Customer Ratings & Reviews

Bottom line up front: AWESOME. As background, I purchased the FENIX 5 Sapphire Edition with metal strap, though I returned it - didn't "love it", size wise or function wise (no Maps). This was subsequent to the Apple Watch Series 2 (Nike Edition), Nixon Mission (both returned), Garmin Vivofit 2, and even a very high end automatic time piece I had regularly worn and still own. Now, all I wear and use is the 5X. I then purchased the 5X on a work trip where a Best Buy I visited just happened to have one in stock and the 5X metal strap as an add-on accessory. I preferred the 5X size, GPS and maps, and wanted the metal strap and rubber strap options. I have small-to-average wrists and was reluctant that the 5X would look and feel far to large; I was wrong. Somehow, this 51mm piece wears and looks fantastic. I purchased the Garmin Fenix 5X metal strap as well, which makes this piece absolutely business appropriate. I wear it with a suit and then transition to pounding a tire with a sledgehammer in the gym: same watch - very versatile and very durable. PROs: GPS acquisition - fast. Battery Life - ridiculous. Apple engineers could benefit from time spent with Garmin R&D. Average battery life is at least 10 full days, using all features. That said, I am not the uber-runner who is constantly using GPS to track every single run. I'll do 2.5-3.1 miles on the treadmill, transition to strength/weights, and add in a day of crossfit per week. It is far for more capable of metrics measurement than even I realize or need. Case and metal strap: lightweight, handsome, and super durable. Zero scratches on crystal or case, despite some scary moments in which I expected some serious aesthetic damage. Treadmill - super accurate for me. I set the incline on a treadmill to 1.0, speed at 7.6 to 9.0, and it is always within .1 of what the treadmill is reading. TEXT/Phone call/News Alerts: I get them all, seamlessly as a notification on the main screen. Compass: Awesome. Step count: VERY accurate. My VivoFit 2 remains parked in my armoire. This 5X literally does it all. Final super PRO: how EASY and rapidly straps can be changed with a simple sliding button at the end of each strap - literally genius concept. I can switch from rubber to metal straps in 2 seconds, though I now use the metal strap almost exclusively, even for running. CONs: ....................I can't readily think of any. I would add that if you are looking for an entertainment watch and require constant FaceBook type interfacing, this is NOT for you. Proceed to the Apple display at Best Buy and don't look back. Ohhhh....it does takes a good week to figure out and become competent with button functionality and choreography. Once you get in the grove, it's then very easy to use. So, in closing, yes, it's quite expensive - especially with the metal strap and a protection plan; however, it is all that I have worn for two months straight and I absolutely recommend it over any other piece in this market. Very well done, Garmin.

I have tried just about every type of watch (apple watch, 3 android wear, a previous Fenix, Fitbits, etc). This one is my favorite so far! By no means perfect, but it does what it is supposed to very well. I wanted a high quality, high end watch, and that is exactly what this is! I don't run or need the GPS, but it has it if I want it! I don't even need the notifications from my phone and have them turned off, but they are there if I want them. I wanted a "smart" watch that was durable, waterproof, had heart rate, and could track fitness activities if/when I need it to. And almost all other smart watches are dragged down by 1 or possibly 2 days battery before you have to charge them! To me this is unacceptable and I will never purchase a true smart watch until they get this situation handled (with horrible battery life). But, this Fenix 5X is amazing! I bought it and charged it up last Wednesday and put it on. It is now 8 days later and my battery is at 50% exactly. So that means I can charge this thing twice a month! Granted I don't use GPS or notifications. However, the mere fact that I "can" make the battery last that long at all is amazing!

