7 ms·

The software feels a bit clunky but I was very surprised when I plugged my Fenix watch to USB and found it mounted as a storage device with all of the data dire

by 8x 1y ago

The software feels a bit clunky but I was very surprised when I plugged my Fenix watch to USB and found it mounted as a storage device with all of the data directly accessible as files. The watch would be perfectly usable without the cloud and using an alternative app like gadgetbridge. This should be the standard, but it isn't, and it is more important to me than a sleek UI

guerrilla 1y ago
What, that's amazing. Sounds like my next watch will probably be a Garmin.
- alfiedotwtf 1y ago
  I just wish their “most rugged watch” (the Instinct) was sapphire like the Fenix :(
  - windexh8er 1y ago
    I've had multiple Instincts as well as Fenix. I am exceptionally hard on watches. I don't take them off when I'm working on anything out in the shop. The sapphire of the Fenix is not a silver bullet and the case on the Instinct does a lot more to prevent direct hits to the face than you'd think, at least in my experience. The Instinct is also easier to polish than the sapphire. I've tried to buff out blemishes on Fenix watches I've gone to sell and have had a hard time getting them back to flawless. I've not had the same issue on any Instinct. That being said I'm really tempted by the new Fenix Pro. I have an inReach device I take with me for backcountry snowmobiling in the mountains and I've forgotten it a time or two. I never forget my watch and always have some extra battery with me. I just wish I could get basically the same specs as Fenix in a non-color and highly efficient display like Instinct. The 2 Solar is my daily watch and the battery life + built in flashlight make it my almost perfect watch. I don't even care about LTE but if I could get Instinct with inReach that would be a perfect setup IMO. Garmin does a lot of things right, but pricing is not one of them. Especially given they're moving towards subscriptions which is counterintuitive to their buyer market. I really don't want anything AI in my watch.
    - alfiedotwtf 1y ago
      Totally with you on everything you’ve said. I’ve had a few Instincts and Fenixes, and yeah - I think the Instinct 2 was my favourite watch of all time (currently using an Apple Watch Mega Super Ultra), but I loved the concept of the 7X… just a shame I couldn’t get used to that red tone on the solar. I found the same thing too - the instinct face gets protected while the Fenix is almost a brick and rock magnet :( So far, I think it’s only the black Tacticals that look like they would hide more surface scratches… but I’ve never had one yet. But, yeah - think if the Instinct 3 Solar came with Sapphire, I’d sleep better at night, so much so that it would probably be my forever watch!
tonyhart7 1y ago
"This should be the standard" well the reason its not common is because they cant charge you their subscription fee integration or something like that
lostlogin 1y ago
I have used their watches, but the bike computer and radar are the same, and it’s really helpful. You can plug in and access folders and files. Also: the Garmin Varia bike radar is absolute gold. I feel more unsafe without it than I do without a helmet.
- codethief 1y ago
  > Also: the Garmin Varia bike radar is absolute gold. I feel more unsafe without it than I do without a helmet. Interesting, I didn't know such a thing existed. However, I'm struggling to understand the need. I ride my bike every day but I don't remember the last time I was surprised by a car approaching from behind. Where in the world do you live / where do you typically ride your bike? In what situations are you glad to have that radar?
  - scottgg 1y ago
    Not op but I also have a varia and feel safer for it. Living in Switzerland, cycle a lot on public curvy roads in the alps. Often I don’t hear someone coming if I’m focusing on something else important - like traffic in the other direction - or I don’t realise there’s actually more than one car about to overtake which the Varia also shows. Generally turning your head around to check is a bit dodgy!
    - ashirviskas 1y ago
      Why not just use a side mirror? I use one and it is so convenient
      - kgabis 1y ago
        Varia can supplement bike mirrors with an early warning that a vehicle is approaching. Some people don't like bike mirrors (they look dorky), but personally I feel half-blind when cycling without a mirror.
      - RankingMember 1y ago
jerlam 1y ago
The bones of their software are over 20 years old at this point, back to the Forerunner 101 which came out in 2003, predating modern smartphones. You had to plug them into a COM port to download your runs. I have Garmin watches from this time period that still work, but I can't figure out how to get any data from them. They're also issued in some military circles where they're not allowed to connect to a smartphone, and the lack of a microphone is a plus.
GranPC 1y ago
Did it mount as MTP or USB mass storage?

