@@rolandsteenbeek My wife's awesome! She wanted to go, so that became the plan. Then a small injury got in the way that would likely have gotten much worse with this terrain. 😞
If battery life keeps getting bigger, Ray’s adventures are going to get crazy and downright dangerous (🐮). Don’t kill him Garmin. I kind of like this guy.
Now Garmin has to show their effort in software and keeping the older series up to the feature we see here. If I have to spend 1000 dollars i expect to use it for many many years.
Thanks to Ray I am proud 7x owner for about three weeks (years using Fenix 5). My challenges are slightly different (solo long multiday forest trips with openair sleeping with less intensity, age 54), but detailed Ray reviews makes learning curve much much quicker. I recommend to any serious garmin owner to dig into data fields. What is behind offered by your watch is way more interesting than what is setup by default. Flashlight on 7x is a godsend. Imagine waking up in the night in forest trying to find your flashlight, you laid next to you in the evening... Do I regret 7x over enduro 2? No. Batery is OK for multi day trip, on top I always take batery pack with me. Better torch? No. For accute cases 7x torch fully sufficient, I always take my standard flashlight with me if needed (why drain Fenix battery if not needed). Enduro 2 design? I love the green details, but no, I would stay with 7x. 1mm thicker than 7x? This is the final point why to choose 7x over Enduro 2. In everyday life, I am superhappy with diameter vs thickness ratio of my 7x. 1mm might be quite enough to start to be aware of my watch and I don't want it. Do I refgret of my investment to 7x? NO. I gave up coming christmass and birthday presents from my family in order to get money for 7x. Next year this time I still will be happy with my decision. Hey Ray, you again made me feel younger, than I am 🙂
That hike must have been Epic (I’ve been following on Strava). Just a suggestion - it would be great to see a video just on the hike itself, but then another one that was behind-the-scenes on the gear you used, the testing you did and how you kept everything charged up as you filed your instagram stories and Strava segments.
Garmin is so ahead of its time it's UNREAL!! I just recently got a 7X Solar and I'm learning how it works after 3 weeks. This was a great review of the ENDURO 2 and love how you showed the CONS as well. Bravo.
You’ve got to hand it to Garmin.. they’ve really listened! Amazing that it comes with a silicone band in the box too, fair play 👏🏽 Hopefully they get courses fixed and the multi-stage training readiness fixed too 😍 Wicked video Ray 🌟
I got the Enduro 2 and was worried it would be too big. I was coming from the samsung galaxy 4 watch. I don't hardly notice it and am having no trouble sleeping with it. I do notice it a bit when running. Love the watch. Yes the flashlight is amazing. Thanks for your great reviews.
Absolutely epic. Love this video. Congrats on the hike ray. Ray is hands down best reviewer of sports tech out there, and I’ve watched a lot!!! Just hope ray (and getdesfit) are able to monetise their clear expertise!!! Thanks ray
The first thing I complained about to myself is the pixel density of the screen. But evidently this monster watch is not made for preppy times, it's for 7' godzilla navy seal type men, who expect reliability and endurance. Also, this watch is trying to do so much, like real time map scrolling and updates, on a watch sized battery! Few less pixels benefit loading/redrawing and scrolling speeds by the CPU, and so, use less power, generate less heat. No need for retina level screen on a watch if the info is cleverly organized. It will look grainier compared to say Huawei watch gt watches, but takes no time to get used to. It does seem more rugged and military like that way. Wow... No, unless I'm wearing it around my ankle or as a wrestling belt, this one I will admire from the distance. Not to mention price wise. Thank You for the fantastic review!
your video inspired me to do the TMB. I am going in 2 weeks and planning to complete in 7 days solo ultralight camping and bought an Enduro 2, great video thank you!
Great review as always! I'm still leaning towards a 955 as multi-day or super long hikes are not an everyday activity. Unless I'm missing something with the Enduro series?
Ray - I had the same thing happen with my Epix Gen 2 on my 3-day climb of Mount Baker earlier this summer. The activity got assigned to the first day which was puzzling until I looked at the data in detail and figured out what happened. Hopefully this should be an easy fix since the data should be time stamped.
That strap plastic bit falling off thing also happens on my strap as well, but I purchased that separately. Of course this could mean that newer straps have that issue probably.
Congrats Ray! Always top quality and real testing. A couple of questions, not relevant to the video though: - Will Garmin launch a new marq series? - Will current marq receive any 7 series update? Thanks mate!
your knowledge is worth a lot to garmin, i hope they do more than just send you watches. would you recommend it for mountainbiking or is there a better option? :) I am still thinking about getting instinct 2 solar instead, because of amazing battery life
My UltraFit strap has that same issue where where the ends delaminated. Garmin sent me a replacement and that ended up delaminated as well. It’s not a big deal for me, but something that Garmin should have made more durable.