Note: This is my review after testing this product for 8 days and these are my overall impressions: Performance Metrics: I use this product primarily for running (treadmill, outdoor, track, and mountain) and I can happily say that the accuracy of this product is outstanding. I've compared distance data with the treadmill, maps, as well as distance markers on trails and this watch is on point. As a plus, the altimeter is fairly accurate when hiking as I've also compared to trail markers. Battery Life: I've been using this watch daily for the past 8 days with heavy activity. I wear it from when I wake up at 6 AM to when I go to sleep sometime around 11 PM. What that means is this watch is constantly tracking my steps throughout that time and still sustains battery life. I've kept an average of 60-90 minutes of run tracking activity in that time as well. After 8 days battery is down to 20% and I have no doubt it can last another two days for a total of 10. Garmin Connect App: The data from the watch syncs perfectly to the app. Another plus for Nike + Running users, data from the Garmin Connect App is integrated into the Nike app which means you do not have to use your phone as a tracker. Bottom Line: Yes, it is really expensive (and I may even argue that this particular model with the built in maps may not be worth the extra money) but nonetheless I still love everything about this watch and give it a 5/5 rating. I've used multiple fitness tracking devices but this one leaves them all in the dust.

Bought this watch on sale, and I must say...wow, zero regrets. Worth full price, but I got lucky. Been looking for a smart watch for a while and took the leap. This is a survival watch and fitness watch in one. No touch screen, but don't really miss it. Battery is outstanding, even with GPS running for your biking, running, etc. Syncs with the app and you can pull up a detailed map on where your route was on an activity. Just select from the menu what you're about to do (i.e. bike, walk, run, swim) and it starts. Can customize the face, install only what you need (very easy with the app), and a short learning curve. Easy charging setup. Solid build, just wow! I've hit the glass a few time and doesn't phase it. I've lost many watches to the face getting shattered, but not this one! Recommended! I'd say the only con would be heart rate monitor, not sure about the accuracy of it. I don't really use it, though.

This watch is the creme de la creme of the Garmin watches. I have worn it swimming, hiking, camping, trail running, weight lifting, kettlebells, golfing etc etc. I haven't done a Spartan race with it although that's coming! The GPS is great and the watch is very easy to learn and use. I love being able to customize the different watch faces to show a lot of the parameters I like to check while out exercising. I upgraded from a Fitbit Surge and the two are night and day even though there's a lot of the same features. The Garmin is way more sophisticated looking and rugged that other competitors that I decided to take the plunge on it. The hiking and walking activity monitors are amazing! I am able to track myself on the map on the watch. I thought it would be cr@p and too small but it is surprisingly detailed and even a lot of the trails I use have been on there. It got me out of a jam when I went down the wrong trail and I was able to figure it out after only 50 ft of being off track. It is definitely made for the outdoors persons. Might be a little bulky for females and smaller framed guys (the Fenix 5S is geared towards smaller wrists). I used it once golfing and downloaded the course info to see how that works. It's pretty crude since it's not their golfing watch but it was within 10 ft of accuracy with a laser range finder my buddy was using. It shows you distance to various spots on the green and will even keep track of your strokes. There's just so much it does and does well that I can't say it all here. Watch YouTube and check Google for a lot more info to help you decide. The battery lasts pretty long for everything I do and charging is very fast so you don't have to be away from it for very long. Not so good: - The onboard temperature sensor reads high due to the radiant heat from your wrist so that is a ding although there's not much they can do to fix that and keep that looking as good as it does. - Garmin is known for not being too easy to use with other branded stuff so make sure your apps and monitors are compatible or you'll need to get stuff that works with the watch or new apps that your friends aren't using. I got the HRM Run heart rate strap and it works flawlessly and so much better than my old BTLE one that I don't mind that. I miss my Fitbit friends so it would be cool if there was cross compatibility there. - The Garmin Connect app could use some upgrading as there's some content there that isn't intuitive to use and it takes some time to figure out where all the different places are to view or change settings. It's very data rich but just going through the menu structures could be a little overwhelming at first. Once you figure it out, you're good though.

I sold my Apple Watch and purchased this one. Watch works great for tracking workouts and runs. I’m glad I made the change. Very rugged and gps is accurate. You can still receive notifications if you want them, but you can’t make calls or voice text etc. If you buy this without expecting it to be like the Apple Watch you won’t be let down.

Excellent watch! very happy with the 1/2 off black Friday deal. It tracks almost everything you could want in a sports watch. I really like all the data this watch affords and couldn't be happier with its performance. Garmin support is great with current maps and software updates, easy set up w/ very intuitive controls, and numerous Gamin and third party apps and widgets allowed by Garmin to customize the watch to personal preferences. It has good maps, points of interest, waypoints, can upload routes from my PC and much more... No music, so if you want maps and music, go with the more expensive Fenix 5x Plus or Fenix 6 series. Great watch Garmin!

