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Comment by mechhacker | Hacker News Reader

I really like my Garmin Fenix. Got someone else a Garmin Instinct as a gift.

Previously, I got a Samsung and it was a buggy piece of junk. The Garmin has been extremely reliable, getting regularly doused underwater in saltwater when crashing while windsurfing, monitors heart rate, and can be hooked up to a heart rate monitor. And I charge it maybe once a week.

I looked into Apple Watches and I think Fossil too but they didn't seem to fit the bill. Apple has terrible watch battery life. I was able to put my Garmin in low power mode and only use the GPS when recording a few windsurf sessions, and it lasted 2 weeks like that without charging while in Europe.

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Just wanna chime in and say my Samsung galaxy watch 5 pro does feel like a piece of junk in many regards, but specifically for heart rate tracking.

Whether I set it to measure continuously or ever 10 minutes, it never captures the real highs of the day.

I've been cycling a ton since I got swift and my first "real" bike last autumn and had been pretty sedentary for months before.

You'd expect the long term min max heart rate graph to increase but it's pretty much the same. The rare times it picks up on my elevated heart rate as I bike, it warns me that my "at rest" heart rate is high..

I've tried adjusting tightness, even reducing arm hair with a clipper as people were saying it can interfere. Nothing changed.

It was half off when I bought my phone so I grabbed it but it still feels overpriced. For sleep tracking I feel like it's been relatively decent and otherwise obviously I get notifications and stuff.

But the UI often feels laggy, simple things like entering my pin lags.

Ever since I switched from an iPad pro to the galaxy tab s9 ultra, I do appreciate how well things work when you own everything in the same ecosystem but the watch is the low point.

Apple watch sucks for hr monitoring too FWIW.

It’s usually at the top of the reviews done by The Quantified Scientist on YouTube. He seems to be pretty thorough and has a crap ton of data.

It's always matched the heart rate monitor at the doctor's office for me which has me thinking it's pretty good. What have you found that's off?

Just like other wrist-based heart rate monitors, I've found the Apple Watch will be within 10% of a good chest strap HR monitor (like the POLAR H10), but only during rest.

During high intensity interval training, the AW (and Garmin) can struggle. For me, it'll regularly read grossly under or over (like, think you're at 90 when your HR is actually 140, or 180 when I'm at 150).

Depending on your veins, your skin color, and your activity, wrist HR might be fine for you. If you want accurate HR in most conditions, though, it seems that you have to resort to a chest strap.

It seems like what we really need is implants to monitor our vitals continuously. These could also be really useful for detecting big problems (like a heart attack) long before they become catastrophic.

I have a Garmin 235 and the heart rate monitoring also sucks. I think now it just stopped working but when I got it new it was sort of maybe accurate indoors when you're not moving. As soon as you go running or outdoors where sunlight can interact with the sensor it's basically useless, either measuring your cadence instead of your heart-rate or just producing total garbage. So I bought a polar chest strap which is incredibly reliable.

It's been a while since I looked at reviews but when I did the conclusion seemed to be all wrist based monitors are iffy and vary greatly from person to person. Maybe some people have a stronger signal at their wrist?

EDIT: I do like the watch though. Lightweight. Durable. Long battery life. Accurate GPS. Everything I need to track my running.

Well the 235 is nearly a decade old now, there has been much improvement in heart rate tracking since then. The 235 is as old as the original Apple Watch.

I've had the vivoactive 3, 645, Fenix 6, and now the 255. The HR sensor is much improved on the 255 (and similar generation models) compared to older models. It obtains accurate HR quickly and doesn't stray or go wild with readings. Enough so that I can go without my chest strap for most runs. I still use a chest strap for high HR interval runs, as it has gone wacky at times here. Another nice thing with the new HR sensor is it uses what seems like a glass cover over the sensor, unlike the plastic resin on older models that had a tendency to develop a spider web of cracks.

Another nice thing I've noticed with the 255 is GPS is normally super accurate, and I'm now able to rely on it 100% of the time for auto 1 mile lapping.

Thanks.. Maybe it's time for me to upgrade. Though it still works great otherwise...

Some of that problem is inherent to the design. Reflective PPG just doesn't work great, especially when you're wiggling it around everywhere.

