Might have bought wrong Fenix 5 watch.

Former Member over 6 years ago

Hello all,
I just picked up a new Fenix 5x Plus about a week ago. I was on the fence between this one and the 5x mostly due to the fact that i'm not a super outdoor guy and so probably wouldn't need the huge battery. I def won't need the O2 sensor or Garmin Pay. I didn't think i would need the music and still don't NEED it, but i used it the other day and it was nice. So i started thinking of maybe getting a 5 Plus, because little bit of the size and to save a little money. I have a Fenix 3 and it seems to wear smaller than the 5x Plus. Cause that's the part that was kinda getting me, even with the nice discount Garmin's running right now. I didn't break the back or not pay a bill for it. Just always trying to be smart with money on big purchases. Anyways my question is, has anyone gotten a 5x plus and decided to go back to a 5 plus or 5x? If so what made you make the switch?

0 ignacioeml over 6 years ago

Better 5x plus. Huge battery against Fenix 5X or Fenix 5 plus.

0 Dr Phil over 6 years ago

I went for the 5+ because of the size. There's sufficient battery life for what I do - up to 12h ultras so if you don't have much need of long battery life for activities that will be fine. Since I never used it as a watch without activity or with music I can't really speak to the battery life without any activity use. However, whatever you get, it's better battery life than my Apple Watch 4 which needs charging every couple of days at least.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago in reply to Dr Phil

Thank you both for your replies.

Philip are you saying you do 12h ultras? You always use it with activities and music?

the Fenix 3 is 51mm but since it’s not as thick it doesn’t wear big. So I thought the 5x+ would be the same but I didn’t take into account the bigger battery and sensors so while it’s comfortable it does feel a little big.

0 Dr Phil over 6 years ago in reply to Former Member

I do events that last up to 12 hours. I do not use music. I am active up to 6 days a week for 10 to 15 hours sometimes more. Since I usually connect to my computer every 2 or 3 days battery life has not been a problem. I can go away for a weekend, do 6 to 8 hours of activity without the need to charge. I don't tend to use it much as an everyday watch during the week, mostly just for sport.

0 turnipsurprise over 6 years ago

I don't think you can go wrong with either version, I have the plus model and love it. If I had the money I would have gone for the x version.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago in reply to turnipsurprise

turnipsurprise,

Thank you for the reply. Did you buy yours recently or awhile ago? I was able to get mine with the Garmin deal that's going on. So it wasn't as $$$ as what a lot of people paid. but still isn't cheap. haha.

0 turnipsurprise over 6 years ago in reply to Former Member

January so fairly recent. It was on sale at the time @ John Lewis in the UK, I was lucky the next day the price went back to recommended retail price. I agree its certainly not cheap, however I came from using a Suunto watch and they are worlds apart especially when comparing the software :-)

0 Former Member over 6 years ago in reply to turnipsurprise

I like Suunto's as well. I have an old Observer. but yeah Garmin's are way out in front of everyone else. I have an old Fenix 3. I think what always gets me is that i say i'm going to go be outdoors more and use these watches to the max and then i never do. haha. The 5x+ has so many features and functions and ways to analyze data that probably won't mean too much to me and i'll never use half of them. That's why i have that feeling of i spent too much on something i won't get the most out of kinda thing. If that makes sense.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

What's your use case? You've stated that you're not an outdoorsy person so you don't need maps and the other features, but tell us about how you're using the watch. What training are you doing? How often and how long do you train for? Do you compete in races that are longer than 12 hours? What are your absolute core requirements?