Garmin is on a quest to prove it offers a wearable for pretty much every conceivable activity, whether that’s golf, running or diving. Now its latest tactix Series 7 adds another, distinctly military plume, to its cap.
Arguably a second generation epix Pro with a few additional bells and whistles, the newest tactix comes with an eerily similar adaptive AMOLED touchscreen display married to an array of traditional buttons.
Uniquely, the 1.4-inch screen can be dimmed to below a single nit of brightness when wanting to go undetected. This is particularly useful in NVG (night vision goggle) mode, as the display dims to a level that’s easily readable by the user, but practically invisible to anyone else.
Garmin has also added to its existing white and green on-wrist flashlight capabilities with a dimmable green torch, capable of being used with, you guessed it, night vision goggles.
The watch itself is built to military standard (MIL-STD-810) for thermal, shock and water performance, making it one seriously tough cookie, while sensitive buttons have been reinforced with metal guards.
The titanium bezel, a scratch-resistant sapphire lens, fibre-reinforced polymer housing, titanium rear cover and black tactical nylon QuickFit bands only add to its "double-hard" reputation.
Soldiers tend be handy with guns, which is why Garmin has also added third party functionality from Applied Ballistics, which offers customised aiming solutions for long-range shooting, even taking in environmental conditions for optimal targeting.
Naturally, Garmin also offers its full suite of fitness and wellness tracking functionality, including Pulse Ox, wrist-based heart rate, respiration and stress tracking.
Those wanting to keep in peak shape for tactical missions can also make the most of the various running, swimming and cycling programmes available to activate direct from the watch.
Pre-loaded with TopoActive Europe maps, Public Land Boundaries Maps and even ski-specific maps, there’s a navigational tool for pretty much every tactical or combat scenario. Oh, you can even fire up golf courses to maximise R&R.
If a quick getaway is required, a Direct-To-Navigation feature allows the wearer to navigate straight to any airport in the world aeronautical database or use the "Nearest" function to activate a path to a nearby airport should Bravo Company need an emergency evac.
The tactix 7 AOLED Edition is on sale now, costing £1,199 / $1,099.99 / AUS$1,899, making it a good £200 more expensive than the closest epix Pro, which comes with many of the same features.
