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My Initial Observations of the F5S

CRRHooch
over 8 years ago
Quota exceeded for posting photos under MY user account so posting under a 'testing' account.
Just me, Deeter26_2.

My turn for a cut at first impressions. I'm currently field testing the F5S (Black Sapphire) and it's pretty amazing.

I'm a F3 guy through and through but this new toy is equally impressive. There are several subtle improvements that capture my attention.

From the manual I noticed that it would be able to Lap While Paused. I've seen several requests for this ability although I've never seen the need or understood when it might be useful. Nonetheless, it's there and will be appreciated by some.

Also in the manual I noticed it has a GPS signal strength data field. Here's how it looks.



OK, maybe not exactly what folks have been asking for but again, I've never really seen the need. Accuracy has never been an issue or concern for me. The F3 has been straight up exceptional so no surprise that the F5S performs as well right out of the box. I suppose I should add that as a solid advocate of the GPS performance of the F3 I'm usually dismissed as a quack or someone who doesn't understand GPS quality or bends the GPS limitations to my own liking so that I can defend the F3. That's funny. I'm extremely demanding of GPS expectations especially when doing pace based workouts. I'm fortunate to be able to do workouts on a course with QTR mile markings by a certified race director. The F3 hits markers within 1-3 steps consistently. Never misses. On the one sample I have with the F5S it was equally remarkable. I get tired of defending the F3 since it's been so solid for me. For reference I've got about 5000 miles and counting with that guy and never been disappointed. With that out of the way......

Power Save alerts. YAY!!! Finally. Have wanted this on the F3 since the beginning so super excited to see it implemented here. OK, not the biggest of deals and I've learned how to not get bit when using the F3 but it's a simple feature on every Garmin watch so I really appreciate it on the F5S.

Auto Lap overrides laps in workout/interval mode. Not for me. Many people like this functionality but I'm in the other camp. It's super easy to create a Workout profile with Manual Lapping only (which I've done) so no harm no foul. The F3 flirted with this in beta for awhile but had some issues so never made it to production. Yay! Anyway, most new releases follow this method so I wasn't really surprised that the F5S has this too.

Metric Auto Scroll in paused mode. Super nice! I think this also comes from the Forerunner family. I'm not legally blind but I'm visually challenged. Severely. Like I can't read a thing on my watch without reading glasses and so out in the field I struggle. On pause, the F3 contains activity metrics that are invisible to me. The F5S scrolls the data in a large font that I can almost read. Nice!



Last Sport/Last Run widgets. Always wanted the F3 to accumulate weekly Run widget mileage regardless on whether I used Run, Trail Run, or Indoor Run. It was all running to me. F5S does this. Last Sport will give me stats for the last activity I performed. Last Run will give me a weekly tally of all Run subcategories. F3 will not. It treats Last Sport and Last Run identically and won't give me a snapshot of true weekly mileage. This is awesome! Although I actually prefer the widget layout of the F3



The shrunken 'hour' field. Noticed during a long run that my timer seemed to be corrupted or I had toggled to another screen or who knows what. Remembered that I had read somewhere that the hour field shrank, so quickly got orientated and adjusted. It just caught me off guard at first. The F3 does this as well so shouldn't have surprised me. It's just with my poor vision I completely lost the leading hour field. Probably just because it is so close to the outer edge that I missed it. Clearly the minute/second fonts are wider than the F3 and more readable. Anyone with moderate eyesight probably wouldn't even blink at this behavior.



Gyroscope. I'm only guessing but I feel like it might be helping in the area of distance accrual when I'm out in the trails. I spend a lot of time on single track wooded trails and have been recording slightly longer distance. That's cool! Like when I upload to a service that will recalculate based on recorded GPS points I come in almost spot on. The F3 accrues shorter. Again, I really don't fret about that. As a trail runner I get out to enjoy the terrain and let myself go. I'm NOT doing pace based training in that environment and I'm out there for the pure thrill of it. Anyway, point for the F5S here.

Battery Life. On a 3:45 run I went from 100% down to 66%. That gets me 11-12 hours in GPS mode. The F3 dropped to 74% so seems to be in range. I'm probably not running longer than 10 hours most days. HA!

Size. Did I say that I was an F3 guy? I'm used to it. I like the weight and bulk of it. The F5S just seems too small for me even though the screen size is the same. I know that makes me odd. MOST people will appreciate the build and beauty of the F5S cause it is certainly all of that. It's gorgeous. I love the Quick Fit straps. Wearing the F5S makes me covet the Chronos even more I think. I want big. I want bulky. The F3 is dreamy!

Enough from me today. I'll add more as I accumulate more data or discover new features. I wanted to add in some track data but unfortunately, MYGPSFILES doesn't support the new fit structure yet. Drat!!



Regardless.......this watch is a solid home run and I would recommend in a heartbeat!
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Do you not think that the strap is too short, even for small men's wrists? The F5S looks great, but the length of the strap is short compared with similarly sized watches such as 630 and 735. That was my main reason for not buying it and ordering a 935.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    I just got my F5s sapphire today. I have a F5 too, but with my skinny wrists (16 cm / 6,5") I must say that I'm in no doubt that the F5s suits me MUCH better. In fact I was a bit amazed that the difference is that big. The F5s is a much smaller watch as I see.

