Related
Options

The Epix vs Fenix debate is rather comical

Former Member
Former Member over 3 years ago

There seems to two very distinct crowds. You are either all in on the Epix or Fenix, with no rational balance.

Precursor: Both are great watches, can't go wrong with either.

With that said, why are so many users convincing themselves they need the battery life of the Fenix? Unless you live out in the middle of nowhere in a "Ted shed" I do not see the issue. Is 6 days not enough? Is 16 days not enough if you do so wish to turn off AOD and use gestures as a compromise? 

If you do find yourself spending a week in the woods, is there an issue with packing a small power pack? Or a small hiking solar panel that many multi-day hikers often invest in?

There is some off infatuation with needing the "extreme" of either end. For Fenix users they seem to be the "if the apocalypse hit which would last the longest?" group.

If you take your watch off when you shower, this shouldn't even be a deciding factor as you realistically could spot chare it daily for ~10-15 min

  • 0 over 3 years ago
    There seems to two very distinct crowds. You are either all in on the Epix or Fenix, with no rational balance.

    I ended up not buying either. Epix has a smaller screen and its battery life is insufficient.

    Fenix 7X has bad screen contrast if I go with the sapphire glass which I have to have in order to get multi-frequency GNSS.

    What I really need is a combination of a good screen with a good contrast (due to my declining eyesight), good map readability while running, long battery life, and top GPS accuracy. 

    With that said, why are so many users convincing themselves they need the battery life of the Fenix? Unless you live out in the middle of nowhere in a "Ted shed" I do not see the issue. Is 6 days not enough? Is 16 days not enough if you do so wish to turn off AOD and use gestures as a compromise? 

    You are making some assumptions about how the watch would be used. How about an ultramarathon activity with the watch used for 30+ hours straight? I guess I could still pull that up with Epix if I use GPS only mode, but my experience with Garmin tells me that Garmin's claims of the battery life are always overblown and the real battery life during an activity with GPS is 25-50% shorter, especially if using navigation and map. So finishing a mountainous 100 miler with Epix might not work. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to silentvoyager
    silentvoyager said:
    How about an ultramarathon activity with the watch used for 30+ hours straight?

    Think you would need the 7X for that.

    Fit Gear Hunter on you tube does a comparison between Fenix 6 and 7 and the screen on the 7 does have better contrast and looks a little crisper.

    So much so I am still considering swapping the Epix for the 7X.

    https://youtu.be/0pk6TR4elMA

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Maruzko
    Maruzko said:
    Fit Gear Hunter on you tube does a comparison between Fenix 6 and 7 and the screen on the 7 does have better contrast and looks a little crisper.

    In the comparison video both watches have backlight turned on. That isn't a good comparison. A proper comparison for my intended usage should be outside, preferably in a forest, and with no backlight.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Bitti

    Being 50+ too and normally requiring reading glasses I bought the 6+ for the sake of the larger screen and font sizes. After the first week of using both my new Epix next to my Fenix6+ it turns out outdoor-readability (without reading glasses) on the Epix is far better. This because of the high contrast ratio of the display. Of course an Epix+ would be even better :-)

    On the battery front I am rather happy too. Interestingly the battery consumption during activities seems very similar.
    E.g.: One full day (7h duration) of skiing drains:
    - 20% on the F6+, GPS+GLONASS

    - 22% on the Epix, AOD, 8s, GestureMode, Sat:all+MB

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to rolfsg

    Ok, that's good to know. Might affect my decision when I decide to upgrade. Slight smile

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to silentvoyager

    Gotcha.

    So what are you using now for the long forest runs?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to 7017726

    At the moment the non-standard faces don’t allow you to long press the screen to access the widgets. That’s a very handy feature IMO

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to silentvoyager

    I tested the battery life of the Epix on a 50k recently, using Gesture mode and GPS only. In DCR analyzer the battery life was 42h and this is similar to what I have found with 7h SkiMo days.  From my comparisons wearing a Suunto as well, there are no differences in GPS tracks whether or not I use multi band or GPS only. I am in an area without heavy tree cover.
    So, I disagree here, the Epix is plenty long for all but a few mountainous 100 milers that I have run, plenty for IMTUF, Run Rabbit, High Lonesome.  Not enough probably for Fat Dog, HR 100 or Wyoming Range 100.  Of those three I have run Fat Dog and the watch might last and I have attempted Wyoming Range 100.  With an HR belt my estimates are better than 42h and over 50h but I have not done long enough activities to trust the estimates.  For me, I would not purchase a fenix as the Epix will do all but a small number of 100 mile race, which are the longest I have attempted so far.

    Sorry, long answer but in short absolutely enough for a 30+h 100 mile race.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Maruzko
    Maruzko said:
    So what are you using now for the long forest runs?

    Fenix 6X sapphire. However I am unhappy with its accuracy, especially pace accuracy. Also I am not happy with the screen readability and glare. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to martowl

    This is a great post and speaks well to how far the Epix2 can go.  Ive owned Fenix's back to the 3 and have been happy with all of them. I was convinced to get an Epix 2 for my upgrade after reading the DCR review and I have to say, I'm glad I did.  It is hard to go back to the old screen type and I just charged after almost 8 full days while still having 18% left and workouts every day.  My biggest issue is I "Think" about the battery more than I need to because the day number is so low.  I just never thougt about it before, but that is a me issue, not an issue with the battery.  I also think its an unfair comparison to the Fenix 7X.  Its not a match in features or size to an Epix.  If you are comparing a Fenix 7 to a Epix 2, its near feature exact.

    In my opinion, most of the people who are concerned with battery life on the Epix 2 are people like me.  No REAL concern about battery life, but just the fact that your thinking about it makes it stressful. I will get past it.  For those of you that go on 100 mile races and multi day hikes, I'm sure this is a real concern.  I expect that this is the exception for Fenix/Epix owners not the rule.  This will be plenty of juice for Triathlon's up to 70.3's at this point which I think covers a wide range of actual owner use cases.