Garmin Fenix 5 - GPS watch

NorthCascades

I've had a Fenix 3 for almost 2 years now. It's been fantastic. Best watch I've owned, and best GPS. Blows Edge computers out of the water, even if the form factor isn't great for cycling. I've loved my F3 so much I'm going to buy an F5 as soon as they're available.

https://buy.garmin.com/us-us/us/p/560327

NorthCascades

DCR has a hands on preview already!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/01/hands-on-garmins-new-fenix-5-multisport-gps-serieswith-mapping.html

powered85

I'll likely upgrade to this after my Fenix3 is retired. I cannot believe they removed WiFi from most of the new models though!? Was much easier to quickly sync with that vs having to pair Bluetooth or do a wired connection.

Chamois

I've used Garmins for years and always found them to be reliable and have good functionality. I've had a Fenix 3 for about a year now and it's been perfect for triathlons and swimming / running (I was lucky enough to get an Edge 820 for Christmas ). The only downside is that the Fenix 3 looks rather ridiculous on my little wrist so I'm very tempted by the Fenix 5S but at over £500 I'll have to be patient before I can get one!

deannalfisher

i like that they are going to have one with a smaller watch face for women - part of the reason i ended up going with Polar when I bought my GPS was that it was slightly smaller - since I have kid size wrists...maybe when I look to replace, i'll go to garmin

singletrackmtbr

I want that. I purchased my Fenix 3 from REI so I have a year to return it. Any word on when the 5 will be available?

NorthCascades

Garmin says it'll be available in the "first quarter" of 2017. Which means up to the last day in March.

When they announced the F3 (I'm talking about the one that proceeded the F3HR by a year) they said it would be available 1Q2015. I pre-ordered mine from REI in Jan or Feb and got it mid March. REI got shipments in before any other retailer.

I'm going to buy mine from REI. I may or may not get it sooner that way, but I'll have a year to decide whether it's worth the money. All Garmin devices are buggy when first released. The device doesn't always live up to expectations. I've always felt like buying a Garmin is rolling the dice, I'd never buy one from a store without a very generous return policy.

singletrackmtbr

Awesome. I bought my 3HR in April so it will work out.

NorthCascades

Please expect it to be buggy and sometimes frustrating for the first month or two. I hope I'm wrong about that. The F3 I pre-ordered matured very much while I owned it. For a few months it only allowed one alarm. Until software v5 the barometer and elevation history were useless and unacceptable. That problem better not be present in the F5X from day one. For a long time, steps were rarely synced; the watch had more bugs and crashed more often when it was first launched, which would reset the step count to whatever it was when last synced, so people would routinely lose thousands of steps.

All of those problems and many more were cleared up, and it turned into the best watch I've ever owned. But there were teething pains. By the time the F3HR was available, it was already a very mature platform. By that point it had already got several new features that we owners were never promised, like LTHR detection.

I really hope that it's smooth sailing from day one. But history leads me to expect otherwise.

singletrackmtbr

All good points, but I'm willing to deal it for topo maps!

NorthCascades

What are your thoughts on maps without a touch screen?

I use the "map" page on my F3 a lot. Before a lot of adventures, I'll put waypoints into the watch so they'll show up on the map. Where to find water on a hike, trail junctions, my destination so I can get a quick idea how far I am. I'll zoom in and out but scrolling is too much pita for me. But we're talking real maps here, bike-routable ones for when you travel, and topos for hiking. It's the holy grail.

EDIT: The version with maps has a faster processor to handle the maps. Does that mean everything will be faster than the other versions? If you want sapphire, it's the same price with or without maps.

NorthCascades

Here's a picture of the charging cable, from the user manual. The sensor is almost flush, looks a lot more comfortable to wear than the F3 HR. But it doesn't look like you'll be able to charge it while you use it. Honestly it looks more awkward all around.



Hopefully some 3rd party will come up with a charging cradle for it. And then we'll all have to spend an extra $30.

jennybearlv

So I'm not the first person to think Fenix and Epix should have a baby. Drool.

singletrackmtbr

I agree the map without a touchscreen can be a bit clutzy, but I rarely mess around with it. I'm usually following a track either I or someone else already made so I zoom out just enough so that I can see my turns and still have some context, then I leave it alone.

It will remain to be seen if you processing the speed is improved for the others apps but honestly it isn't a priority for me.

The 3HR has a cradle so you can't charge while wearing it, but it charges in about an hour so no big deal. I prefer to the cradle to what I see here. I wish Garmin would get away from proprietary chargers.

