Garmin Fenix 3 - Opinions?
Discussion
Having been forced into selling my Oris Prodiver Chronograph a couple of years ago due to losing my job and having a mortgage to pay, I'm finally back in the market to get myself something else. Sadly the budget this time around is a bit lower, and I've been thinking about getting a smart watch to help with my cycling and fitness.
What's the opinions on the Garmin Fenix 3? The reviews seem positive and I like that it doesn't look like a bloody iwatch copy. Seems to be a good rugged product with some useful tech on board. Or am I missing something and it's actually a pile of useless junk?
Any alternatives for sub £500? I prefer larger watches as I find them more comfortable on my wrist (no, I've no idea why!), had also considered the Casio GWN-1000B before I saw the Garmin
What's the opinions on the Garmin Fenix 3? The reviews seem positive and I like that it doesn't look like a bloody iwatch copy. Seems to be a good rugged product with some useful tech on board. Or am I missing something and it's actually a pile of useless junk?
Any alternatives for sub £500? I prefer larger watches as I find them more comfortable on my wrist (no, I've no idea why!), had also considered the Casio GWN-1000B before I saw the Garmin
No you're not missing anything. it is a very good sports watch, I had one for about a year but sold it due to hardly using it albeit for a step counter (bit of an expensive step counter!). If you're seriously thinking about one I would buy the sapphire crystal glass as being a sports watch they can get scratched easily. You can also get a lot of different faces for the watch on Garmin IQ. They are also a very big watch and I struggled to get the watch under a shirt cuff.
I have the sapphire, amazing bit of kit, does everything and its very tough, has survived a seasons mtb, kayaking and general messing about. Its generally on my wrist when working on cars etc, and normal day to day stuff. It most recently survived a bike crash on sat that broke my collarbone. Good watch!
Possibly worth holding fire until early January when CES takes place. Garmin released the Fenix 3 there originally in 2015 and, rumour is, they're planning to release the Fenix 5 shortly. Quite a lot of strength to the rumour, because Garmin have done their best to take down various posts on their own forum showing the leaked images, plus have asked various tech and fitness blogs to do the same. Price of the Fenix 3 may drop to sub-£250 in wake of the announcement.
All that said... I bought a Fenix 3 in May and absolutely love it. It's very, very big and chunky, especially on my girly wrist, but has no noticeable weight to it unless you want to go for one of the metal bodied/metal bracelet versions. More features and metrics than you could ever need, and incredibly customisable. I only use mine when running and it gives me all the data I need to pore over afterwards to better adjust my training. I have friends that wear theirs as everyday watches and find the smartwatch funcationality decent.
All that said... I bought a Fenix 3 in May and absolutely love it. It's very, very big and chunky, especially on my girly wrist, but has no noticeable weight to it unless you want to go for one of the metal bodied/metal bracelet versions. More features and metrics than you could ever need, and incredibly customisable. I only use mine when running and it gives me all the data I need to pore over afterwards to better adjust my training. I have friends that wear theirs as everyday watches and find the smartwatch funcationality decent.
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