The Garmin Fenix 5 is the 5th generation of Garmin’s Fenix multi-sport watch line. Released in 2017, it is packed with a number of useful features.
(5 / 5)
The Bottom Line
- Rugged but subtle design
- 100m water proof (withstands water up to a depth of 100m)
- Batery (according to Garmin):
- Smartwatch mode: up to 2 weeks (depending on features used)
- GPS mode: up to 24 hours
- UltraTrac: up to 60 hours
- Under my use with ~1hr GPS a day about 7-8 days
- Links with phone for a number of features
- Extra features available extra Connect IQ apps
- Wide range of sensors
- Can link with Ant+ / Bluetooth sensors
Purchasing
Which Option?
The Garmin Fenix 5 is available in a number of options:
| Model | Features | Price (according to Garmin) |
| 5s | Smaller size watch | No longer on Garmin website |
| 5 | Regular watch | No Longer on Garmin website |
| 5 /5s Sapphire | Sapphire bezel and WiFi connectivity | £480 |
| 5 x | Larger watch, sapphire bezel, WiFi and Mapping | £520 |
These various models are available directly from Garmin, Amazon, and a number of other online sites, It normally goes for about £350 – £520, depending on which model you go for. You wont necessarily get the best deal at Garmin themselves, as it is an older model, and thus prices are often below the RRP. However, the Garmin website is very helpful as a source of information.
The Fenix 5 is not to be confused with the Fenix 5 plus. This is a later revision of the Fenix 5, and is ultimately a different watch, with a number of different features.
Garmin Fenix 5 features
Hardware Features
- Wrist based heart rate sensor
- Barometric Altimeter / Barometer
- 3-axis compass
- Temperature sensor
- Calories Burned
- GPS/GLONASS/Galileo compatible
- Bluetooth/Ant+ sensor compatible
Heart Rate Sensor
This is Garmin’s Elevate wrist based heart rate sensor. It has been very reliable over the last 2 months of using it; I’ve not had any issues yet, even coping well with being shaken around during my mountain biking. If you want a more accurate sensor, there’s always the option of connecting a Bluetooth / Ant + heart rate sensor.
This is a hugely useful feature for tracking heart rate and effort during a work-out, and it is one of the key features of this watch.
Altimeter & Barometer
These two features both use the barometer in the Fenix 5 both to determine Elevation and Atmospheric Pressure. The altimeter can both self-calibrate using GPS, or can be calibrated manually and tracks changes in elevation (using the barometer) to calculate the altitude. This means it can vary slightly due to changes in atmospheric pressure, but it is normally fairly accurate.
The barometer directly measures the atmospheric pressure, and has a feature called Storm Alert, which can detect a sudden drop in pressure.
Compass
This feature is hugely useful. It is surprisingly accurate, and makes taking rough bearings very easy. Like with the Altimeter it can self calibrate. However, if you’re planning on doing any serious compass navigation, this wont replace an actual mapping compass.
Temperature Sensor
As with the Garmin Instinct, the Fenix 5 comes with a thermometer. Also like the Garmin Instinct, due to its location right by your body, it measures a strange hybrid between ambient temperature and body temperature.
Cadence Sensor
Using the built in accelerometers, the Fenix 5 can track your cadence during running / walking. This also allows it to track your steps walked in a day.
Bluetooth/Ant+ Compatibility
If you want more info about your workouts (power while cycling, more accurate HR monitoring), the Fenix 5 can connect to both Bluetooth and Ant+ sensors.
GPS/GLONASS/Galileo Compatibility
This is one of the best features of the Fenix 5. By offering compatibility with the 3 most common location satellites, the location tracking is very quick and accurate. Having said this, in built up areas, and inside, the watch can take a lot longer to find your location.
Software Features
The Garmin Fenix 5 series also offers a number of software features both for the watch itself, and for your phone.
- Sport specific tracking
- Live-Track
- Navigation features
- Ultratrac
- Lifestyle tracking
- Sleep tracking
- Steps taken and flights climbed
- Calories burned
- Phone features (Music Controls, Notifications, Find my phone/watch, Calender).
- Garmin Apps (Connect, Explore and Connect IQ)
Sport Specific Tracking
While tracking your activities, the Fenix 5 has specific profiles for a number of sports. I use the cycling and hiking options most often, though there are options for almost any sport you’d want to track. This also involves using the heart rate sensor to track your intensity / effort, a useful feature for both pacing and training.
Ultratrac
This is is a battery saving feature which reduces the sample rate of GPS tracking. This has the trade-off of reducing the tracking quality, making it only worthwhile on the very longest expeditions. Even then I’ve half a mind to just bring a portable charger…
Live-Track
Live-track is a feature which allows others to track your location during your activities. When I go out mountain biking on my own, it is great peace of mind to know that if I do get into trouble, someone will always know where I am.
