Garmin Fenix 7

[...] These things are basically being thrown away and watches like a Gen 6 AW or a Fenix 5 can be found for so little money and they work very well even today if you only care about sports tracking. I personally cannot stand Apple for sports, which is why I have a AW Ultra 1 AND a Fenix 7 lol. [...] 2 years ago I got a Fenix 5 for 180 and it was amazing for me. [...]

[...] my 2yo Fenix 7 Solar definitely lasts 3-4 weeks. [...] Pulse on, GPS is generally only on in solar. Screen is never off. [...]

I've been using Fenix 5 and then Fenix 7 for many years now and I don't recognize any of the points you're making. I might agree on the awful charging port, but that's fixed by getting one of the cheap charging "pads" from Amazon.

I've been sleep tracking with my Garmin Fenix 7 for about 18 months, and to me it seems bang on. The HRV stat is particularly good - a decline over about a week predicted the onset of flu symptoms a couple months ago, for example. Body battery is also a really useful feedback measurement. [...]

[...] I've now been wearing this particular one (Fenix 7) for 6 months, a serious upgrade from a Forerunner 735xt continuously worn for 5 years. [...]

My Fenix 7 has 12 days of life, while using it every day for fitness tracking, maps, the occasional LED flashlight, etc. [...] I charge before I leave, then spend a week or more living out of backpack and sleeping on the ground. I very much want to go back to Apple Watch but Garmin battery life and durability is just so much better for my use case.

i have one too with a sapphire screen (fenix 7). the watch is beaten up but the screen looks brand new. really phenomenal watches.

[...] Garmin battery life is insane. I keep seeing people comment how they charge their watches on a near daily basis and that's just insane to me. I charge my fenix 7 solar maybe once a month. [...] I use garmin pay and occasionally listen to podcasts on my watch while running. [...]

hold a charge for several days That would be an understatement, are you running/cycling a lot outside, or is it a smaller model (thus small battery because physics)? Mine (Fenix 7) holds charge for 15 days minimum and that's with tracking workouts 3-5x/week (no GPS though, winter so I treadmill for runs). [...] I have SpO2 tracking disabled because it's quite battery intensive and the only use for it would be high altitude acclimation, although I must admit I looked at it during my "stop smoking" process.

I had the fenix 7 and I liked the sleep tracking. Because the garmin can function without requiring and acount/online nonsense, it does the sleep analysis and recommendations on the watch.

Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. And Battery Life. I just got a Garmin Fenix 7, and finally, a smart-watch with buttons that are reasonably well-thought out (and a battery that lasts longer than one week). But seriously: the interface design that goes into "up, down, ok, back, start" and the gestures of "press, hold, hold2" necessitate (and enable) a whole different UX than smearing react javascript components onto a 30mm touch screen with a (checks specs) 1 week battery life. There are real advantages to designing a stateful / navigable interface, and years-long battery life makes it Not a Toy.

As Fenix 7 usrry, I wouldn't call it a gimmick - in sunnier months it definitely reduced the battery drain. [...] I'd say the main problem is that sometimes the watch stays on battery so long I forget it needs a charge at all ...

My Garmin Fenix 7 Solar happily crosses the 20-25d mark, depending on usage. I have most features enabled though, using it as "just a watch" (which is what the tunable battery saver mode is, which I used a fee times in a bind) it turns 2d remaining into 1w+, so I would not be surprised if it would turn the 20-25d into 50-75d ballpark, possibly more. [...]

Or their watches, which is part of what makes them able to have an always on display and hit e.g 20+d on my Fenix 7 (or more if you turn off continuous HR). The comparable Epix has an AMOLED display and has to turn it off to achieve the same duration (always on turns it into 1w)

I have a Garmin Fenix 7 which I have had awhile. I have tried quite a few and this has been my favorite. She Samsung was cool but battery life was an issue.

Love my Garmin Fenix 7 solar. [...] Best gps watch I've had to date, after Suunto and 3 Coros watches.

The garmin Fenix 7 is on sale in the $500 range now. It's my daily driver and well worth it! youtu.be/RlKdAIuyprY smartwatch garmin garminfenix7 garminfenix8 samsungwatch5pro galaxywatch5pro samsungultrawatch applewatchultra applewatchultra2 oledwatch garmindiving garmindiver

I have used the flashlight on my Garmin Fenix 7 for getting around the house in the dark more than “adventuring”, but maybe that is my adventure.

I switched from Apple Watch to a Garmin Fenix 7, for much longer battery life (advertised as 14 days, in practice 10-12), durability (they're very tough), better biometrics, and stuff like built-in maps/GPS (I camp/hike/hunt/etc a lot). I just didn't use any watchOS features, and I use an MVNO that doesn't support sim cloning so cellular's a wash. In short even with reduced features I am considering just going back to an old analog Timex Explorer and using a dedicated GPS device, because even the more limited feature set of the Garmin seems like I'm barely using what it's capable of.

I recently got a Fenix 7, but not for sleep tracking purposes. [...] I definitely think it isn't great at measuring wakefulness at night, but I also have a very low HR and high HRV (while awake), which so this causes the margin for error in the device to be very low. [...] I don't see real value in knowing my historical sleep data.