I want him, although I don t need him at all. Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro through the eye of a non-runner

I have never tested a better smart watch. I've never had a device on my wrist that suits me so much. I spent a month with Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro and I want to talk about it.

I warn you, this is not a fitness review: if anyone wants to read about Garmin Fenix ​​6 through the eyes of a runner, I refer to the review by Piotr Barycki:

  • He heavily (really) player. Garmin Fenix ​​6X Pro Solar - review

Before I start a big festival of technology excitement, I would like to give it a context - you see ... a few months ago this text would have the opposite effect.

In the summer I tested the previous generation Garmin watch - the Phoenix 5S Plus - and after a dozen or so days I returned it to the manufacturer, and I did not write the text. In fact, I was disgusted with how much this equipment "did not come up to me", which was strange because many people whose opinion I value praised it.

Well, there was no chemistry between me and Fenix ​​5S Plus. Its housing and hard-to-press buttons didn't suit me. I did not like the screen with the calculator resolution of the 90s. I did not like the sluggish, slow interface.

And since I am not a fan of running long distances, I could not cover all these deficiencies with the satisfaction of strictly fitness functions. Garmin Fenix ​​5S Plus turned out to be completely incompatible with my needs.

For several months, however, I have been looking for a new smartwatch . The requirements were relatively simple, but surprisingly difficult to meet in practice: it must work seamlessly with the iPhone 11 and be above average.

  • Watches with WearOS work very capriciously with iOS 13, and for that they are usually filigree (not counting a few reinforced models). Eliminated.
  • The Apple Watch has long occupied the top of the list, but the aluminum version has the strength of a toy, while the stainless steel version with sapphire glass costs a fortune. Eliminated.
  • The Samsung Galaxy Watch in combination with iOS 13 does not offer its full potential, and it is as unstoppable as most smart watches. Eliminated.

In my search, our editor-in-chief garmin specialist , Piotr Barycki, constantly reminded me of the existence of Fenixes and Forerunners, but having the fatal impression of the Phoenix 5S in mind, I refused to check the company's new watches.

And finally I overcame. I tested Garmin Vivoactive 4 and - apart from a few shortcomings - I fell in love. New interface, faster components, larger screen, great work time on one charge, affordable price ... if it wasn't for the relatively filigree housing, I would have it on my wrist today.

However, the Vivoactive 4 test convinced me that it is worth checking what Garmin currently has to offer on the top shelf. So I asked for a test copy of Garmin Fenix ​​6 and I immediately fell in love with this watch with pure Nerdy love.

Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro reviews

The Garmin Fenix ​​6 is a tank among smart-watches.

The Fenix ​​6 Pro version came to me for testing, with a 47 mm diameter disc and a black stainless steel bezel. As soon as I put it on my wrist, I felt it was it.

Everything suited him. The whole makes an incredibly solid impression; in the event of a wild animal attack in the wilderness, you can use the watch as a blunt weapon. It weighs barely 83 g, which is relatively little compared to ordinary outdoor / tactical watches, but in no way gives the impression of a toy.

The 22 mm wide sports belt is soft, flexible, doesn't rub or irritate the skin. The buttons have a perfect jump and are spaced so wide that I easily operated them with both my bare hands and in gloves at the gym and tactical gloves during training with the dog.

Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro reviews

And finally, its size, 47 mm, turned out to be perfect. Visually, it may be a bit too wide on my average thickness of the wrist, but it fits perfectly. With a thickness of 14.7 mm, it also fits easily under any jacket, which I can't say about ordinary outdoor watches, like the G-Shock Mudmaster, which I used to go to.

I look at the screen, I look at the brand. I look at the brand, I look at the screen. Yes, no doubt - it's Garmin.

Garmin is famous for its legendary poorly display. Sure, they are enough for running or other activities, but on a daily basis they do not caress the eyes, but cause bleeding from the eyes.

