I hunt , cycle , swimming , breaker , snowboard , boat paddle , hunting and ride motorcycles . Not only is the Garmin Fenix 3 the first smartwatch capable of observe up throughout all those activity , but it ’s also the first to really aid me become honest at them .
TheFenix 3is , as you guessed , the successor to theFenix 2 . Garmin has fixed all of the biggest complaint about that picket , with the biggest being the tiresome GPS acquirement . By adding the power to connect to the Russian GPS equivalent , GLONASS , you’re able to now apply 24 more satellites ( + the 32 from GPS ) that at last give you a much quicker and more reliable locating lock .
Quick history about GLONASS : GLONASS stands for Globalnaya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya sistema , or GLObal NAvigation Satellite System and was Russia ’s answers to the GPS program . It was only 4 years ago , in 2011 , that GLONASS achieved full global coverage . scan more about that here .
Basic Use
find fault your activity and the watch customise its function to suit .
First , you need to peck your sentinel face . There ’s a bunch from both Garmin and users in the company ’s Connect IQ app stock . Next you have widgets that are little pages that show you info , like steps , temporary , altitude , barometric air pressure , and many others . These are accessed by just press up or down from the watch cheek .
The sunrise/ moonrise widget , uncommitted in the Connect I.Q. store for destitute .
Then you have your apps , these are the orbiter trailing - enabled modes that you will use for all of your actual bodily process . Once you ’re in an app and you ’ve started an activity , you could not watch the contrivance without check and closing the activity . The apps are customizable and each app has a pile of screens that can each display up to 4 dissimilar data point field , with up t0 10 screens per app . You scroll through the screen using the up and down buttons during your activity . It can take a little while to figure out which screen you require to have with which data , but once you have it all sort out out , you wo n’t really need to adjust them .
Pro Tip : During an activity , if you carry the “ down ” button , you will pass to the primary watch face . From there you could see the time and scroll through the gizmo . When you are quick to return to your activity , weigh the start button .
Connectivity
Personally , I was wholly against anything and everything smartwatch . That is , until I wore this one . I could not see the need to read text or do any other silly thing like using it as a Star Trek communicator that most “ smartwatches ” are trying to attain , but the Fenix 3 has slowly and easily welcomed me in to the human race of wearable . The picket is connected via Bluetooth Smart ( 4.0 + ) to my phone and remains connected as long as the phone is within range . I ’ve chosen to enable most notification for the watch . A little notification pop up and you may disregard it or interpret it . interpret anything more than a quick text edition is well handle by pick up your phone . I use the watch as a sort of filter for which thing I need to reply to .
atmospheric condition information is synced from your telephone … it ’s pretty rough out here in SoCal .
One of the things that do this watch out unique is that it has an actual altimeter , barometer and reach ; it does n’t rely on your telephone set and an Internet connection to manipulate them .
After finishing an activity and once the watch is back in stove with the phone , the activity is mechanically synchronize and uploaded to Garmin Connect before I get in the house . If you useStrava , you’re able to link that with Garmin Connect andauto upload each Modern activity from Garmin Connectover to Strava , the whole process is exceedingly easy and painless . If you do not have a smartphone , you may connect the watch to a WiFi web and all the same motorcar uploading will materialise just as well . If you do n’t want to use WiFi , you could always plug the vigil directly into your computer . The phone sync is by far the easygoing though . Your watch wo n’t play favorites either , it will be just as well-chosen with your Android twist as it will with an iOS twist ; sorry no love for Windows Phone .
Like most of Garmin ’s mathematical product line , the Fenix 3 can connect to a embarrassment of accessories via ANT+ . The beauty of ANT+ is that it is an exposed communications protocol and you are not restrain to only Garmin accouterment . contribute an accouterment is simple mating process , and from there you will need to add that data champaign in to your natural process app . Most Garmin supplement will auto populate the data fields into the apps once they are added . Here is what the Fenix 3 can connect to via ANT+
ANT+ Heart Rate Monitor
ANT+ Running Footpod
ANT+ Cycling Speed / Cadence Combo Sensor or Individual Speed/ Individual Cadence
ANT+ Cycling Power Meter
ANT+ Tempe ( Temperature Sensor )
ANT+ VIRB Action Camera ( for controlling the Garmin VIRB camera )
ANT+ Shimano Di2 ( descend in next update )
The Fenix 3 has a build in temperature sensing element , but the data can be skew by your body heat . For a more accurate reading , theTempesensor for $ 30 provides an accurate ambient temperature and render you a min / max on the temperature widget . I did notice that when using the watch for surfing , I could middling well narrate how insensate the water was by let it soak while await for wave .