Seems very odd that Garmin completely miscalculates Training Status for multi-day events on a watch designed for multi-day events. I wonder if it does the same in other modes besides Hiking. I can’t imagine they didn’t account for or test this (unless they were just counting on Ray to do the testing 🤣)
Hi DC. Thx for great review. Did you use normal Hike or Expedition mode in this adventure? Also with multi day hike did you save every day activity and then started the new one next day, or did you just resume your activity from previous day? Thank you!
@@bare1021 No separate HRM for this, used the optical HR sensor on the back. And yup, I ended it with barely enough left (I cover the exact percentages in the battery section of the video).
Excellent review! Also, some of the battery usage could also be effected by lack of solar deep in the canyon and very shaded areas, not just challenging gps areas. Or some combination of lack of solar and also higher gps drain. Just a thought.
One question.. Is it possible to just use navigation without tracking my hike..don't really need a gpx file how I hiked., I just want to follow a loaded course and follow it. And what kind of battery life can I expect when using only navigation?
Oh, the dreaded buyers remorse. Got the 7xSS, thinking it will be a flagship for some time, and now we get this, not even a year after. Would be so good if they announced their products so buyers would make more i formed decisions. Selling and buying is just too much hassle. Ah, well... Thanks for the review though.
I just bought the 7xSS as well. All the software features look like they are coming to the 7, and the only differences are the battery life (7xSS still has crazy good battery life), brighter flashlight, taller case, and slightly heavier weight. While I would appreciate the better battery life, I think I would have still gone with the 7xSS. I don’t really care for a slightly taller, heavier, greener watch.
@@I922sParkCir DesFit measured them, and the Enduro 2 is only 2 grams heavier. I really like the fabric strap, as the 7 strap irritates my skin. And I love the flashlight but would like it brighter, plus I even dig the green highlights ;). But as I said, not worth the hassle of a change now.
@@dmalovic Just a heads up, the LDFAS Fenix Ultra Easy Fit Nylon Strap is almost the same as the Garmin UltraFit strap. I have both and I consider the LDFAS to be a little better. I really dislike the weight and discomfort of the silicone strap.
Thanks for the great work, as usual! Liked the intro with drone view. Any idea if the directional course arrows are coming on Fenix 7, or even Fenix 6?
Great video. What was your screen brightness set at to achieve these numbers or does it really not make that much of a difference? I am torn between the Enduro 2 and Epix 2.
It is a great watch and - as always an excellent review. One thing, I am surprised about is, that you never comment on one problem that was introduced with Fenix7 Solar Sapphire. Very bad display readability with Sapphire glass. The reason being: the added touch display layer, the solar layer and the sapphire glass lead to very high reflection. I compared Fenix 7X Solar with the Sapphire edition. Sapphire glas seems to be the worst factor. I found one review that clearly mentioned this problem. I never heard anything from you. But Garmin needs to take care of this. In some light conditions it is completely unusuable, almost like a pocker mirror. The Fenix 6 Gorilla Glas, on contrary was almost zero reflection.
I seriously would like to do you're job, I'm well versed into theses but seeing you're video motivated me a whole much more I would dedicate my whole life to do this I've allways loved watches much more now😊
Acute load stuck :D Nice! Maybe now Garmin will fix that ;) Waiting for new 955 beta to get my watch to work like it should. It blocks training status, acute load, daily suggestions, race predictor, what else, can't even remember. Breaks a lot of things.
@@Dcrainmaker, I've send my watch contents to Garmin, so they are hopefully already working on it. There's some talks about in 955 forums (but probably linking those will make the comment go hidden, so not doing that this time). One did speculate that swimming will cause it, I think my happened after swimrun so there might be something to it, but then again probably needs also something else otherwise it would be more widespread, but there's multiple users reporting it. So luckily I'm not alone with that.
@@JaniOllikainen Mine has been stuck since July 23rd. I had done a reasonable number of swimming activities prior to that (pool and open water). Could be a coincidence, but I did an open water swim on the 23rd. Also had to upload it twice as the first time it didn't find the data off my HRM-Tri
@@kjwalpole mine from 23rd June. Yes, don't know what the root cause is, but the swim is just one speculation. I also was sick after that and didn't do sports for a week and it hasn't moved since. TrueUp to old devices gets some data calculated on the old devices, but 955 is pretty dead on those.
