Gadget heaven

[yatesco]

So I had an opportunity too good to pass up. Long story short, some unexpected budget, some excellent generosity of Amazon in allowing me to return my 630 after 2 months and I am the new owner of the Fenix 3 (with chest strap).

I didn't actually purchase it from Amazon, I bought it from millets.co.uk/equipment/215...

For £285 it was unbeatable - Amazon's equivalent is around £350.

As a watch it is much heaver (twice the weight?) of the FR23x/630, but it is a thing of beauty. It feels like a good solid lump of engineering where the 23x/630s felt a bit plasticky.

It also has a really useful feature which is you can upload navigational routes (Garmin calls them courses) and the watch will navigate for you.

It looks, acts and feels like a top of the range watch. Love it.

As ever with these things, I am probably only using 10% of its capabilities, but everything it does it does brilliantly well. Even down to assigning 'hot keys' so you can decide what should happen when you press and hold one of the buttons.

So yeah, if you happen to have a big chunk of change hanging around and want a watch that will do more than you could ever ask then millets is ridiculously cheap at the moment. Next day delivery was only £5 and they use DPD which means you can watch the delivery van on a map in real-time. I keep expecting them to issue a price-correction - the HR bundle is cheaper than other retailers are selling the just the watch for.

I also recognise that I am incredibly fortunate to be able to have a watch like this and am very thankful - it rocks :-).

[90ldfinch Graduate]

You could've bought some proper shoes, instead of yer Vibrams (only jokin')

[yatesco Graduate in reply to 90ldfinch]

ha, that made me laugh out loud :-).

I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well they and I are holding up as I am now primarily running on tarmac on the Bradgate Park runs. Well, maybe more like 50/50 but my sprints are all on tarmac.

No pain whatsoever, which is nice :-).

(and I won't tell you how much the Vibrams cost, but yeah, more than I paid for my 'proper' running shoes!)

[Lornia Graduate]

My friend paid £358 for his but reckons it is worth so much more. I've just got my first running watch so will wait a bit before I more up to the heavy duty goods. Enjoy it

[Spongecake7 Graduate]

Wow - that's some watch. What are it's tea making facilities like? 😁

[Sarah-A Graduate]

Ooohh - I likey! I do love a good gadget too. The metal casing looks really good - designer almost. Agreed that the FR range can be a bit plastic-y. What is the weight like compared to your 630?

Let us know how you get on with it after a few runs.

Enjoy!!

[yatesco Graduate in reply to Sarah-A]

It is definitely heavier on the wrist. dcrainmaker.com/2015/03/gar... has it at 82g, the 630 at 42g.

I did notice it when I first put it on, and it is a large watch but I don't notice it now.

The first run with it, I noticed it all the time, but that was because I was following the 10k route around Bradgate Park :-). On yesterday's run I didn't notice the weight.

I recall reading 'the weight isn't an issue, it is heavier but you get used to it. Until mile 48 that is', well, when the only problem I have at mile 48 is the weight of my watch I will be a happy chap!

They really do feel like apples and oranges, and the 630 (and 230/235) are great running watches. This just feels like I could run it over in my car and it wouldn't notice.

[yatesco Graduate in reply to yatesco]

The other really important point (for me) is that the backlight on the fenix is significantly brighter than the 230/630.

When it came out of the box I tried it and thought "hmm, that seems the same, if not a tiny bit dimmer".

Turns out you can adjust it and it was on 10%. 50% is fantastic when I am running in the twilight.

It is also a much more even backlight than the 630.

[Realfoodieclub Graduate]

You lucky man. Can't justify moving on from my 220 at the moment as its great. One thing I like about the Fenix is you can get a waterproof heart rate monitor for swimming, which is something that interests me but in all fairness it would be a luxury I really don't need. Even though I went to decathlon for shoes I needed yesterday and still came home with a top I convinced myself I needed (I dont😃). Have fun with it.

[yatesco Graduate in reply to Realfoodieclub]

I am Realfoodieclub , and very very grateful.

I would be careful about the heart rate monitor for swimming as the ANT+ and bluetooth protocols are utterly useless underwater. Some straps get around this by storing your results on the strap and then syncing with the watch later on.

Garmin may well do that, I'm not sure, but just because they are waterproof DOESN'T mean they will reliably produce a heart rate.

I imagine a swimming-specific chest strap would be fine, but double check :-).

[Realfoodieclub Graduate in reply to yatesco]

Garmin do a specific swimming one but it only works with Fenix watches. Your right I think it stores the data and the syncs with the watch after wards.

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Haha - boys and their toys!

And did your wife throw anything at you or did you manage to convince her you'd actually saved loads of money?

[yatesco Graduate in reply to Ullyrunner]

I think her general response was 'will you finally shut up about running watches now?' :-).

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

But you'll want to keep explaining to her how wonderful its functions are and sharing your stats with her. If only she knew - it's only just beginning!

[yatesco Graduate in reply to Ullyrunner]

After 15 years of marriage, believe me, she knows :-).