Bike
salve yourself the hassle and get theBike Mount Kit . It ’s a $ 15 block of rubber that squeeze around your handlebar and give the watch something to latch on to , while also letting everyone else know that you have a Garmin . It ’s easier than having the watch on your articulatio radiocarpea and provide you to use either paw to make the button .
Garmin has overhauled their line of accessories and the newSpeed and Cadencesensors are perfect . you could buy them as a pair for $ 70 , or singly for $ 40 each .
The speed sensor slips in to a bungee cord living accommodations and wraps around your hub .
The metre sensor is hold on to the shabu arm with a stiff bungee cord , that comes in 3 sizing from Garmin .
No magnets , no naught necktie , no tape measure ! They have isolate each sensor too , so you now have one meter senor that straps to your non - drive side crank , and a hurrying detector that wind around your bike hub ( front or rear ) .
Once connected and on the ride , I did bump that the push button were a little knotty to crusade on the side compared to top - face buttons of other bike specific devices , but I think that is because I have super narrow-minded hold ginmill and everything is push together . Data electrical relay works with child and you should n’t have any trouble reading the screen in the daylight or while flush it down a hill .
Run
I initially think the heft of the watch would devil me while running , but honestly did not notice it . you’re able to set it up to do an auto lap covering at specified intervals and give you info on your last mile .
Garmin has two core charge per unit monitors to choose from , theSoft Strap Premium Heart Rate Monitorfor $ 70 and theHRM - Runversion for $ 100 . The Run edition include a three - axis accelerometer in the chest mental faculty to give you Garmin ’s “ Running Dynamics ” and features a footling run man on the front of it .
You ’ll see a new screen populated with a color graphical record that shows your cadence as compare to others in your age kitchen range . The musical scale is kind of ambiguous and does n’t really tell you much . It also has your vertical oscillation ( how high your feet go and up and down with each whole tone ) , your measure ( step per minute ) , and your dry land contact time ( how long your foot stays on the ground for each step ) . You do not need the HRM - Run to get beat , the watch itself is capable of doing that , but the HRM - Run bring home the bacon a turn of redundance .
active data from a run .
If you are a tread-wheel offset , theFoot Podis for you . For $ 70 , it will give your watch pace and distance information when GPS is unavailable , as it will be indoors . If you have the metrical foot cod connected while on a run / walk / hike outside and drop off your GPS connector , your distance will then revert to data from the foot pod . So while your literal track may not be as accurate , your distance should be descry on . This could alleviate some discrepancies in space when used in UltraTrac mode as outline in the assault and battery life surgical incision . The human foot seedcase claims about 95 % accuracy out of the box and is calibrateable to get it nearly arrant . Note that the foot pod is horseshoe dependent , so if you have it calibrated to one brake shoe , do not expect it to be perfect propel over to the next . For most of us , leave it just the way it is will work fine .
At the beginning of the year , I gainsay myself to beat my high schooling track mile record of 4 minutes 54 seconds . I convince a few of my old track friends to do the same and we are now virtually competing against each other around the res publica . The Fenix 3 has facilitate me track my improvements . In January , I hunt down my first prescribed mental testing statute mile at 7:35 . In the past few months of training , I have dropped that down to 5:54 ; only 1 more minute to pick apart off !
Surf
Though Garmin does not have an official app for surfboarding , but someone else has created one and it ’s available in the Connect intelligence quotient storehouse . You will have to add it as a single data subject field in a new app . From there you start the app and go surf . It will give you a tabulator of how many undulation you ’ve caught as well as your previous and best speeds , distance , and sentence .
enchant a few Wave before the Sunday comes up at the Huntington Beach Pier .
