Garmin Fenix 5 review: Top professional sports watch

Hardboiled appearance

The design of Garmin Fenix 5 basically continues the hard style of Fenix 3 and is majority welcomed by male users.

 

	Garmin Fenix 5 Smartwatch Black 21
	$746.81	(5 reviews)

1.Stainless steel case

While most sports watches are tilted in the lightweight direction, Garmin is still tired of using stainless steel on the Fenix series, and the hard wind of the Fenix 5 comes from the screw and curved design of the dial as well as the stainless steel case. So this is why the Fenix series is unique today, and why many people are willing to wear the Fenix series on different occasions.

2.Same weight with Fenix 3

However, Garmin's persistence is not all advantages, in terms of weight and thickness control, the Fenix series has always been difficult to compare with the Forerunner series. The Fenix 5 of the dial 47mm weighs the same as the Fenix 3 of the old 52mm, both of which weigh 87 grams. The thickness has not changed much because of the built-in photoelectric heart rate sensor.

3.Quick release strap

Compared with the previous generation of Fenix 3, Fenix 5's adjustments to some of the details have made it feel a lot better, such as the brand-new quick-release strap, which really takes only a second to change. You can choose the standard sports silicone strap, or you can choose a more commercial steel strap. For some cyclists or iron riders, this quick disassembly design can be used more easily while riding.

4.Slow button

Since there is promotion, there is naturally a way to stay where you are. The five-button layout of Fenix 5 continues the previous design, but the key range is slightly longer, and there are some obvious frustrations. This unclear keystroke feedback does not improve the overall feel of the Fenix 5.

On the contrary, however, this can reduce the possibility of keystroke mistouching to some extent.

Function introduction

As a fully functional outdoor watch, the Garmin Fenix 5 is equipped with a dazzling array of features. Compared with the top matching Fenix 5X, in addition to the no built-in map, the functional design of the secondary top matching Fenix 5 is also unambiguous. Daily functions, intelligent functions, sports functions, outdoor functions, you need it to have, you can not expect it to have it.

Split screen design

If you are an old user of Garmin, you will not be familiar with the split screen design of Fenix 5, and you can even do seamless operation. Even if you are in contact with Garmin Fenix 5 for the first time, you can quickly master the operation style of Fenix 5 according to some on-screen tips after the first boot.

The time interface of the first screen swappable dial allows Fenix 5 to travel between sports and business, with highly customized content, including font, weight, color, and display content, making Fenix 5 more playable.

So to some extent, Fenix 5 is still a plaything for young people, and for older users in the target group, these customized content is still a little irrelevant.

Garmin has a very simple design logic for split-screen designs other than the first screen. On Fenix 5, all the upper and lower longitudinal arrangements that require the first level of display are used by the Garmin. Horizontal arrangement is not easy to use unless setting options are involved.

The benefits are obvious, too, and you can find the split screen you need by turning the page up and down like a fool.

Another logic on Fenix 5 is that the most commonly used features, daily and intelligent, are up and down with the time page on the first screen, which can be quickly reached by using the up and down keys. On the other hand, the sports mode has an exclusive button-the right confirmation button, which is also a design that Garmin has always retained on its models.

The only difference is that Garmin has added a shortcut window to Fenix 5, which can be accessed by pressing the upper / backlight key on the left. A circular dial once reminded me of the Gear S2 smartwatch launched by Sumsang in its early years, and the interaction mode was more or less the same.

What is unknown is that the former Gear S2 is selected by rotating the dial, while the latter Fenix 5 is selected by pressing the keys up and down. Although the implementation process is "low-end" some, but the actual effect is not bad. This shortcut window contains eight hotkeys: synchronize / do not disturb mode / lock screen / connect mobile phone / save location / find mobile phone / music control / shutdown.

In terms of use, it is actually faster to operate at the system level than in the past.

 

Daily function

When it comes to everyday and smart features, sports watches like Garmin have always been hard to compare with smartwatch makers. It seems that the hard-won daily / smart features on sports watches are already the rest of smartwatch play. 
But a sports watch can't just be for exercise. It still has the ambition to take up time on your wrist on occasions other than exercise. This is why sports watches are constantly carrying innovative daily / intelligent functions, and over the past two years, Garmin has come to the forefront in this area, and the Fenix 5, as a flagship model, certainly can't be held back. 
Road running function. 
As a fully functional sports watch, the Fenix 5 has a very rich range of sports patterns. But for us, the most important thing to focus on is its running function. Garmin has given a lot of new content to the running features of Fenix 5, and Fenix 5 looks better than any previous generation of Fenix, both in terms of data and operation. 

