Different versions of 5X?

I can only hope your wrong, but watches with OHR are heavier, bigger, and use more battery power then their equivalent watches. Both smaller size and increased battery life seemed to be more coveted features then OHR. I could be wrong.

Bigger? Yes, but how much is bigger? I think this is just subjective.
Heavier? Not so much
Use more Battery? This is somewhat of a trick(y) question. LED'S are not huge energy hogs in the slightest. It's one of the benefits of the tech....they are really energy efficient so running one isn't going to break the battery life. The counter argument would be the absence of one adds to the battery life for the watch...but again, LED's use little power to begin with. The new 5 line even is touting smaller battery size and an actual 24/7 1-2 polling option. Compared with what we have now on the 3HR, this (by this line of reasoning) would me the watch is dead in a day...yet Garmin is saying a lot longer than this.
Smaller sized and increased battery? These are physically contradictory. If you want smaller you either want less in the watch (in favor of a bigger battery). Something has to go to make room for that battery. As for increased battery, energy efficiency is more important than more juice. I'd rather have a smaller super optimized lit-ion battery than running around with a huge, clunky car battery strapped to my back.

For me...I won't even look at a watch that doesn't come without a OHRM, not when the passive physiological benefits exist. Whether the sensor is doing what it claims to do (meaning it isn't broken and not just a shameless gimmick) is for another discussion...the knowledge that my RHR over large swaths of time is approx knowable is awesome. The fact that I can see my HR in realtime, is wonderful, or that it can take that HR information and gauge my calories (this is also a whole discussion on its own, still having something to see is better than nothing) is worth it. Is the OHRM useful for exercise? No, but as the passive sensor for everything else? Yes it worth it..for a pittance of my battery life.


If there is any added extreme battery drain....it's because the software is not optimized, or doesn't work properly with external software from CiQ.

Sorry I wasn't clear. Smaller (same battery life) OR same size with (better battery life) are more desirable features then OHRM. This is my opinion which is obviously swayed since OHR haven't worked for me in the past. Yes LEDs use small amounts of energy, but watches use tiny batteries. The only way to know how much battery the OHR in the F5 is using is to test an actual F5 with the OHR on and off. I'd be surprised if it's significantly less then 20%.

Weight and size are subjective. I'm not small (6' 180 lbs) nor weak (hack squat 610 lbs last fall), but the F3 is as heavy as I'd like (especially with swimming). The F5 will be 3% heavier then the F3 (non HR). In that light I'm going to order the 5S and see if I can live with the decreased battery life. If not, I'll exchange it for a 5.

Sorry I wasn't clear. Smaller (same battery life) OR same size with (better battery life) are more desirable features then OHRM. This is my opinion which is obviously swayed since OHR haven't worked for me in the past. Yes LEDs use small amounts of energy, but watches use tiny batteries. The only way to know how much battery the OHR in the F5 is using is to test an actual F5 with the OHR on and off. I'd be surprised if it's significantly less then 20%.

Weight and size are subjective. I'm not small (6' 180 lbs) nor weak (hack squat 610 lbs last fall), but the F3 is as heavy as I'd like (especially with swimming). The F5 will be 3% heavier then the F3 (non HR). In that light I'm going to order the 5S and see if I can live with the decreased battery life. If not, I'll exchange it for a 5.

Yep, thumbs-up for clarifying your point. I'm actually testing the full life of my watch (F3HR) from full charge and see how long before it goes dead here. This is with my usual usage (Offseason in-door training, because negative temps stink). I also use a chest strap for sports (one a day, 6 days a week). As of this writing 27% life left on day 5.

That's not bad.

I get about a week with my 5 (non-HR) with ~2 hours of running (GPS on, strap in use) and the rest as a watch with smart notifications between charges. It sounds like you're getting *close* to that with the OHR enabled.

Will I give up a day? Yes. Would I give up HALF of my time-between-charges? NO. So yeah, for me it matters, but a modest impact for the data -- I'll take it.

Where did you find your 5 so soon?

Pics, please.

Sorry, 3, not 5. Will go back and edit :)

Definitely I want a silver version too. It doesn't have to be non saphire or saphire, 'cos I like F3 and what I need additionally is maps. I just like contrast in silver version and also the durability. Gray models are coated with paint and it scratches when you hit it somewhere. But even though silver model is scratched too, it's harder to detect it. So it stays beautiful for longer. Actually, maps was the only reason that I can switch to F5. I don't want titanium model with metal bands etc, just a saphire or non saphire model with a normal band...

That's not bad.

I get about a week with my 3 (non-HR) with ~2 hours of running (GPS on, strap in use) and the rest as a watch with smart notifications between charges. It sounds like you're getting *close* to that with the OHR enabled.

Will I give up a day? Yes. Would I give up HALF of my time-between-charges? NO. So yeah, for me it matters, but a modest impact for the data -- I'll take it.

Just an update, got a bit over 6 days on one full charge. Normally I don't let the watch go south of 50%, but I inherited my wife's vivosmart hr to wear in the interim.