GPS Accuracy

@MCBADGER I tend to agree with you on the predisposition to expect less than good performance from the fenix line, which then leads to massive GPS Accuracy threads in the fenix forums that you don't see for other watches like the 735XT, or even the 935 now. My initial experience, which it turns out may be related to a bug with the Stryd Power Meter immediately brought be back to the early f3 days, and a "here we go again" feeling. Since I eliminated that the GPS performance (Track and Distance Accrual) of the f5 seems fine to me in my comparisons in my running and cycling situations.

Garmin created this issue themselves with the f3 and while the 935 gets releases the fenix line gets Betas (which further undermines the confidence you have in the watch I think) as it feels a bit like "here try this and let's see if it works" as opposed to "here's the fixes and updates, enjoy".

Heres the Parkrun:

http://www.mygpsfiles.com/app/#yhGtSgaK

and the 7+ miler:

http://www.mygpsfiles.com/app/#ytB8sD2v

for more easy comparison.

630 generally looks better from a track perspective in both cases, but not a huge difference.

Thanks, CW. In the 7 mile run, it looks as though the 630 is smart recording. The F5 track has 3745 points versus 568 for the 630.

@MCBADGER:

Indeed and fair enough, I do try to maintain an objective view and just look at the tracks as they are but given the Fenix3 stories I most likely do look more detailed then I would have done with another watch.

And to be honest, I think the fenix5 is indeed good enough for most purposes. The few bike tracks I had were perfectly fine, running is ok overall. The 235 had a habit of underestimating tracks for me if I recall correctly and the 735 as well at times (or the tracks just weren't measured properly ;) ) and the F5 seems to add some distance because of the wiggles. Neither are perfect, just in different ways. The f5 may also still be improved with sw updates.

Part of it is also because I am a nerd of course, and want to figure things out, see if I can improve stuff, etc. So perhaps I get a little carried away at times as well. I think the fenix5 is good enough for me as it is now, but that won't hold me from trying to see if it can do better ;)

This study has been posted before during the fenix 3 GPS Accuracy wars of 2016:

http://electronicdesign.com/test-amp-measurement/real-world-drive-tests-declare-verdict-gpsglonass

Interesting read though, so thought I would re=post.

Yep sorry, forgot the F5 was on 1sec recording. I have changed it back to Smart, and also just GPS. See if that is any different. Ive have issues with GONASS in the past causing much rougher tracks.

If you're going to be comparing tracks you should really have 1sec recording enabled, it's not like you're going to run out of storage space ;-)

This study has been posted before during the fenix 3 GPS Accuracy wars of 2016:

http://electronicdesign.com/test-amp-measurement/real-world-drive-tests-declare-verdict-gpsglonass

Interesting read though, so thought I would re=post.

And this is with big antennas 😉

Pretty happy

I have completed three runs and two bike rides with the F5. Really happy with my unit. The F5 was spot on with the Edge 1000 on the bike rides. Also, accuracy/ consistency on the runs was really good as compared to the F3. The tracks actually look cleaner and the mile markers match almost perfectly with the distance measured by my Stryd.

I made some test and to my surprise, smart mode was better than 1 sec recording!

This is smart https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1659158124

This is 1sec https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1657354845

Pace on smart is smoother also.

I made some test and to my surprise, smart mode was better than 1 sec recording!

This is smart https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1659158124

This is 1sec https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1657354845

Pace on smart is smoother also.

Very interesting indeed. Did you check the battery consumption between the 2 activities?
I see you had glonass on, only on one of the two sessions
I have done only 2 runs until now, in tree covered areas, with GPS only, 1 sec rec, v.2.40 firmware and I am very satisfied with the results