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Venu 2 vs Epix

David
over 3 years ago

Hello Garmin Community,

I am on the hunt to purchase myself my first Garmin smartwatch as I was blown away by how I haven't really considered them until now. I was a Samsung Galaxy watch user (the first model) and now lately I was using Apple Watch 6 series, which I will now replace with a Garmin smartwatch. However, Garmin has a lot of offers and the prices vary by a lot, so I came here to ask for your help.

I am considering Venu 2 and Epix, because these are the only model with OLED display. I haven't seen any in person, because there are none here in Slovenia to see, so I am worried if I don't take OLED that I'll be dissapointed by the brightness of the display.

Let me explain my typical usage of a smartwatch:- Outdoor walking / running

  • Indoor Exercises (mostly without equipment)
  • Hiking ( This is something I would like to start in my life, but since I am a newbie, I would really need some help with routes in my country. If I understand videos correctly, there are apps / watches that can suggest you some Hiking / Walking / Running routes to take on your location?)
  • Very interested in good Sleep Tracking features
  • Very interested in different Health tracking features (also things like perhaps food, or hydrations, stress levels, etc.)
  • Being able to control Spotify through smartwatch (like tapping Next Song, etc.)
  • Being able to see SMS / Calls / Calendar events / ...(no need to answer them though)
  • Being able to consolidate all the statistic into one meaningful App
  • I would really like to understand the data, not juse 'You slept for 6h' .. maybe some suggestions / feedbacks ..
  • Sensors like: Outdoor Temperature, Humidity, etc are a nice addition

As you may see, I am not a hardcore athlete, but I would like some good metric on the activities that I do. I also am interested in very basic smartwatch features, but dont need advanced stuff like replying to things, calling, etc.

From what I understand, Epix is for more extreme athletes, however, I am not sure why exactly.. because of much more Programs, or because it gives you more DATA on the same programs? Because if I do walking / running, I would like to see as much data as possible. However, since I am not doing cycling or Triathlons or things like that - such features aren't as important to me. Expis also has Maps, which Venu 2 does not and it is something that I DO feel like a missing thing. However, I was wondering, if I would go with Venu 2 and I am a subscrber to Strava - am I able to somehow pull the Strava routes to Venu 2? Or is that not possible at all?

The price difference is huge (500 EUR here in my country, I could buy a second Venu 2 Plus with the difference). I noticed there are some additional sensor on Epix, but couldn't clearly understand whether they are for some specific Trainings / Workouts or are there some other benefits?

Also I tend to like Epix's design more, which is to suprise to me, as before I was always looking for 'minimalistic' watches, which is Venu 2. And it seems like Epix is not on stock here in our country, so the wait time is like 5+ weeks. Oh.. man, am really torn here. :/

All in all, I hope I could get some help from the community as you guys will probably have the best 'real-life' feedback for me.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Venu 2 is enough, Epix is more than that but not needed for your usage.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Vizi

    Thank you for your reply. Do you perhaps know the differences in sensors? What are all those additional sensors for in Epix 2?

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    EPIX for the hardcore athlete. VENU2 for the casual. Having both watches, this is my take.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Teriemer

    I am definetly more casual: Perhaps short walk each day. Maybe 2-3x per week some indoor exercises. And occasional hiking throughout the year. That is why I am mostly interested in the Healthy lifestyle features like Sleep, Stress, Hydration, etc. I think Venu 2 will be the right choise for me at the begining of my journey.

    do you perhaps use Strava App? If so, do you know if it is possible to see the Strava Route on your watch? Since Venu 2 does not have Garmin maps, perhaps it is possible to somehow show Strava 'map' on the watch?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to David

    Did not investigate differences much because I was not interested in Venu 2 but I think that important sensors are on venu 2 as well, and if there are some that only Epix has them, they are practically uneccessary. For example, fenix/epix watches have temperature sensors but it is practically useless since it measures temp of about 30 degree Celsius which is some ind of mixture of body temperature and outside temperature - useless info. You are better of to consider whether you need something else other than what venu 2 has to offer. If you start looking at differences between epix and venu 2, you will find them, but they are for average user in real life not important (never used features).

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to David

    I do use Strava. I don't think you can use Trava routes on the Venu2. However there's this DWMAP you can get from Garmins Appstore. Maybe that will work? I have never used that App, so I can't tell.

    https://dynamic.watch/

  • +1 over 3 years ago

    I can't reply to all your questions in details but i had a Venu 2 and, now, i'm a happy user of the Epix.

    Venu 2 is a great watch, nice menu, cool display and a great app from Garmin but it's missing many metrics from garmin's top watches. When i got the Venu 2 i didn't even consider the watches like Fenix series or Forerunner because of their display that i don't like at all and that is not visible at all whenever you have a bit of dark so i don't consider them an "always on display' watches.

    After few months that i had the Venu 2, Garmin decided to release the Epix 2 and i knew, immediately, that i had to try it.

    The design is beautiful and it's looking more like a real watch(not that i like normal watches but it's still a plus) while the weight is still light and dimensions similar to the Venu 2. It's more bulky but i hardly notice it during my usage, that includes also the sleep tracking.

    The amount of the stuff that Epix has is really incredible...i'm using less than half of it but better more than less.
    The accuracy of the GPS is incredible. While there are no big differences sensor wise, Garmin likes to separate some stuff between different models and with Venu 2 you can't see some metrics because Garmin is not allowing you(if you upload the file of the workout on external websites you could see everything but it's an extra step that i don't want to do).

    After a run you get something like this and the green circles are not visible directly with Venu 2. Stamina is something that they just added on the latest watches, temperature is not really a big deal(in my opinion) but the training effect/load is a really nice one and with a lot of details. 

    As you are new to the garmin watches and the Epix is out of stock you can also consider to start with Venu 2, check how everything is working and later on decide if it's better to switch or to keep it. 

    As you mentioned the sleep tracking, keep in mind that Garmin is not one of the best watches for it but it also depends what you're looking for. Starting ending times are pretty accurate in my case...different phases look ok most of the time and the difference between a normal night or when i got some flu(just ot make a simple example) is noticeable.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Mladen T

    Hey Mladen,

    Thank you very much for this feedback. You are correct in the comparison, but I knew from before that we cannot really compare the two, since the you could get x2 Venu 2 Plus for price of 1x Epix 2. :) 

    As you pointed out in the reply, I decided to go with Venu 2 Plus. We had a shop that had both in stock and when I saw Epix 2, it was a bit too bulky for me. I wouldn't mind it if I would be working outside or doing a lot of outdoor activities, but since I do not (for both), I decided to go with a more 'modern' design and a more 'friendly' price.

    This is my first Garmin watch, and today I took it out for my first walk! I connected with Strava and MyFitnessPal applications that I also use and soo far, I am really satisfied with it! Much better for me than Apple Watch 6 or Galaxy Watches, that I owned in past!

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Teriemer

    Correct, you can use Strava routes with dwMap on the Venu2.  The process is automated, just link your Strava account to your dynamicWatch account. See
    https://dynamicwatch.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007147572-Importing-Routes
    for info on automatically- and manually-imported route options for dwMap.

    Disclosure: I am the developer of dwMap.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to mappicus

    first of all, thank you for your contribution!! Amazing work! 

    My second, more neutral thought: Why the heck does not Garmin offer their maps as Premium purchase for other Smartwatches that do not come with them?