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Garmin Fenix 5X

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=Which Version?=

There are four versions of the Fenix 5, one of which is branded as the ~~Forerunner~~ [[Garmin 935]]. ~~(The~~ You can think of the 935 is a plastic bodied Fenix 5 for $100 less.)

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Within each model, there are choices of wristband type, with a metal wristband adding $150 and sapphire glass adding $100. There are also a number of color choices, though the 5X is only available in gray. So, which to buy? I'd recommend getting the [[Garmin 935 ]] as it's cheapest. The only reasons to buy the Fenix version are if you need the full color maps ~~(5X), you want the Fenix look, or you want the smaller size~~ of the 5S5X. Of course, with the release of the Fenix 5, you can get the [[Garmin Fenix 3]] at a lower cost. The [[Garmin Epix ]] is also worth considering as it has the maps of the 5X~~, but Garmin has stopped releasing firmware updates~~ and ~~it's nowhere near as attractive~~most of the other functionality.

'''<br/>There are credible reports that the smaller Fenix 5 and 5S models are having issues with sensor support. The reports suggest that Ant+ connectivity is poor, as well as some suggestions that the Bluetooth range is more limited than it should be. '''

=The Big Questions=

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]]. For a walkthrough on adding Stryd, see the section towards the end of this article.

=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(Garmin watch straps always seem poor to me.) I find the weight of the Fenix 5X to be quite intrusive at times. I suspect it's the combination of the size and weight, as the thickness of the watch puts some of the weight further away from your body. When I swap between the Fenix 5X and the 935, the weight difference is quite dramatic. 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.

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=Configuration=

Most of the configuration of the Fenix 5X is done directly in the watch, but there are aspects that have to be done via either the website, the smart phone app, or the PC (Garmin Express.) The main thing that you can't do on the watch itself is configure Connect IQ apps, watch faces, and data fields. The configuration on the watch is fairly intuitive, but the sheer number of configuration options can be a little bewildering, and if you have to do a factory reset, you have to apply all configuration changes again from scratch. While that's a bit of a pain, it's rarely a problem in practice, and more than made up for bite the ability to configure the data shown during a workout without needing an Internet connection. Even better, you can configure the data shown during the workout actually during the workout itself. I find that surprisingly useful; just today it turned a little warm, and I was able to reconfigure my display to show the current temperature. It's not obvious (or it wasn't obvious to me) but you can copy a sports mode so that you can have multiple configurations for different types of work out. That way you can have a run based work out for easy runs, long runs, into full training, etc. this is rather nice, especially with the [[Stryd]] Footpod providing accurate pace information, which makes the pace alerts especially valuable. There is a limit that only allows two Connect IQ data fields, so having multiple workout types are allows you to have different combinations for different types of training.

=Connect IQ=

''Main article: [[Connect IQ]]''

Garmin's Connect IQ allows for the creation of apps to run on Garmin's running watches in much the same way you can run apps on Android or and iPhone. I've found the Connect IQ apps to be really valuable, only starting to see the number of apps explode, and the quality of the best apps has become remarkable. Many of the third-party apps are better than the Garmin developed apps, and significantly better than the built-in functionality. Below are two of my favorite watch faces, "ActiFace" and "MinGear" along with two of my favorite data fields "Single Field" and "Flexirunner".

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|[[File:Single Field 1.png|center|thumb|200x200px| I find myself using "Single Field" more often than any other. It puts a lot of data on the screen in a nice, usable fashion. There is a lot of customization with this data field, and the display uses color to show heart rate and cadence out of range. Search for "Single Field" by "lcj2" to find it.]]

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As a tangent, Garmin gives us this heart rate graph widget, which color codes zone, shows heart rate, along with the minimum and maximum in the time window, so why can't we have something similar built in to the activity data screens?

[[File:Fenix 5X 02.png|center|thumb|200px|]]

=Activity Tracking=

The Fenix 5X has a similar activity tracking support to most of the rest of the range of recent Garmin watches. The biggest problem I find with the Fenix 5X is an activity tracker is simply its physical size and weight, and I'd much rather have a smaller watch for wearing 24 hours a day. The Fenix 5X will track various aspects of your daily activity:

* '''Workouts'''. Obviously, the Fenix 5X will track your runs, and will integrate that information into an overall picture of your daily activity levels.

* '''Steps'''. The step counting in the Fenix 5X is comparable to other devices. When you're walking or running its pretty accurate, but there are other situations where it's a genuinely ambiguous as to whether you are taking steps or not, such as preparing food in the kitchen. I found that the Fenix 5X recorded a very similar number of daily steps as other Garmin devices I wore on the other wrist, which gives me some confidence in their consistency at least.

