UKC

Is the Fenix 6 Pro all it is cracked up to be? In real life use out on the hills, is the colour, mapping and GPS worth the extra money? Looking at a used one but also looking at the Instinct 2 - any user feedback?

I got a 6 and then upgraded to a 6 Pro. I'm happy I did. Maps are good for trail runs.. 

I bought a used 6 Pro last year, and can't fault it really, particularly in lousy weather. Dragging myself across the cairngorm plateau in 80mph wind and low visibility recently I was very glad to not be dealing with a paper map!

I have the 6X Pro solar titanium - love it.  Mapping was perfect for the Spine Race and all training for it in grim conditions.  The bigger size means much better battery life.

I had the Instict 2 as a first decent watch after a Fitbit. Ended up cashing it in for a Fenix 6 during an Amazon sale. Lots more running metrics and the mapping is spot on. Not dissaponted at all, other than the woeful sleep tracking sensor.

Think I paid 350 ish for my Fenix 6..

Yeah I got the 6X pro I think last year or the year before. Think I ended up getting it from Go Outdoors with price match and cashback from Topcashback. They've come down so much in the last 18-24 months I think they represent an even better buy now than they did before.

I love mine and wouldn't be without it. Let's put it this way, if I lost it I would probably be buying a new one or a 7 in a matter of days (if I could afford it!).

Maps are amazing (I paid one off for the TalkyToaster ones of the whole of the UK, about £11 I think). Colour is just a bonus with the maps but else-wise is just aesthetic I'd say. 

For me - I wouldn't get the new one with the AMOLED screen because the battery life is like 1/4 of the 6X / 7X, I love only having to charge mine up once or twice a month. 

I don't wear mine for sleep very often because I would find it a bit bulky, but I'm not too fussed about sleep tracking either way.

I still have a Fenix 3 but it won't be long until il get either a 6x or 7x as I use it so much. 

Check out the Garmin Epix. The screen is much better than the Fenix. Battery life is the only downside, but good for most outings that I would ever want to do. DCrainmaker reviews are very detailed.

I really like mine. Only thing I'm missing is proper OS mapping on it, the map is okay but is based on a different dataset than OS

Proper OS mapping does not work as well as Open Source maps on the small screen. TalkyToaster maps, as elliot says above, is probably the best way to go, only £11 or so. 

Oh I missed that bit, will give it a bash for £11

I've got OS maps on my 6x pro

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/garmin-fenix-6-pro-black-47-mm-10198367.h...

299 with code FENI6150

Love mine Fenix6X Pro Solar: good battery life (really good with oxygen saturation turned off) and most of the added functions in the 7 have been added by firmware update. Have needed a new strap after 2 years and heart rate monitoring is best with a HRM strap.

I went to 6X Pro from 6 and its a better watch, better batter life, bigger screen, mapping (which is hard to see without reading glasses for me, but that's me) but i wouldn't swap it for anything, the ability for it to give 6 figure OS Grid Ref is worth having alone, admittedly the 6 did this which i also used all the time.

Having said that my mate has a Coros which seems to do everything a Garmin can for less money, might be worth looking at a review of the Coros

Or the free, included Garmin Topo Europe map, which pulls data from the same source as the Talky Toaster Maps. (It's all Open Street Map with differing skins).

No, you don't. You have the Garmin optimised version of Open Street Map. Geek corner - it's because OS provide maps to third parties as raster images, which scale badly, especially on a 240 x 240 screen watch. They do have vector datasets (which scale better), but for commercial use the license is way to expensive to be commercially viable to Garmin. Plus the default map installation covers all of Europe... which the OS clearly does not.

Bought a 6xPro solar titanium earlier this year (replacing an aging Suunto Ambit peak HR). Very pleased with it, used for Cycling, SUP, Kitesurfing and a bit of hiking etc etc 

Was debating the 6 or 7 but didn't want or need the touch screen option on the 7 and the 6 was on offer. Plus it came with a titanium and silicone strap

Battery life is excellent, and I found it straight forward to use. It only comes off to charge, worn for work and play.

I'd suggest getting a screen protector as the bezel isn't as pronounced as the Suunto and I manged to put a couple of small scratches on it soon after purchase (I work in engineering and watches have a hard time). I made some screen protectors out of 3M Heli tape that I had to hand. 

Screen isn't too bright, but there are various screens available to download, easy to configure what you want to see on the screen while doing an activity as well.

Wow so much feedback - so it looks like the Fenix 6 Pro is definitely the way to go over the Instinct 2 as it has maps (I believe that the Fenix 6 doesn't have maps - only the Pro version) - so may hold my breath till Black Friday and see what happens. I'll also have a look at the Epix. I wonder if the mapping is any good for Irish mapping / OS Ireland 

How accurate does the GPS need to be for you?

Previously had the 6X Pro and got rid, since at times it would track 5 or 10 meters off the course I had taken. (Relatively) poor GPS has been widely discussed for a while with the 6. Epix by comparison has been spot-on since I have had it (though surprisingly I've not been blown away with the amoled screen - maybe it's a bit small with mapping to truly shine).

If that doesn't matter (and you don't want to pay for the F7X) then the battery life and bigger screen are great on the 6X. It is heavy though.

I don't think the Epix is in my price range - The Fenix 6 (Pro and Sapphire) arent really in my price range but I can make it work if I find the right one used. The X may be too big and it would rule out using everyday, rather than just when i'm out on the hill. 5 or 10m "in theory" is ok. I don't have any GPS devices at present and should there be a white out / thick fog on a cliff top, i'd be checking my maps and phone GPS data as well for backup. If I had a touch screen, i'd probably disable it, so the 7 series probably isn't worth looking at unless some mind blowing Black Friday events happen. If it gives me maps and relatively accurate 6 figure Irish grid references i'd be happy

Geek corner

You certainly can have OS maps on Garmin watches by using the OS mapping for Garmin handheld devices.

Nope, only on handheld devices - i.e. the GPSMap series. There is no wearable capability. 

They're also pretty expensive.

Um.. I do

https://i.ibb.co/drjWqPx/PXL-20220717-104750987.jpg

oo spill the beans how do you do this?

Yes definitely on watches, give it a try

If you have them already on a Garmin GPS (discoverer OS maps) you can drag and drop the gmapsupp.IMG file into your watch, I've got that and talkytoaster plus others but only use OS really, you can get copies from eBay for 20quid, now they are older maps and raster so they look better at the 800ft zoom level mine was set to (as the gent said) but the hill contours haven't changed much in millennia so they do me and can switch to another map if need be