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Smart watch?

How many of you are running smart watches? I’m considering the Garmin Felix 6x but I’m wondering how much I’d use it? I see the altimeter having some value while elk hunting but the Suunto Core I had years ago was so inaccurate it wasn’t usable. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Currently just running a Citizen Diver so anything would be “smarter”.

I use the Garmin Instinct. Much cheaper option with many of the same features. I paid $160 I think on amazon on a sale. Really like the fact I can pair it with my Inreach device, set waypoints, etc and serves as an emergency GPS in a pinch. Altimeter seems to work pretty well on it. Alerts for sunrise/set, etc. Would definitely buy it again. I pair mine up with my Alpha dog collar for bird hunting as well, really like it for that.

Instinct Solar here. Brotsky covered it well. I go about 20 days between charges, sometimes less sometimes more. I think the solar option really helps with that.

How long do the non solar watches run without charging or battery change?

Depends upon how you are using them really Bowfreak. Minimal GPS usage mine goes for at least a week or longer (mine is non-solar). If you use the GPS frequently you may need to recharge every other day or even sooner if you use it continuously.

As long as I calibrated my Garmin instinct altimeter every morning it was accurate through out the day. I found my self using the watch so much hunting and even for different things through out the year as a smart watch I just upgraded to the Fenix 6 saphire. When I used my instinct in ultratac gps mode and tracked my self all day while hunting then just using it as a watch in evening and night I would charge it every other day. It wasn't dead but probably didnt have enough juice to track another full day. The fenix 6 is supposed to last about 5 days in the ultratrac mode. mine are non solar. If I am just using them as a smart watch they easily last 2 weeks.

Dumb question, but how do you use it for hunting? Does it really matter what the elevation is? can you set a point on it (in the mountains) and have it take you there? Or get you back out? I am in need of a new running watch to keep track of time, distance and pace, but if I can find one that would help with hunting I would love that. Thanks!

I have one of the Garmins ... to be honest, I don't use it. It's heavy, and not really more useful than a regular watch. It loses connection to my phone frequently. The interface (buttons on the side) is really not either intuitive or user-friendly. Adding apps is a drag, and ... well, you have better things to spend money on, IMO. (And I wanted to like it -- I did!)

I've been running Garmin smart watches for over 15 few years and my last 2 purchases have been certified refurbished. I'm an endurance athlete and use mine for training daily. I've had 4 watches in those years. Two I sold and bought the latest and greatest at retail and learned my lesson. Then I broke one and phoned Garmin and they asked if they could replace it for a "crash fee" with a refurbished one of the same model. (Forerunner 630) I used that watch hard and it was flawless. But alas, I lost it on a trip and purchased a "certified refurbished" Fenix 5. I've had it for 9 months, I really like it. You'd never tell these watches from new ones.

I have one of the Garmins ... to be honest, I don't use it. It's heavy, and not really more useful than a regular watch. It loses connection to my phone frequently. The interface (buttons on the side) is really not either intuitive or user-friendly. Adding apps is a drag, and ... well, you have better things to spend money on, IMO. (And I wanted to like it -- I did!)

Deertick, I hear what you are saying. I guess for me, I use the watch as a tool and eliminate all the bs "smart watch" features. I don't like to get notifications like texts, weather etc on it. I turn that off. I hate the activity tracker feature (I know when I'm active, I don't need a watch to tell me that I'm active or that I've been sitting for an hour, I know.) Mine is used for training purposes (heart rate, cadence, timer, intervals, pace per mile). It stays on my wrist all the time, even when hunting, but if I want gps features, I use a proper gps (or phone haha). If I want the weather, I get my phone out. For daily use, my watch is just a watch, used for telling time. But if you are using it for training, Garmin is the really good. If I didn't do endurance sport, don't think I'd need one for hunting purposes.

"Dumb question, but how do you use it for hunting? Does it really matter what the elevation is?"

Instead of setting a waypoint and draining battery using GPS. I just know the direction I need to go, the distance and the elevation i should be at when i get there. I can see all of these things just with a glance at the watch face. Very easy way to navigate.

"can you set a point on it (in the mountains) and have it take you there? Or get you back out?"

You can also save points to navigate back to, or project a waypoint to goto. or you can record your track and navigate that saved track back to the starting point or fallow it later in the same direction.

I have been using a suunto for years but am eyeballing the Garmin Tactix Delta

Big fan of my Instinct Solar. Even wear it under my bunker gear and have no issues with it training, etc.

I hear the new Apple Watch will have more features.

I prefer stupid watches that look smart

Gil, I just upgraded from a Garmin Venu Sq2 to the Enduro 3. Considered the Instinct 2 but the battery life is stupid long on the Enduro 3 (fully charged is like 38 days.....but depends on what is being used) and I have maps as well as compass. Not cheap but has what I want and I use it daily. If you don't need the longer battery life, and maps (not sure about which watches have compass or not) the the Instinct is a great cheaper option. The enduro is cheaper than the finex 8 and has the same software....just no dive calculator and speaker.

I’m pretty good with my Instinct 2S (S is for Scrawny), except for the fact that it keeps nagging me to lower my BMI…

I lost my cell phone on the weekend chicken hunting out of cell service with my daughter. Only realized it about 20 mins later. Didn't know if it fell off the quad or what. Tried retracing the miles we went and found a spot I took off after a chicken. Thankfully my Apple Watch has the ability to "Ping" the phone and I pinged it and found it. Was an unusual bonus to wearing the Apple Watch lol.

I've got the Garmin 7 Solar and really like it. It couples with Strava and I can log all bike rides, walks, hikes, etc with it. Also like the other features it has.

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