First impressions

Former Member over 8 years ago

These are some first impressions after playing with it for a little while. I'm only posting this now because it's charging, if not I'd probably be playing with it some more, haha.

The maps and everything to do with the maps is much quicker than I imagined.
It's absurd a charger wasn't included in the box. I don't care for the reasons, that's just being mean.
The new charging cable is much, much better in my opinion and it's perfect for taking on long hikes.
The heart rate monitor is considerably more accurate than I imagined.
The heart rate bump can be felt if you run your finger over it but it is certainly not noticeable while wearing and I'm glad, because it was my concern with previous models.
I don't seem to notice the extra 2mm thickness in the body nor the weight.
There's far more shortcuts and little refinements that're quite nice.
Wi-Fi range is about the same.
It might be my imagination but I think it's possible the strap is a different material to previous models. I avoided the previous strap and used my own, however, this doesn't come with any screwdrivers so I'm stuck with the stock strap for now.
The buttons are easier to press but they're not too easy. I think they're about right but again it's subjective.
There's more storage than advertised, mine says 14.4gb.
It comes with some BirdsEye stuff that's advertised with the Epix but I didn't see it advertised on the Fenix 5x.

I'm impressed so far, and I'm pleased I bought this model and not the other.

0 gasteropod over 8 years ago

I agree with this.

The CPU is way faster. I wrote an app which takes seconds to calculate moon times, but they are almost instant on the 5X.
The strap is a completely different material, its thinner and more flexible. Hopefully my body will not eat this one so it will last longer than the 10 months I used to get out of the f3 straps.
I do not notice the extra thickness compared to my f3. I have an f1 and did not mind the thickness of that anyway.
The USB cable is way too short. I do not mind the lack of charger as I have a drawer full including many garmin chargers, but te short cable is going to be a real pain. I'm almost certainly going to have to use an extension cable.
It does not seem to have the extra CIQ memory shown in the simulator which is a big disappointment and seems limited to the same 64kB as the f3. My f5x app which works in the simulator runs out of memory as a result.

It certainly is a lovely watch though and the maps are great. Much better than those I used on the f1 :D

0 newtonfb over 8 years ago

I agree with this.

The CPU is way faster. I wrote an app which takes seconds to calculate moon times, but they are almost instant on the 5X.
The strap is a completely different material, its thinner and more flexible. Hopefully my body will not eat this one so it will last longer than the 10 months I used to get out of the f3 straps.
I do not notice the extra thickness compared to my f3. I have an f1 and did not mind the thickness of that anyway.
The USB cable is way too short. I do not mind the lack of charger as I have a drawer full including many garmin chargers, but te short cable is going to be a real pain. I'm almost certainly going to have to use an extension cable.
It does not seem to have the extra CIQ memory shown in the simulator which is a big disappointment and seems limited to the same 64kB as the f3. My f5x app which works in the simulator runs out of memory as a result.

It certainly is a lovely watch though and the maps are great. Much better than those I used on the f1 :D

Whats your app out of curiosity? I wonder if Garmin will enable more memory in the future software update?

0 gasteropod over 8 years ago

Whats your app out of curiosity? I wonder if Garmin will enable more memory in the future software update?

It was a parkrun results app. The simulator is able to hold all my parkruns, but the widget crashes with out of memory in real life due to needing between 57kB and 120kB of memory depending on the view. The simulator and devices.xml shows the 5x having 1018kB of memory available which would have been plenty. In real life it seems to have the same 64kB the f3 has.

0 Subtleguru over 8 years ago

Two things I had to do out the box:

1. Increase the backlight amount from 20% to 70% - this seems to match the fenix 3
2. Turn on the vibration for alerts - was off by default.

I also had some trouble getting it seen by Garmin Express - Express claimed my watch wasn't compatible even though it was on 5.2.0.0. Perhaps a problem because my Fenix 3 was already linked. Anyway install Garmin Express again sort out the problem and I could sync, upgrade to firmware 2.4 and get the open street maps installed.

I still haven't found how to select on the watch which mapping to use. I may have to read the manual.

The strap is slightly elastic and softer, I would say nicer than my fenix 3 strap.

0 chunkywizard over 8 years ago

The cable is but no a charger. You need to plug into USB (either a charger or a computer)

CW

0 S6n4d89 over 8 years ago

Sounds like the cable is there but not the 110V adapter.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

The cable is but no a charger. You need to plug into USB (either a charger or a computer)

CW

Yeah I know how to use USB cables, I still think it's mean they didn't include a charger.

Two things I had to do out the box:

1. Increase the backlight amount from 20% to 70% - this seems to match the fenix 3
2. Turn on the vibration for alerts - was off by default.

I also had some trouble getting it seen by Garmin Express - Express claimed my watch wasn't compatible even though it was on 5.2.0.0. Perhaps a problem because my Fenix 3 was already linked. Anyway install Garmin Express again sort out the problem and I could sync, upgrade to firmware 2.4 and get the open street maps installed.

I still haven't found how to select on the watch which mapping to use. I may have to read the manual.

The strap is slightly elastic and softer, I would say nicer than my fenix 3 strap.

The backlight of yours sounds faulty but not necessarily. Did you have the sapphire model before? That might be why. Sapphire is a darker glass. In regards to the maps, you can hold down the up-menu which normally takes you to pan-zoom, and that takes you to a few options. Also, while out of any apps, you can go to settings, system and some map stuff is there.

0 Subtleguru over 8 years ago

The backlight of yours sounds faulty but not necessarily. Did you have the sapphire model before? That might be why. Sapphire is a darker glass.

Yes, I think it must be the Sapphire glass as it does seen darker than my non-sapphire fenix 3. It was a shock switching it on but happier now with the adjustment.

0 SCIS30 over 8 years ago

Is there a way to disable the maps?

Basically. I'm thinking if I disable during a long trail race, with a clearly marked course...I won't need maps...and I can hopefully get few more hours of battery life.

0 S6n4d89 over 8 years ago

Quick Connect Bands

Do these new band connectors seems secure & not likely to release by mistake? Also, are there still posts that unscrew so that other non-quick release bands can be used? Thanks