I have had a GPS watch for a long time. My wife bought it for me when I was training for my half-marathon in 2015. I found that by using the GPS function, the watch would go from fully charged to dead before I finished my half marathon (13.1 miles/2 hours).
The watch was advertised as being able to last several day in GPS mode. Initially it lasted several hours or several runs worth which was a couple of days for me. But after a year, it became almost useless in the GPS mode. So it became a rechargeable, digital clock. I wore it as a watch only until the silicone band broke.
My wife has been hounding me to get a wearable. The real reason is that when I am working in the shop, I don’t hear or feel my phone ringing most of the time. It is more of a tracking mechanism than a productivity enhancement. I like having a watch and it certainly isn’t worth fighting the power.
I considered two options. One was the Apple Watch and the other was Garmin and their many models. I liked the native Apple integration and I believe that they make quality products but it was the battery life that sealed the deal for me. The Garmin Instinct 2x has built in solar charging. You can see from the picture that the watch claims to currently have 39 days of charge.
The first model I considered was the Garmin Fenix. I am not sure what the total capabilities were, but it had a full color GPS screen in the watch face. When I looked at the cost of around $1000, I took a step back. What am I really asking a watch to do?
The Apple Watch is really a scaled down phone. In many ways, that appealed to me because I don’t like having to carry the phone around. That being said, this comes with a service cost. This means the cost of ownership perpetually grows. From a preparedness standpoint, it does give you duplicate capability. That is a good thing.
I am a believer in single purpose devices or tools. It is better to have a tool do the one thing it is intended to do well rather than three things marginal. If you can get the one thing well and the others marginal, that is better. Make sure to have another tool do those marginal tasks as well. So, a color GPS watch is cool, but is it really practical? I guess if I had money to burn I might choose the top of the line and just never use the feature. That is not really a position that I am in.
I am going to give an unvarnished opinion. I think the Garmin has the best features for fitness oriented people. If you want to track miles, and heart rate, etc this watch is for you. The Apple/Samsung watch is for people addicted to their phones. If you don’t fall into either of the groups, like me then wearables are a solution looking for a problem.
Like I stated in the opening, my wife wanted me to have the watch for her reasons. The selection and features I made were oriented toward my PCT hike. Maybe I will use it and maybe I wont. I plan on practicing with an actual GPS. In fact, I am looking into a satellite communicator integrated into a GPS device not just for the hike. Why would I carry a watch, a phone, a GPS and a satellite device? It definitely seems like overkill.
End Your Programming Routine: I have been wearing the watch for a couple of weeks now. I am still learning how to use it and optimize it. For instance every time my ring camera senses motion, it buzzes my wrist. Talk about annoying, but that is a subject for another day. I like seeing the weather, sunrise/sunset times and things on my wrist. The model name says ‘Tactical’ in it. That is totally worth the money. But really, it is an expensive toy.
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