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* '''How far did I run?''' This is the most basic question, and the Fenix 5X has rather mediocre [[GPS Accuracy]]. For me, this amount of error in the distance would be unacceptable. For instance, on a 20-mile [[Long Run]] you could see an error of nearly a mile, which is enough to really mess up your training. The good news is that the Fenix 5X has great support for the [[Stryd]] footpod that gives awesome accuracy.
* '''How fast am I running?''' Knowing how fast you're running can be a nice to know, or it can be vital for your training or race performance. Because of the nature of GPS, watches that rely on GPS signal alone tend to have serious problems with current pace. The poor GPS accuracy of Fenix 5X tends to exacerbate this, with readings fluctuating by over a minute/mile regularly and up to two minutes/mile occasionally. So, if you want pace information you need to get a [[Stryd]] footpod.
* '''Where am I? '''The Fenix 5X has about the best navigation options available. The headline feature is the full color, preloaded maps. On top of this, there is a breadcrumb display of where you've been, the ability to load predefined courses, navigation to waypoints, backtracking your course, a magnetic compass, and an altimeter. A larger display would be nice, and I'd love to have this functionality with the [[Suunto Spartan Ultra]]'s high resolution display and touchscreen, or the [[Leikr1Leikr]]'s huge display, but the Fenix 5X does pretty well.
* '''What's my cadence? '''[[Cadence]]''' '''is one of the most critical and often overlooked aspects of running. If you get your Cadence right, many other things naturally fall into place. The Fenix 5X will get [[Cadence]] from its internal accelerometer, as well as from a Footpod, or the [[Running Dynamics]] heart rate strap/pod. There are alerts for Cadence, which is great, and even a metronome feature. I don't think it comes any better than this.
=The Fenix 5X for Ultrarunning=
The Fenix 5X claims 20 hours of battery life, and I tested it under optimal conditions and managed to get 23 hours. That's tough to achieve in the real world, as you have to avoid using the map display, backlight, or changing the display too often. With the map display in constant use, I was still able to achieve the rated 20 hours, which is pretty good. This makes the Fenix 5X a great candidate for shorter races (50 miles/100k). But if you hope to be still moving during the [[Second Dawn]], then there are probably better options. You can charge the Fenix 5X on the run, but the position of the charging cable means you can't wear the watch while you're doing so (unlike the [[Garmin Fenix 3]].) See [[Best Running Watch#Watches for Ultrarunning| Watches for Ultrarunning]] for more details.
=Stryd Support=
''Main article: [[Stryd]]''
As noted above, while the Fenix 5X has poor GPS accuracy, even the best GPS watch is still not good enough for accurate pacing. The answer currently lies with [[Stryd]] and extremely accurate Footpod that can measure distance and pace far better than GPS. The Fenix 5X has the best level of Stryd support, and will allow you to have all the accuracy of Stryd for pace and distance while having GPS active. This allows you to maintain all of the navigation features of the Fenix 5X, as well as recording a GPS track for later use. You can even get an estimate of your [[Running Power Meters| Running Power]] from Stryd via a [[Connect IQ]] data field. I'd strongly recommend getting a [[Stryd]] Footpod to go with your Fenix 5X. If that's too expensive, I'd argue that you're much better off getting the Stryd and saving money by getting a cheaper watch like the [[Garmin Fenix 3]].
=Physical Characteristics=
The Fenix 5X is a big watch, and it's larger than I'm comfortable with as a 24 hour/day activity tracker. However, on the run it fells okay even on my diminutive wrists. The watch straps rotate where they connect to the watch body, unlike the Polar V800 where they extend from the watch body and therefore don't conform as well. The materials are excellent quality, and while it doesn't have the simplistic elegance of the [[Suunto Spartan Ultra]] it's still very nice. The exposed bolt heads make the Fenix 5 look rugged and sporty, though it's a bit fussy visually. The only thing that feels a little cheap and tacky is the watch strap itself on the cheapest version. It's nothing like the silky smooth and soft watch material that Suunto use. The display is reasonable, but when you compare it to the [[Suunto Spartan Ultra]] it seems a little small and low resolution. Given that the Fenix 5X is larger than the Fenix 5, I would've expected a larger display, but that's not the case. I suspect that the Fenix 5X is larger to allow for more memory for the maps, or perhaps more battery, though this is purely speculation.