However, this is slowly changing The medium shelf Garmin Venu has a beautiful OLED screen that can compete with the best. The Fenix ​​6 Pro finally gained higher resolution and a bit bigger size. Compared to Garmin Fenix ​​5, the screen has 1.3 "instead of 1.2" and 260x260 px resolution instead of 240 x 240 px.

Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro reviews

The theoretical change is small, but in practice it means two things: after all, you can't count the pixels with the naked eye and in the end the watch frame is the actual screen frame; until now there was a thick black stripe between them. The screen is simply nicer, although it still looks like the CRT TV next to the Apple Watch next to the latest 8K OLED.

Garmin also wasted no additional 0.1 "space. In the factory shield you will find very useful widgets that can be freely modified. And just like in the previous Garmins, I immediately replaced the factory shield with another one, so in Phoenix 6 I adjusted the widgets to my own needs and that's it. The factory shield gives the Phoenix 6 "tactical" appearance, with a lot of useful information on complications. Combined with black stainless steel and exposed screws holding the bezel, the watch looks very manly, however chauvinist it would not sound. It looks like something that Bear Grylls would sooner wear than Bill Gates.

I don't run, I don't swim, I don't climb Mount Everest - what did I do with Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro?

Fenix ​​6 Pro is without a doubt a watch for people active through a large A (or a large "Ś", like "The Freak"). It can measure probably every possible sport, and for runners / cyclists / climbers / swimmers it is a treasury of valuable information.

So what did a person who is not interested in running cadence, blood saturation, VO2 max or average stride length supposed to do with such a tool?

Wear and be extremely happy, that's what.

I may not run, but I travel 10-15 km every day on a quick walk with my dog. Sometimes more.

That's why I need a watch with increased durability. Training with a dog or even daily walks often lead us deep into the woods or to the beach, where it is not difficult to accidentally knock on a tree, bathe the watch in the mud or sand while having fun.

Over the past month, Fenix ​​6 Pro has been tested for strength with the highest marks. Although I have to admit that I did not check it completely as I would like - in winter most of the time the watch is hidden under a jacket, while in spring and summer it would be much more vulnerable to damage. Nevertheless, several times I thought that it was already "clockwork", and in the meantime it turned out that after a month there is not a single scratch on it. However, if I had to buy Fenix ​​6 for myself, I would probably bet on the version with sapphire glass. The prudent always insured or something.

I expected to use GPS and maps often in Phoenix 6, but it didn't happen. Let's not get it wrong, the watch quickly catches the satellite signal and tracks the route as perfectly as possible (even in dense forest). Unfortunately, the built-in maps do not show forest paths in my area, so I used GPS only when I ventured into unknown corners or when I just wanted to check how much I went through.

I used the compass much more often than the maps. Since there was no map, and I have already ventured into unknown areas of the forest, using this old-fashioned method I was without fear choosing those paths that sooner or later led me home.

Here, I greatly appreciated the new Garmin interface that puts on transparent widgets. One click of a button and I could already look at the compass mini-widget. An additional click took me to the ABC sensor menu (altimeter, barometer, compass) and full-screen compass preview.

Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro reviews

Information about sunrise and sunset was often very useful, available directly on the watch widget. The last thing I'd like to do was get stuck with a hunting dog in the middle of the forest after dark.

And that I always wear tactical gloves with my dog, I really appreciated the lack of a touch screen. Button operation may not be perfect every day, but during intense activity it works much better, especially when we have gloves on.

Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro reviews

Fenix ​​6 Pro was also an irreplaceable companion at the gym for me.

For clarity - I mentioned it on the occasion of the Garmin Vivoactive 4 review: if we use the factory mode of measuring strength sports, Garmin watches are extremely inaccurate. Repetitions count right or wrong, depending on the exercise, but they are terrible at recognizing them correctly. Everything needs to be corrected manually after training, which can be tedious.

