Garmin watch upgrade from Fenix 3

I suppose the question should be are there any shortcomings/features you'd like to see addressed by another watch? battery life? other widgets or stuff? I know a mate at work recently replaced his Fenix 3 with a Forerunner 245 which was on special as the 255 has been released.

A newer model Fenix would be the obvious suggestion, but the Forerunners generally seem to get lots of trickledown features so most of what was good on your F3 is probably there in the FR235, FR245 etc for a bit less cash if shopping second hand.
But of course if you're content with the Fenix 3 a replacement strap and carry on with it will definitely be the cheapest choice.

If you spot something you think you might like it's always worth checking the DC Rainmaker review of it, normally way more detail than most people want. https://www.dcrainmaker.com/

If you do buy new, remember the new STW member discounts. 40% off Garmin.

The Forerunner is a Fenix but without the metal casing and such a good battery life, otherwise they are the same watch. The 935 is a Fenix 5, the 945 is the Fenix 6 and the 955 (I think that has been released) is the Fenix 7, just in a plastic case that isn't as chunky and doesn't have such a good battery life.

How much would you be willing to spend? A Fenix 5 would be an upgrade to the 3 offering more features, but isn't 'recent', so likely to be available at a decent price. The Fenix 6 is being phased out due to the 7, so may not be cheap enough brand new, but likely could be had for a decent price second hand.

There is a 40% discount for paid members of this site on Garmin kit...unsure they do the Fenix 5, but suspect the 6 will be there with a discount price - but won't be £50.

buy generic replacement straps off amazon. I generally get 12 months out of an over priced official strap.

I'm bought a bundle of coloured straps for less money and none have them have gone.

Had the fenix 3 since it was released.

I've been tempted to upgrade, however the 3 does everthing I need, only maybe missing ability to play music (for me)

Great advice all thanks. Thanks for taking the time to respond

If you are happy with the 3 it then fix it and carry on. I went from a Fenix 3 to Fenix 6 pro and it is better but not massively. Biggest benefits for me are better battery life, less chunky on my dainty wrists, music straight to bluetooth earphones, maps, better screen customisation. I could live without maps, but it is nice to have feature. The screen customisation might be just because there are more people creating custom faces. The size is probably the biggest thing, better screen to bezel ratio, but if you like the aesthetic then that isn't worth buying another one for. Oh, also the charging lead. Me and the wife now use the same lead, which another (minor) plus

It does also give me a load more training data which I take a passing interest in. Only really to boost my ego when it says I'm doing well

Mate at work recently upgraded to the fr265 from fenix 3. Does the 3 even do heart rate without a strap?

I have the fr255 having moved from a fr935. Better sensors, better overall software with additional features I find genuinely useful, only lacking the fancy display when compared to the 265 which I have no interest in. Very happy with it.

Yes the 3 has hr, no need for a strap It’s fine for steady efforts, but lags a bit too much if you are doing intervals. For that I pair a separate monitor (a wahoo one as I found the Garmin ones played up a bit after a few years)

I have a Fenix 5 that I'm about to advertise for sale. Is around 6 month old (used for about 3 months) and was a warranty replacement from Garmin (sticky button).
It has had a tempered glass screen protector on since day one but it needs a new strap as the excess strap loops are broken. I started looking for a new strap then got distracted by a Fenix 6 titanium and bought that instead. I regretted it pretty soon afterwards as it doesn't do much more than the Fenix 5 which did everything I needed and more.

Aside from me selling one, My daughter has a Forerunner 935 and she bought a non genuine silicone strap from amazon for £7 and in all honesty its as good as the genuine ones.

PM me if interested

Andy

I've been having similar thoughts although I'm coming from a Fenix 5S sapphire that I inherited from my wife.

First thing to mention is how well these things last. The one I have must be getting on for five years old and has been well used. Lots of training for ultra marathons including various spills on rocks etc yet there is barely a mark on it. The sapphire glass does seem to be pretty indestructible. Also, despite what Garmin say, you can change the battery quite easily so you can keep an old one running for a long while and it will keep on doing the job.

Price wise (looking on ebay) an old 5 series seems to go for around £100-£120 so might be something to consider if you want an upgrade from the 3.

There are various reasons to consider an upgrade though, which is why I'm still considering selling the 5 and going for a 7. These include:

Much better battery life. I've tried installing a higher capacity battery (from ebay) in my 5s but the charging circuits weren't designed for it and it still won't do much more than 8-9 hours of continuous GPS recording (compared with over 30 hours for a 7s). That's only really an issue if you want to do longer events and don't want to carry a battery pack, but it's still an issue.

Larger screen. The screen size increased (with the 6 series I think) so you get a bigger screen for the same size watch on the newer models.

Mapping. The newer models have "proper" maps. I've managed pretty well just following a breadcrumb trail and it will still tell me things like how much further and how much more climbing I have to do. But a map can help when you come to a fork in the trail (assuming the trails are on the map of course).

More metrics. Newer devices will record many more things (HRV, pulse ox, running dynamics, body batter, stamina, the list is almost endless). Whether any of these metrics are actually useful is debatable. My old 5S will tell me how far/fast I went, (roughly) what my heartrate was and how many hours I slept for as well as whether it thinks my training is productive or not.

That's all I can really think of for now.