Top positive review
145 people found this helpful
The ONE watch to rule them all (for the most part)
By berklaw on Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015
First, it is helpful to understand what this watch is, and what it isn't. The Fenix 3 is a multi sport exercise watch, it not a 24 hour activity tracker. Now, it does have the activity tracking feature, it will count your steps and the Garmin Connect App will process that information, but that feature seems like it was added as an after thought. The Fenix 3 is for exercise. As such, you would be stupid to buy the Fenix 3 without the HR monitor chest strap. You have to get it, it doesn't just track heart rate, but in run mode, will track run cadence, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation which is super informative. Multi-Sport Tracking: I am triathlete, so I use the watch to track running, cycling and swimming, but it can track much more than that. It comes pre-loaded with the following activities, XC Skiing, Ski/Snow Board, Climb, Trail Run, Run, Indoor Run, Bike, Indoor Bike, Pool Swim, Open Water Swim, Triathlon, and Hike. The activities is how you tell the watch which features you will be using (e.g. GPS, Glonass, step counting, etc.). This is my first watch that tracks swimming (somewhat automatically). I appreciate the engineering challenges with tracking pool swims, the watch can auto detect the basic swim strokes, which is nice. However, you do have to fiddle with the watch as you go. You have to press the lap button to tell the watch you are resting, and if you do drills that don't involve a standard swim stroke, you have to tell the watch you are doing a drill, then press a button when your done, then confirm the distance you drilled, then press lap again to get back to regular swim mode. Once you get used it, not a big deal, and the trade off is good data. Lastly, you can create custom activities (like strength training, or if you want a simply timer) Like many high end garmin watches, the display screens can be customized. It takes a little bit of thought and trial and error to get what you want, but you can access all sorts of data on the run. You can have up to 7 different screens. It also has features for creating workouts like interval workouts, and you can put the watch in race mode. Other Features and Device Pairing. For the Fenix to auto-sync data, you need to pair the Fenix with a device (i-OS or Android). Right now, I have it sync to the Garmin Connect app, it can probably sync to others (via bluetooth), but I haven't tested it. One thing it won't do is wirelessly sync to Training Peaks. However, you can plug it in directly with the USB charger and pull files and import them into whatever software you use to record your exercise (the Fenix saves activities as .FIT files). When paired with a mobile device, the watch can give you notifications (incoming emails, calls, text's, etc.). Like with activity tracking, that feature seems like an after thought, and frankly, I find it annoying and have disabled the notifications feature. But, if you care, the watch will give you notifications from your device. However, the watch has a weather feature which is nice. All in all, they packed a lot of stuff into this watch, but at its core, this watch is for exercise. Batter Life: Battery life seems within manufacturer specifications. My first bike ride with the watch was 2+ hours and I used about 12% of the battery. In GPS mode, 10 hour battery life is realistic. Charging is lightening fast. So far, I don't think I have ran the battery down to less than 75% capacity, so it charges in a matter of minutes. SIze: The watch is big. I am 6'2" with a medium build, and the watch face takes up my entire wrist (see the attached picture. If you are petite, this watch may overpower you with its size. Also, the watch is 5/8" thick. Granted, it looks like a watch (as opposed to the Garmin 920XT), but it is substantial. I am not really a "watch wearer" so I don't wear the watch all day (but if I valued the activity tracking feature, which I don't, maybe I would, but I think you get more bang for your buck out of a Jawbone Up3, or Basis Peak if you are looking for 24 hour tracking). Thoughts: This is about as close to the perfect exercise watch as you can get. Hands down, this is the one watch to rule them all. Especially if your leanings are toward trail running, back country activities, or multi sports like triathlons, there is nothing better. Now, there are other watches that are adequate, but none include all the functionality, customization, and future expandability (you can customize screens, pair with other sensors, e.g. power meters, cadence sensors). In addition, app developers can create apps for the watch (although right now, the pickings are slim). Garmin really nailed it with this watch so long as you understand what this watch does and does not do, what it is for, and what it is not for. This watch is not for the single sport, or recreational exerciser; the watch would be overkill and there are cheaper, fully adequate, alternatives. If you are a pro, elite, age grouper, or competitive athlete that participates in multiple sports (or regularly cross trains) and you want to take your training to the next level and get good data, the Fenix 3 is for you. So far, I have had no issues with the watch. I am so glad I bought it.
