Ambit3, fenix2 or wait for the fenix3?

[Deleted User]

Looking for a long life battery watch that is ideal for ultra events. Plus the time I spend in the mountains and sliding down rivers.

Also want to use it for geocaching with my son.

I won't wear it as an every day watch.

 I worry about reliability issues with the fenix2 and the Ambit appears rushed and will be super seeded very quickly by the fenix3 which also appears hugely expensive.

Which watch do people use and what would be your advice?

 

booktrunk

Fenix 3 looks quite awesome, I've got a fenix2 but it's just a fenix1 with err umm err not a lot else?  I like fenix 2 but this generation of gps chips from garmin don't seem as accurate as in the older stuff like the 310 and 910.

if you can wait.... Wait for fenix 3 to come out and see if early adopters find it's good or unreliable, if bad reviews from real users then go ambit 3. 

booktrunk

Actually I know it's heresy.... But started to thing huge external battery on smart phone put it in a waterproof case in a rucksack, and wear a smart watch to read it's data....

GeeeM

I have a Fenix 1 which is currently at Garmin being replaced - I'm actually really disappointed with it. Maybe I just have a duff one but judging by some of the other reports on the internet I suspect it's not an isolated case:

• NEVER got more that 15 hours out of it even on the most optomistic settings
• It randomly reboots once the battery gets less than 50 percent
• The battery gauge is unreliable - mine charges from 0 to 100 percent in minutes then drops back once the charger is removed
• The map page / navigation can be really sketchy. The track redraw rate can be really slow sometimes or disappear completely - this leaves you thinking you're on the right track

As I say, maybe I have a duff one - the replacement might solve all these issues. I bought it for Tahoe 200 but it let me down so badly that I threw it in a drop bag early on and went back to a non-GPS G-Shock.

At the moment I'm using the trusty Garmin eTrex 10 again, I really like it - the screen is big, it's light and easy to hold, it has replaceable batteries that last around 40 hours and it spits out a track that you can load onto Garmin Connect / Strava etc... Does everything I need for around £80 - haven't done any Geocaching with it but it seems to have Geocache-specific features too

CumbrianSpringer

I too wonder about Fenix 3 versus ambit 3 or even ambit 4 which is probably not far down the road.

i have a fenix 2, which I've had to return twice under warranty.... I suspect the software is too much for the hardware but what do I know. Even when it was working I found the grey on black didplay a nightmare to read when running. 

i have put the latest 'new' one garmin have sent me on ebay and am torn about putting the money I get for it towards an ambit 3 whiich people rave about or wait for the fenix 3 which sounds great on paper but am put off by my experience of shocking reliability with the fenix 2.

would appreciate proples thoughts and experiences???

CumbrianSpringer

Flippin 'eck sorry about the spelling above it's almost like I'm a Garmin employee

booktrunk

I got £225 for my fenix2 this week so only cost me £54 for 7 months use. Cannot complain. 

The Fenix 3 is based more on 920 with a lot better looking GPS chip looking at people's tracks on the Internet.  Also has low power bluetooth so can be used as a smart watch and will only need a weekly charge even with a decent amount of use  

so am very tempted at £340 from cotswold outdoors. ..... But then I said I'd had enough of Garmins.... But some stuff says this is back to the 610 quality which I loved and really regretting swapping for a 620. 

CumbrianSpringer

Thanks Booktruck, does sound like the fenix 3 is a proper improvement on the 2.

i used to have a 610 which was a great watch, except running in the rain with a touch screen

on a side point when i smashed my 610 and garmin sent me a recon one for 75 quid I thought that was fantastic customer service, when they send me a recon fenix 2 which fails under warranty I feel a bit resentful!!

 

Woldsman Dan formerly Drunken Euphoria

The Fenix 3 looks nice, seemingly a broader feature range to suit the everyday runner as well as good off-road/nav features and best still first wearable garmin that would be useful to me. And first garmin watch that would make me trade in my 910xt rather than just let it die before upgrade.

.....But then I saw this https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/outdoor/wrist-worn/epix-/prod146065.html..... Is this the first gps with mapping on wrist? So for me thats Fenix and 99 red balloons! As my 2 year old would say "want!"

CumbrianSpringer

Its also a touch screen, which after my experience of the 610 which was a great watch but a triumph of form over function.

No I want buttons , big solid reliable buttons,

i want the finest buttons know to humanity i want them hear and i want them now..........

booktrunk

DEoT I find it hard enough making much sense of a GARMIN GPSMAP 64 so I was tempted but decided the epix would be so small that I wouldn't be able to make much use without squinting at it and falli over or running into things.

fenix 3 might arrive in a week or so