Snowboard
On a late ski trip this wintertime I was excited to see how the watch did with snowboarding . embark on the watch in to “ Ski / Board ” mood and off you go . The Fenix is monitor your altitude and will notice when you get on and off the lift and begin a Modern lap for you each metre you start your run . You really just hit go and do n’t have to worry about a affair . you could see a accumulative distance traveled , elevation derive , average and top swiftness , and a innkeeper of other info . The watch band did not go wide enough to correspond on the outside of my jacket , so I wore it under and would take a peek each time we were on the cosmetic surgery to see how the late run go .
Other Activities
Garmin has pre - let in apps for : XC ski , Ski / Board , Climbing , Hiking , Trail Running , Running , Indoor Running , Bike , Bike Indoor , Pool Swim , Open Water Swim , and Triathlon . Each App has been specifically tailored for those activites and you’re able to go and custom-make them from there . you may also add your own , as I did for the surfing . If Swimming is your matter , the watch will commemorate everything you need for indoor/ out-of-door swim , include stroke cadence and distance .
Daily Activity and Sleep Tracking
In your normal day - to - daylight number , the Fenix 3 can be put to record your steps in a widget call “ Wellness ” and give you gentle nudge when you ’ve been sitting for too long . Stay stagnant while binge ascertain your favorite show on Netflix for more than an hour and it will buzz and tell you to get off your work-shy stern and move . Each subsequent 15 mo of inactivity and your inactivity bar grow by a notch .
It typically take on about 50 M of walk to reset the “ move bar ” . This has in reality been super helpful for me at oeuvre . With a normal desk - bind day Book of Job , a little admonisher every minute to get up and take the air around has helped me to not only get a few extra steps in each day , but also improve my overall climate . It ’s a round-eyed matter like this that is really helpful . It ’s deserving noting that just about all of Garmin ’s fitness bands and vigil have this functionality built in .
The sleep tracking is a mixed bag . The info you get back is an equivocally scaled graphical record that register when you move around at night . We did learn that my married woman usually hits coma condition right around 3 am , so I ’ll attempt to keep from waking her around then . The fact is you are sleeping with a gargantuan watch on your radiocarpal joint that is cash in one’s chips to leave behind a few funny marks on your face if you care to use your weaponry as pillows . More often than not , I usually get a sharp gasp from the wife when the cold picket manages to bear on her skin .
Location Sharing
If you require to apportion your location during an activity , you’re able to do so via Garmin ’s LiveTrack . You activate the LiveTrack on your earpiece , then start an activity . You will demand to keep your phone on you , and as long as the phone has a datum connection it will broadcast your location in real meter . you may opt to partake it to individual multitude via email , or get societal and partake in it on Facebook and Twitter . This could be fun if you have a adult airstream coming up and need to have people hearten you on mid backwash . You ’d go down up the LiveTrack , share your event with them , and they ’d be capable to experience when you are go to be coming by . I ’ve used it with the wife when go on long motorcycle rides . She can bed that I have n’t been hit by a car and also when I am on my way home and when she can expect me , it allow for me to focalise on the activity .
Looks
Unless you tell someone the Fenix 3 is an adventure - ready mutation watch , they would be none the wiser , especially when you put on the alloy link band . The basis model sells for$499while the Sapphire mannequin retails at$599 . That supernumerary $ 100 gets you a scar resistant Sapphire genus Lens over the distinctive mineral glass lens and the fancy metal link band that normally costs$129(a apparently bleak arctic band is also included).Additional color bandsare uncommitted for $ 25 . The Sapphire fashion model also trade in the shiny red bezel around the outset button for a manifest atomic number 47 one that blends in well with the rest of the watch . The metallic element link band is re - sizeable and something you could do at abode , just come out out the pins , remove data link until it fits and put it back together . You could take it to a jeweller and pay them to do it , or just do it yourself and bring through the time and money . As presently as you put the metal band on , you will notice its heft , it doubles the weight of the watch from 85 grams with the rubber strap up to 175 grams and will take a little getting used to . For guys with hairy limb : be discourage , the alloy stria is thirsty for your sleeve whisker .
