5S Plus / 5 Plus showdown

Former Member over 6 years ago

Hi all,

I have both the watches with me and wanted to test both. My setup is this:

Fenix 5S Plus (right wrist) running on 4.30 firmware (Maps not updated even though GC showed me there are Maps updates).

Fenix 5 Plus (left wrist) Titanium with Orange band running on 6.00 firmware (Maps not updated even though GC showed me there are Maps updates).
Also, Fenix 5 Plus has the Auxiliary HR paired to a regular Garmin chest strap.

Polar OH1 paired to my iPhone X.

***Wanted to compare HR readings with a external chest strap and a arm band***.

My initial observations:

Fenix 5S Plus: the watch strap is kind of short in length. I think I should get a longer 20mm band from Amazon if I' going to keep 5S Plus.
Lighter too.

Fenix 5Plus: slightly heavier.

I did a 41 min outdoor run and started all 3 (5S+, 5+ and iPhone X using fitdigits app paired to OH1) at the same time (+ - 1 sec difference).

All agreed on the HR (+ - 1 sec) up until at 32nd minute. During the 32nd minute, I see a spike on the 5+ from 167 to 177 and it stayed there for close to a min and then gradually came down to 166. There was no reason for that as the watch was tight on my left wrist. During that same time, 5S+ was at 166bpm, the Garmin chest strap was at 165bpm and OH1 was at 164bpm.

5S+ was pretty accurate from start to finish and agreed pretty much with the Garmin chest strap and OH1.

I need to do more runs and indoor activities to come to a final conclusion. Will update this thread as I get more updates.

Lastly, I don't own a PC but have a MacBook Pro. How do I update to the 6.51 beta version and will it make any difference to 5+ accuracy?

Please advise.

0 RobKenjiwhe over 6 years ago

Download the zip, unpack 6 it. Connect your watch to your pc, open it in a file manager and copy the content of the zip to the appropriate locations. When done, unplug the cable, look at the watch. it will say update available install yes/no Up to you to decide what's next

Easy 2 minute job.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Thanks.

I was saying I own a Mac and not a PC.

0 RobKenjiwhe over 6 years ago

Thanks.

I was saying I own a Mac and not a PC.

You can't see it as storage? Am I glad I've never owned anything Apple!

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Thanks muness for your help on Mac. Works like a charm on 6.51 beta on both 5+ and 5S+.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

2nd Outdoor run and 1 Treadmill Run:

It looks like 5S+ Titanium is more accurate against Garmin chest strap (Auxiliary HR) and Polar OH1 paired to iPhone X. One thing I'm not sure is the total distance on the 5+ is slightly higher in all 3 runs (2 outdoor and 1 indoor). I'm not sure which one is more accurate. Even the fitfigits app paired to OH1 was showing more. The lowest is 5S+, followed by 5+ and then fitdigits app.

Example: 1 outdoor run:
5S+: 3.36 miles
5+: 3.42 miles
fitdigits app: 3.56 miles.

Both are running on 6.51 Beta.

I also see a sudden oHR spike here and there on the 5+ Titanium.

So, overall, I see 5S+ is little bit more accurate than 5+ Titanium. Also, the battery drain seems to be faster on the 5+ Titanium than on the 5S+.

More to follow...

0 reginalb over 6 years ago

I am not 100% clear on how you tracked this, but it sounds like the OH1 and one of optical wrist sensors were on the same arm potentially, which is a no-no. It also sounds like you're saying the 5S+ "Agreed" with the HR monitor that you had it paired to. Of course it did, it's providing the heart rate....Am I missing something here?

0 R_Tellis over 6 years ago

He's using a CIQ data field called Auxiliary HR which allows you to use an unpaired ANT+ chest strap and record it to the FIT file and still get the reading from the built in oHRM.

I've used it for the first few runs with every wrist HRM Garmin I've had since the 235 and it works great.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

I am not 100% clear on how you tracked this, but it sounds like the OH1 and one of optical wrist sensors were on the same arm potentially, which is a no-no. It also sounds like you're saying the 5S+ "Agreed" with the HR monitor that you had it paired to. Of course it did, it's providing the heart rate....Am I missing something here?

Let me explain again.
My setup is as follows:
5S+: Using oHR all the time.
5+: Using oHR and also Auxiliary HR data field paired to Garmin chest strap.
Polar OH1 armband: Paired to fitdigits iOS app on iPhone X.

Started run activity on all 3 at the same time (+ - 2 secs).

The armband is on the left forearm and 5+ is on the left wrist. OH1 has no connection to both the watches.

My observations:

Overall, 5S+ has the same HR numbers when compared with the OH1 and the Garmin chest strap paired thru Auxiliary HR data field on the 5+ Titanium.
Distance wise though, 5S+ has tracked less which is surprising when compared to 5+ Titanium by 0.15 mile difference.
The iOS app has tracked more than both the watches.

Hope this clarifies.

0 reginalb over 6 years ago

Let me explain again.
My setup is as follows:
5S+: Using oHR all the time.
5+: Using oHR and also Auxiliary HR data field paired to Garmin chest strap.
Polar OH1 armband: Paired to fitdigits iOS app on iPhone X.

Started run activity on all 3 at the same time (+ - 2 secs).

The armband is on the left forearm and 5+ is on the left wrist. OH1 has no connection to both the watches.

My observations:

Overall, 5S+ has the same HR numbers when compared with the OH1 and the Garmin chest strap paired thru Auxiliary HR data field on the 5+ Titanium.
Distance wise though, 5S+ has tracked less which is surprising when compared to 5+ Titanium by 0.15 mile difference.
The iOS app has tracked more than both the watches.

Hope this clarifies.

Got ya. Is the OH1 on the same arm as one of the oHR watches? If so, that could be the source of oddities you're seeing. Having 2 optical monitors on the same limb can screw with measurements. They might be far enough apart to not be a big deal, or they might not...