A year with the Fenix 5

Former Member over 7 years ago

551 hours logged. Wearing it almost exclusively 24/7. No hick-ups, just some minor bugs, like HR zones being overwritten with version upgrades. No connectivity issues (but only using it with a HR strap).

Plenty of activities logged, such as bike, indoors bike, mountain bike, run, trail, treadmill, elliptical, stair machine, indoors rowing, strength (gym), XC skiing, alpine skiing, skating and some hiking. I also do structured workouts.

Firstbeat algorithms seems reasonable. My reported running VO2max has been at 1-5 points below my lab tested value, and that seems ok, as outdoors running adds some effort. Reported altitude when alpine skiing is lagging. Current pace when running is perhaps not as smooth as wanted.

Had to replace the first watch strap after 7 months (a bit disappointed, it started to crack near the clasp). Added a leather strap for use when not training.

Have compared it to my previous Suunto Ambit 3, and have difficulties seeing any differencies on the GPS tracks. Possibly the Suunto is better on trail under dense trees. But comparing the tracks to my even earlier Polar RS800CX with the G3 external GPS, the F5 is far better.

Happy with the battery capacity. I get 6-8 days out of it with my use (GPS almost every day). The Suunto gave me as little as 60-70% of specified capacity after a year (and it did have some hick-ups).

Wouldn't mind even better battery capacity, and GPS tracking. I am also wishing for improvements in OHR. It seems to be ok for daily tracking, but not for logged activities.

I appreciate the buttons rather than touch screen (much preferred actually). I also prefer the screen, compared to the Apple watch (I just recently compared the screen of my F5 with my old Polar RS800... what a difference!)

Looking forward to another 551 hours (or more). With hopes of no bugs, broken OHR sensor, straps, deteriorating battery, screen, etc (as have been reported here). And of course the health to be able to enjoy the hours.

Share your experiences!

0 reittila over 7 years ago

Like reading positive comments for change :)

0 Bekkedalen over 7 years ago

This is my experience too, except that I had to get a new F5 recently due to sencor unstability. It might have been static electricity due to very cold and dry weather, (Mountains of Norway) but Garmin suggested a swap, so now I got a brand new one. Garmin customer support have been superior in my case. Not only regarding F5 swap, but also when I broke my strap pin I got replacement at no cost, including tools. Very good.

0 RickD over 7 years ago

I upgraded to the Fenix 5 w/WiFi from the Fenix 3HR and love it! There isn't a brand/model which hosts a forum that doesn't contain complaints. I even tried the Apple Watch 3 for a while for my runs and other than having music onboard so that I don't have to carry my iPhone, the Fenix 5 is hands down the better choice for training. I see complaints about the GPS not working and can only wonder if occasionally it's due to satellite/interference and not the watch itself. Sh!t h@ppens.

A few items I hope to find in version 6:
1. A stronger vibration for my alerts while working out. It's rare I feel my watch vibrate when it's time to drink/take salt
2. Higher resolution screen so that circles are smoother
3. Onboard music so I can run without my phone

Overall, I think the Fenix 5 is the best multisport GPS watch available.

PS - You'll love you Fenix 5 even more if you stay away from all the negative posts.

0 0sea over 7 years ago

Also used my F5 continuously over the past year and still very happy with it. It does what I need for running, biking, skiing, surfing, etc. Data and metrics are great and never have a problem syncing with my iPhone or a few websites I track activities with (GC, Stava, MMR). GPS is plenty accurate for my purposes (it's highly consistent with distance when I run the same routes so I can compare workouts).

As a general purpose watch it is a great size and has all the useable (that I care about) extras. Never really think about battery life. Holding up well with some minor scratches on bezel which don't bother me at all. The crystal is still scratch free with no extra care taken.

The only complaint I have is the HRM is way off (too high) during the first 3-5 minutes of activity (running, biking). After that is settles down as is accurate from that point on. But since I like the extra data the HRM-Run strap collects I don't worry about it anymore except when I forget to pack the strap (or lose it...) during travel.

To make it the ultimate I have two requests:
1) very minor one - give option to display HR on built in watch faces (although lots of 3rd party ones available, I don't like the lag associated with them when switching to an activity or menu)
2) a major one - add music playback so I don't have to bring my iPod Nano along

0 Johnmcl7 over 7 years ago

I bought my Fenix 5s shortly after it was released after getting some clarification from this forum whether the screen was much better than the Vivoactive I was using, on paper it isn't much different but in reality I find it's a noticeably better screen. Although it's an expensive device I've always been very pleased with it as I'd like the VA mostly but not the way it looked, I'd always liked the Fenix series but the watches were far too large for my wrist.

The 5s is a great fit, the screen is a good bit better, I prefer the buttons to the touchscreen and I've found the optical HR monitor more useful than I thought. It's less accurate than the chest monitor I occasionally wear (I find the optical one underreads rather than overreads as above) but I find it accurate enough to get a day to day view of what I'm doing and how hard an activity has been. I use the 5s for cycling rather than running and the GPS appears reasonably accurate, it follows the roads on the map and the values from it are similar to an Edte 520. The 5s also keeps the great batterylife, readable screen in all conditions, reliability and music controls of the VA as well.