Thank you for such an in depth review of the watch in a real world scenario. I am considering purchasing the watch and really appreciate how you test/review the Enduro 2. Regarding the heart rate monitor, I wanted to ask you if it is more/less accurate if the watch is worn on the inside of the wrist rather than the outside. Have you tried that? Also not sure if the solar panel actually extends the battery life as much as Garmin claims. Some reviewers have shown that it only charges 5% after having the watch in the sun all day. What’s your experience with that? Thank you.
Thanks Ray for another great vid. I would love for you to do a comparison between, Fenix 7, Enduro 2 and Tactix 7 series. Im a guy who loves the outdoors ( hiking, mtb, cycling, bikepacking, kayaking etc) which is the best watch in your opinion for this type of lifestyle ?
This is awesome Ray!! Quick question: How did you find the snappiness of navigating the menus and using the touch screen when compared to either the Enduro 1 or Fenix 7x Solar?
I was wondering if you got a chance to test the flashlight on the device thoroughly? Mainly my question is how much battery does the flashlight burn or at the very least what is it's estimated length of use on each flashlight level compared to the Fenix 7x considering they doubled the brightness? I'm guessing based off your statement that they mainly just removed some of the frost from the flashlight it and the fact it has a better battery life that is should get more usage per flashlight level.
Great video! What is the difference for using GPS when the map screen is on or off? Do you know if any of the GPS specs for this watch include the maps screen?
Year 2028: Garmin launches new Red Planet watch built on the Fenix 10. Ray files to Mars, dons EVA suit and dutifully walks across the martian landscape for 45 straight days to test it out. I called this first.
@@Fuuntag Haha...no, definitely not intentional. I suspect we both keep cutting our reviews from the original lengths, down to something people will actually click on. My original filmed length was...umm...a lot longer.
@@Dcrainmaker around 20 feels like a good balance, 10 just isn’t enough for such an investment in a key piece of equipment but 30 minutes plus turns into “background listening” for most after a long day unless they have already invested in the device!
Garmin does really have a weird product policy actually. Just a few month after 7x it starts enduro for just 100 Bucks more. Should be the better choice in long distance. But. Many new products but not really fixed software issues with 7. Thats annoying.
I have both. The tactix has kill switch, night vision mode and a green light vs. The enduro 2s red light but the Enduro 2 has a much brighter white LED compared to the Tactix 7
@@Dcrainmaker thank you! i thought you have info will they implement in the fitire because it's a big part in recovery. I don't know why they don't have it :)
Hi Ray, great adventure and thank you for the review under these conditions. I'm wondering which training mode you used, probably Hiking? And in this case does it have Stamina support, as Fenix/Epix unfortunatly doen't have Stamina in Hiking/Climbing mode?
@@Dcrainmaker Thank you for answering Ray. That's really disappointing as I find Stamina very useful. A lot of people miss this feature also in Fenix/Epix and FR and reported to Garmin. Can't understand why Garmin doesn't implement Stamina in more modes e.g. Hiking... :-(
Love your reviews! I have a Garmin Instinct (1st edition) and it is all I need right now. Plenty of battery power an functions. What I dont get is how to handle Multi Sport activitis like "Bike&Hike" or "Bike&Climb2 for example. We often bike to a basement and hike to the peak and bike home again. Is ist possible to make such a profile? Can i switch manualy to an other profile, without ending the session? That would be a big bonus? Any suggestions? thx a lot greets Martin
Před 2 lety
Hi. Great review! How did you manage to have one activity for multiple days? Can you continue an activity or combine multiple activities?
Ray, thanks for a great review! Now the big question is - Enduro 2 or Epix 2 (/Quatix 7 for no DLC on a bezel)? Slightly different functions, but what is an ultimate buy? Quality of the screen vs zero battery anxiety. :)
Hmm, there's specific thresholds there for when it triggers. It's on Garmin's site somewhere. But if something is long enough, I think it can still trigger.
@@Dcrainmaker I'm not sure why it doesn't let you chose the threshold sensitivity for hiking, like it does for riding. Personally, I'm only interested in proper climbs, not the false flats. On the Edge devices it specifies: "A climb must be a minimum of 500 meters in length. The average gradient must be a minimum of 3%."
Today first time I had 10km race with Enduro 2. Certified race rout. All system + wideband. 1sec data storing. Garmin showed 10,82km…WTF! Any idea?? I bought Enduro 2 about 2 weeks ago.
I know this is over a year later but two questions. 1. does this pair with the Garmin bicycle GPS's like the Garmin 1080? 2. Does this actually have a feature that shows you your current walking speed? Like I'm real time?