Navigation
On top of the sports tracking features, the Fenix 5 has a number of navigation options. Particularly useful is the ability to input a gpx file or a route into the Garmin Explore App and then follow it on your watch. You can also navigate to a set of coordinates (lat & long), or navigate back to the start of your recording (useful if you get lost).
Lifestyle Tracking
This is the most ‘smart-watchy’ of the Fenix 5’s features, and involves tracking a number of aspects of your daily life.is another feature which has been hugely important for me personally
Sleep tracking involves using your movement at night to track your sleep patterns and amount of sleep.
Like a lot of smart watches, the Fenix 5 can track your steps taken, floors climbed and calories burned for each day.
Phone Features
The Fenix 5 can be connected to iOS and Android devices to allow for a number of features. These include and aren’t limited to: controlling music, displaying notifications, finding your phone / watch if it is lost, and showing your calender. There are also a few apps to be downloaded:
Connect
This is the key app for linking your Fenix 5 to your phone. It displays all your activities, allows you to look at your metrics (sleep time, calories burned etc.), and you can follow other people on Connect to share your activities.
Explore
Explore is key for navigation for your Fenix 5. This app allows you to view past routes, input new routes and way-points to use in navigation.
Connect-IQ
This app allows you to download features (apps, widgets, watch-faces etc.) to your Fenix 5. For example I’ve downloaded a widget that lets me view my location as a OS Grid Reference rather than latitude and longitude.
Strava
The ability to link your Fenix 5 to Strava is, in my opinion, a great feature. I didn’t think I would use Strava much at first. But after using it for a month or two, I have found the motivation it provides hugely helpful. The integration is seamless (as soon as your activity has uploaded to Connect, it automatically goes to Strava). You can also use it for Strava Live Segments.
Model Specific Features
These are the features which differ from model to model.
Fenix 5 Sapphire
This is the version I have, and there are two differences between the Sapphire and the base model.
Wifi Connectivity: This allows your Fenix 5 Sapphire to connect to your WiFi network to download software updates without using Bluetooth and upload activities automatically.
Sapphire Bezel: The bezel is made from sapphire as opposed to toughened glass, making it more scratch-proof.
These are nice features, but don’t affect the user experience much.
Fenix 5X
This is the map version of the Fenix 5 range, and has a number of additional features over the other models.
Actual Maps: The 5x can download and display navigable maps
Larger Watch-face and Screen: To view the maps more easily, the watch-face is larger (51 mm vs 47/42 mm) and higher resolution (240×240 vs 200×200).
Greater Storage: To store the maps, it has 12 GB of storage as opposed to the 64 MB of the other models.
Sapphire Bezel: Like the Sapphire, the 5x has a sapphire bezel.
WiFi Connectivity: Also like the Sapphire, the 5x can connect to WiFi networks
Worse Battery Life: Because of the additional features, the battery life suffers, with about 2/3 the capacity compared to the other models.
The mapping can be a useful feature, especially for just taking a quick glance at your watch to tell where you’re going. This is especially if you’re only taking the Garmin. Having said this, I’ve found that the GPX navigation offered by the other models more than good enough. This is especially true because I always take a paper map / phone regardless, so if the line doesn’t provide enough information, I can always take a look at my phone.
As a result, unless you absolutely need the mapping, or aren’t happy with following a line, I would recommend saving the £40 and getting one of the other models.
Other Thoughts
I’ve had my Garmin Fenix 5 for the last two months (I got it just after lockdown started), and I have used it constantly since then. I have used the tracking features almost every day, either for walking or mountain biking, and it has been hugely helpful. This watch also sets itself apart by having a number of other features like a high-res colour display, or customisable data screens, or live segments.
This watch is also hugely important as a safety device. When I go out on my own (walking, cycling etc.), I always have Live-Track turned on in case something bad happens. Or if I go on a longer expedition into more wild terrain, it is very important to have a way of easily and reliably finding my location.
I am also a huge fan of the design of this watch. It is fairly minimalist, but it still is rugged, with a steel bezel ring and GFRP main body (its also waterproof up to 100m). Even if I never used any of the other features, I would be happy to use the Fenix 5 just as a watch.
Summary
All in all, the Garmin Fenix 5 is a great sports watch, and it can wholly justify its high price-tag, with premium quality and design. It does everything I need and more. Having said this, if you don’t need all of the features, it is possible to get a number of features at a lower price-tag, with a watch like the Garmin Instinct.