There's a whole bunch of signal processing mumbo-jumbo you can do to get a clean-ish heart rate from reflective PPG, it's just more complicated than Samsung/Apple/etc probably care to implement. They're selling you a watch, not a medical device. It sucks, but that's advertising.

I got a Garmin Epix Gen 2 a few month ago and it's great. It looks great and works great.

the UI too a bit to figure out, it isn't as intuitive as Samsung, and I assume Apple, but now that I've got the hang of it, it's fine.

What I don't understand is why Garmin has SO many different models. They all seem basically the same. When I was in the store to buy mine, I struck up a conversation with another guy looking to buy a Garmin, and we were trying to figure out why you'd chose a Fenix over an Epix over (I can't even remember the other names).

Garmins are good. Great battery life. I've bought other smartwatches, and this one is the best. Yes, there are UI improvements that they could make, but they do what they need to do and battery life...

Previous Pebble (Classic v1 and 2) owner here. I was about to comment that it doesn't have e-ink and therefore would require multiple times a week charging but you mention it lasts a week (which the Pebble I mentioned also would target for; I don't accept less than a week). My Fossil HR Collider is fantastic with regards to battery life, and it only cost about 200 EUR. When I bought it I feared it'd remain too niche (it does not actually look my a smartwatch with the e-ink). Garmin are very well known in the sports sector.

Pebble doesn't have an eInk screen either. Garmin Fenix watches use Memory In Pixel displays like the Pebble. This is sometimes called an ePaper display which is where the confusion comes from I think. It doesn't work like eInk but a traditional LCD where each pixel has a bit of memory to allow it to not need to be constantly refreshed. The newer Fenix watches can get pretty insane battery life, especially the solar models, like a month+.

I wasn't implying Pebble have e-ink. I had my Fossil HR Collider in mind. A month is impressive, but 600+ EUR for a WearOS device is too much for me (you pay with your privacy on anything Android/Google).

I have a Garmin Marq that was my 20th anniversary gift from my wife. It's my second smart watch. My first was an Apple Watch that I wore for a bit and then left in a drawer and eventually forgot about it. (It was a great device and well made, but the use case for the watch just wasn't optimized for what I used it for.)

The Garmin just unobtrusively (app-wise, physically it's pretty beefy) does what I want it to do, and I'm also totally comfortable going away for a week and not brining a chargers. I'm also comfortable wearing it in all circumstances.

In lower power mode, it lasts several weeks, which is great since 95% of the time, I'm using it as a watch.

I own a Lamborghini that I received as a gift for my 20th anniversary. It's my second high-performance car. The first one was a Honda Civic that I drove for a while and then parked in the garage, eventually forgetting about it. (It was an amazing vehicle and well-crafted, but the driving experience just didn't align with my preferences.)

The Lamborghini effortlessly (performance-wise, it's quite powerful) does what I want it to do, and I'm perfectly fine taking it on a week-long trip without worrying about refueling. I'm also comfortable driving it in any situation.

In eco mode, it has an impressive fuel efficiency, which is fantastic since 95% of the time, I'm using it for regular commuting.

I feel the same. I love only charging once a week for like an hour.

I do wish it was better at sleep tracking...

Sleep tracking is really interesting, but having to sleep with a huge watch isn't really appealing to me. Thinking about it, combining health tracking with a smart watch seems rather conflicted to me, they are mentally on the opposite sides of the health spectrum in my mind. One is suppose to help you, the other provides yet another way to keep you connected draining mental energy.

I really think there should be devices that track health data and then just sync data to a computer or phone a few times a day. I know the Oura ring exists, but that's a subscription and therefor not interesting.

My watch is a pivotal part of my ongoing health management. It doesn’t drain mental energy, it restores it and also means I now have less need for a phone which does have things that could serve as a distraction. The watch is now largely the only device I carry for that reason.

I suffer cognitive issues following severe health issues, the watch helps keep me on track with medication reminders and helpful pings to remind me of what I’m supposed to be doing/going to that day (drs appointments, scans, reminders to perform rehabilitation exercises etc). I can’t rely on my phone because it’s not guaranteed to be with me, but as long as I strap the watch on every morning (my partner reminds me first thing) I’m set for the day.

No YouTube, HN, web browsing etc, it’s far more functional for me as a life tool than a phone with a significantly larger scope for distraction and time wasting.