Would you recommend this for a cyclist that is trying to replace Whoop, wants sleep stats, and general health stats? It seems like the best fit of all the one time but wearables. Thanks!
@@kenhunt Not all equal, make sure the one you decide on supports ant+ as well as bluetooth so you can connect any sensors for cycling. Which is best? That’s a loaded question and I suggest watching youtube video reviews on that, in particular ones made by and for cyclists. DC Rainmaker is one of my favorites because he gets into the nitty gritty details.
I purchased the Garmin Instinct 2 because it has most of the features of the Fenix 7 with a much better price tag. Only missing maps and music really. Display is simple but useful, no color. czcams.com/video/YFik67SnAFY/video.html
Great review, Ray. Do you know if GAP and Next Fork will be available for the Fenix 7 in future software updates? I'm now with the 9.33 firmware and they are not. I have HRV and training readiness but neither GAP nor arrows guidance and next fork signalization.
“Love, I need to go hiking 7 days in the mountains to test this new device “ I love your work 😊!!
Scary accurate representation of how the conversation went....
@@DcrainmakerI’m also an expat (no Gran 👵 at hand), sports & technology lover with two small kids myself 😉
@@Dcrainmaker my wife would have had some choice words for me during that discussion :)
@@rolandsteenbeek My wife's awesome! She wanted to go, so that became the plan. Then a small injury got in the way that would likely have gotten much worse with this terrain. 😞
You deserve a LIKE just for taking the effort to walk for 7 days to test a watch. Respect!
Hahaha...thanks!
Although you could almost imagine that testing a watch was a great excuse to take a walk he always wanted to take. Respect!
If battery life keeps getting bigger, Ray’s adventures are going to get crazy and downright dangerous (🐮). Don’t kill him Garmin. I kind of like this guy.
😂
Garmin's new tagline. "A battery that outlasts its wearer"
Now Garmin has to show their effort in software and keeping the older series up to the feature we see here. If I have to spend 1000 dollars i expect to use it for many many years.
Thanks to Ray I am proud 7x owner for about three weeks (years using Fenix 5). My challenges are slightly different (solo long multiday forest trips with openair sleeping with less intensity, age 54), but detailed Ray reviews makes learning curve much much quicker. I recommend to any serious garmin owner to dig into data fields. What is behind offered by your watch is way more interesting than what is setup by default. Flashlight on 7x is a godsend. Imagine waking up in the night in forest trying to find your flashlight, you laid next to you in the evening... Do I regret 7x over enduro 2? No. Batery is OK for multi day trip, on top I always take batery pack with me. Better torch? No. For accute cases 7x torch fully sufficient, I always take my standard flashlight with me if needed (why drain Fenix battery if not needed). Enduro 2 design? I love the green details, but no, I would stay with 7x. 1mm thicker than 7x? This is the final point why to choose 7x over Enduro 2. In everyday life, I am superhappy with diameter vs thickness ratio of my 7x. 1mm might be quite enough to start to be aware of my watch and I don't want it. Do I refgret of my investment to 7x? NO. I gave up coming christmass and birthday presents from my family in order to get money for 7x. Next year this time I still will be happy with my decision. Hey Ray, you again made me feel younger, than I am 🙂
This makes so much more sense than the original Enduro!
Though I'm still holding out for a new watch that has LTE...
I agree....on both!
That hike must have been Epic (I’ve been following on Strava). Just a suggestion - it would be great to see a video just on the hike itself, but then another one that was behind-the-scenes on the gear you used, the testing you did and how you kept everything charged up as you filed your instagram stories and Strava segments.
Yup! My current plan is a VLOG-style of the hike itself, and then probably a gear/hardware/etc Q&A post.
@@Dcrainmaker that would be great to see. Go lightweight with MLD gear ;)
Garmin is so ahead of its time it's UNREAL!! I just recently got a 7X Solar and I'm learning how it works after 3 weeks. This was a great review of the ENDURO 2 and love how you showed the CONS as well. Bravo.
Accept where it falls behind :(
You’ve got to hand it to Garmin.. they’ve really listened! Amazing that it comes with a silicone band in the box too, fair play 👏🏽 Hopefully they get courses fixed and the multi-stage training readiness fixed too 😍 Wicked video Ray 🌟
Thanks! Indeed, hopefully things get sorted quickly!
I got the Enduro 2 and was worried it would be too big. I was coming from the samsung galaxy 4 watch. I don't hardly notice it and am having no trouble sleeping with it. I do notice it a bit when running. Love the watch. Yes the flashlight is amazing.
Thanks for your great reviews.
