Which GPS watch do you use ?

[flash]

Next problem - the display. Unlike the pictures, it's dull with no vibrancy. The screen depends on external light source for much of it's clarity - so once you're in the sun, it works really well. I also had to up the default brightness levels in various modes as these were all set at 20% which was like looking at a mobile phone with the back light off.

This is why I replaced my 5 with an Epix 2. Still has 6 day battery life. I give it a quick charge while I’m in the shower. Maybe 15-20 mins per day. Battery never seems to run out that way. Screen is vastly better than the Fenix. Has touch like the F7.

Gordon

 

[Rickster]

Holy smokes Gordon that watch is super pricey !! I hope it has an auto pilot mode for that money.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I may ruffle feathers here ..

OK, so I liked the Fenix 6. It's a really nice watch. Once you get used to the device and the app there's lots of cool features.

But .. I didn't like the display. In bright sunlight, it was superb ! In dull light, it was pretty crap. Why they chose that display is obvious, it's low power and great in sunlight !

I'd also gone for the 6S because I didn't want bulk, which meant I couldn't actually see most of what the display had to offer !

The next big fail for me was the GPS. It's really slow to lock on and basically not very accurate, especially in tree cover. It's not awful, but it's not what I expected/wanted.

The logical choice was an Epix 2. The GPS is considerably better, the screen is clear for all times, but it's still a watch which I'll probably destroy on a rock, axe, tree - something - or not like and give away.

After much looking around - and to be fair - there's a lot of choice now ! With more coming each day. I went with something I'd discounted as ugly and crap !

The Amazfit T-rex 2.

The previous version and the GPR2 had awful altitude and GPS tracking so that was a huge concern - that all seems sorted now.

Positives over the Fenix.

The screen is stunning ! It's just attractive to look at !

Battery life is excellent. For example, in 28 hours with general use and no GPS it's used 4% ! I've tinkered with settings, checked things, read e-mails on it. Replied to e-mails with "quick responses". Way better than the Fenix, though in fairness I've dropped the heart rate from 1 minute to 5 minute so that will make a large difference.

Sleep tracking seems really good, though with the heart rate set less frequently it's not picked up those 10 second wake ups.

GPS is excellent. 2 band and 5 satellites puts it on paper better than an Epix 2, though I think in reality Garmin are still better with their software so the Epix 2 is probably slightly more accurate though in my testing it's really accurate and lockon takes a few seconds. Running the watch over three days and the GPS for about 8-10 hours used 25% battery.

Comfort : for some reason it's way more comfortable. I used to have to adjust the garmin several times a day. In fairness this might just be me not wearing a watch for 20 years and adjusting !

I've already smacked the crap out of it lots, way more than I did with the Garmin and it's unmarked and unphased.

Step tracking is way way more accurate. The Garmin's add in lots of ghost steps - even when in bed ! (not that anyone really cares).

Various other things, but many of those could be down to screen size difference so I won't go into them.

Price, it's cheaper than a Fenix 6 and way cheaper than a 7.

Navigating the device is easy with the buttons and touch screen. Once you get used to it, it's all pretty intuitive and configurable with the app or the watch.


Negatives :

It's not a Garmin, so not the same ecosystem if you're used to it. I actually like the Zepp software and the information, though if you were a serious athlete, it's probably lacking in some of the deep training information you'd get with the Garmin.

The navigation isn't active yet, this is supposed to come with an update.

There's lots of cool watch faces, but if you want "simple" there's less than there are with the Garmin.

There's no Ant+ !!! So that sucks for lots of things.

There's no "body battery" though it does tell you recovery times and various other things. I'm still in two minds about Body battery. It seemed great, but it often put me off doing things because it said I was flat !

Has a stupid "T-rex" logo on the top of the strap which I guess you could black out.

 

[Hamina]

Someone could test the affect of 25hz GPS in Strava segments. The error should be smaller in both ends: the start and the end as Strava chooses the closest point. I think the 1Hz is not accurate enough for fast speed downhill segments.

Mini | RaceBox

www.racebox.pro

 

[Zimmerframe]

Been using the Amazfit T-Rex 2 for over a year now, still looks like new despite the regular abuse.

It still receives regular updates and they keep improving things and adding new features. It had one last night which created a morning welcome screen today. This says Good morning .. then the weather, some other crap, then said I'd burnt sufficient body fat yesterday - cheeky fecking watch !

Much prefer the GPS accuracy over the Garmin still and the battery life is quite impressive. I do have it set to display off unless you press a button and the same during an activity, so that helps considerably.

I've not been wearing it all the time since my last off, so it's not been heart monitoring 24/7, but it's still been bluetooth connected and beeping and screen on for notifications from the phone plus done a few GPS activities, though probably only about 5 hours.

All the same, it's incredibly frugal on battery usage :

The watch display in the app is just showing how you have your display setup, it's not a live duplicate.