Thread: GPS watch

Originally Posted by Randomandrews

I'm lucky enough to get to play with a bunch of GPS watches.
The thing to do, is figure out what you're trying to achieve, and what your price point is.
Some, like the Garmin Fenix series, are a true multi sport watch. The Fenix 6 is generally regarded as the best in its field. The GPS in most of the latest generation stuff is every bit as good as a handheld unit, but the small screen size is the drawback there. Its a major step up from the Fenix 5 in screen size, and more importantly, battery life. Ive had a number of them, from Epix, to Fenix 1/2/3/5/6, and the Fenix 6 is top dog.
I currently swap between the Garmin Descent (for diving/hunting) the Fenix 6 and the Tactix Delta.
I use mine for all my day hunts, in areas that I'm reasonably familiar with. If I'm hunting a new location, or doing multi day hunts, I still prefer a handheld for its larger map area, for planning.
They're also awesome for any training you do (I'm into pack training at the moment, and have a circuit I do with a pack of bricks on, my improvement over the four weeks of being home has been great to track.) Plus they do swimming/cycling/kayaking/hiking etc etc. As someone said earlier, recovery of animals using the Sight and go feature is awesome. (pretty much every hand held has this too)
You can punch in waypoints, mark new ones, navigate to them, backtrack etc.
Theres' lesser priced options too, like the Instinct series. Is a stripped out version of the Fenix. No maps, but is amazingly light weight.
In the bush, I'd stay away from the fitness oriented stuff (that has GPS) as its just not as rugged.
Am happy to help with any questions you've got, flick me a PM

Cheers

K

So if all I wanted was an electronic compass that gave grid ref and waypoint/nav with sight and go, what would I get?. I always carry map and compass anyway, refuse to rely on electronics cause I know Murphy is always watching! Don't need or want 95% of the crap my 64s does either!

Originally Posted by matto1234

Fenix 5x, tells you name and distance of each dog and gives you a heading arrow to follow to get to them. Has to Connect to the alpha handheld unit

What does the dog have to wear? A normal tracking collar? Does it have to be a specific brand?

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Originally Posted by R93

What does the dog have to wear? A normal tracking collar? Does it have to be a specific brand?

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Pretty sure you need a Garmin Dog tracking system and pair the Handheld unit with your watch to get dog info.
I have an Alpha 100 and collar for my mutts when in the bush so I can find them and if you sneak a collar into your mate day pack you can see where he is, or if your mate also has an Alpha 100 then you can see each others movements in real time

Originally Posted by mikee

Pretty sure you need a Garmin Dog tracking system and pair the Handheld unit with your watch to get dog info.
I have an Alpha 100 and collar for my mutts when in the bush so I can find them and if you sneak a collar into your mate day pack you can see where he is, or if your mate also has an Alpha 100 then you can see each others movements in real time

Jees what these young fellas don’t know ain’t worth knowing! I use the Alpha and collars as it is... great to know.

Yeah, needs to pair with the Garmin alpha 100 unit and collars to get the info. Bloody handy on the run

I have had Garmin, Suunto, Apple watches etc and I can 100% say Garmin is the best for sure. The more you can spend in there range the better as for every upgrade you go they pack way more features and battery life etc. I Currently have a Garmin Fenix 6x (Which I have just decided to sell today) the battery lasts 21 days in watch mode and 60 hours in GPS mode. The older model which was the X5 gave me about 7 days in watch mode and only about 20 hours GPS mode so you see the pricing is relevant. Also things like colour maps, display size, Glonass etc are all extras you pay for. I have my watch plus carry my Rino 750 so can't go wrong but funny enough ALL of the things I can do on my big RINO handheld I can do on my watch. Can 100% recommend. Hit me up if you have any questions!

I've got the Fenix 5X Plus. Fair comments about the gps lock v a dedicated gps unit, but you're usually going so slow under cover anyway that it still has time to get a reading. The map is pretty small, but if you have a track loaded or working against one you can easily figure out what's going on. The software does what it needs to do, but is pretty fiddly and not particularly intuititive. For example creating waypoints and routes, you need to add to a collection that is synced to your watch, then sync before they turn up. Can be frustrating.
What I like about navigating with the watch is you don't need to pay too much attention if you go with the alert/notification. It'll buzz and vibrate when you start straying too far off track.

I went for the 5 series so it syncs with my inreach mini.

Battery life is fine for a good few days. But I always carry a battery pack anyway as back up to boost phone or watch or inreach if needed.

I'd recommend. I've used Suunto for fitness and they were well made but have ended back with Garmin and reckon it's great.

Quick note, my best piece of advice with any watch used for navigation would be to try out every feature you can think of from home, at the local park or in town. Create a waypoint on the watch, create one on the computer or phone and sync to the watch. Create a route and add it to the watch. Save a route when walking with the watch and then navigate using a saved or created route. Better to get over any frustration from the safety of home instead of trying to figure it out in the bush or on the hill side.

I’ll just bump this thread rather than starting a new one. I’m looking at getting a Fenix 6x second hand about 9 months old. What is the warranty like? And is it transferable
Cheers

Originally Posted by 257weatherby

So if all I wanted was an electronic compass that gave grid ref and waypoint/nav with sight and go, what would I get?. I always carry map and compass anyway, refuse to rely on electronics cause I know Murphy is always watching! Don't need or want 95% of the crap my 64s does either!

Garmin instinct. Cheap, light, pretty easy to use.

I just got a 6 sapphire and im happy with it so far for jogging. Stores a crapload of music and runs wireless headphones, waterproof to 100m, GPS is on par with a new samsung phone as far as satellite pickup. Not too sure how to add waypoints yet but apparently its doable. The shooting app is fairly good too

Originally Posted by Happy Jack

Is the watch a true GPS or does it just bluetooth to your phone?

inbuilt

Just back from Stewart Is and an area where getting lost is easy (I get lost in my house so I mean for people who normally good at not misplacing themselves).

I had the 66i, Fenix 6x Pro Solar, and Phone with app and a compass. All worked well and the tracking on the 66i was very helpful for following a track back rather relying on waypoints. The watch was a great back up and just slightly slower than the 66i for a gps lock. I was surprised how well the phone worked too, and a great screen (S20+).

A couple of times I found myself doubting the gps as I thought I knew the way. The gps was always spot on.

I love my watch but the maps side is just too small for me, Ie screen size and detail available,
Hence I typically carry my phone with topo on line or similar (pre down loaded) and just turn it on when I stop and want to count up how many side creeks to go before turning up on etc. Then turn it off again.
Z