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Garmin Epix 2 Initial Impressions
generalize
The Garmin Fenix line is already the best premium multisport watch on the market. Epix takes this to the next level, giving users a new beautiful AMOLED display. This will attract more mainstream users who want attractive smartwatches and functional multifunctional watches. Garmin also manages to keep battery life at an impressively high level, which should be more than enough for anyone other than serious ultra-endurance athletes or multi-day hikers.
advantage
- Great display and multi-day battery life
- Manage all your settings from your phone
- Improve GPS accuracy
shortcoming
- It’s over £800
- Still using that horrible charging cable
Since I’m not a DC Rainmaker or a big publication, I had to buy Garmin Epix 2 myself, so only have limited time to use it so far.
So this is a partial test with a limited amount and I’ll update as I use the watch more.
Display and touch screen
same as before Phoenix 6 Pro The landlord, the Fenix 7 upgrade is not enough for me to spend so much money. The Garmin Epix 2 is the watch that many Fenix users have been yearning for over the past few years.
Based on the initial positive reviews, I gave up my desire for incredible battery life in favor of the new beautiful screen.
So far I am happy with it. The biggest concern is screen visibility during the day. In the north in January, I didn’t have much opportunity to test this, but in every other setting, the display looked great.
I have to get up early on a Friday for a run and the screen is more visible in the dark. Cloudy during the day, it is also much better than Phoenix.
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Garmin Epix -
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro
Fortunately, with the touchscreen, it automatically disables when you start an activity, which is a smart decision from Garmin. I did notice that the touchscreen activates something in the shower, it just loads some stats, so it’s not a huge problem, but it does highlight some possible issues with the touchscreen.
Garmin Epix 2 vs Fenix 6 Pro – Battery Life
As much as I wish the Fenix 7 had incredible battery life, the reality is I don’t do anything that requires that stamina. Charging every few days is acceptable.
The first day + one night of sleep, Epix dropped from 100% to 79%. This includes enabling always-on display, but it dims during my Do Not Disturb time, and then also using full GPS functionality for 70 minutes.
I was 71% at 1pm the next day, 62% on Sunday morning, and I used GPS for an hour while walking on Saturday afternoon.
Initial impressions are positive, charging the watch every 4 or 5 days has worked for me.
Garmin Epix 2 vs Fenix 6 Pro – GPS Accuracy
I’ve obviously done limited testing, but the results are interesting. The Garmin Epix 2 seems to be a lot better than the Fenix 6 Pro. Phoenix could be having a bad day.
On my first run, Fenix had a lot of problems, while Epix looked almost flawless.
Fenix walks up and down several streets, often cutting into corners where the gardens are. Running down the promenade, Epix has a nice straight line, while Fenix is more wobbly.
Then I cycled three times around a small building on the promenade. Just before this, there was a major issue with the Garmin GPS, and then the loops it plotted were not very accurate.
The end result was that the Epix recorded 6 kilometers and the Fenix recorded 5.96 kilometers. The 0.66% difference isn’t a big deal for me, but it can add up.
I had a similar problem on my second run, above where the Epix tracked the vertical park path perfectly, while the Fenix was a bit messy.
Garmin Epix 2 vs Fenix 6 Pro – Heart Rate Accuracy
On the contrary, from the GPS results, Epix has some problems. I’m worse off with Fenix and Epix on the left and right. The position is about the same height on my wrist and has the same tightness. However, my arms are bony and hairy, and my HR accuracy is prone to fit-based issues.
Epix deviates from Fenix on a few points, but has two notable peaks, where Epix jumps to over 170bpm, while Fenix is around 160bpm.
Continuing with my Tacx Neo smart bike, I use the chest strap on the Fenix and the wrist OHR on the Epix. I wore the watch tight this time around, and overall it did a great job, better than most bike watches.
There were two notable issues with this ride, I had a few short high-power sprints at the end of the ride. My heart rate hit 170bpm with the Fenix, but Epix decided not to record the increased effort. During the second sprint, the Epix actually recorded a drop in my heart rate.
On my second run, I wore a chest strap on the Fenix. In this run, Epix had multiple jumps, but in this case, most of them were just seconds and only a few BPM. So not bad.
Overall, it’s not perfect, but I’ve never found a wrist-based optical heart rate monitor to be ideal. I only use it for walking and all day tracking.
Garmin Epix 2 vs Fenix 6 Pro – Speed and Altitude
Interestingly, there are some discrepancies in the speed and elevation data, which seem to favor the Garmin Epix.
My speed is all over the place on Fenix, and Epix seems to have a more natural graph.
For the Elevation, the Fenix appeared to be about 2 meters taller than the Epix throughout the run. Not that I’m bothered by it.
endurance
Endurance is one of the new first-beat features that could be amazing if it’s accurate. Based on my limited testing, I can’t tell how accurate it is.
However, there are many variables that affect Garmin’s unpredictable stamina. I’ve quit caffeine and have been on a calorie deficit. I also have a knee injury so haven’t been running outside recently. My 6k felt tough at the end, but Epix said I had 78% stamina potential.
map
I don’t usually use that many maps on my watch, it’s just that when I’m running somewhere, I’m not used to it. On the Epix, however, the mapping is much better, and the touchscreen makes a big difference.
With Topoactive Maps installed, you get a detailed map that can be scrolled easily via the touchscreen. There’s some delay in map loading when you’re walking around, but it’s only around a fraction of a second.
Set up sync and device CIQ store
The CIQ store on the device is basic. You get some recommended apps and the ability to manage existing apps. Since all the settings are available in the app, I prefer to manage everything myself.
As for setting sync, this is one of the big upgrades to the Fenix/Epix line. In my opinion, the previous way of doing things was just bad design, so Garmin was just fixing what should already be there.
Having said that, it works as you would expect. Managing your watch is much easier now. At first I was frustrated that you can’t seem to manage your ANT devices through the app, but I was wrong. Once the ANT device is actively paired, if you subsequently rename it on the watch, it will load a dialog to rename the device on your phone. I’m not sure how much this will affect some people, but I have a lot of sensors paired and it can be very confusing if you don’t rename them properly.
Another highlight is the ability to manage active settings including data fields. I always find it very annoying to have data fields set up on the watch. Each screen on Epix can have up to 8 data fields, followed by multiple screens.
comprehensive
The Epix Gen2 is the watch most of us have been dreaming about from Garmin. If you’re semi-serious about fitness and not into ultra-endurance sports, it’s the best watch on the market right now.
It’s the perfect combination of a serious sports watch and a smart watch.
As much as I love Epix, I tend not to keep it. Most of the features are incremental upgrades from the Fenix 6 Pro except for the display, which I personally wouldn’t expect an AMOLED display to cost £800 to upgrade. The Fenix 6 Pro is still an amazing device. While it may not be as fancy as the Fenix 7/Epix, it still has a lot of life and I can probably live with it for another generation.
