Garmin Fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version Overview – iRunFar

The Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version ($800) is our favourite in our Finest GPS Working Watches information.

It brings all the things we beloved concerning the Garmin fēnix 6 — make sure you learn our Garmin fēnix 6 assessment — whereas upgrading the battery life and including some helpful options together with a flashlight and a touchscreen.

Garmin has six essential watch sequence with a number of choices beneath every however for our cash, as ultrarunners, the Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version checks the entire containers for basic efficiency, reliability, options, and design and is the one watch that balances the very best know-how with essentially the most aggressive value.

An possibility just like the Garmin epix may have superior show capabilities, however largely the identical function set for a pair hundred {dollars} additional. That isn’t to counsel the Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version is affordable — it’s not — many runners will discover decrease priced and nonetheless excessive performing GPS watches from Suunto, Coros, and others, however in case you are looking for a whole package deal that may carry you thru working and numerous different actions, that is the one to spend money on.

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Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version Notable Updates

In comparison with its predecessor, the Garmin fēnix 6, the Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version has added practically two days extra battery efficiency with as much as 57 hours utilizing GPS solely and 40 hours utilizing all satellite tv for pc techniques. Using its photo voltaic charging, you may count on virtually 73 hours of use in regular GPS mode. Coros watches supply merely the very best battery efficiency, however they compromise in lots of different areas, like navigation and third-party connectivity, and typically with comparable costs.

This watch has confirmed itself to the iRunFar group in quite a few races, notably 100 milers. The large battery, which is made even stronger with the addition of photo voltaic charging, is ample for almost all of us. Not like watches from Suunto, for instance, you received’t have the ability to use the fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version whereas it’s charging however helpful alerts assist you to draw out the battery energy by switching to a power-saving mode — which makes use of extra primary GPS monitoring and non-essential options can be turned off — ought to you end up pushing the battery to the brink. It’s necessary to notice that in “expedition” GPS mode the watch ought to last as long as 40 days — and 74 days with photo voltaic.

The addition of a touchscreen is the only greatest replace within the fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version. The fēnix 6 was class main for its navigation features. With the entire identical preloaded, offline-enabled mapping capabilities as its predecessor, the up to date model means you may scroll the display screen along with your fingertip reasonably than utilizing a mixture of a number of buttons to “zoom-in, zoom-out” and “side-to-side” features of the earlier model.

This can be a main improve as a result of whether or not you’re following a route in the course of the mountains or a brand new method by means of a metropolis and simply wish to get your bearings simply, a easy swipe helps you pinpoint your location and vacation spot.

The ultimate main replace is the addition of a flashlight, which is available in three configurations: strong white, strobing white, and strong pink. The flashlight is situated on the display screen. This can be a subtly helpful function that you just’ll discover helpful for illuminating path indicators, or lighting your method round a tent in a a lot much less disruptive method than a headlamp or telephone flashlight.

Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version Supplies

The Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version makes use of a chrome steel bezel and Garmin’s trademark Energy Glass display screen. Because the watch has been upgraded to the touch screen-capable, the expertise of utilizing the glass has been beautiful, from the sturdiness to the readability — it does an incredible job of masking fingerprints.

The “begin” and “cease” exercise button is remoted with a textured metallic encased in a pink rectangle for visibility.

The short-release silicone straps are very simple to take away; in reality, you may take away the straps and simply toss the watch in a pocket when you’d prefer to go wrist-free for exercise monitoring.

Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version GPS Efficiency and Connectivity

The Garmin Join app is remarkably quick. It may well ship exercise knowledge from the Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version to third-party apps like Strava in seconds. Even Suunto’s latest watch, the Suunto Vertical, takes a number of minutes to do the identical. Transferring routes can also be blazing quick. No different conventional GPS watch we’ve examined can entry Wi-Fi to switch info and recordsdata. The combination between your private home Wi-Fi and the Garmin Join app means you may synchronize music and podcasts by way of Spotify in minutes. When mixed with its large battery life, this watch is as near a phone-replacer as you’ll discover.

Connecting the fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version to the Garmin Join app could be very easy. The app can sync multiple watch at a time, which retains your knowledge straight. The app itself is centered largely round health monitoring, comparable to pedometer, energy, ladies’s well being, respiration charge, stress, and leisure reminders. But it surely’s additionally the catalyst for designing routes or importing GPX routes that you just wish to run. Sending the file to the gadget occurs with a single contact.

The fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version provides multiband satellite tv for pc community assist (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.) The watch decides which satellite tv for pc to make use of primarily based in your positioning in extremely restricted areas, like forests or cities, or in clear situations in unobstructed zones. The watch is ready to a default setting referred to as AutoSelect mode, which implies the watch will resolve which system to make use of by itself, preserving battery and the integrity of your GPS monitor concurrently.

Navigation could be essentially the most spectacular function of the fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version, however the one I exploit essentially the most every day is Spotify. It means that you can obtain offline Spotify playlists so you may go working with out your telephone and nonetheless have entry to your music. Nonetheless, you do want a pair of wi-fi headphones and listening to music is a large battery drain; it may well deal with solely about 10 hours of steady play earlier than the watch pivots to an excessive battery-saving mode or simply outright stops music playback totally.

Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version Total Impressions

The Garmin fēnix 6 Professional was my first time utilizing a Garmin and I used to be really floored after years of utilizing Suunto’s watches. It had so many modern and may’t-live-without options which have carried over to the Garmin Fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version that I now have a tendency to guage all different watches I check by a few of these identical standards, particularly if the costs are comparable.

There’s a much less palpable “wow” issue to me now with the fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version, it’s simply the brand new torchbearer for a way a GPS working watch needs to be. That stated, it isn’t all excellent; too usually the watch suffers from some buggy faults like when an exercise is transferred to the app it would present the elevation acquire off by lots of of 1000’s of ft; Spotify playback usually doesn’t reply to its instructions swiftly; and the charging wire has grow to be very insecure — it detaches very simply from the port. Arduous resets and software program updates solely typically enhance these bugs. However with some severe know-how and an unlimited ecosystem of apps and connectivity, I can see previous a few of these defects. The watch, pound for pound, continues to be the very best throughout GPS look ahead to ultrarunning we’ve used, and that’s why we’ve ranked it primary in our Finest GPS Working Watches information.

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Name for Feedback

• Have you ever used this newest mannequin from Garmin? What are your ideas?
• Do you suppose there’s one other GPS watch that may compete with it for ultrarunning?

[Editor’s Note: If you’re affiliated (i.e., an employee, ambassador, etc.) with a brand, please share your relation in each of your comments on this article. Thanks!]

Our Favourite GPS Working Watches

Take a look at our Finest GPS Working Watches article to find out about our present favourite GPS working watches for working!