Absolutely epic. Love this video. Congrats on the hike ray. Ray is hands down best reviewer of sports tech out there, and I’ve watched a lot!!! Just hope ray (and getdesfit) are able to monetise their clear expertise!!! Thanks ray
Excellent presentation as always..
How about doing a comparison video between Fenix 7X vs Epix 2 vs Enduro 2?
Keep the good work.
The first thing I complained about to myself is the pixel density of the screen. But evidently this monster watch is not made for preppy times, it's for 7' godzilla navy seal type men, who expect reliability and endurance. Also, this watch is trying to do so much, like real time map scrolling and updates, on a watch sized battery! Few less pixels benefit loading/redrawing and scrolling speeds by the CPU, and so, use less power, generate less heat. No need for retina level screen on a watch if the info is cleverly organized. It will look grainier compared to say Huawei watch gt watches, but takes no time to get used to. It does seem more rugged and military like that way. Wow... No, unless I'm wearing it around my ankle or as a wrestling belt, this one I will admire from the distance. Not to mention price wise. Thank You for the fantastic review!
DC Rainmaker = Legendary Reviews
your video inspired me to do the TMB. I am going in 2 weeks and planning to complete in 7 days solo ultralight camping and bought an Enduro 2, great video thank you!
The battery life is ridiculous and this review is amazing. The ultimate use case scenario for such a watch. Great job!
Very jealous of that hike. Looks amazing. Hope you enjoyed it.
Nice job Ray! That intro drone shot was awesome!
Thanks! It came out better than I expected!
I just bought this at a fat discount now that the 3 came out. I think this is more than enough for me.
RESPECT! You are one of the most dedicated and finest CZcams’r
after watch your video 4 month ago, i decide replace Fenix 7x to Enduro 2. and im Happy with it.
Kalenji shirt: this is the real star of the video.
Hahaha…. Me and Decathlon are BFF’s.
You the man bro, impressive!
Great review as ever buddy.
Great review as always! I'm still leaning towards a 955 as multi-day or super long hikes are not an everyday activity. Unless I'm missing something with the Enduro series?
You and Des really know how to make the best comparison videos! Hats off guys, keep it up
didn't have to watch any further than the price. For that price, I expect it to drive me around those mountains. One mans treasure .... (you know)
This is awesome!! Freaking killed it with the summary. So well done!
Ray - I had the same thing happen with my Epix Gen 2 on my 3-day climb of Mount Baker earlier this summer. The activity got assigned to the first day which was puzzling until I looked at the data in detail and figured out what happened. Hopefully this should be an easy fix since the data should be time stamped.
Best watch reviewer so far on CZcams. Keep it up 👍 thanks 🙏
Wonderful review - beautiful setting, too! Love the addition of the chevrons as you well noted!
That strap plastic bit falling off thing also happens on my strap as well, but I purchased that separately. Of course this could mean that newer straps have that issue probably.
Tour du Mont Blanc... Awesome stuff and unbelievable scenery. Oh and great review as well, thanks DCR! 🙂
ray, we need a comparison between the new enduro 2 vs fenix 7x vs epix :)
Just ordered the Enduro 2 (2024) hoping the bug you mentioned was fixed by now :) also...liked and subscribed.
Congrats Ray! Always top quality and real testing. A couple of questions, not relevant to the video though:
- Will Garmin launch a new marq series?
- Will current marq receive any 7 series update?
Thanks mate!
your knowledge is worth a lot to garmin, i hope they do more than just send you watches. would you recommend it for mountainbiking or is there a better option? :) I am still thinking about getting instinct 2 solar instead, because of amazing battery life
Good stuff
Did the tour for my 60th Birthday 🎉
Would love a video on just your hiking trip alone.
Yup, coming up!!!
@@Dcrainmaker Yes 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Wow! That pretty much covers everything in the watch which makes me decide to buy. Thank you!
My UltraFit strap has that same issue where where the ends delaminated. Garmin sent me a replacement and that ended up delaminated as well. It’s not a big deal for me, but something that Garmin should have made more durable.
Good to know I'm not the only strap killer!
really appreciate your time and effort to these videos.
Thanks ray for an awesome video:)
one small question - how many times did you charge the 955 during that trek?
Roughly once every 2-3 days. Some days 2, some days 3, depending on the exact hours each day.
@@Dcrainmaker so the cheap option would be to take a 955 and a small powerbank on this kind of trip?
Seems very odd that Garmin completely miscalculates Training Status for multi-day events on a watch designed for multi-day events. I wonder if it does the same in other modes besides Hiking. I can’t imagine they didn’t account for or test this (unless they were just counting on Ray to do the testing 🤣)
My understanding is this is for all sport modes.