I was a late adopter to the smart watch game, no previous fit bit just seemed like every time I held out the latest version of the watch I was about to buy added awesome features I would have been upset to miss out on. I'm glad I waited. This watch has everything I've ever wanted and more. The app collects so much data and already I've seen patterns I would not have realized on my own. I did make the additional purchase for the scale that syncs up my weigh ins.. definitely a bonus. The GPS was my biggest selling point but have not been able to use it heavily yet but am looking forward to it. All in all I'm beyond in love and got over my initial hesitation of the watch face size and thinking it was too bulky or masculine for a female. I love it..

I use this for everything. Integrations with IOS is smooth. Metrics are informative. The band is comfortable. Seemed large at first but became suitable for my needs. Expensive but completely worth it. Used for MTB, Cycling, walking and running. excellent means for competing with friends.

Watch looks great for every day use and the battery lasts forever compared to similarly featured watches (I'm using the NoFrills watchface). The battery is amazing and I've has no issues close to perfectly tracking my movement in the city with the watch on GPS ONLY on 1s tracking with Lock on Roads turned off. Was worried the watch would look huge on my wrist but it looks much better than I had anticipated on my small wrists. I had to buy a new band due to the buckle digging into my wrist. I went with the black heavy nylon 2 piece from Nato Strap Co (screws are size T5). The optical HR has its issues being on such a large watch and the standard bands aren't comfortable enough to wear as snug as you'll need for the wrist HR to work during training or ops. It works about as great as any other wrist sensor though. The watch is probably the best thing since sliced bread for training or doing ops places where you don't have any cell service. You can load OSM topo maps (or your own but after some testing I would avoid the ones Garmin sells due to it missing a lot of trails that are on OSM at least for my area) onto this watch and create an activity that will do Automobile navigation with multiple features like hazard/toll/highway avoidance and full turn by turn navigation. To do this I basically copied the standard Navigation activity then changed the Routing to automobile and tweaked some other settings. You will also need to load routable maps via Basecamp before you will see the Automobile option in routing. I use the OSM topo routable files from GMapTool. You can also track your HR, movement, and pace with your GPS readings over long periods of time and then play the track back like a video next to graphs with overlays of the tracked data for easy after actions or instruction on operations. Watch loses a star based on lack of decent sleep tracking compared to Fitbit, issues with the app (the backend was just down for an entire day and everyone who uses Garmin Connect was locked out of their information), and delayed canned responses from Garmin (except when they need you to do free quality control tests or troubleshooting for them). Sorry for rambling. Hope this review is helpful for someone looking to buy this tracker.

I'm an infantryman in the Marine Corps and have used the Garmin foretrex 401 for quite some time as well as using a watch in the field. This watch does it all people! I read a lot of reviews about the heart rate sensor being way off unless you crank the strap super tight. NOT true whatsoever. Yes you need to have the strap snug to your wrist. That's how a watch is supposed to be worn. Not hanging over your wrist bone. ANYWAYS. I have not had a single problem, whether it be the gps, the phone connection, any sport activity, or the HR sensor. Very comfortable watch to wear. Marine Infantry field tested and apporoved.

This is my first Garmin, but by far not my first smart watch. My main draw to the Fenix is rugged frame and advertised 51" screen. We'll the actual viewable screen is no Bigger then the Galaxy watch. Big disappointment. I'm getting older and wanted a watch I could view without my glasses. Now, that being said many positive supprises, best of all 12 day battery life! More accurate fitness tracking. My previous smart watch couldn't tell if I was driving home in the car or exercizeing. Again very different from the competition, like no touch screen, only watch buttons. Not necessarily bad. To sum it up, it is very good at what it offers. I like it a lot.

