Which GPS watch do you use ?

[Zimmerframe]

It's Friday ... we're allowed really boring threads ..

Considering a Garmin Instinct 2 as I'm semi interested in some of the health tracking, but mainly accurate GPS tracking.

I fall off a lot, so a Fenix 7 Pro Plus Solar Lazer Anti-grav sounds cool, but I'll break it.

 

[Mcharza]

It's Friday beer time, so I would say Garmin Epix 2

 

[Stihldog]

I fall off a lot too.
So I’m an Apple noob. The Wife and a few friends track me on strava becon. I kinda have no choice here but after it’s set up it’s automatically activated once I find “EBike” mode in the Strava app on my iwatch. (Small print so I need my reading glasses).
I’m usually only interested in how many kms I travelled and where I went. I can’t remember the last time I looked/analyzed the other data (2 months?). Fall detection has gone off a few times but nothing too serious happened.

 

[RustyIron]

Apple Watch 5, with Strava.

I started using the watch on rides where I only carry a water bottle and don't carry a phone. Running Strava on the phone will sometimes goof up a ride, but the Apple Watch never fails, so I went to it exclusively.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I hate tech, I would take mode selector off the bars and cover over the TCU if I could

but when I watched the pinkbike reality show recently they had the garmin I think and its body battery was quite a cool concept. I would have thought that thing would have gorilla glass etc and be able to withstand an old muppet falling off his bike?

 

[Marksou]

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro

 

[Another One]

Fenix 6x Pro Solar previously 5x works great for gym and riding - Some good deals on Fenix 6 now Fenix 7 is out.

 

[JFDI]

Fenix 5 with 2 cracks across the screen protector for 'Street Credibility!'

 

[H.E.]

I have a Instinct solar, good beater watch tbh can take some hits and you can barely see that on
the resin housing. Would invest in a screen protector anyway scratched mine.
On the other hand i miss-clicked yesterday and ordered a fenix 7... we will see how that holds up.

 

[Stihldog]

Yeahhhhh. Some of my side pieces run the same scheme on their husband. It’s good to know when the husband is 10 min out……

So if I get 10 more AirTag’s and 2 more iWatch’s …I’ll be okay . Right?
The dog needs to tell time anyways…I’ll get him a cheap iwatch.

 

[JFDI]

I've had the Fenix 5 for about 4 years and it's just so good at what I want it to do, I would definitely replace it if it ever fails or I loose it.

Firstly the GPS, which I find easy to set up and operate (a little too easy as sometimes the cuff of my gloves will pause or select another mode which can be a pain) and produces a host of various data options. I tend to use it for in MTB/Bike/Walk and Hike modes. Then syncing the data to Strava through the Garmin app.

Heart rate is useful but I wouldn't know how accurate it is? But again a useful reference tool/toy.

You can sync it with a phone for calls, messages and emails, etc which is handy/annoying depending on the circumstances.

I find that the battery life is good when not using the GPS (about 7 days between a recharge) and reasonable when using the GPS (about 2 full rides?).

The watch face is configurable and many boring hours can be passed changing them until you eventually calm down and settle on your favourite one.

A variety of apps can be loaded onto the watch too.

A range of colourful watchstraps are available for you to customise the look before you eventually settle on the default black ones.

Oh, and it's also fairly good for displaying the time as well!

 

[Marksou]

I've had the Fenix 5 for about 4 years and it's just so good at what I want it to do, I would definitely replace it if it ever fails or I loose it.

Firstly the GPS, which I find easy to set up and operate (a little too easy as sometimes the cuff of my gloves will pause or select another mode which can be a pain)

On the Fenix 6 Pro there’s a setting that locks the watch when an activity is started. On my old Fenix 3, you could assign a button to act as lock/unlock. So you should have one of those 2 options on the 5? (I went from the 3 to the 6).

 

[Zimmerframe]

Ok.

Peer pressure is a great thing..

Went for a 6s because I didn't want anything too big and with the smaller screen, the mapping seemed pointless.

Thanks everyone for the advice, even @BAMBAMODA

 

[Jackware]

@Zimmerframe
Ok, explain why a GPS enabled 'watch' is better than a smartphone that uses its built in GPS to run a navigation/map app?
Genuinely what am I missing - how do you use it?

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Ok, explain why a GPS enabled 'watch' is better than a smartphone that uses its built in GPS to run a navigation/map app?
Genuinely what am I missing - how do you use it?

thanks.. I thought It was just me that saw them as pointless

 

[JFDI]

@Zimmerframe
Ok, explain why a GPS enabled 'watch' is better than a smartphone that uses its built in GPS to run a navigation/map app?
Genuinely what am I missing - how do you use it?

Great points.
In my case I like to keep my phone as fully charged up as possible in case I have a 'good off' so I don't want to use the phone as a GPS platform as mine seems power hungry?
For me the watch is a dedicated GPS device.

 

[Jackware]

In my case I like to keep my phone as fully charged up as possible in case I have a 'good off' so I don't want to use the phone as a GPS platform as mine seems power hungry?
For me the watch is the dedicated GPS device.

But are you using the GPS info for?

I keep my phone in my hipbag and use an ex-demo (cheap) large screen mobile on a quadlock handlebar mount for navigation.
If I need to know my pulse I can check on my £20 Huawei band

 

[Zimmerframe]

I've always thought the same.

It might be that in most cases the phone is perfect.

For me, I've found the phone has become less accurate lately.

