Watch out, Apple. Garmin’s Enduro 2 is the ultra sports watch to buy

Garmin started 2022 with the discharge of two excellent flagship multisport watches, the Garmin Epix Gen 2 and Fenix 7X Sapphire Photo voltaic Version. I did not assume Garmin might prime the flagship Fenix 7X, however then got here final month’s announcement of the Garmin Enduro 2. For $100 over the Fenix 7X Sapphire Photo voltaic, you get longer battery life, a doubly shiny flashlight, and a performance-boosting Ultrafit nylon band.

The Enduro 2 could also be one of many largest upgrades but over a earlier Garmin system, partly as a result of the unique Enduro was a little bit of a letdown in key areas the place it shouldn’t have been weak. The Enduro 2 now has all the pieces we see within the Fenix 7X Sapphire Photo voltaic and extra. 

It has the longest battery lifetime of any current Garmin watch and whereas it’s clearly focused at endurance athletes searching for a GPS sports activities watch that performs for days, it is also a superb choice for these of us who train frequently and do not need to cost up our watch incessantly.

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For the previous month I’ve been working, climbing, fly fishing, strolling, biking, sleeping, and residing with the Enduro 2 on my left wrist. I used to be blown away by the beautiful AMOLED show of the Garmin Epix, however the Enduro 2’s larger show, extraordinarily comfy band, superbright flashlight, and lengthy battery life have stored it on my wrist and made it my favourite watch of 2022.

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The comfy 26mm-wide Ultrafit nylon band helps create a greater match for correct coronary heart price measurements. For those who desire leather-based or another choice, you’ll be able to swap it out for certainly one of Garmin’s suitable QuickFit bands, obtainable for $49.99 every.

The show on the Garmin Enduro 2 is 1.4 inches in diameter with a sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel 280×280 panel. The show is all the time on with an non-compulsory backlight that lights up in low-light circumstances. Distinction this with the brand new Garmin Epix or Quatix 7, each of which have AMOLED shows that flip off by default, and an non-compulsory always-on mode that reduces battery life by about 50%.

The Enduro 2’s total Energy Sapphire show, not simply the seen photo voltaic charging ring, captures mild and converts it into saved energy for the watch. The built-in LED flashlight is on the prime, embedded within the fiber-reinforced polymer case materials. A titanium bezel and rear cowl panel assist make the watch really feel mild for its dimension, barely totally different from some other watch. 

The show helps touchscreen swipes and faucets, helpful for swiping by its glances. You’ll be able to flip off touchscreen controls in case you desire the everyday Garmin five-button navigation system for controlling the backlight, show, menus, and sizzling keys in your most used features. I desire utilizing the buttons whereas exercising, particularly within the rain, to keep away from inadvertent swipes.

The ability button is in a raised part to make it onerous to press unintentionally, and is emphasised with a lime-green metallic coloration matching the watch face’s 10-minute marks. That is certainly one of my favourite colours for exercise gear so it seems like Garmin made this look ahead to me.  

Just like the Garmin Fenix 7X Sapphire Photo voltaic and subsequent releases, the Enduro 2 helps multiband frequency and multi-GNSS settings so you’ll be able to have a number of positioning methods enabled for improved location monitoring in sure circumstances. TopoActive and ski maps are preloaded on the Enduro 2, and you’ll obtain golf programs and different maps from all over the world too.

Watch software program

We noticed some thrilling new software program options on the Garmin Forerunner 955 Photo voltaic. These embody coaching readiness, Morning Report, HRV standing, working energy (with a suitable accent), and real-time stamina (see our evaluation of this highly effective look ahead to runners). Every week after I began testing the Enduro 2, all of those options appeared in a software program replace apart from the Morning Report, which is certain to come back in a future replace.

There are literally thousands of watch face choices obtainable within the Garmin Join retailer, however I personally like tweaking the Enduro 2’s default choices. I desire massive numbers and summaries of key knowledge on the watch face, and a few third-party watch faces have issues that may affect battery life. 

Additionally: The most effective sports activities watches: Garmin, Coros, Polar, and extra

I spend most of my time interacting with the watch’s useful glances or widgets. You’ll be able to swipe by them with contact controls or use the buttons, and open widgets for extra info. Urgent the beginning button as soon as takes you to your favourite exercises and actions, and you’ll press it once more to begin the exercise. 

Settings allow an exhaustive quantity of customization; for instance, you’ll be able to set the backlight to activate whenever you rotate your wrist, contact the show, or press a button. You can too customise exercise settings on the watch or utilizing the Garmin Join smartphone app. The Garmin watch software program helps as much as seven sizzling keys (press-and-hold or urgent two buttons collectively) for features like taking a screenshot, music controls, and Garmin Pay.

Additionally: The 5 finest Garmin watch fashions: Which is best for you?

The LED flashlight is button-activated, however utilizing the controls web page you can even change its brightness stage or change to a crimson mild, and the watch will keep in mind your earlier setting the subsequent time you employ the flashlight. You’ll be able to even choose numerous strobe choices — together with a working cadence mode with ahead movement in white and backward movement in crimson to make you extra seen at night time — or a misery sample that can flash SOS and present the proprietor’s title and emergency contact on the watch face.

The Enduro 2 helps an enormous variety of sports activities and actions, together with water and winter sports activities (snowboarding maps are additionally obtainable). We play pickleball with my household so I used to be excited to see that sport added to the in depth checklist of choices. 

