Ultra marathoners perspective on the 6x Pro / Solar

The Fenix series has a wide range of options to suit a wide range of activities and individuals.

For those ultra marathoners out there. What your take on the 6x Pro and 6x Pro Solar? We've all been out there (unless you are an elite, I suppose) with a portable USB battery to help juice up an Fenix to keep it running for a full 50 to 100. Carrying a usb battery isnt the end of the world, especially since the Fenix charges pretty fast.

The thought of solar, even if its first incremental step is pretty cool. However, with a softer crystal, coupled with the ever present possibility of a tumble into rocks or tree, it may be a gamble for a Solar version rather than a sapphire version.

All recent Fenix has had troubles with firmware at launch. Fenix 6 appears to follow suit. I expect it will calm down in the next month. So all the sensor drops, and everything else will get fix. So I dont see that as prohibitive issue to jumping into a new Fenix.

So to you ultra runners ----- The question is.

- Solar just gimmicky new tech, keep the sapphire

- Solar gimmicky new tech, I want a part of it (possible with a screen protector)

Cheers

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0 runsob over 5 years ago

I can't comment on the 6 (order in waiting) but my 5X Plus held well in 14 hour races GPS no music.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

Currently the solar is just a budding prospect to me. The additional time gained assuming best case sun exposure on a ultra is a balance against the screen protection. In my case I went screen protection.

As it is at 60 hours GPS potential, that's sufficient for me. I specifically got it for the Snowdrop 55 (hours) coming up in December. With my 5X, anything over 50 miles means carrying a battery. So being able to do any 100 without having to worry about battery life for one device is a big plus.

Of course for 100's there's also the issues with charging my stryds, headphones and phone so it's not like it's 'fixing' my charge things while I run. But at least I don't have to worry about my watch.

0 jetguat over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

Hmm. you bring up a pretty good point I had not noticed. I have a 5x and its solid up to 18hrs. anything over 15 hours and I would carry USB battery just to be safe. If possible I would then drop the battery at next drop bag. But I didnt notice 6x is 60hrs. That should be solid for most 100s. Solar is really cool, but as you say, you need near perfect conditions, and even then its only marginal improvements. Maybe I should just stick with the sapphire. decisions decisions...

0 runsob over 5 years ago in reply to jetguat

That was my thought process. Solar is a very marginal improvement under ideal conditions. Definitely prioritize Sapphire over.

0 DaveDillon over 5 years ago

Either one will work for ultras unless you're planning on running the Tahoe 200 or something that's longer than a day. The Sapphire non-solar version will still get you insane battery life up to 60 hours. I think being in the trees, and never really being at an optimal sun angle will negate the value of the Solar feature. Plus, Sapphire is far more durable than the Gorilla glass found on these watches. I managed to scratch the 945 with gorilla glass within 24 hours of owning it.

0 jetguat over 5 years ago in reply to DaveDillon

Good point on the trees. I was thinking about that myself just now. Perhaps I i'll just wait until Garmin can enhance the solar ability, and wait for the power crystal display to evolve more. In theory its a nice feature. Probably just not worthwhile for now. My only nitpick is that my 5x sapphire, I agree with some that its awfully reflective and with again eyes its sometime hard to read in the forest while running. Hopefully the larger display make up for that a bit (being more visible)

0 lucky1976 over 5 years ago

I think the Solar is a little too gimmicky right now.....Id be surprised if you could get an extra hour charge with the solar during a 100 miler...it would have to be ideal conditions with no tree cover and most of if not all my trail ultras have a quite a lot tree cover. They say 60 hours with a gps activity but I am guessing more like 42-45 hours just to be on the safe side which is 30% less then suggested. That would be plenty for more ultras.

But that being said the future looks promising for solar and I am looking forward to the future.

0 jetguat over 5 years ago in reply to lucky1976

ok as much as I love tech, I pulled the trigger on the sapphire. Maybe the 7x will be a solar beast

0 7066027 over 5 years ago

I purchased the 6x Pro Sapphire for the main reason of completing 50's and 100's with out having to use a Cache battery. I ended up going with the Sapphire because of the stronger glass. I did not choose the solar due to the perfect conditions that you have to have to gain the best solar recharge. After doing a few runs and noticing how my wrist is held, tree cover, long sleeves/gloves, I decided the stronger glass is more important to me.

0 7066027 over 5 years ago

I went with the Gx pro sapphire due to the stronger glass. l look forward to using the 6x for 50's and 100's with out a cache battery. The perfect conditions you would need to gain the best solar advantage don't happen very often as I run. (wrist angle, tree cover, long sleeve, gloves, etc)