*updated March 2024

I’ll save you the long-winded speech and tell you with 100% confidence that the answer to the question of whether or not the Garmin Fenix Series watches are worth it is a resounding “NO.” Not a single fiber in my body would be okay with me telling you that you should go out and spend well over $600 bucks on this watch UNLESS you have a very good reason to do so or a pile of cash burning in your pocket.

It is not a “must-have” piece of outdoor tech, it won’t change your life, and it won’t make you better at something. It has a very specific purpose, so if you plan to use it with that purpose in mind, it may be worth it.

Now that you know what my final assessment is, you can either continue on with your day or find out why by reading the rest of this VERY long-term assessment (I suggest the latter).

Well over 2000 miles up the PCT and beyond wearing the Garmin Fenix watch.

How I Use My Garmin Fenix Watch

Before you start scrolling down through this assessment, you should know how I personally use my watch. I’m not a professional athlete and I don’t nerd out on the specs of my personal performance when I’m doing any sort of activity. Some do, I don’t. I bought it specifically for a navigational tool for the backcountry and the “smart” features were a bonus. I wanted to replace my older GPS (I’ll explain this later) so I bought the watch.

I use my Garmin Fenix 3 as a tool when I’m in the outdoors, that’s it. So if you fall into a similar category, you’ll want to read this review. If you’re the type to nerd out on the watch, use all of its functions, and spend the time doing whatever it is you do with all that data, you’ll probably have a few ruffled feathers by the end of this. That’s okay though, I’m speaking specifically to the person who is in my boat, not yours.

My Experiences with the Garmin Fenix Series Watches

I’ve been wearing my Garmin Fenix 3 HR (Sapphire) since the day I bought it in 2016. That’s literally 5 years of wearing the same exact watch day in and day out. Aside from the occasional time when I didn’t want to either wear a watch or felt like wearing a different one, I’ve only taken it off at night. Hell, for a while there I even slept with it because I wanted to track my sleep habits.

My Fenix 3 has been with me at my day job, on weekend backpacking trips, scouting trips, hunting trips, and accompanied me on my 2017 hike of the Pacific Crest Trail that amounted to over 2000 miles in single summer. It’s literally lived on my wrist through 3 watch bands and until now I’ve avoided doing a review on it because I don’t want to admit what I already know. I’ve realized that I wear this watch not because of how awesome it is, but rather because of how much it costs. It also looks pretty cool. To justify the price of what I paid for it back then (still about 500 bucks) I feel I have to wear this thing until the last bit of juice is squeezed out of it.

I’m far past the point of doing a proper “review” that I’m now entering into the realm of a “long-term assessment.” Much like most technology from 4 years ago, the Fenix 3 is no longer a relevant product, but Garmin continues to pump out new versions of the watch (Garmin 6 now???) and I’m going to assume that since you’re reading this, you might either be in the market for one or you just bought one and you’re wondering if you did a bad thing or not.

Well, that’s what we’re going to find out. Is the Garmin Fenix series of watches worth the cost? Is there actually a return in value after shelling out so much money?

Why I Bought My Garmin Fenix Watch

Let’s start with why I bought this thing in the first place. What would prompt me to spend over $500 on a watch that would ultimately lead me to the discovery that I should have put my money into something else? Well, great question.

At the time I was caught between technology developments. My Garmin Oregon was growing older and older by the day and though it still worked really well, I wanted something smaller and more accessible. I loved that Garmin Oregon. It got me out of some sticky situations and it was the first device I ever had that you could load colored topo maps onto. It wasn’t cheap when I bought it, but it was getting beat up to the point where at times it was difficult to read the screen.

I wanted a new GPS device and I needed a bridge to get me to where I wanted to go. At the time I knew about using your smartphone as a standalone GPS but I just didn’t trust my phone’s technology to get me home safely. I didn’t have any real field experience with it so I was stuck looking for something else. Something that could fill the gap between my phone and a standalone GPS….ah yes…a watch!

The Garmin Fenix 3 had just been released. My co-worker bought one so I waited a full year before buying it for myself. When I did, I bought the heart rate version with the sapphire glass (excellent choice by the way). I figured this watch would be PERFECT for what I was looking for. I could use my phone as a general map and my watch as a backup device for if my phone died or decided I was in Russia instead of Washington.

