Is it accurate?

People should be consuming less time testing the accuracy of the watch and more time actually using it for its intended purpose.
As long as the owner waits completely still for 10-15 seconds after GPS lock for the pace data field to display a dash and he can accept that under very tall buildings/heavy tree coverage a less than ideal signal reception is inevitable the 5X tracks just fine for a wearable device.

It's a matter of expectation... when you spend so much money and get a mediocre GPS this kind of complaints is to be expected.
Whoever used the F3 knows without a foot pod it's a very unreliable tool in the GPS compartment (the F3 and F5 share the same hardware) but luckily even though the Ambit3 creams both in the GPS compartment, both the F3 and the F5 beat the A3 in everything else... and this is also something the F3 user has known since the start. :)

If people expected less from Garmin and really looked at the specs and the posts of the users in these and other forums, they'd be happier with what they have.

I did a 7.6 km hike today with my wife under heavy tree cover, loads of elevation changes etc. We both had a Garmin and a Tomtom (I had the F5X and a Tomtom watch, my wife had the F5 and a Tomtom). The overall results were interesting. The GPS track on my F5X was the worst. Smoothing was terrible. My wife's F5 was better, as she had smart recording on, which smoothed the track considerably (still not as good as the Tomtom). Distance was 140 mtrs different overall, with the Tomtom devices nearly identical to each other and the same with the Garmins. Elevation gain was nearly identical between the brands. Overall, not a bad result. The Tomtom watches delivered a prettier track, but the distance difference was not enough to worry me. The Garmin watches delivered a lot more information about the hike, both before and afterwards. I could lament the poor GPS track, but 140 m difference over 7.6 km under very difficult circumstances was not concerning.

I am not sure if it is the GPS that causes the poor plot, or the smoothing algorithm. The Garmin watches were loads better on instant pace. They each have their quirks. However, the Garmin has amazing features, which mean I can overlook the GPS issue (if indeed it is the Garmin that is incorrect - maybe Tomtom over-corrects and misses the mark - who knows?).

Depends on the question....

Depends on the question:

"Is it somewhat accurate (+/-5%) compared to the actual distance overall on all trail types?"
Sure - but so is virtually every gps watch.

"Is it accurate (+/- 1-2%) when used on road runs or road rides?"
Yes - very. but so are most mid-high end gps watches.

"Is it accurate on winding trails like the paths you will find in quasi-urban wooded trails?"
Not really but within 5% of other watches.

"Is it accurate on winding trails like the path you will find in quasi-urban wooded trails COMPARED TO OTHER GARMIN/SUUNTO/POLAR/TOMTOM watches?"
No. It always falls short on distance. Not sometimes high/sometimes low, but always. Show me 2 tracks where you ran or rode (not walked) with two watches together and the 5x accumulated more distance than the competing watch that wasn't another Fenix. I think those will be few and far between.

There are 2-3 conversations going on here.
1) The actual path the watch shows you took. That one is up for debate. I have never had problems with the exception of canyon bounce and I can't say it was the watch. Some definitely have.

2) The distance the watch gets COMPARED TO OTHER WATCHES. Its simple. Lots of tight turns and tree cover - kind of bad. Reasonable turns and road events - really good.

3) The assertions by enthusiastic, intelligent folks that come off as sanctimonious - "Hey - you guys have unreasonable expectation about a little gps watch.....".
Some do have unreasonable expectations. No doubt about it but it doesn't represent those of us who are measuring our favorite trails and finding the Fenix 3 & 5x to fall short in distance.

So in my opinion, we need to show the results with a trail like this and two watches:
https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?373550-GPS-distance-accumulation

I'll do more as I am probably going to swap out my 5x at REI for another because I absolutely love the feature set of the 5x. Completely rocks. However, the distance issue for my running and riding causes problems. I am a few days out from a broken rib and I will be back on the trail to decide if it bugs me enough to return it.

Here is where it is super cool:

Skiing - awesome.
VIRB - awesome.
Paddling - awesome. But who really knows?
Road biking - awesome.
Mountain biking with less switchbacks and tight turns - really good and pretty close to 705.
Trail running - out and backs, less switchbacks and tight turns - good.
Mountain biking with tight turns - below average.
Trail running with tight turns - slightly below to below average.
Hiking - awesome.
Mapping - super cool.
phone stuff - cool.
timer - great. They finally put the time at the top with the countdown timer.
HR - Mine has been pretty good but not as good as the strap.
Step count - in the game. was pretty close to an iWatch that my friend was wearing.
Calories burned - pretty close to an iwatch my friend was wearing.

Tested mine on a hike yesterday, with F5X on one arm and Tomtom on the other. The terrain was difficult, with lots of elevation changes and heavy tree coverage.

RESULTS:
* Tomtom - 7.53 km - ascent 183 mtrs descent 166 mtrs - heart rate 96 avg
* Garmin - 7.66 km - elevation gain 173 mtrs - heart rate 97 avg

I am not sure how Tomtom ascent/descent compares to elevation gain on the Garmin? I assume it is a simple case of comparing ascent to elevation gain? If so, these watches were acceptably close. The Tomtom track plot was smoother, but given the distances were correct, I am not complaining. I am happy with these results.

That is interesting. Can you provide the link to the activities or put the tracks in mygpsfiles.com?

That is interesting. Can you provide the link to the activities or put the tracks in mygpsfiles.com?

https://mysports.tomtom.com/service/webapi/v2/activity/perm_EXhag5JodEIUxIUUkxalmcCVut4redfmRpA7PbDuP3T7jJvLoWV5NeCx7PCfnHLIzKKi4MhYTVPz2MJRHSNtqQ?format=html

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1681814576

https://mysports.tomtom.com/service/webapi/v2/activity/perm_EXhag5JodEIUxIUUkxalmcCVut4redfmRpA7PbDuP3T7jJvLoWV5NeCx7PCfnHLIzKKi4MhYTVPz2MJRHSNtqQ?format=html

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1681814576

I think your GC link is locked.

Rang calle

Great post, Indy, as usual.
Hope you recover quickly from your injury. I am 2/3rds out with mine (they say I'm well ahead of schedule): meniscus transplant + ACL.

I think your GC link is locked.

Try this one.... It was quite a slow hike, as I was walking with my wife, who is a tad unfit....
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1681814576