* '''Bluetooth Footpod. '''Bluetooth Footpod's are not quite as standardized as one would like, so there are more issues here. I tested with the Polar Stride Sensor, Adidas Speed Cell, and [[MilestonePod]] and they all worked fine except for one common problem. If you set the distance to "always" the calibration factor is ignored when you're running outdoors. The calibration factor is used when GPS is off in treadmill mode. This is not a problem with Ant+ Footpod's. (See below for [[Stryd]] Footpod.)
* '''Bluetooth Biking devices (Speed, Power)'''. I've not tested any of these devices as I'm a runner, not a cyclist.
* '''Ant+ Heart Rate Monitor'''. Both the old style of Garmin heart rate monitor and the newer [[Garmin Running Dynamics]] heart rate monitor both worked perfectly. (See below for notes on the [[Wahoo TICKR Run]].)
* '''Ant+ Footpod'''. Unlike the Bluetooth equivalent, the Ant+ Footpod worked fine. (See below for [[Stryd]] Footpod.)
* '''Ant+ Tempe'''. Even though the Fenix 5X has an internal thermometer, it also supports their external temperature sensor that's the same form factor as their Footpod. Being an external pod, it's a lot more accurate than the internal temperature sensor that's heavily influenced by your body heat.
* '''Wahoo'''. The [[Wahoo TICKR Run]] is a little unusual in that it also supports both Bluetooth and Ant+. Rather like [[Garmin Running Dynamics]] heart rate monitor, it's also capable of gathering rather more data than a typical heart rate monitor though you really need the smart phone app to make use of it. I found that the Fenix 5X would find the one who twice, once as a Bluetooth device and once as an Ant+ device. Pairing both ways seemed to cause some issues with the Fenix 5X connecting to the Wahoo at the start of the run, though it's possible this was either a user error on my part or just an oddity. Even stranger, the Fenix 5X would try to pair up with the one who is a Bluetooth Footpod, but I could never get anything to work in this mode.
* '''Stryd'''. Like the Wahoo, the [[Stryd]] Footpod is both Bluetooth and Ant+, but it's also both a Footpod and a power meter. I found it best to pair as just an Ant+ Footpod.
One nice feature of the Fenix 5X is that you can rename the sensors from something meaningless like "2675" to "Stryd". This is really nice if you have several heart rate monitors or Footpods.
==Heart Rate Monitors & Running Dynamics==
In addition to the built in Optical HRM (see below), the Fenix 5X supports an external heart rate monitor. I found that this support worked fine, and I'd argue that you need an external HRM to get the benefit of any of the Firstbeat features of the Fenix 5X. In addition to the usual display of heart rate, the Fenix 5X will show a colored meter, and you can download various [[Connect IQ]] data fields that will show a graph of your heart rate. (I've no idea why this isn't a standard feature, as a graph of altitude is built-in.)