No idea if this is a hardware fault, a software update or even just how Strava is interpreting the data. (For example, recently is misses lots of segments - but if you change it to private/bike and then change it back, quite often it then recalculates and finds them- so a Strava fault)

Also, in the pocket it's not always 100% accurate and on the bars It's more liable to damage.

So I thought I'd finally try the watch option.

Will obviously try them both in parallel to see how they compare.

 

[Jackware]

Riding with your phone mounted on the bars just looks retarded. The watch can give you turn by turn directions and track you and when you pass the babes they wont make fun of you for being the type that rides so gentle that their phone stays mounted to the bars.


this is my opinion which shouldn’t carry weight with anyone even the ones with their phone on the bars

Practical as ever but I pass more sheep than babes and I'm not trying to impress them.


Does the turn by turn work on off road trails?

 

[Jackware]

I've always thought the same.

It might be that in most cases the phone is perfect.

For me, I've found the phone has become less accurate lately.

No idea if this is a hardware fault, a software update or even just how Strava is interpreting the data. (For example, recently is misses lots of segments - but if you change it to private/bike and then change it back, quite often it then recalculates and finds them- so a Strava fault)

Also, in the pocket it's not always 100% accurate and on the bars It's more liable to damage.

So I thought I'd finally try the watch option.

Will obviously try them both in parallel to see how they compare.

So you're using the watch just to record where you've been, not how to get there?

 

[Mcharza]

Practical as ever but I pass more sheep than babes and I'm not trying to impress them.


Does the turn by turn work on off road trails?

Of course it works, it's a smartwatch

 

[JFDI]

But are you using the GPS info for?

I keep my phone in my hipbag and use an ex-demo (cheap) large screen mobile on a quadlock handlebar mount for navigation.
If I need to know my pulse I can check on my £20 Huawei band

I refer to my phone if I need to cross reference a position and only use it for the ordinance survey mapping if I need to confirm my position, when I'm out on the Moors I really only see the phone as my 'emergency get me outta here' tool.
I also use a garmin 830 which is mounted on the bars.
The watch supplements everything else and it has basic topo maps?
Redundancy, yes.
It's belt and braces x3 so I guess it's down to personal preferences and it works well for me?
I generally also take a map and compass as back up! OTT, yes!

 

[Sherman]

Now when Garmin has released new Fenix 7 and Epix 2, it's the perfect time to pick up Garmin Fenix 6 pro, maybe even 2nd hand. It's just sooo good for bike rides and now includes emtb profile. Battery lasts forever.

 

[Another One]

But are you using the GPS info for?

I keep my phone in my hipbag and use an ex-demo (cheap) large screen mobile on a quadlock handlebar mount for navigation.
If I need to know my pulse I can check on my £20 Huawei band

I really don't see what your argument is are you saying it would be better to go with your setup than using a Garmin watch? If so I could not disagree more, it seems a lot of hassle when you could just purchase a watch job done and I dont ride with an hipbag.

 

[Jackware]

I'm not arguing, I'm trying to learn if a watch is a better option...
Do you use your watch to navigate using its screen to read a map?

 

[Another One]

I'm not arguing, I'm trying to learn if a watch is a better option...
Do you use your watch to navigate using its screen to read a map?

I presume you are aware the Fenix provides more than a map function, maybe have a read up. Try DC Rainmaker some good reviews.

 

[highpeakrider]

For an iPhone user you want an Apple Watch but use WorkOutDoors to track activities and upload to Strava.
It's a great watch and iPhone app.

http://www.workoutdoors.net

 

[Growmac]

If I need to navigate then I use a Garmin 530. I did have an 830, but I swapped it with @Gary and I'm still very pleased I did. For every time that the touchscreen was nice, it's far more convenient to have a unit that works properly when wet and when wearing gloves. I pair it with a Wahoo chest strap for HR, and I use my phone for OS maps if I need to work out what I'm doing and/or change the route. Komoot is my route plotting app of choice, and the Garmin can pick up on those routes directly while paired with my phone.

For just tracking a normal ride I use my Apple Watch 6. It does an accurate, convenient job with HR included, and I can easily upload to Strava, which is what I use to track my rides. I can also buy beer in the pub afterwards using Apple Pay, which is convenient.

I used to use my phone, but as has been said above, I think the battery saving got much more aggressive at the expense of accuracy, and I like to leave the phone charged in case of emergencies. I'd never mount my phone on the bars, so a dedicated unit that will last all day is better for navigation. For me anyway.

 

[Growmac]

I'll expand on the 830 vs 530 thing.

The 830 is undoubtedly easier to use if you're sitting with no gloves on a dry day. You can easily(ish) get to different screens, change items on individual screens, or scroll the map. Complete garbage compared to any smartphone, but it works well.

Thing is, using the unit for anything other than turn by turn directions, where it's excellent, is really no good. The screen is too small and too low resolution to navigate in any sort or planning / changing plans way. Rerouting on the 530 is pretty much impossible, but it's fairly impossible on the 830 too. It's always easier to pull out a phone and sort it there. The key for me is that the 530 works reliably in the wet and with gloves.

So, I prefer to just accept the unit for what it is. Accurate, fantastic battery life, clear turn by turn directions for a route planned elsewhere, and easy import of routes from Komoot etc.

 

[Mcharza]

I'm not arguing, I'm trying to learn if a watch is a better option...
Do you use your watch to navigate using its screen to read a map?

In the new location I am using the downloaded .gpx route. The clock is good at telling and alerting on intersecting paths before turning. At the same time, a topo map is displayed.
Sure, if there's a place I'm not sure about, I'll dig phone out of my pocket. Easier to watch on the bigger screen.