Garmin - epix (Gen 2) Standard Edition

epix 2 standard can be had for $350-400. does everything. quite pleased w mine

Switched from aw5 to Garmin epix gen2 standard - the batt life alone is enough of a win to not look back! Enjoy the Garmin bro!

I have Epix 2 (non pro), for gym, strength particular, I find it amazing. I know there are a lot of haters for Garmin strength workouts, but I program a series of workouts on connect and simply turn up to the gym and execute, the watch logs my reps, yes sometime I need to correct, but you get time to do so. Also weights are also adjustable. All in all it works a treat.

I have a Epix 2 prior to that and Fenix 5, used both for strength training, still use my Epix for that purpose. It’s fantastic, you can program multiple workouts on Garmin connect, set the weight, reps, set and rest time and load several workouts onto the watch. I just turn up and select my workout: upper A, lower, upper B, arms and back etc After each set you can manually update the reps (rep counter is ok, mostly accurate) and or weights so as your progressing you can update on the fly your weights and reps. Post workout it gives me enough data to see progress or gaps in training.

This is my take. I used to work as engineer at "A"-company often mentioned here that make smartwatches. However, I worked on phones and tablets, not smartwatch. Apple is smartwatch. Cram as much tech into the device as possible. And good value (money spend for tech and features) delivered to consumer. But one big issue is the battery life. Garmin uses old tech. Prices for the devices are a bit outrageous for fitness watch. However, many users who just want fitness watch and don't care for smartwatch features; also don't think about price per tech. I personally buy Garmin only on discount. As for HR accuracy, I suspect the minor difference can be due to power management. It is possible Garmin try to save battery power and sensors are not fully powered. This can result in lower accuracy. Of course this is just speculation. I personally have have had major issue with HR on Epix (Gen 2). This issue tend to occur when another bluetooth device is connected. I can toggle the HR accuracy to be correct (bluetooth device off) and inaccurate (bluetooth device on). At first, I thought it was firmware bug. I have report this to Garmin. And many on Garmin forum also has similar issue. However, it is now 1.5 years and not fixed. So it seems like it is not a bug. So I suspect (but no data to support this) is how Garmin try to reduce power consumption for battery savings.

I have Garmin Epix Gen 2. The advantage of Garmin is battery life. My personal issue with Garmin is firmware bugs and issues. As for your use case: It makes no difference for cycling, because you already have Edge + HR sensor. Garmin watch data will just be ignored. Then if you want a fitness watch for other activities (such as strength training), you want to look at details on that. Garmin strength training support is very weak and difficult to use. I gave up. I don't even bother tracking various sets, reps, weights, etc. I have not used AW since AW5, so I don't know how their strength training is.

> there are almost no software bugs That's a laugh. I have a SW or Firmware bug from Feb 2023. It has been reported on Epix, Fenix, and FR series. Never fixed. And I don't expect it to be fixed. Many have reported to Garmin. Garmin's response in my case was to offer replacement (refurbished unit). Same issue on refurbished unit. So it is not isolated to HW but due to SW or Firmware. But if the unit works for you, then great. Congrats and enjoy.

Depends on your expectation. For me, the must have requirement is accurate sleep duration tracking. But depending on the user, the device, and your sleep habits, it might or might not be accurate even doing this. I had Vivoactive 4. I typically sleep around 7 hours. And devices thinks I slept on y 3-4 hours. When I wake up, the device doesn't know I woke up and continue to track sleep. Now I have Epix Gen 2. At least it gets the sleep duration relatively correct. People who have kids will have problem. Let's say you go to sleep at 10pm. Then at 1am, you wake up for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The watch will sometimes start counting sleep after 1am. And same in the morning. If you wake up at 4am for some time and then go back to sleep, it won't track the sleep after 4am. As for the sleep stages, forget it. That is completely BS. The sleep score and body battery are also completely BS. There are times I wake up refreshed and sleep score is low. And other days I didn't get a good sleep, but sleep score is high.

