[Closed] Fenix 6 pro

I've got a Fenix 5 but afaik all the biking stuff is the same - it works fine on the bike, but I ended up getting an Edge 130 as I found the screen just a bit too small / hard to read and my eyes aren't as good as they were 🙁

I've got a wahoo bolt which I think is excellent but I fancy a watch for HR, sleep etc which can also handle the bike.

I've got a 6 Pro, I find it really good. But I also had a fenix 3 that I found really good.

What was it about the fenix 3 that you didn't like? I'll let you know whether it's any different on the f6pro.

Hi I did find it very heavy and uncomfortable for any sort of exercise. After that fenix 3 I did buy a cheap 230 forerunner which was light but a bit basic.

Larger screen, lots of information but the heart rate measurements are very poor and slow to adjust. With mine my heart rate rarely gets over 110 whilst on other wrist heart rate devices 130-140+. If you look online lots of complaints about this. Can use external strap but for a £500-£600 not good enough

Well the 6 Pro is a fair bit smaller and lighter than the 3, so it's probably worth you trying one on.

The heart rate issues generally seem to be a problem when you're not recording an activity, ie during normal wear it doesn't seem to detect heart rates over 110ish,but when you're recording an activity I haven't experienced any issues with the heart rate measurement, it certainly measures mine fine up to 185bpm.

I think it's pretty good, but definitely not perfect and has a fair few software bugs that garmin keep fixing with seemingly weekly firmware updates. This is my 3rd garmin watch after a fenix 3 and an instinct, and it's by far best in terms of functionality, and it's also the most stable in terms of software.

I ordered a refurbed Vivoactive 3 (with HR, GPS and NFC for payments) for £130 from Garmin's refurb site. It's a replacement for a Vivosmart HR+ (Kind of a band with notifications and HR tracking).

Seems to do most of what the other ones do? Cheaper way to try it out anyway? Meant to arrive tomorrow so will get back to you.

Funnily enough I have a fenix 3 now but thinking of getting a 130 as i think id find it more useful for me looking at that rather than my wrist. I've read online due to the nature of cycling it's hard to get a good HR reading from a wrist based HR when cycling as naturally there's allot of movement going on.

Yes I've read that too. When I bike I use the wahoo bolt and a chest strap but I've forgotten his many times ie left the strap at home! If the 6 is genuinely lighter than the 3 then it might work for me. Trying one on at the moment is tricky so it's really suck it and see.

If you want lighter I'd suggest looking at the 6s.

I've had fenix 3, 5 and currenlty the 6 pro solar. I liked them all, each iteration has improved on the previous one. For me, adding the wrist basef heart rate tracking during swimming on the 6 was the key. Id have stuck with the 5 otherwise. I have used them for biking, they record the same metrics as the edge but the screen is smaller obviously.

Forerunner 945 has pretty much the same feature set as Fenix 6 (smaller screen though) and is lighter weight. 935 is still available and considerably cheaper depending on which features you want

It's funny you shound say that as I've been on Dc rainmaker looking at the 945 as well.

I have the Fenix 6 Pro. It's nowhere near as bulky as the Fenix 3 but much more powerful.

Use mine for navigating on the bike with absolutely no problems when I've forgotten to charge my Wahoo. The maps and directions are perfectly clear with the relatively small screen offset by colour maps.

If you find a POI and want to navigate there it's great, or you can load up a TCX course for turn notifications. Loading a full route and trying to get the watch to generate its own turn by turn directions is a waste of time. Not sure if it's Garmin's ropey software or the limited brainpower in the watch but it doesn't work.

Battery life is fine. Optical heart rate is useless when running (it just locks onto my cadence instead) but in general I just use a chest strap.

Sleep tracking not as good as the Huawei Watch GT. I'm not sure I trust the SpO2 data as it's incredibly position sensitive and you obviously can't control that when you sleep.

Notifications work fairly well, and it actually gets more data from my power meter than the Wahoo.

If I'm picky the charging lead is a bit rubbish. There's a long debate about whether Garmin changed screen manufacturers at some point (some have a blue cast, mine does as does every Garmin I've had in the past).

Oh, and a Garmin foot is about 0.75 times that of a normal foot when it comes to elevation gain.

Edit: I'd probably buy the 945 if I was put on the spot because it's significantly lighter than the Fenix 6. That said I'm very happy with mine.

Thanks Flaperon much appreciated 👍

Got a 6 sapphire and like it, without a chest heart rate monitor to compare it to I can’t comment on the accuracy but I have my doubts.
Only problem I have is the strap has given me a nasty little rash, I swap wrists at night to give it a chance to clear and give it some savlon that seems to be helping. Thought about getting the leather strap but garmin want funny money.

Having owned a Fenix 3 (loved it) and now on an instinct, I’m toying with the 6 pro (Not sure whether Sapphire or Gorilla Glass yet) on Vitality discount.

The 3 was a beast on the wrist as Flaperon said and I’ve had an Instinct rash lately as Peajay mentioned, so my instinct is on the other wrist right now.

I’ll still use an Edge 530 for mapping, and a separate HR belt (Polar H7 and OH1) as and when needed, but the instinct’s inbuilt monitor is okay....

I have one. I have not had Any of the above issues with heartrate tracking - either resting or activities. Although my activities are limited to only gentle rides and indoor cross-trainer use.

I think it is good - especially all the great and flexible functionality.