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Fenix 5X HRM Gauge.png|none|thumb|200px|A simple heart rate Gauge; it's pretty but not much more use than a simple data field.]]|[[File:Fenix 5X HRM Graph1.png|none|thumb|200px|Garmin's Heart Rate Graph is a [[Connect IQ]] data field and rather crude.]]|[[File:Fenix 5X HRM Graph2.png|none|thumb|200px|Here's the Heart Rate Graph in a smaller field. ]]|[[File:Fenix 5X HRM Altimeter.png|none|thumb|200px|This is the build in altitude graph, showing that Garmin can do better. ]]|}The Fenix 5X will also show data from the Garmin [[Running Dynamics]] heart rate monitor strap, including the Version 2 metrics such as left-right balance.{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"|- valign="top"|[[File:Fenix 5X HRM GCT even.png|none|thumb|200px|One of the more useful Running Dynamics displays is the Ground Contact Time balance; imbalances are never a good thing. ]]|[[File:Fenix 5X HRM GCT off.png|none|thumb|200px|I find this display a little unintuitive as the arrow pointing to the right always makes me think my balance is in the red zone.]]|[[File:Fenix 5X HRM VR.png|none|thumb|200px|The display of Vertical Oscillation, Vertical Ratio, and Stride Length. ]]|}===Heart Rate Variability Recording===Unlike earlier Garmin watches, you can turn on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) recording using a menu action, though the menu is a little buried. There's no HRV recorded when using the Optical Heart Rate Monitor (ORHM), only an external sensor, which makes sense given the issues with OHRM.{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"|- valign="top"|[[File:Fenix 5X HRV (1).png|none|thumb|300px|Under the physiological menu…]]|[[File:Fenix 5X HRV (2).png|none|thumb|300px|… Is the option to turn on HRV logging.]]|}The Fenix 5X will record [[Heart Rate Variability]] (HRV) and export it in FIT format. This can be processed in [https://runalyze.com Runalzye] or other similar software. There's no real-time display of HRV, but that functionality is pretty rare. [[File:Fenix 5X HRV Runalyze.jpg|center|thumb|700px|HRV from the Fenix 5X in RUNALYZE]]==Stryd, Footpods & Cadence==The Fenix 5X has first-rate support for the [[Stryd]] Footpod (see above), and also supports the standard [[Footpod]]'s. A standard Footpod will give better Cadence accuracy than the built-in accelerometer but to the Fenix 5X does a remarkably good job, and easy generally within a few steps per minute. The Fenix 5X also features a metronome to help improve your cadence, another really nice feature.{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"|- valign="top"|[[File:Cadence-Fenix5X-Scatter.png|none|thumb|300px|Scatter graph of Fenix 5X Cadence against a footpod.]]|[[File:Cadence-Fenix 5X-Scatter.png|right|thumb|300px| Distribution of errors for the Fenix 5X Cadence against a footpod.]]|}==Temperature Sensor==The Fenix 5X has an internal temperature sensor, which is a nice feature, but it seems rather inaccurate. As you can see below, the Fenix 5X is reading about 5f to warm, and this seems to be a consistent issue. This problem is exacerbated a little by having a temperature sensor on your wrist where it's affected by your body temperature. [[File:Fenix 5X Temp.jpg|center|thumb|300px|The Fenix 5X showing the temperature from its internal sensor, the Fenix 3 showing the temperature from the [[Tempe]] sensor, and two independent room thermometers. All sensors were left for 30 minutes in a temperature stable room.]]If you're interested in temperature, I'd recommend getting a Garmin [[Tempe]] as an external temperature sensor as it's a lot more accurate. I attach mine to the underside of my hat. {| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"|- valign="top"|[[File:Garmin Tempe (1).jpg|none|thumb|300px|The Garmin Tempe temperature sensor, attached to my [[Running Hats| Running Hat]] for the best reading.]]
|[[File:Garmin Tempe (2).jpg|none|thumb|300px|Her's another view.]]
|}
==Muscle Oxygen Sensor==
Native support for [[Moxy]] is nice to see. Previously you had to either use a [[Connect IQ]] data field or configure Moxy to be a Footpod and have the Muscle Oxygen Saturation in the Cadence field.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Fenix 5X Moxy Sensor (2).png|none|thumb|300px|Moxy pairs as a Muscle O2 sensor, which is far clearer than having it pretend it's a footpod. ]]
|[[File:Fenix 5X Moxy Sensor (1).png|none|thumb|300px|Moxy should be detected like any other sensor with a notification.]]