by 8x 1y ago

guerrilla 1y ago

What, that's amazing. Sounds like my next watch will probably be a Garmin.

alfiedotwtf 1y ago
I just wish their “most rugged watch” (the Instinct) was sapphire like the Fenix :(
- windexh8er 1y ago
  I've had multiple Instincts as well as Fenix. I am exceptionally hard on watches. I don't take them off when I'm working on anything out in the shop. The sapphire of the Fenix is not a silver bullet and the case on the Instinct does a lot more to prevent direct hits to the face than you'd think, at least in my experience. The Instinct is also easier to polish than the sapphire. I've tried to buff out blemishes on Fenix watches I've gone to sell and have had a hard time getting them back to flawless. I've not had the same issue on any Instinct. That being said I'm really tempted by the new Fenix Pro. I have an inReach device I take with me for backcountry snowmobiling in the mountains and I've forgotten it a time or two. I never forget my watch and always have some extra battery with me. I just wish I could get basically the same specs as Fenix in a non-color and highly efficient display like Instinct. The 2 Solar is my daily watch and the battery life + built in flashlight make it my almost perfect watch. I don't even care about LTE but if I could get Instinct with inReach that would be a perfect setup IMO. Garmin does a lot of things right, but pricing is not one of them. Especially given they're moving towards subscriptions which is counterintuitive to their buyer market. I really don't want anything AI in my watch.
  - alfiedotwtf 1y ago
    Totally with you on everything you’ve said. I’ve had a few Instincts and Fenixes, and yeah - I think the Instinct 2 was my favourite watch of all time (currently using an Apple Watch Mega Super Ultra), but I loved the concept of the 7X… just a shame I couldn’t get used to that red tone on the solar. I found the same thing too - the instinct face gets protected while the Fenix is almost a brick and rock magnet :( So far, I think it’s only the black Tacticals that look like they would hide more surface scratches… but I’ve never had one yet. But, yeah - think if the Instinct 3 Solar came with Sapphire, I’d sleep better at night, so much so that it would probably be my forever watch!

tonyhart7 1y ago

"This should be the standard" well the reason its not common is because they cant charge you their subscription fee integration or something like that

lostlogin 1y ago

I have used their watches, but the bike computer and radar are the same, and it’s really helpful. You can plug in and access folders and files. Also: the Garmin Varia bike radar is absolute gold. I feel more unsafe without it than I do without a helmet.

codethief 1y ago
> Also: the Garmin Varia bike radar is absolute gold. I feel more unsafe without it than I do without a helmet. Interesting, I didn't know such a thing existed. However, I'm struggling to understand the need. I ride my bike every day but I don't remember the last time I was surprised by a car approaching from behind. Where in the world do you live / where do you typically ride your bike? In what situations are you glad to have that radar?
- scottgg 1y ago
  Not op but I also have a varia and feel safer for it. Living in Switzerland, cycle a lot on public curvy roads in the alps. Often I don’t hear someone coming if I’m focusing on something else important - like traffic in the other direction - or I don’t realise there’s actually more than one car about to overtake which the Varia also shows. Generally turning your head around to check is a bit dodgy!
  - ashirviskas 1y ago
    Why not just use a side mirror? I use one and it is so convenient
    - kgabis 1y ago
      Varia can supplement bike mirrors with an early warning that a vehicle is approaching. Some people don't like bike mirrors (they look dorky), but personally I feel half-blind when cycling without a mirror.
    - RankingMember 1y ago

jerlam 1y ago

The bones of their software are over 20 years old at this point, back to the Forerunner 101 which came out in 2003, predating modern smartphones. You had to plug them into a COM port to download your runs. I have Garmin watches from this time period that still work, but I can't figure out how to get any data from them. They're also issued in some military circles where they're not allowed to connect to a smartphone, and the lack of a microphone is a plus.

GranPC 1y ago

Did it mount as MTP or USB mass storage?