Battery Saving Conservation Measures During Ultra

I've got an 24 hour timed ultra coming up and have been scouring the internet for ways to conserve battery life on my Fenix 5. With the charging connection I can't charge it on my wrist, however; I could use the travel charging method if necessary. I intend to implement the majority of recommendations (backlight settings, Bluetooth off, watch face, not broadcasting HR, notifications off, etc.) with the exception of: using UltraTrac GPS mode (I'd rather have more accurate mileage calculation, plus I intend to keep recording interval on auto versus 1 second).

That said, a few questions for the group:

The user's manual suggests turning off activity tracking, however; I would like to record my steps (for challenge purposes ;)). Has anyone turned off the activity tracking and seen a considerable battery savings? I would consider sacrificing the step count to insure the battery lasted.
The user's manual suggests turning off the wrist-based heart rate (WBHR) monitor and notes that this is "used to calculate vigorous intensity minutes and calories burned." I know that other results of using the WBHR include time in zone, recovery, etc. Does anyone know if the WBHR monitoring impacts anything else? Right now I'm leaning towards turning this off.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

Top Replies

mcalista over 7 years ago +1

The biggest power drains are GPS and backlight. OHR is next on the list, but it is WELL down on the first two.

GPS. You've made a compelling argument for keeping it at 1s. As the nominal rated life is about…

All Replies

0 tate_fischer over 7 years ago

So, I pulled it off starting Friday night at 6:00 pm ending yesterday at 6:00 pm with one 25 minute charge during the activity. Had settings as described and even with 4 different alerts (eat, S-cap, walk/run) the 25 minute boost carried it through. I didn't pay attention to how much the battery percentage increased in that 25 minutes so I plan to research that before my next 48 hour race. Thanks again for the suggestions and feedback.

0 deeter26_2 over 7 years ago

Congrats!! That's an amazing accomplishment and I can't fathom a 24 hour ultra, so a 48 makes my head spin. I'm trying to pep talk myself into a 4.8 mile easy run this morning but it's chilly and windy and I need some motivation. Seeing that you hit a 24 hour finish line gives me a kick in the butt. Great job!!

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to mcalista

Great information!!