You should get 14 days' use out of the standard Garmin Fenix 6 in smartwatch mode before it needs recharging, but using the watch's GPS will drain the battery faster (Image credit: TechRadar) Garmin Fenix 6 is equipped with the newest wrist-based heart rate monitor. The monitor can register your heart rate during activities and everything else, 24/7. Previously only available on the top spec Fenix 5 Plus, the Pulse Ox Acclimation keeps tabs on your blood oxygen saturation (SATs) levels for when you’re spending prolonged time hiking or climbing up at altitude. The Fenix is an outdoor watch first, but Garmin like the rest of the watches in its range feels more smartwatch-like in operation. It truly is a watch made for the adventurer. It might not be the prettiest out there, but this will be the last thing on the mind of those seriously considering investing in this device and looking to get the most out of it.

Watches in the Garmin Fenix 6 range have received hefty price cuts in recent months (Image credit: Garmin) Design, display and battery life DesignThe 6X features Garmin's latest Elevate optical heart rate sensor tech. That tech is used for offering continuous heart rate monitoring, richer sleep data, and a way to measure your workout intensity. The strap is silicone and feels very secure. It is also interchangeable and can be removed easily without the need for specialized tools. This makes the maintenance of the watch easy, especially as you might need to clean it fairly regularly as you’ll probably wear it every day. The only minor inconvenience when it comes to the design is that both the strap and the loops used to secure the strap are both made of silicone. This creates a bit of difficulty when securing the watch and is slightly annoying if you take the watch on and off. The watch is water-resistant up to 100 metres however so if you’re looking to wear it constantly this shouldn’t be much of an issue. Garmin’s decision not to include that data in the watch is bizarre: we’d have loved to know how much extra time we’d gained, even if it was only a few hours. Without that information, spending extra for solar charging feels like a waste of money. Verdict We’ve used the Fenix 6 across a range of distances and found that, generally, the accuracy is fairly consistent with the data recorded by Polar's H10 heart rate chest strap. Below is data from a 10k race using the chest strap, a Fenix 6X Pro, and the Polar Ignite. Apart from a slight jump at the start of the race, the readings remain consistent across the duration. The dashboard as standard covers the bulk of the data stored by the watch – although you can customize it based on your own preferences. Standard features here include weather, sunset info, training status, a compass, VO2 Max, last activity, steps, heart rate, Pulse Ox, calendar info, notifications from your phone, music, altimeter, and stress. It’s extremely user-friendly and easy to modify.

They offer the same sports modes, largely the same level of training insights, and features like daily suggested workouts and a recovery advisor, full-color mapping support and there are pretty much the same wellness monitoring features on board here too. There's also the new visual race predictor. On Fenix 6 this tool simply listed predicted times to complete popular race distances. Keeping an eye on your SATs can be essential when in the high mountains as it can help determine how well your body’s acclimatising to higher altitudes. For example, if your SATs drop to a dangerous level while you’re ascending, the Fenix 6X Pro can warn you before you push your body to a potentially dangerous limit. Mapping Across the board, these battery improvements are plentiful when compared to the Fenix 5 Plus. And - as mentioned earlier - these have largely been achieved via tweaks in the Fenix’s software which make management much more intuitive and allow users to better understand what kind of power they have remaining. This has been changed in a number of ways. Alright, this isn’t noticeably slimmer on the wrist but it does feel slightly lighter - weighing 7g less than the previous equivalent model. This is a welcome improvement for a smartwatch known for being rather cumbersome.The Fenix 6 is a great example of Garmin’s position as one of the best smartwatch makers out there. Whatever’s thrown at it, expect it to handle with ease and with great accuracy, no matter where you are and what you’re doing. Garmin Fenix 6 has a built-in safety function that will send messages to your next of kin, if you are in an accident. The differences in price vary greatly because of the sheer number of added extras available, each of which is targeted at different kinds of users. Design and display The best for power saving is the maximum battery mode, which will turn off most of the Fenix 6’s most demanding features, such as the heart rate sensors, music, phone notifications and GPS.

Runners who want to ensure that they’re pacing themselves properly during a race can use the new PacePro feature in the Fenix 6 series. After creating a plan (either on the watch or in the Garmin app), they’ll be able to keep tabs on their target split pace, and if they’re ahead or behind on the pace they’ve set.

The Garmin Fenix 7X has a flashlight that shines out of the top of the watch case. It contains both red and white LEDs, and can be used to help you see in dark conditions, or to make you more visible to others when you're running at night. Smaller Fenix 7 watches don't have a light. Display