12 days ago Amazon Prime delivery truck drop off my new Garmin Fenix 5X Plus. This was my replacement of my Fenix 3HR I have been using for little over 28month.
Figure I didn’t properly test the battery consumption on Fenix 3HR so this time I started 100% at July3rd 12am. With all the training and smart phone notification of my preference the Fenix 5X Plus lasted 19% at July11 11:30pm. You could say easily last 9days.
Battery consumption will be vary by the each user from activity logging to smart phone notification. Also not to mention Fenix feature like Plus OX acclimation where you can monitor full time.
Every day I checked the percentage and following is what I found. As daily steps, notification what not it seems that it averages @ 3-5% consumption. Far as my SUP activity consumption was about 5% each time with duration training from 80min to 120min.
Between July 3rd to 11th there were 7 days of activity in my training. It added up @ 11hrs of SUP training. Garmin states GPS Activity is 30hrs. It you were using non-stop for activity it is possible that you may able to get different results because up to 5% consumption doesn’t cover 30hrs.
So far GPS activity working well with GPS locking. Compare to Fenix 3HR, GPS locking is much quicker and able to start your watch rather then standing waiting for it .
Also for the HR wrist sensor reliability wise I’m using GARMIN HR-DUAL chest strap which results in different battery consumption. Far as HR wrist sensor vs HR chest strap I’m always leaning on chest strap. I been using chest strap since 2001 and true believer on accuracy. I have time to time forgot to bring my straps and never seems to have good reading. If you know your HR zone and/or exertion level you will soon find out that some delay occurs on reading or unexpected reading results. I will leave up to you to decide which really works for you. Garmin HR-DUAL supports ANT+ and Bluetooth protocol so if you own NK Speedcoach this will be your straps. In the past I used Wahoo Tickr and clip- in sometimes comes loose when you fall off or accidental hit the sensor. Garmin still uses clip- in but straps goes around your sternum with side hook while sensor itself will clip in the strap versus Wahoo sensor clips end to end on straps.
You may ask how about with the music and activity. I did load up @5hrs worth of music from my iTune. Yes, you can easily load your iTunes song but as long you already converted to non protected file. No iTune subscription can be loaded. Only purchased music only or MP3 file.
Unfortunately I have not tested yet but looking forward to try that soon for Part 2 review.
While we are in music section I can say that music control that control your iPhone is very helpful while you are paddling. Press the down button for few seconds while you are running your activity.
If you are lucky enough to own AfterShokz Trek Air it is compatible and many others as well. Here is the Garmin compatible list . I’m sure many other non listed will work but do your homework before buying Garmin watch or bluetooth headphone if you are in the market.
Last but not least one of useful item you can purchase from from Amazon or ebay is the charge port rubber cover piece. It is a tiny rubber that cover your charging port and keeps the water out and keep the contact more reliable. This one major differences compare to Fenix 3 series. Fenix 3 series had prone to this issues with change difficulties. I’m sure this will apply to Fenix 5 series as well but this tiny cover will help you prolong the contact and less to maintain.