I have an instinct and would love a 6 but the bulk of it puts me off. I have quite thin wrists. I use a 530 on the bike which is great and replaced a 130, which is now spare. I upgraded for the longer battery life and better mapping. If anyone wants a cheap 130 I’d be happy to sell it !

How does the 6 or the 6s compare in bulk to the Instinct ?

How does the 6 or the 6s compare in bulk to the Instinct ?

The 6 is quite a lot bigger than the instinct, but the screen can display a lot more data and is quite a bit higher in resolution.

According to Garmin, the 6 is 2mm bigger in diameter but more shallow than the instinct by 1mm or so....

I got the 6 Pro about 2 weeks ago, I love it, used for biking, walking and running, I find the maps pretty clear for such a small screen when compared to a bike specific computer, not used my Mio cyclo 505 since getting the watch. I find the HR to be comparable to when using the chest strap on the 505 too but there again I do tighten the strap on the watch when doing activity. Using the maps to guide me around a MTB route of a local moor I robbed off a mates Strava it guided me perfectly and accurately. Notifications work well, loaded a playlist from Amazon music which is easy to do. The watch so far gets a thumbs up from me

The 24/7 heart rate tracking is *fairly* accurate in my experience. It's clocked my resting heart rate at 38 which is spot on, but if you just casually glance at the watch to see the actual heart rate it's often doubled. This is an OHR problem though, and Garmin are frequently pushing out software updates to improve it.

Hmmmm, think will stick with Instinct for now as seems a decent bit smaller and lighter and has enough functionality for me for now.

I’m thinking of taking the plunge. I’d quite happily go for a more basic model, but I fancy something which will give me a six fig grid ref - it only seems Fenix 5/6 going to do that for me. Hmmm.

I went from a Instinct to a Fenix 6x Pro. I like the garmin pay and the maps are great, but I'm still not 100% sure I don't prefer the simplicity of the Instinct.
I may feel different if I'd been able to use the ski map functionality this year 🙁

The Instinct is basically a glorified G-Shock. I imagine Garmin are unwilling to dent the sales of their other watches.

Bit of a mad decision IMHO, because you could buy a cheaper watch than the Instinct and then install one of the many Connect IQ apps that do the conversion.

Though just read on a different site on an unrelated post that the Instinct can work in and display OS grid references. Apparently.

OS Grid Ref app here:
https://apps.garmin.com/en-GB/apps/2f30fe76-c14a-46e9-a606-76ced27dd776

I quite fancy a Tactical
https://blog.ja-gps.com.au/2019/08/garmin-instinct-tactical-edition-whats-changed/

I’d love a Fenix, but with the limited amount I do with my Instinct it’s a high price to pay for something I already have.  I’m glad the Tactical version doesn’t bring anything I would use 😀

I always thought colourful notifications would be the usp for  Fenix/Vivoactive, but once i bothered to properly learn how Mrs K uses her Apple Watch - which is merely to be aware of incoming messages then ignore most of them - I realised the Instinct works just as well for that also.

I was looking at the 6 pro or 945 simply because of the battery length. I hate charging watches, I have an old Garmin 230 which works perfectly and a top end sunntoo which I dislike. So I'd like to spend as little as possible but a nearly 2 week battery life only comes with £400 plus expenditure by the looks of it.

The Instinct is basically a glorified G-Shock. I imagine Garmin are unwilling to dent the sales of their other watches

Lol! Far from it, its basically a rebodied Fenix 3HR, minus wifi and IQ.

If it had music and pay, it'd be the pick of the bunch.

If it had music and pay, it’d be the pick of the bunch.
+1

So I’d like to spend as little as possible but a nearly 2 week battery life only comes with £400 plus expenditure by the looks of it.

I used to frequently use the GPS on the Instinct, but even then, the battery life was very good. I used to charge mine whilst I was in the car.

Yep, I don't use GPS on my Instinct and it lasts 14 days

I'm looking at the fenix 6 but not sure it has topo maps? I know the pro does but I also know the 5 series only had mapping in some models.

A quick Google has further confused me

Anyone got the basic fenix 6?

You need the pro version of each watch if you want maps & music

You need the pro version of each watch if you want maps & music

Thanks for that, you have saved from making an expensive purchasing mistake!

What does the 6 have above the basic 5 then other than the pulse ox feature which by all accounts is a total gimmick. I can get the 5 for 320 quid or the 6 for £460.

Though just read on a different site on an unrelated post that the Instinct can work in and display OS grid references. Apparently.

Yes, just set the correct position format in the settings. Then can add grid reference as a data field. Or hold down the GPS button for a couple of seconds, to save a location.

No need to install any extra apps (the Instinct doesn't support Connect IQ anyway).

What does the 6 have above the basic 5 then other than the pulse ox feature which by all accounts is a total gimmick.

Not entirely sure, but I'm guessing the screen is slightly higher res on the 6,and the battery life may be marginally better on the 6. I think the 6 also has different/more built in data fields when compared to the 5.

I’ve asked before on similar threads but never got an answer……… could you use this watch to navigate long distances for (an extreme example) the ht550?

I’ve asked before on similar threads but never got an answer……… could you use this watch to navigate long distances for (an extreme example) the ht550?

Yes, the maps on my 6x Pro are excellent.

Thanks, I would really like one but need to try before I buy due to matchstick wrists

The DC Rainmaker comparison tool is really good to compare the different watch functions side by side, his reviews are pretty good too if only to focus on the bits you're interested in.

The 6S was somewhat smaller than I expected. Ended up returning it for the 6, and I have tiny wrists.