 

Running option

The Fenix 5 is by no means a sports watch for entry-level runners. It has a "dazzling" choice of exercise mode, Fenix 5's running-related events are cross-country running, running and treadmill, respectively. Of course, you can also customize your own running mode through the custom sports features of Fenix 5, which is quite open at this point. 
Garmin prepares a long list of list, alerts, segment alerts, metronome, automatic circle counting, automatic pause, automatic scrolling, GPS selection, power saving mode, and more for Fenix 5 running options.The setting of these options is enough for you to customize a Fenix 5 that fully meets your requirements. 
Overall, the Fenix 5 has plenty of running options, and the Fenix 5 is almost unshakeable in first place compared with other sports watches currently available on the market. But it's not easy to figure out every specific feature on Fenix 5, which partly increases the cost of learning Fenix 5, especially for starters who want to get started with Fenix 5. 

Running data

The running data of Fenix 5 is also quite rich. In addition to the basic data such as pace, distance, time, speed and heart rate, Fenix 5 can also provide running dynamics data (vertical oscillation ratio, ground contact time, stride, rhythm, physiological data, etc.), temperature data, altitude data, compass, navigation, muscle oxygen content data and so on. 
From the numbers that sound strange to read, you can see how rich Fenix 5 is in running data. In fact, we still use pace, time, distance and heart rate. 

The running interface of Fenix 5 displays four data pages by default, which support complete customization, including page layout, data, and so on. In addition to these four pages, you can also add multiple data pages. Among these additional data pages, Garmin has four configured items for you, including personal custom data, running dynamics data, compass, navigation, and music control. 
So, Garmin's consideration is still quite thoughtful, whether for entry-level runners or high-level runners, Fenix 5 running data can always be satisfied one by one.

Cross-country running function

The Fenix series has always been the strongest outdoor watch in Garmin, and its cross-country running function represents the level of Garmin in outdoor sports. Although Fenix 5 does not have many updates about the cross-country running function, but with its own hardware updates, the cross-country running function of Fenix 5 is still not to be underestimated. 

Running option

The cross-country running options of Fenix 5 are basically the same as the road running options, including reminders, segmented alerts, metronome, automatic circle counting, automatic pause, automatic scrolling, GPS selection, power saving mode, and so on, all of which are common to both. However, for cross-country running, Fenix 5 has some options for cross-country running, such as automatic climbing, 3D speed, and 3D distance. 
These auxiliary functions of cross-country running can solve the climbing, GPS signal and other problems encountered in the process of cross-country running to a great extent, so as to restore a more real running process on the data or watch. Although there may be some questions of accuracy, it is better than nothing. 

GPS performance

Garmin Fenix 5 has built-in GPS and GLONASS binary positioning system. In the past, Fenix had a lot of influence on the reception of GPS signal because of its metal fuselage. Later, Garmin introduced EXO metal-free antenna to solve the problem of signal reception to a certain extent. 
Endurance performance. 
According to the official Fenix 5 data given by Garmin, it can be used for 14 days in watch mode, 21 hours in training mode (both GPS and heart rate), and 35 to 44 hours in UltraTrac mode. 
Based on the performance of actual use, Fenix 5 was used for a total of five days in watch mode and training mode (running 5 to 10 kilometers each). This means that you can run once a day, and it also supports you to use it to check the time and receive notifications every day. 

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Summary

Fenix5's overall performance is in the current sports watch, Fenix5's performance is better than most sports watches. With its hard look, excellent functionality and excellent matching applications, it seems difficult for us to find a reason to refuse to buy such a watch.However, this is only for runners who don't have a sports watch or still don't use Fenix, and if you do, you're less likely to pay for such a great sports watch. 

If you already have Fenix 3, will you buy another Fenix 5?

I don't think most people will. But we can't deny the performance of Fenix 5 on this basis, it's still good enough. For some well-budgeted entry-level runners as well as cross-country runners, Fenix 5 is still attractive and can still deliver a great running experience. 

Therefore:

- For existing Fenix 3 or other sports watch users who support cross-country running, the purchase recommendation of Fenix 5 is not recommended. 
- For beginners who have not used the Fenix series watches and are mainly road runners, the purchase recommendation of Fenix 5 is: appropriate recommendation. 
- For those who have not used the Fenix series watches and are mainly road running, cross-country and high-level runners, the purchase recommendation of Fenix 5 is as follows: recommended.

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