Garmin Fenix 7x Pro Sapphire Solar
New
I wouldn’t trust another brand of fitness watch. I’ve logged thousands of activities on Gamin watches since purchasing my first one in 2017. This is my 3rd Garmin watch (preceded by Fenix 6 and 745).
My top priorities in a fitness watch are:
- Battery life – you don’t want your watch dying in the middle of 6-hour long bike ride, trust me. When I bought my first Garmin watch it was at the recommendation of a colleague who competed in Ironman races. During one of her races, her non-Garmin watch ran out of a juice before she finished. Devastated, she bought a fitness watch with the longest battery life she could find – the Garmin 745. That was a compelling enough reason for me and I purchased the watch as well.
- GPS accuracy – because of the nature of the activities I do – long bike rides, hikes, and runs with no cell service – this is extremely important. I’ve felt confident with the Garmin GPS mapping. This watch specifically has multi-band GPS with SatIQ technology deliver more accurate positioning while also optimizing battery life.
- GPS mapping and ease of use
- Integration with other fitness apps – I primarily use Strava and Ridewithgps.com.
One of my favorite features of this watch is the flashlight which I now use almost daily.
Other Notable Points:
Do not rely on Solar power. From what I can tell, this feature is useless.
If you ever plan to buy a Garmin watch, you can expect new models to bring a hefty increase in price. I’m not aware of an upgrade that’s made a watch that much better. An accumulation of upgrades across several watch models may warrant an upgrade.