Garmin epix (Gen 2)

Garmin Epix Gen 2 (Sapphire Glass, Titanium Body) Disclaimer: There will be no proof of purchase as I am kind of too lazy to find it. I guess a photo of watch is enough. The content was rewritten by AI for better stylistic, formatting and grammar. *** Pros *** Watch Faces & Interface: The watch has a bunch of different faces, and you can put all sorts of data and sensor info right on them. Plus, you can download even more (free and paid ones) from Garmin's store. There are tons of ways to customize what’s on the watch face – colors, where stuff goes, the format, you name it. The interface is pretty simple. Because it has 5 buttons, using the watch feels a bit like navigating a computer, with functions organized in easy-to-follow cascading menus.

Screen: It also has a touch screen that works well. The brightness can be adjusted, but generally it is okay under the sun even on low.

Functions: It has a ton of functions. Besides the normal time and calendar, it has a flashlight, pulse monitor, step counter, respiration rate, HRV (Heart Rate Variability) measurement, blood oxygen saturation, barometer, GPS, sleep monitoring, and stress/body battery tracking. There are also heaps of fitness apps for walking, running, cycling, strength training, snorkeling, swimming, cardio, and more. When it comes to fitness, this watch offers way more than I could ever imagine or actually need.

Sleep Monitoring: Even if you're not a fitness fanatic and just use it as a regular watch, the sleep monitoring is really useful. It shows your sleep stages (deep, light, REM, awake) and your heart rate variability (HRV), which basically gives you an idea of your stress and recovery. It's helped me build better sleep habits. For example, I've seen how drinking alcohol cuts down my deep sleep and how much less recovered I feel. Physical activity, especially something light before bed, seems to promote good sleep for me. It's interesting to see how trying to manage stress can make my HRV look healthier, and honestly, it just makes me feel better.

Sleep Tracking Quirks: Of course, the sleep tracking isn't perfect. It can make mistakes, like not automatically recognizing a nap if it's outside my usual sleep hours and I don't tell the watch I'm napping. Sometimes it won't record a nap if I don't set the nap timer. Or, if I wake up in the night and lie still, it might not always realize I'm awake. But, it will definitely pick up on a restless night because my pulse and HRV won't look like I'm getting good sleep.

Timers: Another feature I use a lot is the timer. You can set up multiple timers and start them whenever you need to. This is super handy when I'm cooking.

Connectivity: The watch connects to my Wi-Fi and my phone using Bluetooth. It vibrates for calls and messages and shows me what they say.

Battery Life (General Use): The battery life is decent. If I'm just using it as a regular watch with the screen set to only turn on when I look at it, the battery lasts about 15-16 days. This means the screen is off most of the time, but it tracks my movement and turns on the moment I move my hand to look at the watch. It rarely gets this wrong or turns on when I don't want it to. There's also an option to have the screen always on but dimmed, which, of course, will use more battery.

Battery Life (Active Use): However, using a lot of the active features can really drain the battery. An hour-long training session without GPS will knock a day or two off the total battery life. Anything using GPS burns the battery even faster. So if you're an active person, you might need to charge your watch every 4-5 days. If you're not doing much sport, maybe once every two weeks. Luckily, the watch charges pretty quickly. I find the best time to charge it is when I'm in the shower – I don’t need it then, and it's usually fully or almost fully charged by the time I get out.

Durability (Water & Heat): The experience shows that the watch is suitable for surface swimming only. If you dive with it or snorkel, which involves occasional dives to the depths greater than a couple of meters, then the survival of the watches is a matter of luck. I had a few dives 5 - 10 metres with it and ended up with watches becoming unusable due to the water damage. Fortunately, I got away with a button replacement, but judging by the internal watch layout that fact that it was only the button I was lucky. For diving, you’d probably want something like a Garmin Descent, which is built for divers and is very cool but also very expensive.

I'd avoid wearing it in a sauna or banya. It can survive it – it won't die immediately (I've tested it). However, temperatures around 100C aren't great for the battery in the long run, sealed or not. The official temperature range is from -20 to +60, which means you can take the watch into hamam or the "relaxed" banya for kids without doubt. You know the drill, first adults having fun, then the fire is down, the temperature goes down and kids wearing Garmin Epix may enter. :)

Sapphire Glass & Titanium Body: The sapphire glass is a must-have for me. I wouldn't even consider buying such an expensive watch without it. I've been wearing this watch for over a year, and it's hit many hard objects and often rubs against walls. I even hit it with a knife point once. Not a single scratch on the glass. My previous Seiko Solar with its Hardlex glass got so scratched in two years that I sometimes had trouble reading the time. The watch design also helps protect the glass. Its bezel is raised just a tiny bit above the glass – maybe a quarter of a millimeter – but it protects the glass from most knocks. Impacts usually land on the bezel and don't reach the glass. The titanium body is a bit lighter than steel. Both get scratched.

Comfortable Wristband: The rubber wristband is pretty comfortable and very soft. It mostly doesn't cause any issues, unless I wear the watch snugly and sweat a lot in hot weather. In that case, I might get a bit of skin abrasion or irritation. The best way I've found to handle this is to either switch it to my other wrist or just take it off for a day if I see any signs of skin irritation.

*** Cons ***

The Price: This watch is pretty expensive.

Workout Planning Issues: The workout planning is mostly useless for me. It uses such cryptic or over-complicated names for exercises, and there are no pictures or videos. So, it's hard to plan anything because I can't easily figure out which exercise from its long list matches what I'm actually doing in the gym.

*** Conclusion ***

Overall, if you have the money or find a good deal (I got about 50% discount):

If you like lots of customization options and many functions, this watch is for you.

If you're into fitness or a healthy lifestyle, it's a watch for you.

If you are a diver, this isn't the watch for you. Check out the Garmin Descent instead, or maybe Apple Watch Ultra 2/3.