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New watch time as my Garmin 245 is starting to give up
I can get a 265 for £300 or a Epix Pro 2 for £370
Which should I go for?
Ta
I have the epic, my wife has the 265. The main difference, other than the look, is the epix has maps. I personally find that really useful, and I prefer the metal bezel of the epix. So I’d recommend that.
Hmm - I’ve got a Garmin Edge 2 for the bike with maps and OS maps on my phone. As the Epix is discontinued it’s difficult to do a like for like comparison on the website
Does the Epix feel noticeably heavier and bigger when wearing , I won’t be wearing day to day just when out doing activities ?
I’ve gone for the Epix. If it’s too big I will send it back
I reckon it’s a good choice. I also have an edge for road and gravel, I tend to use the maps on the epix for hikes etc. doesn’t feel noticeably heavier at all.
Had my Epix Pro for about a week now.
In reality I’m not sure what more you get over the 265, apart from maps will be very useful away on holiday etc
I don’t feel the weight wearing it, but I do find it bulky. It barely fits under work shirts , and I have to be careful taking long sleeved coats off etc
I've got the Gen2 Epix (i.e. before the Pro), it's a big watch, but after a while I don't notice it.
I do regularly smash it into door frames, counter tops etc though. I get through a glass screen protector a month 😂
I like it, the maps are useful if you don't want to use something like an edge on your bars.
Getting irritated by Garmin and their business model though. They really shouldn't call them "smart watches", they're more akin to older phones that would now be described as "feature phones", i.e. they have features when new, but you can't add new "apps" to that. Trouble is apple, samsung etc don't see a need to make rugged watches and Garmin aren't going to move to android.
Having recently got rid of my Epix Pro 2 and gone back to using my Apple Watch 10 for everything I’m not sure I agree with that.
Apple was already streets ahead as a Smart watch, and much more accurate for swim data. Having worn it on the bike the last few weeks it seems rugged enough, and I reckon the new Apple Watch Ultra 3, due out later this month will fully tick off that box, though noting battery life still way short of the Garmin offerings. I do use a bar mounted Garmin and HR chest strap for all my ride data
Epix Gen 2 User here and just to balance the above it’s been the best swim watch I’ve used to date! No issues in 25m pool-always bang on. Open water you have to wait for GPS signal before starting or it won’t map correctly. Only drawback, and it’s probably the same with both Garmin watches is the silicone strap can chafe, but not enough to put me off buying another.
^ it’s good that yours hasn’t been problematic, mine was awful and when I looked on the Garmin forums it’s a common issue.
Swim for me always seems to be +/- one length at most.
It's the battery life that wins it though, in a world where seemingly everything has to be charged up, it's nice that in however many years I've had Garmin watch's I've probably only had to remember to charge them a handful of times. Month to month I just charge it once in a while whilst showering.
Even 3rd party features like Google Maps don't seem to be being rolled out to 'older' (not old though) watches? The Garmin explore app works, but it's really clunky if all you want to do is walk a couple of miles across town and not get your phone out at every crossing.
On the upside, heavy discounts on previous years models and otherwise slow depreciation from that point mean it wouldn't be that expensive in the scheme of things to upgrade as long as you're not chasing the absolute newest models and spending £900+ (which would just be painful).
While the 265 doesn't have "proper"' mapping I've found what it does have in the way of route following to be surprisingly useful on my 255. You can make a course and it will tell you about upcoming junctions etc. albeit just showing the trace of your path without other roads and features. Saves me from stopping, getting the phone out, having a look at the map etc. and pairs well with garmin connect online for actually making the route.
For short rides of course a smartphone will do that and more but battery life can be an issue for an all-dayer.