* '''Floors Climbed'''. The Fenix 5X, along with a number of other recent Garmin watches, use the barometric altimeter to determine when you're going up or down steps. This is a rather nice idea, but the accuracy seems to be rather poor. I find the Fenix 5X will report a different number of steps ascended to descended, even though I've never used an elevator on those days. There's also a significant discrepancy between Garmin watches worn concurrently.

* '''Intensity minutes'''. It's not clear how Garmin calculates "intensity minutes", but it seems to use heart rate to determine intensity, with high levels of intensity counting as a multiplier on the actual number of minutes. I've seen some strange discrepancy in intensity minutes when using the optical heart rate monitor, which is not surprising given the accuracy issues. I suspect that changes in the heart rate zone also impact intensity minutes, but the lack of transparency in this calculation makes it hard to evaluate.

* '''Sleep'''. The estimation of sleep can be a little flaky on occasions, but overall it seems to do a reasonable job. It's hard to verify the estimation of sleep, other than checking if the bedtime and rising time seem reasonable. I'm not convinced by the Garmin estimate of how much deep and light sleep you are getting, and I tend to ignore that information as suspect. I have noticed that changing time zone can really mess up the sleep calculation, but hopefully Garmin will resolve this at some point.

* '''Resting Heart Rate'''. It's unclear how Garmin determines the value for resting heart rate, as this is not simply the lowest heart rate that it records overnight. The value it records seems a little higher than I would expect, and I've seen some discrepancies when I'm wearing the Fenix 5X and the Garmin 935 concurrently. I keep an eye on the reported resting heart rate, as this is a potential red flag for Overtraining or other health problems, but I'd only be concerned if I see a consistent rise over several days.

* '''Move IQ'''. Garmin will estimate when you're performing an activity even if you've not explicitly recorded it. So, if I walk the dog, which I don't add to my training log, Garmin will automatically detect this as an activity.

* '''Feedback'''. The area where Garmin really shines as an activity tracker is the feedback and inspiration that they provide. The Connect IQ watch faces can provide an overview of your weekly activity and how today is comparing with other days, which I find is a good way of motivating myself to get moving. Watch faces also provide a progress bar for how close you are to your daily step goal, though I wish that they'd implement some way of seeing your continued progress after you've hit the goal. Some days I can reach several times in my minimum goal, and it would be nice to see this visually. There are also a number of firework displays the watch gives when you hit your goal. These little firework displays could be considered cheesy or annoying, but I found over time that I really appreciate the little bit of positive feedback. You can also get more information on your activity by scrolling through the widgets on the watch, as well as a vast array of information and visualization on both the Garmin Connect smart phone app and their website.

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|[[File:Fenix 5X Activity08.png|none|thumb|300px|This display of the daily steps is nice, and the purple bar for Tuesday is showing that I didn't hit my goal that day (I was on airplanes most of the day.) I like this display, but the Connect IQ watch faces do it a little better.]]

|[[File:Fenix 5X Activity07.png|none|thumb|300px|There is a similar display for the distance traveled, which is very accurate for the distance covered with activities that use [[Stryd]], moderately accurate for those activities with GPS, and pretty vague if you just using the step counter.]]

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|[[File:Fenix 5X Activity05.png|none|thumb|300px|This chart is one of the few places that show both floors ascended and floors descended. In my case, any mismatch is indicative of an error, as I don't use an escalator.]]

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=Training Advice (Firstbeat)=

The Fenix 5X gives several types of training advice, and I'm rather skeptical as to their value. As George Box once said "[[All models are wrong| all models are wrong, but some are useful]], and for the Fenix 5X, and I'm not convinced the underlying models are good enough to be of practical benefit. Most of the training advice comes from software produced by [[Firstbeat]], and it relies heavily on accurate heart rate information. The optical heart rate monitor built into the Fenix 5X will degrade any of this training advice, so if you're interested in using this information, I'd recommend doing all of your training with an external, chest based heart rate monitor. In some cases, you also need to have your [[Maximum Heart Rate]] set correctly, which requires you to have it tested not estimated.

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|[[File:Fenix 5X 06.png|none|thumb|200px|I've found the Firstbeat estimate of VO2max is generally pretty good for me, though it's no substitute for a true test. Changes in this VO2max estimate are used by other Firstbeat training metrics.]]

