I was addicted to wearing the Garmin Fenix 7X for the first six months of 2022 – I loved the versatility, durability, features, and especially the flashlight. Then the Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar arrived, and it brought along some exciting new features such as HRV status, Training Readiness and the Race Day widget. Not long after, I found myself strapping on the Forerunner 955 Solar more often than the Fenix 7X.
Fast forward three months, and Garmin introduces its new Enduro 2 multisport watch that’s basically a Fenix 7X on steroids. This triathlon watch has crazy battery life and an even better flashlight; I’m immediately drawn to the thing. But, as it happens, a couple of weeks after the launch, Garmin rolls out a software update affecting the Fenix 7 and Garmin Epix Gen 2 watches, adding many features to these wearables, including – you’ve guessed it – HRV, Training Readiness, Race Day widget and more.
Read all about the latest Garmin update here.
Being an absolute sucker for premium Garmin watches – in my eyes, they’ll always be the best Garmin watches – I almost instantly switch back to wearing the Fenix 7X after the software update. It’s a no-brainer. I love the premium feel of the Fenix series, something the Forerunner 955 Solar could never provide. And now that all my training essentials can also be found on the Fenix, what’s the point of using the Forerunner 955? Not to mention, the battery life of the Fenix 7X is far superior to the Forerunner 955 Solar.
You might think I’m absolutely loaded, having multiple Garmin watches in my possession; rest assured, I’m not. They are all with me on loan from Garmin, so I can test and compare them to other watches. Nevertheless, I have limited wrist space, so choosing which wristwatch to use at any given point is a tough call, especially as there are other wearables I need to test, too. Fitbit’s just launched three new wearables, and Amazfit’s new watches also need to be tested soon. Let’s not forget the hot-off-the-press Garmin Venu Sq 2, which looks very promising.
One thing is for sure: I’ll be switching the Forerunner 955 Solar out for the Fenix 7X, but only after I finish testing the Enduro 2. Two features on that watch piqued my interest: grade-adjusted pace and NextFork. Here is a little spoiler for the upcoming review: one of these is pretty good, while the other is more ‘meh’ in its current iteration. Stay tuned to find out which one’s which.