I told myself the cost of the watch was 100% worth it because of all its additional features. It wasn’t JUST a GPS like my Oregon was. It could monitor my heart rate, tell me about the ambient air pressure, track my sleep, connect to my phone so I could see texts coming through, and a lot of other things. It was a legit adventure watch and I figured this was the thing I’d been waiting for my whole life.

I had my phone and my watch and figured it was the exact setup I needed to be safe out there.

What I’ve Learned Since Owning My Garmin Fenix Watch

For 5 years I’ve been wearing my Garmin Fenix HR Sapphire watch nearly every single day. Between daily wear, hunting, hiking, and my PCT hike. I’ve had a chance to stretch its legs and I’ve learned that at least for me, it wasn’t worth it. Even with all the fancy updates to the new watches (I think they’re on the Fenix 6 now?) I still don’t believe that at a price point of over $600 for some models, there are far better ways to spend your money.

I was super jacked on my watch when I first bought it. I tracked my sleep, monitored my heart rate, created and managed waypoints, and even tracked my hiking sometimes. I even enjoyed checking the outside air temperature for a while until I realized it wasn’t accurate. You could only get an accurate reading if you took your watch off and set it down for a while because it was thrown off by the body heat coming from my wrist…..

Tracking my sleep was fun for a while, but that slowly faded when I realized I don’t want to wear my watch to bed. Anytime I’d take it off, the data would be jacked up and I soon realized in order to have it be as accurate as possible, I literally needed to wear it all the time. Yeah…not gonna happen.
When I hiked the PCT, I loved the idea that the watch would be able to tell me if a storm was coming by monitoring ambient air pressure. It never worked…ever. It’s totally possible that I’m doing it wrong and there’s some sort of setting I have to change for it to work, but the long and short of it is that I don’t like gear I have to continually tweak. I’m the “set it and forget it” type guy so for me, this feature is a bust. It now goes off when it’s a bluebird day and has literally never warned me of a pending rain shower. It’s the one feature I thought would come in super handy…ugh.
I thought maybe it would be nice to have my watch on the PCT “just in case” I needed to find my location or something to that effect, but it never happened. In over 2000 miles of backpacking every single day, I only used the navigation map on my iPhone called Guthooks. That was all I needed and if for some reason it didn’t work, I would just use GAIA GPS. My Garmin Fenix turned into a tool for counting steps and telling time, that’s it (which is actually VERY accurate…)
I knew how far I had gone each day because Guthooks told me and I could do math in my head. I didn’t need a watch to tell me the gnats ass details of my day. I’ve found it doesn’t do it that well anyhow. There are erroneous GPS errors when the signal gets bad (just like with every other GPS out there) so at the end of the day if all we’re doing is estimating mileage…what’s the point? The Fenix series watches costs hundreds of dollars and provide information that my phone can provide if I need it to.
GPS Tracking is great and all, but you can’t be using it all the time or your battery life goes way down, especially if you have everything else turned on like Bluetooth and your heart rate monitor. I’ve found GPS tracking is great for if you REALLY need to know where you’ve been, but that’s not all that often and when you have to do it, you could probably just use your phone anyhow. For me, tracking my exact trail is kind of a novelty thing to do. Anytime I do it I always ask myself why I did it in the first place. I then go back in and delete the route because it’s a very rare case when I’d need to follow THE EXACT path I previously took. More than likely I dropped waypoints along the way on my phone and I’ll probably just use those as markers if I ever need to explore that area again. For general backpacking, I don’t see the GPS tracking feature on the Fenix watches to be any real benefit. Hunters tracking game, maybe…but you can do that on your phone.

