gonna argue on that..... yea. but just to show you what i ve meant * HR data i ve heard that suunto really did a big step foward with Race 2, still some minor problems but they really solved that issues Vertical and Race have. but imo me as some1 who do more trail runs / hikes / bike rides i just took my polar h10 with me and this is by far most accurate data imo. still just to point out suunto issues * can't say for sleep tracking or quality of life features since i'm not using that, maybe will start in future. soo yea at the end imo its more towards your usuage case. me as a trail runner or bike rider or hiker i preffer battery life, snappier maps and overwall better application more than garmin extra fuctions. plus yea in my case suunto vertical costed me 400€ while back then garmin forreruner 955 and 965 costed around the same but imo inferior watch with far less battery on gps mode + plastic desing with only gorrila glass which imo is bad for hiking specially if you go some via ferrata route or more demanding rocky area where its real fear to strach your watch. and garmin 7s solar sapphire glass costed me 600€ and yea, that was far too off to spend on. soo yea, your user case will determine at the end what you wanna buy, simply as that, what you preffer more, what u value more in your watch bcs at the end you can be happy with both options or just hated them soo its really hard to say.

Good choice! I also enjoy the availability of the connectivity but now opt out of the constant notifications. Also why I went with regular Fenix as opposed to the pro. The disconnect is good. Everything I was worried about with the switch from Apple to Garmin ended up being what I appreciate. Apple does many things better but Garmin is for me.

The first one i broke rock climbing. 245 i replaced with 255 bcs i started trail running and i wanted elevation tracking. 255 was the reasonable choice (price vs function) even though I liked fenix 7 more

I've just come from an ultra to a fenix 7, and the data the garmin gives me, through plugging into my bike computer and the sensors, it's much better. The ultra was easier to use for recording free workouts, I don't get the garmin structured workout thing at all, I don't want it giving me a list of activities often, I just want to record the effort. I found the navigation on the ultra easier. However when you're working out garmin and buttons is better. The overall layout and data from your everyday is more comprehensive with garmin, I find the body battery and training level really useful. Battery life obviously a great improvement with garmin. Ultra felt more of a lifestyle and health watch, the garmin and ecosystem to it feels much more sport and much more about supporting structured training. I wore my ultra 24/7, I wear my garmin 24/7, I've yet to have a moment where the ultra would be preferable against my priorities at the moment.

I have heavy black full sleeves both arms and I've found none that work. I have a Garmin Fenix 7 that's essentially just a watch now since I had my sleeves done last year. I have an Oura ring which isn't much for fitness and it's all beat up just in a few months or wearing doing yard work and I'll ditch it once my annual sub is finished. I've heard the newest Whoop might work, thinking about trying it but it's nearly $30/mo which is significant and I'm not sure I'm ready to stop wearing a watch.

I've used several generations of the Garmin Fenix for resort skiing, backcountry skiing, and Nordic skiing in extremely cold temperatures without issue. They'd be fine in very cold weather, but it's also important to note because you're exerting yourself and it's on your wrist, they're actually probably a lot warmer than the air temperature, so they'll be more than fine.

I KNOW. It's so hard to go back. I had a Garmin instinct before buying my first Apple Watch back in 2021 I think. The Garmin seemed awesome coming from a Fitbit Ionic before that I had forever. But now, trying to go back to even a Fenix 7 feels like I'm going back in time. The only time I've really been able to break away is while wearing my Garmin on vacations. For some reason I like it because it can get dirty (especially at the beach) and the charging is basically nonexistent.

Good comparison! I'll add that my fenix shows exercise demonstrations on the watch. I use it a lot

I wear both my Garmin Fenix 7S and Oura 4 24/7, but I only track runs with the Garmin and only care about the sleep/cycle/wellness metrics from my Oura. They each serve their purpose, and I like having both of them.

I am currently using the Garmin Fenix 7 + MyFitnessPal specifically for that purpose. The calories burned throughout the workout are quickly synchronized with the MFP app, through the Garmin integration. As a disclaimer, I only use the Strength workout from the watch, and start/stop the set.

Or Fenix 8, 43mm. Maps are awesome. I had a Fenix 7S but my last one is an Epix Pro 42mm. Fenix battery is far superior but the Epix screen is much easier to see.

The only time that I had issues with a Garmin watch they replaced the watch well over the warrant. I got a forerunner that lasted a lot (6 years?) and then I gave it to a friend. I'm sporting an almost 5 year old fenix and I got it second hand. The watches they make are sturdy

The charger on the Garmin was one of those nightmare features. Had many times where I woke to a dead or low powered Fenix because someone had sneezed several houses down the road and my connection to the charger had moved slightly, stopping my Fenix from charging. Not sure who designed this charger, but it was the worse design ever. Made worse by the fact that the charging point on the back of the Fenix slowly worsened over time with sweat from workouts. I had to buy a rubber stopper to cover it. Very annoying design flaw.

This is my perspective as someone who uses Whoop and wears an SMP or a Speedy that I rotate according to how I feel. Also, I've tried Oura, and liked it, but it wasn't for me. And I have an AW Ultra that I use when running and hiking, and this is after a few years of using a Garmin Fenix. Most people think of Whoop as simply a fitness tracker, which it is, but it is much more. What seperates Whoop from other things is how it shows you the impact of your behaviors. Yes, I think Whoop was less than honest about their upgrade policy with the new 5.0 and MG release, but I still can't find anything like it. The "magic" of Whoop is that it allows you to pre-select certain behaviors that will appear in a daily journal. Each morning you take 30 seconds to check yes or no on these items, e.g. Did you consume added sugar yesterday? Did you eat a late meal? There are endless options. As times goes on, Whoop continues to show you how these behaviors are impacting your sleep so that you discover how far before bed you should stop eating, or what's the latest time of the day you can drink caffeine without it impacting your sleep (even though you may think it doesn't because you fall asleep quickly). I'm not trying to sound like an advertisement for Whoop, but I think most people evaluate Whoop without knowing what it really does. So when I run or hike I use my Ultra for reasons that don't overlap with Whoop. But the rest of the day, when wearing my SMP or Speedy, or when I sleep, I wear Whoop because it is providing overall health insights that I find valuable and have led to lifestyle changes that I may not have made otherwise--even as a person in great shape who works out six days a week.