The fishing app is ideal for my fly-fishing adventures, monitoring my river walks with GPS and even letting me mark the place I land fish so I can preserve a historical past of sizzling spots to go to the subsequent 12 months. 

The Stamina knowledge web page exhibits Garmin’s thought of each your present stamina as you prepare in an exercise and your potential stamina, which decreases in the course of the exercise. It is an attention-grabbing solution to gauge how onerous you’re pushing your self and the way a lot fuel you might need left within the tank.

I like the brand new grade-adjusted tempo choice for hill working that exhibits what my tempo can be on flat floor. On hills, I additionally take pleasure in utilizing a tool like the brand new Garmin HRM-Professional Plus to measure working energy, which the Enduro 2 can show as a local knowledge discipline choice.

Evaluate: Garmin Intuition 2 Photo voltaic: Rugged, colourful, long-lasting

Different new options on the Enduro 2 are the NextFork map information, a visible race predictor, and an computerized relaxation timer. SatIQ know-how optimizes connections to satellites for the situation you’re in to maximise battery life. Of us like Ray Maker and Des Yap have carried out in depth testing of this SatIQ know-how and located that Garmin has performed an important job of optimizing the GNSS expertise.

Garmin Join

Utilizing a sensible watch’s knowledge to trace tendencies, enhance efficiency, problem associates, and establish drawback areas is a vital a part of the expertise. The Garmin Join app for iOS and Android is a robust and succesful app that carefully matches the Join web site expertise.  

Sensors and equipment stay watch-only features, as utilizing these requires a direct Bluetooth or ANT+ connection to the accent. However most of the Enduro 2’s settings are mirrored within the Garmin Join smartphone app, which I recognize, as I discover it simpler to arrange train particulars on my telephone’s massive show. 

You’ll be able to customise the app’s My Day launch display by selecting from many playing cards displaying choices like coronary heart price, depth minutes, and Pulse OX. There are additionally toggles to see earlier stats. If you document an exercise on that day, comparable to a run or a motorbike trip, a field seems up prime with that card. Tapping any card takes you into rather more wonderful element for that measurement.

With the smartphone app, you’ll be able to earn arrange challenges together with your connections and earn and think about badges, which is an effective way to get motivated. The app additionally exhibits notifications and a information feed of summaries out of your Garmin connections, a calendar together with your numerous standing ranges, and different sections comparable to security and monitoring and the Join IQ retailer. You’ll be able to view knowledge over time, see your data and badges earned, and rather more.

You’ll be able to management whether or not to obtain telephone notifications each throughout and out of doors of whenever you’re recording an exercise. On Android telephones, you can even select which apps can ship notifications to the watch (customizing per app shouldn’t be obtainable for iPhones). With a paired Android telephone, you can even reply to messages with personalized preset responses.

Evaluate: Garmin Forerunner 955 Photo voltaic: A strong watch constructed for runners

Along with the exercise choices on the watch, you’ll be able to obtain exercises from Garmin Join or select from over 1,400 workouts to customise your individual. There are 75 preset animated exercises for cardio, yoga, power, HIIT, and Pilates, so it’s best to have the ability to develop one thing that appeals to you and meets your wants. I nonetheless hope Garmin will provide a generalized Exercise sport in a future Garmin Join replace, since it may be a bit clunky to determine which kind to pick, particularly for brand new customers.

The Garmin Join web site is just like the app however with much more functionality to generate stories, import or export knowledge, and arrange connections to different functions (comparable to Strava, RunKeeper, and MyFitnessPal).

Backside line

My sympathy goes out to those that bought the Garmin Fenix 7X Sapphire Photo voltaic earlier this 12 months, as a result of the Garmin Enduro 2 is basically a Plus or Professional model, providing all the pieces within the 7X with longer battery life, a greater flashlight, and extra mapping options, for $100 extra. It is also probably the most comfy Garmin watch I’ve examined. The Enduro 2 is clearly the most effective present GPS sports activities watch obtainable from Garmin and I am unable to get it off my wrist.

Garmin advertises as much as 150 hours in GPS mode with photo voltaic charging or 34 days in smartwatch mode with a further 12 days when photo voltaic charging (I’ve truly been in a position to benefit from photo voltaic charging in Washington this 12 months). The extraordinarily lengthy battery life was developed for endurance athletes and whereas I am unable to converse to its efficiency in 50- or 100-mile occasions, I discovered the Enduro 2 lasts for a few weeks with common working, Hydrow use, {golfing} with membership sensors, strolling, and sleeping between prices. In contrast to an everyday smartwatch with two or three days of battery life, with the Enduro 2 I can go on enterprise journeys with out taking off the watch or worrying about packing a charging cable. 

Though the Fenix 7X Sapphire Photo voltaic was spectacular and I loved the show of the Epix (Gen 2), I actually missed the Enduro 2’s flashlight. I exploit the flashlight for night walks, early mornings in the home, working in the dead of night, and extra. This can be very useful and rather more handy than firing up a telephone’s flashlight.

PacePro with grade-adjusted steering has been excellent for my working, Spotify performs completely on my linked Shokz OpenRun Professional headset, and the well being and wellness knowledge has been enjoyable to observe and consider. The Garmin Enduro 2 is an unbelievable GPS sports activities watch and in case you’re searching for the most effective obtainable as we speak, it’s the one to contemplate.

Options to contemplate

Whereas the Garmin Enduro 2 is my favourite long-lasting GPS sports activities watch, there are others that boast vital battery life too. Check out these different choices if the Enduro 2’s value is a matter.