The heart rate monitor was a feature I was excited about until I realized I’m not at all a super athlete and couldn’t really care less about how fast my heart is beating during physical activity. I’m fit, healthy, and active. My heart works fine and I’m not going to be in the Olympics anytime soon. Monitoring my heart rate could be fun as a hobby, but it’s nowhere near a game changer for me so that was a bust of a feature.
Connecting via Bluetooth to my phone was fun for a while until I got bored of it. All it really does is alert you when you have a text come through or allow you to control some stuff on your phone. If you’re buying this watch for that specific feature, look to a REAL smartwatch that is purpose-built to connect to your phone like the Apple Watch or something. In my experience, the connection between my phone and watch is spotty and even if it was solid I don’t think it’s a feature that warrants such a high price tag even with everything else included.
Managing the data on your watch is done through an application on your phone which can then connect to a web interface. It works, but there’s just so much going on that I prefer not to do it anymore. All my field data is managed through Gaia GPS now because I’m tired of having everything spread all over the place. To be honest, I actually forgot Garmin had a web interface/mapping tool that I had been using for literally years until I went headlong into using my smartphone. Garmin’s software is actually pretty great, but you have to pay a lot of money for maps and that’s…well…dumb. Especially when you can pay a REALLY small fee for a smartphone app to get a million different types of maps at your fingertips.
I used to use my watch for marking waypoints, but then it was only on my Garmin interface, and porting it over to my phone was a pain so I just stopped doing it altogether. If you’re the type to nerd out on this stuff, by all means, do it! I think it can be fun sometimes, but as my life gets busier and I try to streamline things, I’m finding that I use my watch less and less for anything other than telling time.
Battery life is incredible on these watches which is a huge advantage and it’s only getting better. I’ve found that I can get about 2 weeks of life on one full charge if I’m only using it to tell time or connect to my phone. Using the HR monitor or tracking routes kills the battery faster, but it’s still pretty good. I tracked myself for two and a half days on a trail once before it died on me. Not bad! Charging is fast and can be done via USB.
Durability is top-notch. Straight up, I’ve beaten this watch to death and it doesn’t look old at all. I’ve had to replace the watch band a few times, but who cares? If you’re going to buy this watch, do yourself a favor and get the sapphire glass. I don’t have a single nick on my watch and it’s been around the block a time or two.
The bulk of the watch has always been something I’ve struggled with. In fact, I really don’t like it at all. It’s fine when you’re not layered up, but the minute you start putting various layers on or jackets on that has a tapered opening at the wrist, it’s like you’re caught in some sort of Chinese finger trap. Don’t get me wrong, I love the look of a big watch, but the reality is that it just doesn’t work in the field when you’re layering up for the day. Putting layers on sucks and taking them off is even worse. I believe the newer watches are designed to be a tad thinner than mine is, but still….look into it and think to yourself if you want to have a bulky watch on your wrist when you’re stripping off or putting on your jacket.

Who’s the Garmin Fenix Watch Actually For?

The Garmin Fenix series watch is best suited for the person who is going to take the time to really get the most out of its features. You can really go crazy with it, but for the majority of us who just need its basic functions, you’ll be better off using a cheaper solution or just going with your smartphone. If you’re looking for a smartwatch, get a REAL smartwatch that does smartwatch things.

The Garmin Fenix is a special tool for ultra athletes or those who want to get down to the nitty-gritty of things and are fully invested in the Garmin world. That’s really the only way you’ll get the value out of such a high price point.

To Buy or Not to Buy…Or Maybe What to Buy Instead?

That’s the question, right? Let’s look at it this way. Whatever model of watch you’re looking at likely costs a few hundred dollars at least. However, you’re likely looking at the very best model you can get which means you’re up to probably $500 or $600. There are even watches topping out at over $800! That is A LOT of money that you could use elsewhere.

I’m sorry to say this, but the Garmin Fenix series watch is just NOT a piece of gear that will change the game for you or move the needle in any substantial way if you’re just a normal person. If you’re an athlete that tracks everything and your livelihood depends on you knowing your heart rate, then sure, but for 99% of us outdoor goers, you’re better off using your smartphone for knowing where you’re at in the field. There are far better investments you can make that will actually change the game.

Take that pot of money you’re thinking about setting aside for this watch and put it toward something that WILL change the game for you. Things like a new shelter, a proper hunting pack, a pair of nice binoculars, new rifle scope or new rifle, a lighter sleeping bag, or a great set of rain gear that will keep you in the field longer.

If I were you and don’t already own it, I’d pick yourself up a Garmin InReach instead. THAT is a tool you should FOR SURE have in your kit if you don’t already have it and you’re looking to spend money. No, it’s not flashy like a watch, but it’ll save your ass big time one day.