I ’ve worn the metallic element ring to swanky events and felt comfortable that it looked ripe with my suit of clothes . Just trade the watch confront over to analog and no one will ever know you ’re wearing a mutation watch . swap the bands is also very simple and handled via a pair of bantam Torx screws on each side . Garmin let in the Torx driver and the swap select only a moment or two .
Battery Life
Garmin claims a full 20 hours for constant on GPS recording at 1 - second separation , I charged it to full and permit it run until numb on my porch and it make out to ride out dynamic for 18 hours and 43 minutes . Not quite 20 , but I am certain that nerveless temperatures might have an gist on the life .
Next is UltraTrac mode , which decreases the GPS update frequence , but maintains your sensor scan rate of once per second . Your localization preciseness is going to go down , but your bombardment life should more than dual , up to 50 hour . It accomplishes this by reverse the Global Positioning System on for 15 - 20 s at a time , compile a point , then turn it off for 45 seconds .
If a sacrifice in GPS truth does n’t sound like the best option , you’re able to always link up the charging cable and go the watch via anExternal Power Pack . Garmin has a re - brandedPowermonkey Explorerthat they sell for $ 90 that has 2200 mAh , more than 7x the Fenix 3 battery capacity of 300 mAh . It does number with a solar charger and an extra rubber bike fastening . Chris went over our take on solar re - chargeable barrage ingroup , you may take that here .
I have worn it in the shown shape and it ’s doable . You gather the backup barrage in to your face pack , in this cause I was wearing theOsprey Rev 12running pack , and let the cord dangle from your wrist joint . It ’s not pretty , but you’re able to definitely separate that the engine driver who design this actually consider about this job and come up with a reasonable answer that no other brand name has accomplished as flawlessly .
If you were on your wheel , you would n’t even remark the battery and would have no trouble making it through a 24 hour race . Well at least the watch would n’t kick the bucket , whether or not you would , is another topic . Note these quote times are with Bluetooth flip off .
In my three month with the watch , I usually only needed to reload it once a week . That is with about 12 hour of GPS activity per week and a constant Bluetooth connexion with an average of 40 - 50 email/ text notifications per day . liken to the former Fenix 2 that would last about a day with a Bluetooth connection , this is a vast improvement . If you want to spend $ 500 and not use the GPS track you paid for , you may do that ; Garmin says to expect about 6 weeks with no GPS or Bluetooth connections .
Available Apps
Connect IQ is Garmin ’s unique way of life to put apps on your sportwatch . In only a few month , the number of useful apps , widgets , and watch faces has quickly grown . Garmin replaced the Hunt and Fish information that was previously built in to the Fenix 2 with a thingamabob on the Fenix 3 . It takes in to describe the phase of the Sunday and lunation to get you know when it might be a better fourth dimension to hound or fish .
Adding an app , watch fount , data discipline , or widget from the Connect IQ memory board is very dim-witted . You choose what you want on your phone or computing machine in the store , hit “ Download ” and the next sentence your watch syncs , it will be there . You will then need to add / enable that App , Widget , Watch Face , or data field where you want it .
The Garmin Connect web user interface and Smartphone App has go through a major overhaul in the retiring few months and it is much more svelte . you could easily explore your activities and compare information points for all activities in one unsubdivided window . The homepage presents in more of a “ card ” style with all of your info in one dapple .
Adventure Ready?
I ’ve been notably more combat-ready since owning the Fenix 3 , and that ’s no coincidence . It encourages you to keep moving , and is quick and waiting to read each adventure . As an engi - swot by 24-hour interval , I enjoy looking at datum plot to see how my strong-arm fitness is doing . A few times , I have had to polish off and re - tally a sensor , which was a small pain , but otherwise everything has worked extremely well .
Like other GPS - enable sportwatches , it ’s not a svelte add-on . It is half an inch thick and definitely noticeable when you are wearing it . But , if you want a single sentinel that can track any fun you could ever desire to do , while still being something you would n’t beware being fancy with , then this is the vigil for you .
The one downside is a fairly modified navigation power that ’s essentially provide obsolete by your smartphone . The before long - to - be - releasedGarmin Epixaddresses that with a colour touchscreen and pre - loaded topo mathematical function . We ’ll be review that sentinel in the very good future .
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