Perfect review of a perfect test in a perfect location. Thanks for that.
this is your best review so far! brilliant job! thanks
Hi DC. Thx for great review. Did you use normal Hike or Expedition mode in this adventure? Also with multi day hike did you save every day activity and then started the new one next day, or did you just resume your activity from previous day? Thank you!
Thanks. I used normal Hike mode, and I resumed my activity from the previous day each day (so one giant activity).
A giant Activity indeed. Did you wear a seperate hrm ? If yes did IT work Out ?
Cheers from Lake Constance
@@bare1021 No separate HRM for this, used the optical HR sensor on the back. And yup, I ended it with barely enough left (I cover the exact percentages in the battery section of the video).
Excellent review! Also, some of the battery usage could also be effected by lack of solar deep in the canyon and very shaded areas, not just challenging gps areas. Or some combination of lack of solar and also higher gps drain. Just a thought.
One question.. Is it possible to just use navigation without tracking my hike..don't really need a gpx file how I hiked., I just want to follow a loaded course and follow it. And what kind of battery life can I expect when using only navigation?
Great video!! I didn't even know there was an Enduro :) Looks awesome! Hopefully, Garmin fixes those bugs soon that you found.
Oh, the dreaded buyers remorse. Got the 7xSS, thinking it will be a flagship for some time, and now we get this, not even a year after. Would be so good if they announced their products so buyers would make more i formed decisions. Selling and buying is just too much hassle. Ah, well... Thanks for the review though.
I just bought the 7xSS as well. All the software features look like they are coming to the 7, and the only differences are the battery life (7xSS still has crazy good battery life), brighter flashlight, taller case, and slightly heavier weight.
While I would appreciate the better battery life, I think I would have still gone with the 7xSS. I don’t really care for a slightly taller, heavier, greener watch.
@@I922sParkCir DesFit measured them, and the Enduro 2 is only 2 grams heavier. I really like the fabric strap, as the 7 strap irritates my skin. And I love the flashlight but would like it brighter, plus I even dig the green highlights ;). But as I said, not worth the hassle of a change now.
@@dmalovic Just a heads up, the LDFAS Fenix Ultra Easy Fit Nylon Strap is almost the same as the Garmin UltraFit strap. I have both and I consider the LDFAS to be a little better. I really dislike the weight and discomfort of the silicone strap.
@@I922sParkCir thank you for this great tip!
Thanks such great review as all ways, that must been amazing hike 😊
Love your vids man! Are you still going to create one of TMB like you said in this vid?
Impressive. Great Intro shot. Hope you have a video coming out of the entire trip.
Thanks!!! And yup, a full video coming from the hike too!
Thanks for the great work, as usual! Liked the intro with drone view.
Any idea if the directional course arrows are coming on Fenix 7, or even Fenix 6?
Thanks! Yes, the directional arrows are already in the public beta on the Fenx 7 builds.
Hoping the instinct 2 gets the "training readiness" feature now that it has HRV tracking
Great video. What was your screen brightness set at to achieve these numbers or does it really not make that much of a difference? I am torn between the Enduro 2 and Epix 2.
It is a great watch and - as always an excellent review. One thing, I am surprised about is, that you never comment on one problem that was introduced with Fenix7 Solar Sapphire. Very bad display readability with Sapphire glass. The reason being: the added touch display layer, the solar layer and the sapphire glass lead to very high reflection. I compared Fenix 7X Solar with the Sapphire edition. Sapphire glas seems to be the worst factor. I found one review that clearly mentioned this problem. I never heard anything from you. But Garmin needs to take care of this. In some light conditions it is completely unusuable, almost like a pocker mirror. The Fenix 6 Gorilla Glas, on contrary was almost zero reflection.
I actually covered it quite a bit in my Fenix 7 & Epix reviews.
@@Dcrainmaker Ah, sorry ;-) Very good then! And I will look at those. Perfect!!
I seriously would like to do you're job, I'm well versed into theses but seeing you're video motivated me a whole much more I would dedicate my whole life to do this I've allways loved watches much more now😊
Great video! I was wondering if they have they fixed the performance problem yet?
Acute load stuck :D Nice! Maybe now Garmin will fix that ;) Waiting for new 955 beta to get my watch to work like it should. It blocks training status, acute load, daily suggestions, race predictor, what else, can't even remember. Breaks a lot of things.
It doesn't need multi-day activity to trigger that bug. Not done multi-day activity and my acute load has been stuck for ages.