If you’re on the fence about which watch you want/need for today’s modern fast pace world this is it. Personally I was debating over three watches in general, this one meets my criteria. As an active person the features of the watch are meant more for tracking and analyzing, not too focused on answering texts or phone calls like others in the market, although it does pair well with my iOS and you can still receive notifications (yes you can even read your messages on it). Not touch screen, but definitely a feature I personally don’t want on my watch right now. Very stylish and the fast detachable bands are ideal for switching from sport bands to others available as well.

If your very active and love tracking multiple areas of your fitness, whether is be sleep patterns, heart rates zones, running analytics this is the watch for you. This watch is very light weight and feels extremely durable on my wrist. It has very long battery life when not in GPS mode and the amount of features and personal modifications make it an excellent watch not only to use for working out but for daily use as well. I have an Apple watch second generation and also I use an Polar M400, but so far this Fenix X has been my go to for everything. Great choice.

I researched this watch heavily before purchasing on sites like yelp and on location at the Salvation Army thrift store. It’s the SUV of fitness trackers, PLUS it has robust GPS and map features. You’ll never get lost barcrawling or forget where you park your car. The downloadable topographical maps make it super easy to plan covert missions to Starbucks and REI. The watch literally does everything. It has several exercises “in the box” with the ability to add several more to impress your CrossFit friends. You can even create your own WOD and share it for everyone to see in Garmin’s community. The flat display is made of indestructible sapphire crystal forged deep in the bowels of dwarven caves. You can dress it up with a matching steel band for only another $200 for when you take your girlfriend to Sullivan’s for a salad. It’s waterproof too! Up to 100m for tracking your spear fishing off the Dubai coast. Oh and it really does a great job picking up all the notifications from your phone (see photo).

I absolutely love this fitness tracker. I use it to monitor my steps, calorie intake, stress level, heart rate, strength training, and running. It’s almost perfect once set up properly. I am so happy that I spent the money for the 5X. For a 6’4” 200# guy, it’s the perfect size. Large enough to fit my wrist, yet light enough not to annoy me. I’ve replaced all my other watches with it. Don’t need them. It’s fully customizable and I will use it until I have to replace it.

I decided to write a review after a year of continuous use. This watch is tough. Like really, really tough. I wanted a watch I could wear every single day to work and not worry about anything. After doing the research, I ended up with this. I'm a land surveyor in North Idaho, and we do some very extreme work. Deep in the woods, active construction sites, lots of sledgehammer work, lots of construction paint, and in all weather. So I've beat the heck out of this watch. It has never skipped a beat. GPS works great, I use it mainly for golfing(it has all the courses pre-loaded on it), but noticed it tracked well, even getting really deep into the mountains. My only real complaint of the watch is the cheap coating used for the bezel, stuff scratches very quickly. Overall, a fantastic watch for someone who does some extreme outdoor activities, or just wants the toughest watch on the market.

This watch is perhaps the best heart rate watch out there. At first you have to get used to the watch itself. In the beginning it takes some learning and getting used to. The connect app that comes with it allows you to download any face on it that you like. The watch includes all the features needed to go running, sky diving , and even indoor rowing. The watch allows you to change the song playing on your phone as well which was a plus for me while working out in my home gym. You can also control how the notifications from your phone show up. I wanted a durable watch as well. I slammed this thing into the ground while working out and the glass never broke or scratched. The rubber band that comes with it is beyond comfortable. I ran 6 miles and barely noticed it was on my wrist. The charge on it lasted me 3 days until it got to 20% battery life at full use with heart rate monitor always on.

Great watch. I use it mainly for running. It does cover about every sport. The only down side is it is a big watch. Syncs well with phone. Not as functional as Apple Watch with your phone, but better with sports. Just a little expensive.

I upgraded from the Fitbit products and absolutely love my Garmin Fenix 5x. I did a lot of research and admit I was a little concerned about the price before purchasing but can honestly say now it was worth every penny. This was exactly what I was looking for in a smart watch. The ease of use, the battery life and the ton of features makes this in my opinion the best smart watch on the market. So far I have used the watch for cycling, swimming, walking, kayaking, daily alarms, phone related notifications, and the navigation features. The only con I can think of for me personally would be a profile for kayaking. It does contain a profile for rowing and paddling but have not figured out which one is better to use in the meantime. This is a great product that I would recommend for anyone looking for the best smart watch on the market.