To buy or not to buy again...

It's a great looking watch with lots of cool features. I have to admit I don't use the maps very often. And the accuracy of its tracks are definitely below average. My 150$ Vivoactive HR produce better results. So did my 230 and 920xt. I believe that Garmin will continue to tweak the software to get better results like the Fenix 3 but it's not there yet...

Hi folks,

I had a F5X for a few days before I got my FR935. I ended up selling the 5X on to a friend.

I am quite tempted to give it another go and will have a unit delivered to me tomorrow.

What do you guys think about the state of the watch? Would you buy it again? How do you find its GPS performance?

Thanks,
Nick

How do you find its GPS performance?

I don't want to get too negative here but with all the GPS tweaks over many, many months if not years the Fenix 3 and Fenix 3 HR did not go too far.
Just don't set your expectations too high...

As a Fenix 3 HR owner I feel let down to find out that they used more or less the same technology (antenna + chipset) that does not have a good performance in a variety of scenarios as you would expect from a flagship watch.

Hi folks,

I had a F5X for a few days before I got my FR935. I ended up selling the 5X on to a friend.

I am quite tempted to give it another go and will have a unit delivered to me tomorrow.

What do you guys think about the state of the watch? Would you buy it again? How do you find its GPS performance?

Thanks,
Nick

It seems you care about gps accuracy and precision of tracks.

Commercial gps will never be 100% accurate and precise.
Fenix series have a poorly designed exo antena designed since fenix 2, and garmin didn't improve it because the units are best sellers.
So i don't know if you will be happy in mid term, with a fenix or something else.

I am quite like you, but i will never buy a new fenix without huge improvement (in design, benefit from Galileo,...).

i think this send a bad message to Garmin
They don't care about 100s page of gps complaints. They care about product segmentation and sales.

If you want the same features but "better" gps accuracy, use a Forerunner 935.

If you want the features, the look, the feel etc. and can live with slightly sub-pat GPS accuracy, then go with the Fenix.

I've ended up with both for now; but will likely part with one of the other at some point.

Vanity makes me favour the 5X at the moment though; it looks so nice.

Yeah, the 5X has something about it. From a pure performance perspective, the 935 nails it, especially by having that barometric altimeter.
Ignoring style, the only advantage that the 5X has over the 935 is mapping..

I will most likely stick with the 935 for now, hoping that Garmin does the impossible, finds its long lost magic wand and gets GPS on the same level as the 935.

The mapping of the 5X is so helpful, and is the main reason why I'm still torn between the 5X and the 935. There are many windy trails near where I live, and while the TBT "navigation" options on the 935 are helpful, it just can't compare to being able to glance down and see the map of the trail. If the pace data of the 5X were better it would be a no-brainer.

Although I could buy a Stryd and pair that with the 5X, we're talking a $400 difference between a 935 (without Stryd) and a 5X+Stryd...

I upgraded to 5x from 920xt and I love it. I use navigation a lot, because I like to run in a random direction and then have the navigation help me get back home. There certainly are some annoying bugs, especially with the navigation, but I am hoping those get fixed soon. As for precise tracks - I am one of the overwhelming majority of people who don't care that the track doesn't line up perfectly with the map when I am sitting home at the PC.
The information the watch provides when I am actually out on the run is more then good enough for me.

Hi folks,

I had a F5X for a few days before I got my FR935. I ended up selling the 5X on to a friend.

I am quite tempted to give it another go and will have a unit delivered to me tomorrow.

What do you guys think about the state of the watch? Would you buy it again? How do you find its GPS performance?

Thanks,
Nick

If you are still undecided on the Garmin Fenix 5x upgrade then check out this review. Lots of information and videos showing you what its like

http://www.activejr.com/garmin-fenix...onth-hands-on/

Love my 5X, would definitely buy again. Most people's expectation of GPS performance is way above reality in devices of this type. Even with clear view of the sky, best case scenario is 3m accuracy....enough to put you on the opposite side of the road. Add in some tall buildings, tree cover and rapid switch backs and it'll fool most devices costing much more and sized 5x as large. All I need to know is that I travelled down that road/ track, not which footpath I was on and how many bins/ people/ dogs I avoided. That being said, my tracks are pretty good.

Love my 5X, would definitely buy again. Most people's expectation of GPS performance is way above reality in devices of this type. Even with clear view of the sky, best case scenario is 3m accuracy....enough to put you on the opposite side of the road. Add in some tall buildings, tree cover and rapid switch backs and it'll fool most devices costing much more and sized 5x as large. All I need to know is that I travelled down that road/ track, not which footpath I was on and how many bins/ people/ dogs I avoided. That being said, my tracks are pretty good.

Totally agree with you. Found the GPS accurate. I am only interested in the track and not which pavement it was ect