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Fenix 6 vs Apple Watch 4 Heart Rate Monitors

3704102
over 5 years ago

I have had my Fenix 6 Sapphire Pro for several months now. I came from an Apple Watch 2 series that was about three years old. Since the very first day I had the watch, I have been extremely disappointed with the write heart rate monitor. So much so, that Garmin replaced my first watch after I showed them some data I had from several different mountain bike rides. However, it turns out this watch simply has a fatal flaw in its design, and the heart rate monitor simply does not work unless you are jogging and your HR does not go above 140 bpm.

So, I decided to do a little experiment during a recent ski trip. A friend of mine, who is roughly the same body type (height, weight, fitness level) has an Apple Watch 4 and we did the EXACT same runs at the same paces to see how the watches performed during the activity. Below the data from the F6 and the AW 4.

F6 Data

AW4 Data

As you can see, the data form the F6 is at best random, and never reaches over 125 bpm, where the AW4 shows very expected behavior with increases in heart rate during downhill skiing and lowering of the heart rate during the lift ride back up. 

I have noticed that the wrist heart rate monitor on the F6 hardly ever registers anything above ~130 bpm. This in turn has thrown off all of my training regimes and forced me to purchased a separate chest strap HRM. I have moved the watch all around my wrist to get a better reading without any luck. This to me is completely unacceptable. This is my first Garmin product, and it will likely be my last. 

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to DanFreemanPhoto

    I hear you, except, they sell it with the heart rate as a defining feature.  This one thing permeates everything else.

    Sure, it comes with a disclaimer, but anyone paying hundreds, or the 4-figures that Garmin watches can run into, would reasonably expect that just maybe, the damn thing could track your pulse accurately.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    Okay, let's try this again, since I am accused of being a troll. I strength train 4-5 days a week. Below are two strength training exercises one week apart. The first is using the F6 HRM and the second is after I purchased a chest strap because I was fed up with the F6 HRM. Although I did the same strength training exercises on this day, I decided to focus on the first 20 minutes of the workout, where I always warm up on a stair master. As you can see, the F6 HRM never reads above ~125 bpm, although the HRM on the machine is consistently above 160 bpm. Switched to the chest strap, and the HR matches that exactly of the machine. Obviously the chest strap is better during weight training due to the sudden spikes in HR. The F6 just kind of bounces back and forth also. 

    Strength training using F6 HRM.

    Strength training one week later after purchasing chest strap.

    My point isn't to bash the F6, but to show that I am having zero luck with the OHRM. So the fanboys can stop attacking now and have a productive conversation. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to DanFreemanPhoto

    Dan, I agree with you, but it is a PIA to wear a chest strap for everything. I wear mine training, but I do not want to wear it while I ski for pleasure. Like Swiss said, it would be nice if worked at least a little (for me anyways) when I only wore the watch. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to 3704102

    I have AW4 and F6x Pro Solar

    I did a couple of runs with both this week - and I agree - Apple's OH is superior. At NO point was my AW OH wrong compared to F6x with heart strap (HRM Run)

    But when I run with F6x without a strap it is random at best. I do think it is better than my 5x if you are careful where you place it. But it is nowhere near AW4.

    But the AW4 looks so girly that my wife gives me "sht" when I wear it. (She has an AW4 as well)

    I get about 2 full days with AW4 - but about 10 days with SP / 20 days without on F6x Pro Solar. So F6 wins there.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I'm not gonna do the work to post images but I just had the same experience.  I hooked up the Garmin HRM and did a quick run.  It looked perfectly normal, no weird spikes or anything.  I don't always get this without the strap.

    I'll have to do more testing but it looks like gonna get a "shelter in place order" in the not too distant future, so may not be able to.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    It's well known that OHR accuracy is generally limited due to the system.

    If anyone want to dive deeper in this matter I recommend this study about the comparison of wearables

    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../cdt-09-04-379.pdf

    The conlusion is:
    "If accuracy is imperative, a chest strap or the Apple Watch III may be the best choice."