Vtbow
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2018
- Messages
- 5,516
i always have a handheld unit in the pack, or boat bag as well. The watch works great for quick glances, setting waypoints on the fly, and navigating when you just dont want to have a full size unit out. It does SOOOO many different things. I had always been a Suunto guy for th elast 25years, feeling I only needed the altimiter, barometer, magnetic compass, and watch/etc. BUT, i've found some of the quick built in ffeatures to be amazing, which you dont get with the handheld. Such as just a "track me" button, with a track back--all with 2 presses of the button. Waypoint marking is quicker, and less clicks, the "Sport" programs are also great, allowing you to view specific metrics that make sense to what your doing. I.e. elevationg gain and loss while hiking, vs. speed when paddling, or pace when running, vs distance and such. They are all programable and customizable.It is a sweet watch for sure. But from what I see on Amazon prices, could get a Instinct Solar and a Montana handheld for similar $.
Of course that watch has both in one.
This can also be paired with your phone like a standard smart watch(which I dont do) but it does allow for some really cool features, for instance. I have a weather app on the watch that simply "pairs" with the cell service of the phone if you have service and will show me real time radar images, weather updates, etc. I can also turn my go-pro hero 4(not sure it works on newer ones) on and off and start/stop recording with it through bluetooth.
Battery life is a little lacking in comparison to my suunto units, but it charges FAST on a little Brunton power pack or solar panel which I carry anyway. I can go 3 days with general GPS use no problem. About weeks with weekend gps use.
One thing that blew the suunto interface away on their gps watches was waypoint marking. You could only use "Shorcut" labels on the Suunto, meaning "Rock" , "Home", Car, "Camp"etc. so you couldnt custom name your waypoints. The interface on the garmin is the same pretty much as their units and allows you to type in (though somewhat slowly) whatever you want for a label. You can also just have it mark by date and time and easily go back and rename afterwards.
Oh, and the Ti bezel and saphire crystal lens are rugged. The saphire is a must, I've beat the crap out of this thing and havent put a single scratch on it.
I'v been SOOOO happy with this watch, and I've been thorugh a lot of "Writstop" computers Starting with a avocet vertech mant, many, many years ago. this is by far the best unit I have had, and the extra $200 I spent on it to buy into the next tier of watches was 100% worth it and already gotten me out of at least one sticky situation(foggy pond mid morning with 2ft of visibility).
Last edited: