Heads up! The big Garmin annual spring sale has started, with $200 off the Fenix 8 (first sale to date!), $100 off the Edge 1050, Forerunner 965 at $499, the Forerunner 265, the new Instinct 3, and countless other Garmin products including inReach Mini 2. Plus the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium is on sale, and some Suunto & Wahoo product deals too. Full list & thoughts here!
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? These companies help support the site! With Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first time users saving 15% on applicable products.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
1
In Depth Product Reviews
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
2
Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
3
Have some fun in the travel section.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
4
My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
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The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2024 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
Hi Ray, since you didn’t mention it in your Podcast or at least I didn’t hear it: Do you have it on your radar that Amazfit is a wearables brand developed and marketed by Huami Technology, a subsidiary of Xiaomi. Because you said that amazfit is “still in his early days” like Coros was. No, these guys belong to Xiaomi, so they are established and they should know how to make wearables (features).
Yup, I’m definitely aware. But their actions (in terms of how they’ve developed features) still act like the COROS early days…even if they aren’t.
Cheers!
Do we know how many charge % do we get on Instinct 3 Solar 50mm compared to 2X under same conditions? How much better are new panels?
I don’t think we have a comparison versus 2X, just 2, which was 5X better battery life than Instinct 2 (in GPS mode).
Though, in the Instinct 2X release, they said it was 50% more solar charging capability than the Instinct 2.
So, I suppose one could triangulate from there.
I’m trying to figure out my exact watch plan for the hike, which I expect will be ~12hrs, of which ~9hrs are daylight and pure sun. Rough thinking:
Left wrist: Instinct 3 AMOLED (optical)
Right wrist: Instinct 3 SOLAR (optical)
Left hand (secondary): Instinct 2X Solar with HR strap
Right hand (secondary): Instinct 2 Solar with HR strap
That would be nice, thanks !
Is there a chance that you keep 2X Solar and 3 Solar (50mm) on the same arm (or 2 Solar and 3 Solar 45 mm)? Maybe I am exaggerating but IMHO the sun exposure would be the closest between the two in that case and you would test the watches with the same case size.
Yeah, I’m mostly indifferent on those pieces, but I agree it makes sense to keep 2X and 3 50mm on the same arm.
Good discussion, with realistic and relevant points.
Finally someone started admitting that Garmin should focus less on product differentiation and more on substance and pricing. Garmin Instinct line had a potential, but Garmin messed it up with Instinct 3. Also good to see you recognize that Amazfit has been quite regularly updating its watches in 2024.
Keep up the good work!
The original Instinct was marketed as indestructible, with, at the time, ridiculous battery life. In 2018, maps weren’t a standard feature; battery life was usually measured in hours, not days.
Now, there’s a pile of Instincts, which are far more expensive (not to mention the confusing SKU pile); even low end watches like the Amazfit Active 2 have maps and enough battery life for anything less than the most adventurous outdoors explorer.
Count me as one of those that went from Garmin to Coros back to Garmin.
FR230 to Pace 2 to FR265 I think. (Great battery, but I was at least a quarter mile shorter in group runs)
Hi Guys,
I went into the Garmin store here in Hong Kong yesterday and they actually had a product number and price for an Instinct 3 Tactical (Black with Black Strap) in both the Solar and AMOLED.
They said it could be ordered now but had no idea on the date I would get it – do you any information out there?
Cheers
Mike
Garmin has already been shipping units since last Friday. Not sure about Hong Kong, but units in the US and I presume Europe have been shipping (as Reddit shows).
Thanks for the reply. Maybe I am misunderstanding, is the all black ‘Tactical’ version of the Instinct 3 already available in the US?
I haven’t been able to find able to find a picture anywhere and the Garmin store here said even they don’t have one yet.
Any chance in the near future for a Instinct 3 Solar Pro version?
With the 5the gen. HR sensor and maybe grayscale maps?
I hope Garmin, for their own sake, ditches the watch ‘Pro’ suffix, unless it’s actually a premium version of that product announced at the same time. All it’s down is confuse the heck out of people, where Garmin uses it as a mid-cycle model instead (and frankly, decreases sales).
While I admire the rhetoric about reviewers not using the devices etc. it feels a bit hollow after the many years and generations of Fenix headphone issues. Let’s see a proper long term review and discussion and proper acknowledgement that music just doesn’t work properly on Garmins then we can talk about hollow reviews.
Perhaps I’ve missed it but as I recall Ray your stock answer is that you’ve not experience the issue which at this stage just can’t be the case if you use the feature during activities.
I’ll admit I’ve not been watching Des long enough to know whether he has discussed it, but you guys really need to hold Garmin to account here as music just isn’t a working feature on Fenix and never has been.
Music headphone issue?
Seriously, don’t know what you’re talking about. And honestly, neither does the Garmin forums (the epicenter of all things wrong). I just searched through the Fenix forums, and there’s only very occasional people having music/headphone questions/issues, the vast majority of which seem to be tied to that person’s specific headphone choice.
Certainly, I don’t use music on every workout from my watch, but when I do, it doesn’t have issues (usually paired with AirPod Pro’s, or before that Beats of various types). As with any review, there will be features I simply don’t use. A typical Garmin Fenix has 1,000+ features on it. It’s impossible to use every feature deeply.
But let’s be clear, that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about some reviewers doing a single 5-10KM run (seriously, just one) and then publishing a full review pretending it’s a long-term review or a deep review, or that they’ve used it extensively.
I rarely use my watch (Epix) for Music, but have never had an issue. Even when I use my phone for music my watch interrupts the music to give heart rate updates regularly so I trust that it would work as long as the app (Spotify) had been recently synced.
This is all over the forums both at Garmin and on your site and has been for years on every model since 5+ so if you’re unaware what I’m even talking about out then that’s kinda the point I was making. You can’t choose to ignore things that aren’t of interest or that make a bad review. This issue has affected thousands of people with different kinds of headphones while in activity and Garmin shows zero interest in fixing it precisely because people like you pretend it’s. It an issue.
I suggest doing some research and you’ll find many, many threads full of people with “connectivity issues” with Fenix. Use the watch for music in activity and you’ll experience it for yourself.
You can’t moan about other reviewers being less thorough while simultaneously ignoring features you don’t personally use. You’re either doing a thorough test or you’re not, and if you’re not then don’t get on a high horse about other reviewers.
Sorry if this sounds harsh Ray, I clearly like your content and think you do a fair job at reviewing, but the recent rhetoric about thorough reviews while also ignoring massive longstanding issues is not OK.
Adding to this, I’ve had 5+ (x2, second was an attempt to fix this issue through support), 6, 7, Epix and Fenix 8 alongside 10 pairs of fully wireless headphones over the years and the issue is always present. I’ve not used Apple headphones so perhaps you just got really lucky. Most of us get dropouts though and it only happens while an activity is running, suggesting it’s either a bug or the hardware isn’t up to the job.
“This is all over the forums both at Garmin and on your site and has been for years on every model since 5+”
Except, none of what you just said is true. Seriously, go look. Nobody said anything problematic on my Epix Pro, Fenix 7 Pro, or Fenix 8 reviews thus far about connectivity issues on those models. Not a single comment (a few people asking about specific headphones with past models, but nothing in the last 3 years).
And again, I went to the Garmin Forums, and just not seeing any sort of consistent there on recent hardware. And I can’t remember the last time someone left a comment complaining about headphones on a video, but so long ago I don’t even remember it.
As noted, I test primarily with Apple headphones cause that’s what I buy, but also have tested without issue with various other headphones that have come through for testing, including the Polar/Sennheiser ones, Suunto’s, Jaybirds, Shokz and a few others, none have had issues. Virtually all running no less.
I don’t know what your using headphone-wise, but honestly, sounds like that’s probably more the issues. Many companies try and save battery and reduce signal strength. And certainly, Garmin was guilty of that 5-7 years ago, but not anytime recently that I’m hearing consistent/widespread complaints on.
Also, I think you’re confusing me testing/validating, with Garmin supposedly not fixing something.
As noted, I test this in each model, and ensure that it fits my usage and other problems that seem widespread enough to poke at. This hasn’t come up as either, thus, you’re upset because your headphones aren’t working with your watch. That’s fair, but I’m not sure why you’re taking it out on me. In fact, at not point in any of those reviews in the last few years have you even mentioned it, and as you noted, you leave plenty of comments and read the site (which I appreciate).
But I’m going to push back (really hard) on the notion that I’m somehow not testing devices because your headphones don’t work. Frankly, nobody is testing and pushing these devices as hard as I am. Nobody is going out tomorrow, except me, to do a 50KM trail run, in conditions that are sub-zero at the top of the mountain, to see if claims like solar burn and such hold up. I spend a stupid amount of time troubleshooting and bringing up issues with all companies, Garmin included, so that hopefully they get solved for everyone else. Again, almost nobody else does that except Des & Shane.
Devices will have bugs, and I bring up issues that I run into. But again, trying to call me out because your headphones don’t work, when it’s not a problem others seem to be having, seems pretty weird.
I’m not going to argue with you on your own website, it’s up to you if you want to deny this stuff exists. That’s a weird look but sure, you do you.
I just searched “fenix 8 headphone dropouts” and got numerous results. Remove the 8 and you get countless more. Many of these are on the various Garmin forums. Happy to take it offline and send specific links if you somehow can’t find them but this is a really widely known issue and as an expert I’m amazed you’re unaware.
You’re top Ray!!
Keep up the good work!!
Hope you can test how the gps battery performance is for the 3 solar mip with sat IQ.
In average conditions….less of more than 40h in gps tracking?
Gps only has 60 hours. All Systems 40.
Maybe 50 hours is possible with sat IQ?
For a late afternoon mixed cloud/overcast day, for Solar 3 MIP (*with navigation enabled), I was at 36hrs with SatIQ.
For GPS-only, Instinct 3 was on target for 75-hours of battery burn, with so-so low winter sun (often blocked by the mountains, trees, etc… despite being a blue-sky day). That’s with navigation enabled and optical HR enabled. Otherwise all default configuration. Basically double the solar of the Instinct 2X side-by-side in identical configuration.
Note the Fenix 8 AMOLED was on my hydration vest strap, so it was bouncing around like crazy, especially when running, which as I noticed once it got dark out, meant it was constantly illuminating (versus on wrist it would have only lit up when wrist was raised). I wouldn’t focus on that number for that one on this activity.
Chart attached.
Here’s yesterday’s chart:
OK…because that chart didn’t come out awesome, linkable dataset here: link to analyze.dcrainmaker.com
Thanks for this info.
Could you please put 3 Solar 50mm and 2X near sunny window, side by side for several hours and track % of battery charge increase ? Tnx
Thanks Ray, looks great!
Can’t wait for your in depth review!
Yeah, I’ll put them on the roof over the weekend for a set period of time starting from roughly the same level (e.g. 50%). Sun for tomorrow looks iffy.
Thanks a lot.
This is what Garmin spec’d (2x of that in perfect conditions: perfect angle, not too hot and battery not too full):
– 2X Solar: 1.0% per hour
– 3 50mm Solar: 1.3% per hour
– 3 45mm Solar: 1.7% per hour. Strange this is more, but from GPS specs: (100/40-100/130) / 100
Would be great to see test results from Ray. From my experience normally it’s close to the spec, but it’s rare your wrist is perfectly angled towards the sun.
Hmm, where are those numbers from? Interesting.
(Also, as for rooftop tests, sadly, that ended in failboating. Sigh, more Instinct 3 bugs. TLDR: Instinct 3 isn’t properly updating battery % in the UI from solar burn. Behind the scenes it does it correctly for battery burn, but not gains from solar power. Garmin will have an update on the situation later in the week. It was while doing some rooftop tests on Friday before thunderstorms swept through that I noticed the 2X was gaining battery happily, while 3 gained nothing.)
Looks like Garmin is pulling the Instinct 2 from their website/authorized retailers. (I checked REI, and in the US.) Apparently following your thoughts, and not giving consumers the choice of older models…
Hmm, not sure I follow?
I still see it everywhere on REI, as well as a lot of other retailers?
REI: link to rei.com
and here: link to rei.com