Interesting. I haven't seen it anywhere else till now. :-/
@@Dcrainmaker, I've send my watch contents to Garmin, so they are hopefully already working on it. There's some talks about in 955 forums (but probably linking those will make the comment go hidden, so not doing that this time). One did speculate that swimming will cause it, I think my happened after swimrun so there might be something to it, but then again probably needs also something else otherwise it would be more widespread, but there's multiple users reporting it. So luckily I'm not alone with that.
@@JaniOllikainen Mine has been stuck since July 23rd. I had done a reasonable number of swimming activities prior to that (pool and open water). Could be a coincidence, but I did an open water swim on the 23rd. Also had to upload it twice as the first time it didn't find the data off my HRM-Tri
@@kjwalpole mine from 23rd June. Yes, don't know what the root cause is, but the swim is just one speculation. I also was sick after that and didn't do sports for a week and it hasn't moved since. TrueUp to old devices gets some data calculated on the old devices, but 955 is pretty dead on those.
Wish Garmin would make the UltraFit bands for the 955. Great review!
Thank you for such an in depth review of the watch in a real world scenario. I am considering purchasing the watch and really appreciate how you test/review the Enduro 2. Regarding the heart rate monitor, I wanted to ask you if it is more/less accurate if the watch is worn on the inside of the wrist rather than the outside. Have you tried that? Also not sure if the solar panel actually extends the battery life as much as Garmin claims. Some reviewers have shown that it only charges 5% after having the watch in the sun all day. What’s your experience with that? Thank you.
Would love to see the comparison video of enduro 2 vs Fenix/Epix 2 vs 955
Thanks Ray for another great vid. I would love for you to do a comparison between, Fenix 7, Enduro 2 and Tactix 7 series. Im a guy who loves the outdoors ( hiking, mtb, cycling, bikepacking, kayaking etc) which is the best watch in your opinion for this type of lifestyle ?
Love the new arrows for course
Ray is the original and still the best!
Thanks!!!
Do you think the next fork function will be getting added to the fenix and epix lineup? That would be amazing!
This is awesome Ray!! Quick question: How did you find the snappiness of navigating the menus and using the touch screen when compared to either the Enduro 1 or Fenix 7x Solar?
I was wondering if you got a chance to test the flashlight on the device thoroughly? Mainly my question is how much battery does the flashlight burn or at the very least what is it's estimated length of use on each flashlight level compared to the Fenix 7x considering they doubled the brightness? I'm guessing based off your statement that they mainly just removed some of the frost from the flashlight it and the fact it has a better battery life that is should get more usage per flashlight level.
Great video! What is the difference for using GPS when the map screen is on or off? Do you know if any of the GPS specs for this watch include the maps screen?
Great Video, and awesome landscape!
Ray, great review as always!
I just bought a 6x, any word on the course arrows coming in an update? I agree it's a small but impactful feature.
Year 2028: Garmin launches new Red Planet watch built on the Fenix 10. Ray files to Mars, dons EVA suit and dutifully walks across the martian landscape for 45 straight days to test it out. I called this first.
I've experienced this lagginess on a Fenix 6X Sapphire when doing R2R2R, started around hour 10-15ish hrs in?
You won the “Des or DC first?” Conflip 🙂.
Hahaha...thanks!
@@Dcrainmaker thanks for walking so much (and the time stamps)! Also was the almost identical length intentional?
@@Fuuntag Haha...no, definitely not intentional. I suspect we both keep cutting our reviews from the original lengths, down to something people will actually click on. My original filmed length was...umm...a lot longer.
@@Dcrainmaker around 20 feels like a good balance, 10 just isn’t enough for such an investment in a key piece of equipment but 30 minutes plus turns into “background listening” for most after a long day unless they have already invested in the device!
Ray, great in depth review as always, however I have to give the win this time to @DesFit as he sniffs the watch band in his review.
Garmin does really have a weird product policy actually. Just a few month after 7x it starts enduro for just 100 Bucks more. Should be the better choice in long distance. But. Many new products but not really fixed software issues with 7. Thats annoying.
There is a another slight hardware difference, the Garmin logo is now bigger and fits the cutout.
It would be great an Enduro with Amoled display.
Can you charge the watch mid-route using a battery bank without stopping the timer? Just for the few of us who are not as fast as you?
Awesome, many thanks! How does the Enduro 2 compare to Tactics 7, feature-wise?
It lacks the Tactix-specific features (like the ballistics stuffs).
I have both. The tactix has kill switch, night vision mode and a green light vs. The enduro 2s red light but the Enduro 2 has a much brighter white LED compared to the Tactix 7
DC, GREAT CONTENT!! can you describe the colour of the watch? is it Carbon Gray or Black DLC with lime markers? so hard to tell.