Top critical review
9 people found this helpful
UPDATED REVIEW - POOR SUPPORT FROM GARMIN
By JonesE on Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2015
UPDATE: POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUE FROM GARMIN After approximately 18 months with the watch it froze up and would not reboot. After a number of attempts with Garmin customer support, they concluded the watch remained frozen due to corrupted data. At this point they wanted $130 for an exchange. They acknowledged that it didn't sound like I had done anything to damage the watch but remained firm in their policy of $130 for the exchange. For a watch that was about $500 originally to last less than 2 years and need $130 to exchange it was a poor value proposition to me. Otherwise, I had absolutely loved the watch. Original review below: Let me start with a few qualifiers. I have previously used the fenix 2 and largely view this watch based upon the improvements it has made over that product. Secondly, I use this primarily for triathlon type training, so that is the prism I view it through. This watch is more than just incremental improvements and is a major leap forward from the fenix 2. Here are some of the highlights, in no particular order: * Aesthetics: This is a dramatic improvement. It appears the watch is a bit of a broader diameter, but also sits flatter against the user's wrist. For watches that are designed primarily for function, it's as stylish as any I've seen. * Battery: The fenix 2 battery would last about a day if you were using the Bluetooth connected features to your phone. This battery lasts ages in comparison, even with the Bluetooth connected features turned on. I've not run any anecdotal tests, but my guess is it lasts at least a week simply in watch/Bluetooth mode. Obviously any activities utilizing GPS will increase demand on the battery. * Settings: This is a small thing, but I appreciate something I stumbled upon in this design. When you scroll down from the main screen to view altitude, compass and barometer, you can changes settings for those sensors simply by clicking the START/STOP button on the upper right. It saves you from having to go through the settings flow chart. It's a small thing, but an intuitive improvement. * Connect IQ: The available downloads are small in number, but I think having the platform now established will be a win for consumers. * Concurrent Bluetooth/ANT+: The ability to utilize both simultaneously seems like it could have a lot of neat benefits and I'm eager to see what the Connect IQ community comes up with. At the very least it allows you to see any notifications (if you wish) from your phone while you're working out and utilize LiveTracking simultaneously with HR and power. * Customization: It allows for very specific customization in terms of which features to use during which workouts. For example, I like to utilize Auto-Pause when riding outdoors and find it to be problematic when riding on the trainer. I used to have to remember to either enable or disable this feature. Now I can set the watch to know when to use Auto-Pause and when not to. * Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi software updates are great. Again, it's a little thing, but now the only reason to plug this in is when it needs to charge, or if I want to manually extract and organize the .fit workout files. * Smart Notifications: You can decide if you want to see notifications during activities. The three settings are: seeing all notifications, seeing calls only, or seeing no notifications. I wish there was activity specific customization here. For example, I turn off the notifications all together because I do not wish to be distracted on my bike. But it would be great if one could see notifications for Bike Indoor, but not outdoor. This is by no means an exhaustive list and some folks will likely find other features they like better, but hopefully it helps. I've only done a handful of workouts. I had very few problems with the fenix 2 over countless workouts, so I have no reason to believe the fenix 3 will not perform as well or better. One problem I've had in the past is the heart rate monitor collecting clearly inaccurate data. If that happens, the workaround I've used (as well as others) is to use a Polar WearLink strap with the Garmin transmitter. Garmin made such a major leap forward with this product, I wonder if it will be a challenge to match the effort in the future. Best of luck.
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