And again, don’t forget you can make your own product comparison charts here with all the products in the database. Summary: I run a few times a week outdoors. I loved my old Forerunner 10 for runs, but the Fenix 6s Pro far outstrips it. The GPS locator is fast, even when you’re in an unfamiliar area. It also had no trouble finding me whether I was at home or someplace new. Added PulseOx (pulse oximeter data): Within Fenix lineup it was previously only on the Fenix 5X Plus variant

There's a new forged metal guard around the start button on the Garmin Fenix 7, which is designed to protect it from damage and help prevent accidental presses. However, they do roughly trend higher, so there’s that. Ultimately, I’ve never found heart rate while swimming super helpful, in part because of how much it lags compared to running or cycling. Still, at least it’s an option I guess.The goal of the solar here isn’t to fully power the watch, under GPS or otherwise. Instead, it’s to provide incremental battery life. Garmin notes this in their super-detailed battery life chart. Note specifically the assumption of 3 hours per day of solar light at a pretty high intensity (full sun basically). That goes both ways though. If you’re mid-summer and spending the day at the beach (or workout side), then you’ll way overachieve here. Versus if it’s mid-winter and you’re indoors…then not so much. GPS accuracy can be looked at in a number of different ways, but I prefer to look at it using a number of devices in real-world scenarios across a vast number of activities. I use 2-6 other devices at once, trying to get a clear picture of how a given set of devices handles conditions on a certain day. Conditions include everything from tree/building cover to weather.

Ok, let’s shift to the next bit of power and battery features, which is the new power modes. These are similar to what Suunto introduced within the Suunto 9 last year, and have pre-defined battery setups that show you how many hours you’ll get in that given configuration: Before we move on to the test results, note that optical HR sensor accuracy is rather varied from individual to individual. Aspects such as skin color, hair density, and position can impact accuracy. Position and how the band is worn, are *the most important* pieces. A unit with an optical HR sensor should be snug. It doesn’t need to leave marks, but you shouldn’t be able to slide a finger under the band (at least during workouts). You can wear it a tiny bit looser the rest of the day.In addition, you can use Garmin’s Connect IQ app to create your own watch face with a picture of your kids, Ben & Jerry’s container, or whatever else is important to you. Related to body battery is sleep metrics. The unit will automatically record your sleep each night, and supposed sleep phases. While I can validate that the sleep times are usually within a couple minutes of my actual fall asleep/wake times, I have no method of validating the sleep phases bits. The sleep metrics are displayed on the app:

Reduced ‘lug to lug distance’ on Fenix 6S: This should help those with smaller wrists, more on this later My experience with the fenix 3, 5X, and 6X is that current pace is not great but no worse that the forerunner 235 that I had. On the f235 I would see crazy pace swings from 3 min/km to 5:30 min/km sometimes when the real pace was more like 4:30/km. B) While outdoors on longer hikes, solar will definitely extend your battery life, potentially a lot There’s an itty tiny bit at the first turn where it cuts by perhaps a couple meters – but that’s it. Note that I did not stop at any point during this swim, I kept moving the entire time. Next, you’ll be brought to this screen that shows the course profile with color coding on it. You can expand this and zoom in however you’d like:

Oh, you wanted a picture on the Fenix 6 series? Unfortunately, the feature isn’t done yet, and is expected for release sometime here soonish. Until then, you’ll get the single-tone coloring. Which is still super helpful: Garmin has a long-standing reputation for longevity in its watches. Not only do the watches last seemingly forever, but Garmin continues to upgrade them well past their release. I expect the Fenix 6S Pro to last at least three to four years under normal usage. You’ll likely want to upgrade to a flashy new watch before the Fenix 6S Pro fails. Should you buy it? That’s not normal behavior. Normally the oHR turns off when the ANT+ or BTLE HRM strap is connected during an activity. (You can look under the watch and see.)