At the end of the day, you don’t need to spend $600 on a watch. Even $300 or $400 is too much. Buy yourself a Timex watch for 50 bucks that literally won’t stop working. You’re better off distributing that money elsewhere in places that can actually make a difference in your experience before you go buying a watch like this.

Trust me, I want to stop wearing my watch, but I can’t because it’ll haunt me if I do. I’ll always look at it thinking about the cost of it and thinking I should just wear the damn thing. I’m in a bad relationship with a trick named Fenix.

So do you buy it or not? It’s up to you, but before you pull the trigger, do yourself a favor and consider if you’ll actually use all the features the watch provides you. You know yourself better than anyone so be real about it before you go spending that much money.

What Will I Replace My Watch With?

I bought this watch to bridge the gap between my old GPS unit and my smartphone. In the 4 years since purchasing the watch, I’ve fully switched over to using my Gaia GPS application for literally everything so now my watch is basically just a really expensive timepiece.

I cannot wait for the day I can replace this watch. I’ve thought about doing it many times, but until it finally dies on me, I’ll keep using it as a basic watch. BUT…. when it does finally die I’ll 100% get a cheap one from someone like Timex who makes something that is thinner, tells time, is durable, and inexpensive. I’m kind of a watch guy, or at least I appreciate a good looking watch and if I’m going to spend money on a watch, I’d prefer to do it on one that works better for everyday use rather than one for “adventure.”

Not having a Fenix type watch on me in the field means I don’t have to worry about charging it which, if you’re honest, you think about a lot. It’s mental bandwidth being freed up by not having another device to charge and that makes me happy.

Final Assessment of the Garmin Fenix Watch

If you’ve read this entire thing by now, you know how I feel. If you just scrolled down to find out what my final assessment is of the Garmin Fenix series watch then here you go….

There are many MANY things you can buy that will level up your game in the outdoors, but this watch (no matter the version) is NOT one of them unless you’re an ultra-athlete or you have a data-driven head, like to tinker with things, and really enjoy nerding out on everything these watches have to offer. If that’s you, then maybe it’s a good purchase, but if you’re just the average person looking to find a piece of gear that will enhance your time in the field, look elsewhere. The juice is not worth the squeeze. Buy a cheap field watch and reinvest your money somewhere else that will have an actual return on investment.

I hope this assessment helps you in some way. If it does, let me know! If it doesn’t, then let me know that as well!

*Article Updates

Technology continues to improve, so to stay on top of that, I’ll continue to revisit this article from time to time. Below are my general notes and updates, along with the dates of these thoughts based on how I’ve changed as a user and how tech has changed.

July 2022

I stand behind 99.999999% of what is in this article simply because of how incredibly expensive these watches are. You really do need to have a good reason to buy these things or have so much money burning a hole in your pocket that it makes sense. That said, I keep waiting for other smartwatches like the Apple Watch to catch up, but they just can’t. The winner in ruggedness, features, and battery life seems to go to Garmin and for good reason. The Fenix 7 sapphire solar has features out the wazoo to the point where I’m now wondering if maybe it IS worth it after all even as a general-purpose watch. Color maps, touch screen, a flashlight, SOLAR charging….WHAT?!

There’s just no way in the world other brands can catch up or overtake Garmin at this point so it makes me wonder if maybe $1000 spread over 5-7 years is worth it. My current watch is now 4 generations removed so it’s totally possible there’s been enough change that I’d be happy with it. If I do buy it, I’ll probably have to eat some crow… or maybe…maybe I’ve leveled up? haha!

March 2024

As of early 2024, I still don’t think this watch is a “must-have” piece of gear, but I’d say in the world of fully featured outdoor watches, this is the only option worth spending money on (if you have the money to spend). Nothing else comes close to what the Fenix offers, and I think if you’re going to get one, go all the way and get the best version you can.

Is The Garmin Fenix Watch Worth It? A VERY Long Term Assessment

Contents

How I use my Garmin Fenix watch
My experiences with the Garmin Fenix series watches
Why I bought my Garmin Fenix 3 Sapphire
What I’ve learned since owning my watch
Who’s this watch for?
To buy or not to buy
Will I replace it?
Final Assessment
Links to the Garmin Fenix