I had AW 3 and AW 5 stainless steel. Because I moved to Android phone, I switched to Garmin vivoactive 4 and then Epix Gen 2. This is my take. If your old watch is out of battery, and you need to buy a new one, switch and try it out. But if your old watch works and meet your needs, don't bother switching. Garmin advantage is battery life. If you find AW battery insufficient, then switching makes sense. However, Garmin disadvantage is extremely buggy hardware/firmware/software. For 1+ years, I have intermittent low HR at start of activity; still not resolved. Every few weeks, device will lock up and needs to be rebooted. In my 2 years using these devices, I was forced to hard reset device around 3 times. Hard reset means all settings are lost. Garmin doesn't have backup like AW. It takes me around 1+ hour to re-setup my device, particularly the workout data screen customization.

Second the Fenix. There’s also some good deals on last gen Epix out (which is basically Fenix with a brighter display) for OP’s budget.

1-2 gen old garmin fenix should be around that much new old stock, or see if you can find a refurb epix 2. I used an Apple Watch 4 before I got the epix 2. It’s fine for heart rate and mileage if that’s all you want. In fact any watch that has a hr monitor will be fine for basic training.

Well then, LFG! 🥳 Fenix 6 Pro in 2019 —> Epix 2022 —> Fenix 8 51mm AMOLED 2025. Each watch was better than the prior (though the F6 performs flawlessly still for my adult son) and I have zero complaints about any of them. People who get frustrated are way more likely to vent on Reddit, I’ll bet. I also think the whole new user interface starting with F8 has prompted posts, either people left behind with the old UI or people who hate change fussing about the new UI. I thought the old UI was fine and the new UI is better - boring take really. Speaking of boring, I’m not going to post a boring update like: use my Garmin every day, it performs perfectly, and I charge it once per month. But I’ll bet there are a lot of people like me out there who just don’t say much.

Like many others, I also switched from AW to garmin when I started training more seriously. Initially, I had epix2 47, now I have fenix8 51. I am not sorry. AW could track my pilates and running sessions, but its HRM was prone to errors (often showing my HR to be 240 and on one memorable occasion 283bpm), skiing sessions were tracked well, but I would run out of battery in about 6hours on the mountain with the AW. My fenix lasts for about 16 days with AOD and daily activity tracking of about 1hr every day. Recently, we went to the dolomites for a week, I charged my fenix once in the whole week and it was tracking activity (skiing) for 8-9hours every day. I honestly do not miss the smartwatch features of AW, but YMMV. I mean Garmin also notifies me of calls, messages, notifications, emails … It does not unlock my iPhone, iPad or Mac, though. Both AW and Fenix have nfc payments, they both integrate with different sports apps, they both have offline music, they both have fall detection, but garmin does not do emergency satellite calls. My iPhone does, though, so again, I am not bothered. Fenix is much more expensive, than the regular AW. I have never owned AWU, so cannot comment. Up to you. For me, being a data nerd, Garmin provides so much more data about my body and training that I do not see myself going back. I have gifted my AW to my daughter and never looked back. I do not miss it one bit.

Happy owner of an F6Solar 47mm for almost 5 years, delighted with the Mips screen and an autonomy of 14 days, I missed the integrated maps and substantial improvements in sleep control and lack of nap monitoring. 2 months ago I bought from a friend the Epix 2Gen 47mm with Amoled screen, and maps that, without training, the battery lasts 8 days and although I don't need more and I am satisfied with its features, I feel that I want more autonomy for my weekend getaways, where I monitor//route tracking//GPS...it needs more autonomy. My wrists are not wide, the 47mm fits well but I would often like to buy a 51mm Epix 2 pro. This new f8 has more than double the range of my epix 2, that would fit but the price….the price is inaccessible.

43 is tiny , even the standard 47 does more than that

even the 47mm should be getting like 8-10 with aod ON.