UKH

Hi all. Been doing my research and a bit baffled by all the choice, so thought I'd ask for any more recent first hand experiences!

I've got into running/trail running over lockdown, and have just been using Strava to track my runs.

I really want to be able to:

- Track my run

- See what my current pace is

- See elevation

Also be really nice to:

- Be able to grab an OS grid ref from the watch in case my nav skills or phone let me down somewhere remote

Cheers!

Been looking at the Garmin 245

I have the 245, and think it's a lot of watch for your money. However how critical is the accuracy of 'elevation' to you?

The 245 uses GPS to determine elevation rather than a barometer, which makes it less accurate that watches with a barometer. TBH it's near enough for my nav purposes so the extra expense of a barometric altimeter isn't worth it to me, although you might feel differently. 

Apart from a barometric altimeter the 245 will do what you want, and a lot more besides.

Edit: The 245 is probably overkill for what you want.

I kind of like the Garmin instinct as a general watch.

The GPS signal isn't great but for trails its fine. On the roads I can be .2 miles off over 12 miles which makes a difference in road running. But it has a lot of functionality for the cost.

I'm not sure if it provides GR's though.

It does, you can pre load a gps file to follow to, and there's a bunch of other nav features like back to start I've not looked at. Battery seems to last too

Pretty certain OS Grid (shown as 'British Grid' IIRC) is an option on the Instinct

I've got the 245 too and I'm really happy with it. I just do short runs, so no big demands from me.

I also like the general fitness stuff that I didn't think would interest me like steps, and find the wrist based HRM to be at least plausible. It has never yet done anything ridiculous, but I haven't checked it against a chest trap. I hope it's good because it says my resting heart rate is in the low 50s, and I like that.

I'm disappointed by the Instinct battery live (about 15 hours).  I've tried the Ultrtrack GPS function, but the accuracy is terrible.  It does fit the OP's bill though and is a good watch other than the battery life.

Garmin Fenix 5X Sapphire on sportpursuit.com at the moment for £314 which is a total bargain, in fact it’s like you are stealing it at that price.....

I have the Garmin Fenix 5 Sapphire and it is great. I got it for just under 400 quid and reckon it was a bargain so if it is now available for 314 as Sans Plan says, I'd snap it up. 

I plan a route in the OS Maps app then download the route to my watch and navigate off that. Battery life is excellent at about 20 hours in full GPS tracking mode. Altimeter is very accurate  and reliable.

That's fine for me so 16 hrs has worked ok, but I heard the ultra track is basically useless. I only did one 20 hr day last year and I think my mate had a fenix so he added me. 

Yeah I've used the follow track function a few times. Tbh I don't use the functions much, generally just HR and elevation data, total ascent for the day I like.

This - got one at this price just before Christmas it’s been great and the map function has been used more than I thought it would be....being able to draw a route on Strava and import it in seconds is a great feature....and Mrs Fitz likes the live track function when I’m out on the hills especially in the dark winter mornings 

Your post promted me to have a look, found that, but also found it on amazon for 289, if you don't mind dancing with the devil.

Not sure if Sports pursuit is any more ethical than Amazon anyway.

Edit to say that the amazon price is for a refurbished model. People might pfefer to pay the extra 25 for a brand new product

I doubt Garmin are that ethical when it comes to manufacturing either ! 

It's fine if the path reality on the ground matches the map, less so if not!

Garmin Instinct Solar.

I upgraded to one from a forerunner 235 and its awesome. 99% sure it can give you an OS grid reference (it's in the settings I believe).

Use it for walking, running, kayaking, cycling... 

Garmin Fenix - anything from 3 upwards depending on your budget

Another +1 for the Fenix range, absolute monster of a watch especially when it comes to battery life

We have dense forest below 4000ft so it's pretty rare you aren't actually following a trail so it's almost all macro nav.

Does anyone know if the 6 series is that much better than the 5 or is the 5 still a valid option (made more so by this particularly low price)?

I have had a look at the extra features but couldn't really process it all!

I haven’t compared spec for spec but the only reason that I would go for the 6 is the solar models and they are £700+, the 5 series is still a very capable watch, I have only scratched the surface of the 5 functions, the metrics you get from it are amazing, I’m half tempted to go for the 5x at that price as an upgrade from the 5.

Your future proofing yourself by a couple of years with the 6. There are meant to be unresolved issues with the antenna on the 5 that were solved with the 5plus. And the 6.

Maybe not the 5x, but you can read up on it more of you want to. 

https://the5krunner.com/2017/05/25/fenix-5-5s-recall-would-you-do-that-if-y...

I now have a 6 base. (no maps) 

I bought the Fenix 6 Pro because of 36+ hours of GPS, the ability to add decent maps and the general pro-quality ruggedness (having had Garmin watches for 12 years or more, not all still working..). Lots of the features get ignored, I don't want step-counting or stair climbing or calorie counting, but pace pro and climb pro (for biking, not proper climbing) can be helpful. It will also log indoor climbing/bouldering routes and ascribe an exercise effort to them (on the basis of heartrate). The LED heartrate is however useless at running paces, you need to budget for a strap for accuracy. I rate it highly, apart from the fact it has kept my posh watch off my wrist for over a year - during which time it has gained 5 seconds...

Garmin 645Music. £400 watch now £200, Firmware last updated in December.

Mine gives me sunset/rise, music, OS position, weather, navigation, records all sports and has led running workouts with analysis.

Try Argos.

I recently went with the Instinct Solar - you should find it in a sale somewhere within that budget!  Smaller / more compact than the fenix range which I like and the battery life (on paper anyway) is better.  The solar charging does genuinely seem to make a difference.  I ran for 2hrs with the trail run app running (Wrist HR, GPS tracking on "smart" mode, Bluetooth connection to smart phone on) and finished with more charge than I started! (it was a sunny day though!).

Certainly has all of the functions your after, though the OS grid ref option is buried in sub menus so takes a minute to find when you first setup.  

Doesn't have access to Garmin's IQ app store, but you can create custom exercise apps on the watch.

Cheers,

Stu 

I have a Coros Apex, the only thing on your list it doesn't do is give you an OS grid ref, you can get GPS coordinates instead.

The plus points are that the hardware is bomber and the battery life is amazing, I charge it about once every three weeks and that's with heavy usage.

Coros frequently updates the firmware with new features so I'm forever hopeful they'll add OS grid refs, although admittedly I've ever needed it.