    FWIW I have 9 holes free on the strap.

    I love it :)
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    FWIW, I'm a guy, and I have 11 holes left on the 5s band. Not sure what my wrist size is, but I'm 5'9, 150 lbs (race at 140).

    I like the smaller size of the 5s for daily wear, but I actually wish the bezel were a bit beefier. The proportion of bezel to screen on the F3/F5/F5X made the watches look a bit like a classic diving watch. The skinny bezel on the 5s doesn't look as muscular. I actually suspect that's why people are saying they prefer the black bezel--it just doesn't stand out as much.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 8 years ago
    FWIW, I'm a guy, and I have 11 holes left on the 5s band. Not sure what my wrist size is, but I'm 5'9, 150 lbs (race at 140).

    I like the smaller size of the 5s for daily wear, but I actually wish the bezel were a bit beefier. The proportion of bezel to screen on the F3/F5/F5X made the watches look a bit like a classic diving watch. The skinny bezel on the 5s doesn't look as muscular. I actually suspect that's why people are saying they prefer the black bezel--it just doesn't stand out as much.


    I have a 5S Sapphire Black/Black in the mail right now headed my way and I've been patiently waiting for it because the thinner silver bezel of the glass version is the singular element that while not "feminine" I do agree makes it look less muscular. The 42mm 5S is identical in size to those diver watches from Rolex and Omega but the bezel design is different no doubt. I think the darker colored bezel on the Sapphire edition might help with that but what helps the most... my small 6.25 inch wrist which will make it look plenty big LOL.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    I have a 5S Sapphire Black/Black in the mail right now headed my way and I've been patiently waiting for it because the thinner silver bezel of the glass version is the singular element that while not "feminine" I do agree makes it look less muscular. The 42mm 5S is identical in size to those diver watches from Rolex and Omega but the bezel design is different no doubt. I think the darker colored bezel on the Sapphire edition might help with that but what helps the most... my small 6.25 inch wrist which will make it look plenty big LOL.


    I got my F5S Sapphire yesterday - see picture below. I had to send back the 935 as it looked too big on my skinny 6.5" wrist. It feels quite snug on my wrist with 9 holes spare in the strap. Build quality is great, much better than the 935, and feels expensive. It's a bit of a lump to run with though compared to my old 630, but I'm sure I will get used to it. The lugs also extend out quite far, which is my only complaint, although it's designed this way to allow you to change the straps.

  • 0 over 8 years ago
    I got my F5S Sapphire yesterday - see picture below. I had to send back the 935 as it looked too big on my skinny 6.5" wrist. It feels quite snug on my wrist with 9 holes spare in the strap. Build quality is great, much better than the 935, and feels expensive. It's a bit of a lump to run with though compared to my old 630, but I'm sure I will get used to it. The lugs also extend out quite far, which is my only complaint, although it's designed this way to allow you to change the straps.



    I have the same wrist size so I would expect the watch to look as great on mine as it looks on yours! Great choice!
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Saw the F5s Black Sapphire in the flesh today, very nice looking watch indeed! Very different from the F5/F5x/F3/Chronos family. Could definitely see it as a nice "everyday" watch. Too bad the black bezel is only on the sapphire version.

    Do any F5s owners have the opportunity to record some tracks while running to see if it possibly does not have the "GPS wobbling" problems of the F5/F5x thanks to its different bezel ? That would be great (after updating to v290 if possible!), here's the thread : https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?371929-GPS-Accuracy
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Saw the F5s Black Sapphire in the flesh today, very nice looking watch indeed! Very different from the F5/F5x/F3/Chronos family. Could definitely see it as a nice "everyday" watch. Too bad the black bezel is only on the sapphire version.

    Do any F5s owners have the opportunity to record some tracks while running to see if it possibly does not have the "GPS wobbling" problems of the F5/F5x thanks to its different bezel ? That would be great (after updating to v290 if possible!), here's the thread : https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?371929-GPS-Accuracy

    I'm interested in this too as I'm in the fence between the 5S and the 935. I prefer the look and the heft of the 5S but if the 935 tracks are demonstratively better I might lean that way.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Done. Added a track to the GPS accuracy thread. Honestly, I've had exceptional accuracy with the F5S but don't suspect that the bezel contributes to positive/negative performance. I haven't experienced noticeable GPS wobbling at all and I've been out in a variety of environments. I mean, if I'm downtown running in the glass canyon I'll see GPS wobbling with whatever unit I'm wearing but I expect that and fortunately that's NOT where I do my training.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    My wrist size is 7-3/8 to 7-1/2 and fits just fine. I've got six slots left on the band and it just makes it through the strap loop. No problems. I've got a buddy who's 6'5" and has tree trunks for arms. No way he could get it on so he's looking at the standard F5 instead.