DC, please answer me do you have any information on implementing Naps (day sleep) in Garmin watches? Thank you!
No naps on any Garmin devices...still. :(
@@Dcrainmaker thank you! i thought you have info will they implement in the fitire because it's a big part in recovery. I don't know why they don't have it :)
Hi Ray, great adventure and thank you for the review under these conditions. I'm wondering which training mode you used, probably Hiking? And in this case does it have Stamina support, as Fenix/Epix unfortunatly doen't have Stamina in Hiking/Climbing mode?
Yes, I used hiking. Disappointingly, no Stamina in the Hike Mode (or Auto Rest). :(
@@Dcrainmaker Thank you for answering Ray. That's really disappointing as I find Stamina very useful. A lot of people miss this feature also in Fenix/Epix and FR and reported to Garmin. Can't understand why Garmin doesn't implement Stamina in more modes e.g. Hiking... :-(
Спасибо за детальный обзор. Ждём с нетерпением эту модель в Украине.
Love your reviews!
I have a Garmin Instinct (1st edition) and it is all I need right now. Plenty of battery power an functions.
What I dont get is how to handle Multi Sport activitis like "Bike&Hike" or "Bike&Climb2 for example.
We often bike to a basement and hike to the peak and bike home again. Is ist possible to make such a profile?
Can i switch manualy to an other profile, without ending the session?
That would be a big bonus?
Any suggestions?
thx a lot
greets
Martin
Hi. Great review! How did you manage to have one activity for multiple days? Can you continue an activity or combine multiple activities?
On the save screen, hit the 'resume later'
Ray, thanks for a great review!
Now the big question is - Enduro 2 or Epix 2 (/Quatix 7 for no DLC on a bezel)? Slightly different functions, but what is an ultimate buy? Quality of the screen vs zero battery anxiety. :)
Rays videos are the only videos I have to reduce the playing speed
Amazing! Congratulation! Thanks for this review.
Did they fix the map lag issue and the training load issue you mentioned?
Did you notice if the ClimbPro registered really shallow climbs? On the 955 it detects 'climbs' like 2km @ 1%
Hmm, there's specific thresholds there for when it triggers. It's on Garmin's site somewhere. But if something is long enough, I think it can still trigger.
@@Dcrainmaker I'm not sure why it doesn't let you chose the threshold sensitivity for hiking, like it does for riding. Personally, I'm only interested in proper climbs, not the false flats.
On the Edge devices it specifies:
"A climb must be a minimum of 500 meters in length. The average gradient must be a minimum of 3%."
Today first time I had 10km race with Enduro 2. Certified race rout. All system + wideband. 1sec data storing. Garmin showed 10,82km…WTF! Any idea??
I bought Enduro 2 about 2 weeks ago.
Any recommendations on the best Garmin for heart rate monitoring and solid battery life? They are the main things I need.
I know this is over a year later but two questions.
1. does this pair with the Garmin bicycle GPS's like the Garmin 1080?
2. Does this actually have a feature that shows you your current walking speed? Like I'm real time?
Would you recommend this for a cyclist that is trying to replace Whoop, wants sleep stats, and general health stats? It seems like the best fit of all the one time but wearables. Thanks!
Yes, most Garmins will track sleep and health and recovery (body battery) and there is no subscription cost like the whoop
@@fitdude thanks, but which Garmin watch is best, in particular for cycling and as mentioned? Or all pretty equal?
@@kenhunt Not all equal, make sure the one you decide on supports ant+ as well as bluetooth so you can connect any sensors for cycling. Which is best? That’s a loaded question and I suggest watching youtube video reviews on that, in particular ones made by and for cyclists. DC Rainmaker is one of my favorites because he gets into the nitty gritty details.
I purchased the Garmin Instinct 2 because it has most of the features of the Fenix 7 with a much better price tag. Only missing maps and music really. Display is simple but useful, no color. czcams.com/video/YFik67SnAFY/video.html
Do you recommend this watch for bikepacking or touring?
Great review, Ray. Do you know if GAP and Next Fork will be available for the Fenix 7 in future software updates? I'm now with the 9.33 firmware and they are not. I have HRV and training readiness but neither GAP nor arrows guidance and next fork signalization.
They need something to add next quarter.
so almost wonderful beautiful video friend this is your watch?
As always excellent review!
Is the Stryd power measurements supported natively on this watch?
He mentioned this, you have to buy the chest strap or pod that supports that, but yes it supports it.
Thank you!