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|[[File:Fenix 5X Training Effect.png|none|thumb|200px|After each workout you'll see a display showing the training effect. This training effect is highly biased towards intensity rather than duration, as the quote from the Firstbeat paper indicates: "TE assessment considers continuous high intensity exercises with long duration to be the most effective".]]

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|[[File:Fenix 5X 03.png|none|thumb|200px|I've found the training status information to be singularly unhelpful. It tells you whether your fitness at the load are going up, down, or staying the same, but gives you no indication as to what you should do about it. The help pages on the Garmin website gives some indications, such as "You can try increasing your training load to see improvement" for "detraining", but this should really be included with the watch itself. This Firstbeat training status uses both your predicted VO2max, and your training load changes as inputs to their calculations.]]

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|[[File:Fenix 5X 08.png|none|thumb|200px|The recovery time estimate is one of the more actionable bits of information, giving you an explicit instruction as to how you should train the next day. Sometimes this is useful, but all too often it gives me poor advice, including "train normally" after a brutally hard workout. The recovery time takes into account previous recovery time from prior workouts, so it's not looking at a workout in isolation.]]

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|[[File:Fenix 5X 05.png|none|thumb|200px|The training load is the weekly total of Firstbeat's EPOC values for all activities. EPOC is more of a measure of intensity, so this value is biased towards higher intensity workouts. It's unclear how the zones are calculated, but I'm assuming it's comparing the current value to historical norms. (EPOC is Excessive Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption, a measure of how much your metabolism is raised by a workout.)]]

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|[[File:Fenix 5X 07.png|none|thumb|200px|After the first 5-20 minutes of a workout you'll get an estimate of how recovered you are. The number reflects the change in the current estimate of VO2max from your baseline, so in this case it thinks my VO2max has dropped to 50. I've rarely seen any correlation between this value and how well I've recovered.]]

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|[[File:Fenix 5X 01.png|none|thumb|200px|Two minutes after you pause an activity, you'll get a report on how your heart rate has dropped. This can be a useful measure of how hard a workout has been, as a smaller drop suggests greater fatigue, though it's also influenced by fueling and heat.]]

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=Navigation=

The Fenix 5X has the best navigation features of any watch I've tested. Not only does it include full color maps, just like the [[Garmin Epix]], but it can even function like a typical satellite navigation system found in a car. He is a quick rundown of the features:

* Full Color Maps. The Fenix 5X has preloaded maps of the US, and it's possible to download other maps (see details on the [[Garmin Epix| Epix review]]).

* Breadcrumbs. During an activity, you will see where you've run as a breadcrumb line on the map. This allows you to backtrack or navigate a circular route that joins up with your earlier route.

* Point of Interest. There preloaded lists of points of interest, allowing you to navigate to the nearest coffee shop, grocery store, restaurant, hospital, or whatever else you might need. You get turn by turn instructions, and you don't need any type of smart phone or network connectivity for this to work. This functionality is not available during a run.

* Back to start. During go run, you can ask the Fenix 5X to navigate you back to your starting point, something Garmin calls "TracBack".

* Courses. You can set up a course you like to follow and downloaded to the Fenix 5X and then follow that course during your run. I've found that incredibly useful when running ultras in situations where navigation is tricky. For instance, running along the trail that enters a campsite is a situation where it hard to know which trail to follow, or if you're on the right path as you leave the area. Another situation is where you are on a trail that has no turnoffs, so the organizers don't bother putting course markers out. This can be really unnerving, as you can't be sure there wasn't a turnoff that you missed, and having preloaded course brings a lot of peace of mind.

* Compass. The compass provides useful navigation advice in some situations. With the GPS alone, you sometimes have to move a distance to be able to know the orientation of the map and reality, so a compass and give you your initial starting direction. I've had a number of runs in unfamiliar places where this is proved quite valuable.

* Altimeter. Occasionally, an altimeter can provide valuable navigational insight, though typically you need a good topographical map to get much value from it. Knowing your current altitude can tell you if should you should be going up or down in order to reach a specific location.

=Sensor Support=

The supports a vast array of different sensors and accessories. It's the first Garmin watch to support Bluetooth sensors in addition to Ant+ sensors, which opens up some new devices. The [[Connect IQ]] also makes the Fenix 5X extensible, allowing companies to add support for their devices themselves, rather than having to negotiate with the Garmin. We've seen this with both [[Moxy]] and [[Stryd]], proving the real-world value of this approach. Below are the various supported sensors and accessories, along with the results of my testing.

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