NorthCascades

Well, it looks like the new watch can be used while it charges. Still, you can't wear it while it charges. I don't run ultramarathons so I can live with this especially in light of the improved battery life. But I'm still a bit disappointed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBFRoDb-FwA

I haven't watched this with the sound yet, but it was posted on the Garmin forum, so I assume it will be relevant.

singletrackmtbr

My enthusiasm is waning. The 5x is going to be even bigger and heavier than the 3HR. 98 grams! That's over a pound sitting on your wrist. I'm not a big guy so the 3HR is really pushing the limit for me.

The 5x looks great but other than the topos there isn't that much I'm excited about. I'm not an ultra distance guy so another couple of days of battery life isn't a huge deal. Pairing with Bluetooth chest straps is nice but I already have an HR-run. More colors? Meh. And that charging configuration seems like breakage waiting to happen.

I may feel like differently later, but the size is really turning me off.

festerw

singletrackmtbr wrote: »

My enthusiasm is waning. The 5x is going to be even bigger and heavier than the 3HR. 98 grams! That's over a pound sitting on your wrist. I'm not a big guy so the 3HR is really pushing the limit for me.

98 grams is no where near a pound it's roughly 3oz. A pound is 450ish grams.

NorthCascades

I'm sitting here wondering why the grooming report for Cabin Creek hasn't been updated. They should groom the trails today, I should be up there. Maybe it's the winter storm? I don't want to drive two hours for nothing.

singletrackmtbr wrote: »

My enthusiasm is waning. The 5x is going to be even bigger and heavier than the 3HR. 98 grams! That's over a pound sitting on your wrist. I'm not a big guy so the 3HR is really pushing the limit for me.

85 grams is 3 ounces, I know that fact from buying down jackets.

When I bought my Fenix 3, two years ago, I was hiking with one of those big, klunky hand-held GPS units. I'd clip it to my backpack. It took 2 AA batteries, and a full day of hiking required 2 sets of them. When I hiked from Cascade Pass to Stehekin, I carried 16 pairs of AA batteries, along with my tent and sleeping bag and camera and all the other stuff. I don't know what AA batteries weigh, but it must have been a few pounds for all of them. Today, the watch is about 3 oz, and I have one of those Anker battery packs, it's another 3 oz and will charge my watch about 10 times. The cable might be another ounce or two. The watch reduced my pack weight pretty seriously.

NorthCascades

singletrackmtbr wrote: »

The 5x looks great but other than the topos there isn't that much I'm excited about. I'm not an ultra distance guy so another couple of days of battery life isn't a huge deal. Pairing with Bluetooth chest straps is nice but I already have an HR-run. More colors? Meh. And that charging configuration seems like breakage waiting to happen.

I agree with you, the new charger looks like it'll bend or break with enough use. Here are the things I'm excited about:

* WHR sensor bump is almost gone. The F3 was more comfortable than the F3 HR, the vibration alerts were easier to notice. I've regretted the upgrade, and the new model looks like it'll sit flush against the wrist - more comfy. This alone is worth the upgrade.

* Training Effect 2. I've found TE very useful. Looking forward the the aerobic/anaerobic breakdown.

* Training Load. I don't know if they've done it in a useful way or not, but let's hope so.

* Improved battery will be nice. Improved display will be nice, too; more colors mean better contrast and better anti-aliasing, easier to read on the bike or skis. The wHRM has never been remotely accurate for me, I'd love it if the improvements they've made will make it worth having.

* New ski mode - I'd like better support for cross country.

* Besides the maps themselves, some of the routing options that are possible because of maps are also huge. I like having turn-by-turn directions when I take my bike somewhere I've never been; it's a lot of computer work setting them up for the F3. The round trip route generation feature is kind of nice too.

The bands are a neat idea, but I already have a band I like and don't change it very often. Plus I'd be worried about losing the watch swimming.

singletrackmtbr

festerw wrote: »

singletrackmtbr wrote: »

My enthusiasm is waning. The 5x is going to be even bigger and heavier than the 3HR. 98 grams! That's over a pound sitting on your wrist. I'm not a big guy so the 3HR is really pushing the limit for me.

98 grams is no where near a pound it's roughly 3oz. A pound is 450ish grams.

Sorry I don't know where the hell that math came from!

MichaelJSwann

singletrackmtbr wrote: »

My enthusiasm is waning. The 5x is going to be even bigger and heavier than the 3HR. 98 grams! That's over a pound sitting on your wrist. I'm not a big guy so the 3HR is really pushing the limit for me.

The 5x looks great but other than the topos there isn't that much I'm excited about. I'm not an ultra distance guy so another couple of days of battery life isn't a huge deal. Pairing with Bluetooth chest straps is nice but I already have an HR-run. More colors? Meh. And that charging configuration seems like breakage waiting to happen.

I may feel like differently later, but the size is really turning me off.

In the video the Garmin representative says the 5X is the same size as the Fenix 3 and that the others are smaller than the Fenix 3.