|[[File:Fenix 5X Moxy Sensor (3).png|none|thumb|300px|There are two Moxy specific data fields you can select.]]
|[[File:Fenix 5X Moxy Sensor (4).png|none|thumb|300px|Here you can see the real time display of both Muscle Oxygen Saturation (which is quite different to [[SpO2|SpO<sub>2</sub>]] and total Hb.]]
|}
Here's my Moxy incorrectly placed; I'd put the Moxy on my right leg with my Fenix 5X on my left wrist, which puts them too far apart and I didn't get a reading.
[[File:Fenix 5X and Moxy.jpg|center|thumb|300px|]]
=GPS Accuracy=
I've tested the [[GPS Accuracy]] of the Fenix 5X with its initial release firmware, and it's possible that its accuracy will improve as the firmware matures. Based on my testing, the Fenix 5X certainly has plenty of room for improvement. At best, the GPS accuracy could be described as mediocre, and I think it's bad enough that it could significantly mess up your training. If you look at the middle, curved section, you can see that the Fenix 5X is doing particularly badly here. This is a challenging section, and reveals any weakness in a GPS watch. The right most segment with the right-angle turn is a section of the most watches do reasonably well on, but the Fenix 5X is struggling here as well. The tracks don't look too bad, you can see that the Fenix 5X is not able to calculate the distance correctly. The Fenix 5X doesn't get too badly confused going under the bridge, actually looks a little better in that area than the two Suunto watches shown for comparison. The blue lap markers are rather widely spread, again giving more evidence of poor GPS accuracy. It's possible that other versions of the Fenix 5 might have different GPS accuracy. It's possible that the plastic 935 might do a little better, but without testing it's impossible to know. (I buy all my test gear through retail channels. This allows me to be brutally honest in my reviews, as I don't need to keep the manufacturer happy in order to continue getting free samples or early access. The downside is that I'm more limited in the array of watches I can test. Therefore, it's unlikely that I will test other versions of the Fenix 5 at this point.) I've tested both the 4.20 and the 4.30 version of the GPS firmware (see below for details.)
As with all the watches I test, I first left the Fenix 5X in its "ready to go" mode with a clear view of the sky for over 30 minutes. This is to ensure that the chipset has ample time to download the almanac from the satellites, which should only take about 12 minutes. I also give the Fenix 5X at least five minutes after it has got a satellite lock before starting my run. This is to give it the best possible chance of having good accuracy. (Like most modern GPS watches, the Fenix 5X will download information on the satellite orbits when it's synced, but this predicted information is not as good as the live for data transmitted by the satellites themselves.)
[[File:Fenix 5X Soaking.jpg|center|thumb|300px|Soaking the Fenix 5X.]]
The tests are with GLONAS off as I've consistently found in prior testing that GLONAS reduces accuracy. I also use smart recording rather than 1-second (as this only changes recording frequency, not the frequency of GPS polling.) Below is a comparison of 1-second and smart recording to demonstrate this. {| class="wikitable sortable"!Device!Accuracy!Trueness!Precision!Repeatability|-|Fenix 5X 4.30 Smart Recording|style="background-color: #FEC97E;"|5.6|style="background-color: #EDE683;"|6.9|style="background-color: #FCA377;"|4.5|style="background-color: #F3E783;"|6.8|-|Fenix 5X 4.30 One Second Recording|style="background-color: #FDBF7C;"|5.3|style="background-color: #E5E382;"|7.1|style="background-color: #FB9073;"|4.0|style="background-color: #FBE983;"|6.6|}Remember that to the overall firmware version number doesn't influence GPS accuracy. You have to look at the GPS firmware number.
[[File:Fenix 5X Firmware.jpg|center|thumb|300px|Here's where the version number of the GPS firmware is located.]]
=Optical Heart Rate Monitoring=