This post is about why I bought a Garmin Epix Gen 2 Sapphire Smartwatch.
Well, changing gadgets and even the occasional impulse “buy stuff you don’t need1” shopping spree is almost as much a part of my life as Paula.
Or cycling…
My first (ever) Garmin watch, was the Fēnix 5S, which was purchased at the Lisbon airport at a reduced price. That was still more than you paid for the average Apple Watch at the time, but that watch wasn’t capable of doing and recording all the cool stuff I have no clue of what they even mean.
So, I needed that and Paula was happy with my Apple Watch (Series 4, I think) – win/win, right?
1 I mean, do I really need three pairs of Favero Assioma pedals, just because I’m too lazy to swap them from bike to bike (and in less than two minutes at that)?
Yes, that is a rhetorical question…
Within a year, I swapped the Fēnix for the then latest Apple Watch and I pretty much stuck with that and the following models, and last year I got the Series 8.
Last week, I got a Fēnix 5 (so the bigger one) which I would sell for someone, but I tried it for a couple of days to make sure everything was working as it should.
And, like before, I came to the conclusion that this was the kind of watch that would serve me better than my Apple Watch.
But would I opt for another Garmin Fēnix, the Garmin Forerunner or the Garmin Epix?
I mean, I generally curse at Garmin’s products after their initial launch and don’t get me started on their “support”, but this watch has been around for a while now, so I hope the experience will be better than the one I had with Varia RCT715.
(Seriously, don’t buy it – take the RTL515 0r the RVR315, which I use now, combined with a smart tail light that lits up on approaching cars and when I brake. That combo is cheaper than the RTL515 and smarter.)
Obviously, if you’re not into the 10,000 different parameters the Garmin Epix is tracking, you’d never need to buy a watch like this.
And although it’s basically the Fēnix 7 – there are some differences and you can get a Solar edition of the Fēnix – the Amoled display of the Epix that’s capable 0f 65,000 colors over the 64 on the Fēnix, is something I do consider to be a valuable difference.
(We also have an 8K Oled TV, while there’s actually not much available in 8K. And we had a 4K TV way before that was cool 😂 But yes, Paula couldn’t care less, while I marvel at the quality – it’s the same with the Dolby Atmos Sonos Arc sound system we have 😎)
Then again, if you also like that type of display: for half the price of the Garmin Epix, you can buy for instance the Forerunner 265 – even the Forerunner 965 is cheaper than the Epix…
Both the Fēnix – especially the Solar edition, but I guess that’s depending on the weather too – and the Forerunner (965) have a longer battery life than the Epix, but even the latter lasts up to 5, 6 days longer than an Apple Watch.
In “always on” mode for the Epix, against “tap mode” for the Apple…
And a week on one battery charge is good enough for me.
So, as I do not golf, don’t have boat and actually do not do much else than cycling – and running, but that’s on hold for the time being, due to by back issues – I obviously picked the Garmin Epix 😂
Because it looks better – to me that is…
I took it out for two rides: one where I used my Edge as an extended display – and broadcasted the Epix’s HR to it, but forgot the “auto pause” function – and one where I ran both concurrently, but forgot to broadcast the HR.
Altitude – i.e. satellite wise, I guess – the Garmin Epix is way more accurate, but it also sucks at computing the altitude gain of my rides.
As I do care to keep an eye on my sleeping stats, VO2 Max, HRV, blood Oxygen level – but the latter is always over 96, 97 – and some other training (readiness) stats, I have prioretized those on my watch’s configuration.
But as I only ever ride like an idiot in “Tempo / SS” mode anyway, no matter how often any device screams at me that the workout of the day is a rest day or a “base” ride, I might as well not look at things like “Stamina” or ‘Body Battery”, which is currently at 5% according the Garmin Epix…
For the other ~9,990 things you might want to look into, I refer to other sources (like DC Rainmaker) – I don’t understand most of those anyway.
I will try the built in apps like HIIT and “Animated” workouts and find out along the way what other useful apps the watch has.
You can find yesterday’s ride here and today’s “double” here and here. Apparently, the Garmin Epix doesn’t record temperature, which would be useless anyway.
It’s a smart watch for sure 🤪