It is different when you program a training plan in Garmin Connect. Then the watch changes from the measuring tool to our personal trainer, indicating the next exercises and rigorously measuring the intervals between them. As Robert Burneika would say: there is no resist! $% @ Out!

And it wasn't. If there was a 45 second break between sets, it was 45 seconds. If the super series were programmed, they were super series. It was good to have this inexorable companion on my wrist during this month.

At the same time, I do not think that any smartwatch is an indispensable accessory during strength training, especially since none actually offers really useful data after training. A simple "log" of weights and exercises can be carried out on paper or in an application on the phone. What's more, in the activity measurement mode, the watch disturbs more than helps, because the need to enter and correct the number of repetitions or weight interferes with the focus on training.

Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro reviews

However, if you take the time and put your own training programs into Garmin Connect, then your Garmin watch becomes a great addition to the gym.

As a smartwatch, the Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro can do little. And it suits me.

Garmins have always been more sports than smart. Even Vivoactive 4 or Venu, which were supposed to reverse this trend, still remain sports watches with some smart accessories. There are relatively few applications for Garmin watches, I will not read the newspaper on it, I will not reply to the email, I will not call my wife from it. For a smartwatch, it's a pretty ... stupid watch.

After a month with the Phoenix 6 Pro, however, I must say that I lacked nothing. Absolutely nothing.

  • Navigation? Is.
  • Contactless payments? Are.
  • Control music from your phone and watch? Is.
  • Notifications? Are.
  • Activity monitoring outside of exercises? Is.

Added to this is absolutely phenomenal working time on one charge. Even by training 4 times a week for 1.5 hours and using GPS for 3-4 hours a week, I could easily get 7 days without charging. When I did not use GPS, without Fenix ​​6 Pro it printed without a problem 12 days.

I still don't like the way Garmin tells you to charge your watches, although I understand the legitimacy of using a cable instead of a docking station - it's easier to take on a trip. However, it needs to be charged so rarely that you can live with it. When it comes to correlating opportunities and working time, Fenix ​​6 breaks down each rival.

Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro reviews

I do not need it at all, but no smart watch has suited me to such an extent.

My problem with Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro is that for nothing in the world I am not able to use its full potential.

It's a bit like I bought an American pickup truck living in Warsaw to commute to work in Korpo. Instead of loading a ton of bricks to crumble or traverse the wilderness, I would be stuck in traffic and emitting CO2, but I would have a car that "can" do everything. And everyone would see that if I only wanted, I could "do everything".

It's the same with Fenix ​​6 Pro in my case. What I used this watch for, almost every smartwatch on the market can do, including the half-cheaper Vivoactive 4. The only thing is that none looks as "hard" as Fenix ​​6 Pro and none can stand as much as Fenix ​​6 Pro.

If money did not play a role, I would probably buy the Fenix ​​6 Pro without thinking and close the topic of searching for a smartwatch for the next three or four years. But they play a role, which makes me reluctant to spend from PLN 2,900- 3,500 on a smartwatch just because its design is more durable than others, while I would use only a fraction of its function.

Unfortunately, smartwatches are aging quickly, so in three or four years I would have to spend an equally high amount again. And because I have a strong attraction for classic watches, on the back of my head I hear the voice "a regular watch at this price will probably outlive you".

However, this does not change the fact that I was connected to the Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro chemistry, which I did not feel when testing any other smartwatch. Perfect synergy with the device. I am glad that I was not reviewing it, because it would be such an uncritical review that you would probably be a fan of me.

I absolutely love this watch and I am of the opinion that if you are looking for a smartwatch and do any kind of sport, it is better not to go.

However, I do not know if I will decide to buy. Returning to the earlier metaphor with the American pickup - yes, I would like to drive a Ford F-150 every day. Only that my realistic needs will be met by Skoda Octavia.

And it's the same with Phoenix 6. I WANT IT. Although really ... I don't need it at all.



I want him, although I don't need him at all. Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro through the eye of a non-runner

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