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Garmin Fenix 3 review
- Price Paid:$550.00
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User rating:(4.1)
- Would buy again from this company: Yes
- Used product for: 1 months
- # of logged workouts:
"I'm planning to enjoy this watch for several years. It's very nice to have one device to do activity monitoring, sleep tracking, and workout tracking. Looks like if I ever branch out to hiking/climbing, it'll be a very useful tool for that, also. If you're comfortable with a honkin' big watch on your wrist and the need for a chest strap for HR, you could do a lot worse than the Fenix 3. "tri_bob
Quality of Construction
Thus far, at least, it seems rock solid, which has been my experience with Garmin to date.
Fit
It's a watch with a strap.
Comfort
Comfort is now a valid issue, because you're supposed to wear this thing literally all day and all night, to make use of sleep tracking and the silent alarm. Fortunately, I've had almost no issues. The one instance where I have experienced some discomfort is wearing it while weight training. I don't know if the 910XT (or other models) didn't have this issue, or if I only notice it because this is the first time I've worn a Garmin during strength sessions. All in all, I thought wearing it all the time would be bothersome; it isn't, at least not yet.
Adjustability
Again, it's a watch with a strap. Assuming you're not pre-real boy Pinocchio or Andre the Giant, you should be able to adjust it to fit you.
Durability
After a single month, it's hard to say. My experience with other Garmin products -- including a massive bike wipeout during my VERY FIRST ride with the 910XT -- suggests that this will hold up nicely.
Value
Now, then. This is a powerfully subjective category, isn't it? For me, it's worth every penny. It replaced the FitBit I used to wear, and it's pretty much impossible for me to "forget my Garmin" now because I'm always wearing it. My only quibble is still using a chest strap HR. In some happier future, a self-contained unit will exist that does everything the Fenix does also includes a viable built-in HR monitor. I'm only rating it a 4 because I think the price tag will be a difficult hurdle for a lot of people to get over.
Appearance
It's a nice-looking watch, with a variety of built-in faces and a rapidly growing collection of user-built ones. That said, it doesn't quite fade into the background the way a "normal" watch would. The screen is easy to read in bright daylight, and the backlight works very nicely. I suspect that if I were a larger guy and didn't have such delicate little wrists I would rate this higher. As it is, I sort of look like a kid who nabbed his dad's watch and is not quite pulling off the look.
Customer Service
With any luck, we'll never know.
Performance
In the time I've had the Fenix 3, I've done a couple dozen workouts: run, bike, swim, cardio, and strength. I've had zero issues with dropped heart rate readings, acquiring GPS signal, tracking lengths in the pool ... or anything, really. I know other users have had workouts stop for no apparent reason or other issues, but -- and I know I'm tempting fate -- this has worked flawlessly so far. How often does that happen?
It's been too cold here in New England for me to be out on the roads, so I can't yet comment on how it works for bike data. I know some users are bothered by the lack of a quick-release option, but I never used that anyway, so it's not a great loss for me. I have used it on the trainer, but I don't have power (yet), so there's just not a lot of data to gather/contemplate.
Strengths
Very quick GPS signal lock. Very good swim lap and stroke detection. Rock-solid HR readings. Intuitive and reliable Bluetooth pairing with phone. Excellent battery life! (It's lasted a full week with daily workout tracking, and still had about 25% battery left. I'll never let it get that low again, because who does, but it's nice to know it can last.)
Weakness
Only a single alarm at any given time. Manual sleep tracking. Kinda big, at least for a little guy. No compatibility with the LoseIt universe, which was a tradeoff I unwillingly made to go all-in-one with the Fenix.This isn't specific to the Fenix, but is true of Garmin products.
- 16 people use
- 8 workouts logged
- 62.22 miles / 10.89 hours logged
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Ease of use
The layout is similar to, but different enough from, the 910XT that I'm still getting used to it. Three weeks in, I still find myself asking, "Can I do [whatever thing I'm trying to do]?" It's not entirely intuitive, but I've only come across a couple of instances when the answer to the "Can I ... ?" question has been a "No."