Upgrade to Fenix 5 Plus?

I have been researching the new line of Fenix 5 Plus to possibly upgrade to but from what I am reading on the site most if not all are unhappy with battery life? I put battery life pretty high on the list of things I want in a GPS watch as I run ultras. Am I wrong with thinking this way? Is it a buy or wait until next generation?
  • I had the 5 plus and now own a 5X plus. The 5x will definitely get you better battery life. I preferred the 5’s size. Ultras might require the extra juice of the 5X.
  • The funny thing is back in the day, as in 2004, I remember taking my suunto x6hrm on a trek in Nepal/annupurna mountains, and recording hrm from chest strap, altitude ect ect for c10-12 hours a day for 13 days on a single charge.it made it to day 14..i still have the data in their pc app.

    Yes we have more sensors packed in... But just shows you how bad the battery industry is (not garmin) in advancing at the same pace.

    If in doubt switch everything unneeded off for it, so..

    Stop wifi
    Stop bluetooth
    Revert to smart data logging
    Stop alerts and vibration off
    Stop wrist activation of the screen
    Use good old fashioned GPS, not glonass or galileo
    Use a watch face without seconds
    Start the hike, and then leave watch locked, on watch face view
    Only recalibrate altitude once a day, not auto via gps
    Remove temp widget
    Pick ohr or belt, don't use both
    Don't play music
    Avoid using maps

    Hell at least you will finish the day with the stats and that's what matters right?
  • I had the 5 plus and now own a 5X plus. The 5x will definitely get you better battery life. I preferred the 5’s size. Ultras might require the extra juice of the 5X.


    Why did you switch from the 5 Plus to the 5X Plus?
  • don't buy the 5x plus. I am the one who wrote the following post:
    https://forums.garmin.com/forum/on-t...of-the-5x-plus
    Fenix 5 may be better.


    Yes, trolling seems really to be your main goal in this forums unless nonsense negativity and false advices are your fuel in life.
    You are just thrashing a watch that you don't know how to use, period. It is obvious just by reading your posts.
    This is just pure trolling.

    Why did you switch from the 5 Plus to the 5X Plus?


    The 5 Plus got the same battery life as the 5X.
    The 5XPlus with Oxmeter got a much better endurance, around 0.3% used by hours in ABC mode with all the extra on, including bluetooth.

    If in doubt switch everything unneeded off for it, so..

    Stop wifi




    BTW Wifi is only used on demand/trigger, it's not a permanent link like bluetooth.

    5XPlus is really amazing in its general speed and stamina.
    On the previous serie 5 (not plus), the 5X was less good than the 5 in battery life.
    But it did not have any cartography only the 5X was equipped with cartography.
    On the new 5 Plus serie, they all have cartography. Here the 5X Plus shines with its bigger battery for almost 3 weeks without thinking about recharging. And it can be done on any small powerbank even the solar powerbanks.
    You mileage may vary but right now mine has used 0.2% of juice in the last hour. And yes I got a watchface with the seconds shown, bluetooth on and it has alerted me of coming messages !!
  • Yes, trolling seems really to be your main goal in this forums unless nonsense negativity and false advices are your fuel in life.
    You are just thrashing a watch that you don't know how to use, period. It is obvious just by reading your posts.
    This is just pure trolling.



    The 5 Plus got the same battery life as the 5X.
    The 5XPlus with Oxmeter got a much better endurance, around 0.3% used by hours in ABC mode with all the extra on, including bluetooth.
    BTW Wifi is only used on demand/trigger, it's not a permanent link like bluetooth.

    5XPlus is really amazing in its general speed and stamina.
    On the previous serie 5 (not plus), the 5X was less good than the 5 in battery life.
    But it did not have any cartography only the 5X was equipped with cartography.
    On the new 5 Plus serie, they all have cartography. Here the 5X Plus shines with its bigger battery for almost 3 weeks without thinking about recharging. And it can be done on any small powerbank even the solar powerbanks.
    You mileage may vary but right now mine has used 0.2% of juice in the last hour. And yes I got a watchface with the seconds shown, bluetooth on and it has alerted me of coming messages !!


    Have you had any issues with battery like many others in forum?
  • Have you had any issues with battery like many others in forum?


    What battery issues many others have ? What kind ? The 5XPlus is really "confortable" in the battery life department.
    I have readen a lot about GPS issues but since upgrade to 2.23 it seems OK.
    Also Iphone and Bluetooth seem to be an issue but again Bluetooth on Apple product is often an issue when pairing with non-Apple hardware....

    Nope, I have never got a single battery issue and I use some widget like Battery Gauge to monitor it.
    If I had any issue I would have looked into the forums. (And certainly not start a flaming thread thrashing Garmin like many (not you!) seems to do by pure anger and frustration nowadays...)
  • The funny thing is back in the day, as in 2004, I remember taking my suunto x6hrm on a trek in Nepal/annupurna mountains, and recording hrm from chest strap, altitude ect ect for c10-12 hours a day for 13 days on a single charge.it made it to day 14..i still have the data in their pc app.

    Yes we have more sensors packed in... But just shows you how bad the battery industry is (not garmin) in advancing at the same pace.
    ....



    Well, the Suunto X6hrm was running on a CR2032 battery and not on a rechargable one. So the results are not really comparable.

  • Nemo: it seems you spend way too much time on this forum yourself. are you an employee of theirs? granted I was not aware that Garmin changed the protocol they use from USB mass storage to MTP and I am sorry if that hurt your fragile feelings. Moreover, when I spoke to tech support they wanted me to use a web updater that didn't work obviously because of Macs not allowing MTP devices to mount. They should have known that instead of suggesting a solution that won't work. Now leaving that MTP thing aside, that doesn't explain why Bluetooth would stop working. So, since it seems you know everything, can you explain why would Bluetooth stop working on 2 different devices. the only available explanation is bad design or manufacturing. I would like to hear yours.
  • Nemo: it seems you spend way too much time on this forum yourself. are you an employee of theirs? granted I was not aware that Garmin changed the protocol they use from USB mass storage to MTP and I am sorry if that hurt your fragile feelings. Moreover, when I spoke to tech support they wanted me to use a web updater that didn't work obviously because of Macs not allowing MTP devices to mount. They should have known that instead of suggesting a solution that won't work. Now leaving that MTP thing aside, that doesn't explain why Bluetooth would stop working. So, since it seems you know everything, can you explain why would Bluetooth stop working on 2 different devices. the only available explanation is bad design or manufacturing. I would like to hear yours.


    Hassan, I'm certainly not working for Garmin, I'm just a customer in search of tips and in case of technical issues (the GPS was one) I do not blame the wrong actors like you do. I ask questions, I do researches and I don't write my assumptions like you do... because for example, as others have said to you, Apple could be the one to blame in your case... NOT Garmin.

    Another example is the changement of Garmin's protocol for the Plus Serie which has been discussed here since June and is very easy to work around...

    So what is your purpose? To come on a 5X Plus forum to write: "Don't buy the 5x Plus..." ???
    Is this trolling ?

    My advice: researches are possible on this forum and on the net. You could it give it a chance before to invest time and money into a watch you don't seem to understand. You could always resell it at a good price, unless the future owner looks at this forums with your thread on the top...

    Could it be one of the reasons I have been calling your attitude: trolling ?
    Better troll than dumb, no ?

    Errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum.