garmin fenix 5s review

Today is the day! I am finally sharing my review of the garmin fenix 5s with y’all! I shared a while back on instagram (and IG stories) that I had heard amazing things about the Garmin for a fitness tracker, and I was interested in trying it out for my marathon training. Both Michael and I gave our Apple Watch’s a break for a bit to try out the Garmin Fenix 5s!

In case you’re not familiar with the watch, I’ll briefly explain what it is. The Garmin fenix 5s is a multisport GPS watch with wrist heart rate technology. This watch can literally track any type of exercise you could ever imagine – running, hiking, biking, swimming, HIIT workouts and more. The data that this watch can track is incredible!

Here’s what I loved about the watch / what makes it great:

The look. While this might not be THE most important factor for a fitness watch, I love how the Garmin Fenix 5s looks – both on me (the white and rose gold is beautiful) and on Michael. Michael actually likes how the Garmin looks on him more than the Apple Watch. It looks athletic, but also sleek.
The accuracy. Y’all this watch is dead on accurate – or at least it was on every run and hike I used it on. It got my distance exactly right and it calculated my HR accurately. I’ve had issues with the Apple Watch’s accuracy at times with my heart rate, but the Garmin was always right.
The data. Garmin has mastered fitness tracking. They have been creating fitness trackers long before Apple came out with the watch. The data that the Garmin can track from your workouts is incredible. With running, it can calculate your stride length, it tracks the route you ran, and tons more details if you need it to. (For me personally, I don’t necessarily need all of that info, but some major athletes do). With weight training it can track how many reps you did, and more!

The battery life. The battery life on this watch is insane! I was used to having to plug in my Apple Watch every night, and the Garmin fenix 5s can last for up to 9 days! This is especially nice if you’re going on a weekend trip because you don’t have to bring a charger.
Sleep tracker. I wore this watch while I slept and it not only tracked how long I slept – but also how many hours of deep sleep I got vs light sleep.

Overall, I highly recommend this watch. It looks awesome, the fitness tracking capabilities are unparalleled and the quality is 10 out of 10.

If you’re contemplating the Apple Watch or the Garmin…it is 100% just a personal preference thing! Here’s the conclusion I came to: if you want a fitness tracking watch that also has some smart watch capabilities, get the Garmin. If you want a smart watch that also has some fitness tracking capabilities, get the Apple Watch. (The Garmin does have smart watch capabilities BTW – you can read your texts on there, instagram comments, etc).

For me personally, all of my products are Apple – my phone, my computer…so the Apple Watch just works so well with those things and with my lifestyle. (See my review of the apple watch here). I like being able to respond to texts on it, and I like having a touch screen. All of the data and tracking capabilities of the Garmin are outstanding (and I miss having them haha), but I just didn’t need that much data from my runs or workouts. Overall though, if you’re wondering which watch is better for fitness + activity tracking…I’d say the Garmin hands down!