For daily use, my Apple Watch Ultra is a much better companion. But when it matters, like doing long distance cycling or backpacking in the back country, I have a Garmin Epix and an InReach that I trust with my life

I also own a Garmin Enduro, but I charge it once per month and I do like 5-9 hours of tracked activities per week.

Looks like they have solar charging model too... I wonder if that is a gimmick or actually works well?

The one I got as a gift is a solar Instinct. I'll have to ask her what she thinks of it. I looked at the log of solar activity and it does keep track of solar intensity through the day. I just am not sure how much it impacts charging.

It depends on where you live. I got an Instinct Crossover Solar recently and as far as I can tell, in the PNW it provides zero benefit unless I were to spend all day outside, every day.

To be fair, you live in the land of no sun.

It's still going to run down the battery if you are using the sport tracking modes, where it enables satellite tracking and also increases the sampling and recording rates.

From what I've seen in written reviews and user forums, the solar can reduce the rate of discharge but isn't realistically going to charge up the watch. It could be enough to offset daily basic smartwatch use if you spend time with it exposed to bright conditions while you wear it.

Setting it out in bright sun is likely to just overheat it and then it won't charge. On your arm, you act as a heat sink compared to if it is left on a sunny surface.

This is great feedback, especially the part about it over heating!

Based on your comment, I'd error on the side of gimmick then. =)

As Fenix 7 usrry, I wouldn't call it a gimmick - in sunnier months it definitely reduced the battery drain.

And the watch will report amount of solar energy gathered ... Somewhere.

I'd say the main problem is that sometimes the watch stays on battery so long I forget it needs a charge at all ...

From the review I just read, the Fenix 7 greatly increases the solar capacity compared to the Fenix 6.

It looks like a great watch but compared to my Fossil HR Collider: far more expensive, color screen instead of e-ink.

Too bad Garmin only targets the sporty look.

If they made something that looked well with a suit too, maybe I'd bite.

Or have they and I'm just not up to date with options?

Honestly, Fenix series looks great with suits too, especially if you go for silvery-looking variants. I have metal bracelet for the times we need to go all out formal. They are, however, pretty chunky.

Consider for example https://res.garmin.com/transform/image/upload/c_limit,dpr_1....

Oh. That does look like a watch. Seems to be the only model though.

Noted, thanks.

Well, Fenix series all look like that, at least since 5 which was my first Garmin.

Not the ones with plastic bracelets, thank you very much.

I've clicked around a bit and i could find just one metal bracelet. And zero leather (even fake).

I know you can generally swap bracelets* - if they're standard - but there's enough plastic garbage in the world if you ask me.

* easy with leather, but if you want a metal bracelet that matches the metal body of the watch exactly, hard.

I have more than one because I do use mine for training, the more flexible cloth or rubber ones for training, metal one for outings.

I have a "just a watch" with solar charging from Citizen. Solar is enough for that (it has never stopped since i bought it) but it probably can't handle backlight, radios etc.

there are vids that cover it, but honestly? Garmin batteries last _a long time_. Especially if you are more of an indoor person, they last so long. Good replacement for the Pebble tbh

I have an Instinct 2X Tactical with solar charging, and from what I see with normal usage it prolongs battery life 1.5-2x in sunny weather. Probably if you optimize the power consumption it could fully offset the discharge, as advertised.

Very much like this watch, especially with aftermarket Velcro strap. It's also surprising how useful the builtin flashlight is on a watch, much more convenient in everyday use than one in a phone.

Happy owner for 4 years of a Garmin Fenix 5.

I wear it everyday and it has happily survived many water sports including a lot of surfing sessions. Practical, no bullshit (I don't want most of "smart" watch features, I have my phone for that), long battery life (I can record several day hike or full ski days without needing a recharge) and quite resistant (I took the Sapphire + Titanium version).

Only thing that could make me take a new Garmin model would be glucose tracking.

I switched to the Coros Vertix from Garmin Fenix a few years ago. At the time it was because their battery life was massively better. Things have evened out since. But I've been really happy with all aspects of the Coros and it's at a lower price point to the equivalent Garmin. I don't use the traditional "smartwatch" features, i.e. phone notifications, since they seemed unreliable and annoying.

I recently tried a Pixel Watch 2 for a few days. The experience was terrible. Battery life is laughable and the interface made me want to smash it. Also wasn't really useful since everything is compromised by the form factor. Dick Tracy calls were kinda fun for 2 mins though.

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