Fenix 6X Pro Solar vs Apple Watch Series 5

DC Rainmaker advises against using 2x Optical HRM watches on the same wrist due to the proximal watch affecting distal blood flow and influencing the readings on the distal watch.

Yup, fully aware of that. My primary goal was to compare the GPS. 

However, I was also looking for some further data to support or reject my belief that the Garmin is good during an activity but horrible when no activity is being recorded. My limited data set supports this argument so far. 

Compared them several times and I have a pretty regular Saturday course.

The AW overestimates GPS by about 2-3% vs the F6 which tracks almost 100% to the signs on the trail.  The AW can go bonkers at weird times with GPS, doubly so if it locks onto the phone.  I've had really bonkers tracks where it did this.

With heart rate, it's the complete reverse.  AW is rock solid and the F6 will throw spikes at weird times.  In the aggregate, the F6 will overstate heart rate by 2-3% on the whole in my experience.  So, it's like a complete reversal of the first paragraph.

I picked up a Wahoo forearm strap and my F6 problems with the heart rate are gone.

Neither of those, really for me at least, are deal killers.  Bad GPS can matter if I'm taking my timing seriously, and heart rate can be serious (because it can scare the crap out of you) but neither in the sense of most people's training matters that much.

I, honestly, still don't know what to do with the 2 watches.  I don't need F6 Solar battery life.  Technically, the AW is enough, I don't run marathons, or even do many long hikes any more, but having to charge every damn day is annoying, so it's not enough.  The Garmin on the other hand, has bugs in irritating places, so in some ways, it's no better.

Give me double the AW battery life or improve the Garmin's bugginess and tweak both a bit so one's smarter and the other's more of an athlete watch than a health watch.

Thanks for your response, it seems like I'm not alone in this dilemma. 

To me having cellular (and not having to bring my phone along) has been a bit of a game changer. I only ever use Stryd with both watches as both have various pace/distance related problems.

Do you use the Apple app to record activities? I only ever use Workoutdoors and Stryd and haven't had any odd results yet.

I use the following trick: open Workoutdoors and wait until you have a good lock (<6m) and start your run on your preferred app. This ensures that you have an actual good fix. 

My observation so far is that the AWS5 has superior GPS tracking versus the Garmin.

Agreed about HR, especially outside of an activity on the Garmin. As the report above hopefully illustrates, the Garmin is a bit of a random number generator until it "catches up"

Workoutdoors is good and Stryd would solve the GPS distance problem.  Still needs better battery life.

No way is GPS better on the AW at least for me.  Might need to make sure the F6 is set to GPS + Glonass or one of the other options.  Had terrible GPS with just GPS on the F6.

I get why the 2 watches are the way they are, they almost aren't competitors, as the F6 is way above the AW in terms of it's target market: endurance athletes.  I was reading today about the heart sensor on the AW and the article was saying that it was sort of an afterthought at first, and that the Apple Health app was the real target for health stuff.  Then, once they got a good sensor in there, it kind of woke them up.

The Fenix on the other hand is pretty limited in it's smarts, so kind of different watches, for different things.  But, if Apple ever puts enough battery in there, maybe doubles it, then I can do my stuff, leave it on the charger while showering, and I'll be free of the hour long recharge times I have to do every day.

If that ever happens, it's very likely I'd leave the Garmin ecosystem.

The run I posted is on GPS+Galileo as mentioned in the original post. I have also tried GPS only and GPS+GLONASS. 

In my experience, the 6XPS only started getting reasonable GPS tracks after the 4.31 GPS beta. It was atrocious at best prior to that.

Yes, the Fenix has a slew of advantages like battery life, always on display and routing but its GPS is very far from being "better" than the AW. 

The most annoying thing in the Garmin is the ridiculous algorithm that governs 24/7 hr tracking.