I'm thinking the Fenix 7 Solar is the best options but any experience would be greatly appreciated.

I'm back to running several miles a day and i HATE carrying a phone to track my runs.

Would also like it for when I go south and get in the woods. Or hike around here.

I use a 245. More than enough functionality, lightweight, and not gigantic. Tracks everything I want and more. Battery is astonishingly long per charge.

My wife gifted me with a Garmin vivoactive5 for Christmas this last year. I love it!

I’ve been using the Fenix 6 Sapphire for a couple years on a few marathons and Ironmans. Works great.

I’ve had several Garmins over the past 15 years. All of them pretty good.

The Fenix is probably way more than you need. I’m not familiar with the solar aspect either.

Do they still make the Instinct?

^^^^^^^
They are up to the Instinct 2.

I am weighing the options myself. I had a Suunto for years and it was meh.
I have a Citizen CZ Hybrid (Thanks Dave Truong) and I have a love hate relationship with it and currently the hate is winning and I am looking at the Garmins.

I’ll end up with one of the Instinct Crossover Solars as I love real analog hands.

I looked at the 245, it was only a little less than the Fenix with Garmin's current sale.

My wife said she would buy the Fenix 7 Pro Solar for Father's Day.

So I guess that does it.

I can't wear it at work, but when I PCS from here I'll be able to wear it daily.

Have you looked at the Polar watches?
Can't speak for others, I wear the Polar Grit X from a couple years ago.
The newer ones have better displays but I track all my exercises through it. Works fine but I haven't anything to compare it with.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
I looked at the 245, it was only a little less than the Fenix with Garmin's current sale.

My wife said she would buy the Fenix 7 Pro Solar for Father's Day.

So I guess that does it.

I can't wear it at work, but when I PCS from here I'll be able to wear it daily.

I’m doing Ironman Maryland in September. I’ll keep you on speed dial if my fails the night before.

You’ll like it.

I picked up a Fenix 6 on clearance and it works well. Takes a bit to get podcasts downloaded but that is my only complaint.

I'm happy with my Gen2 Epix Pro as a sports watch. If I just use it as a regular watch the battery charge lasts 16 days (47mm size). Once you start activities and the GPS it burns thru battery much quicker.

It tracks hikes and bike rides well.

I had the Instinct for hiking & running but had issues with GPS not connecting and very inaccurate elevation & distances, ended up getting rid of it.

Switched over to an Instinct 2 which has been awesome, especially the battery life. I'm now looking at the Instinct 2X Solar because it's supposed to have even better GPS accuracy.

I have a Fenix 3 and a 245 and rarely ever wear the Fenix, it's just too bulky and seems to be a bit heavy. Naturally I would recommend the 245, it's an excellent balance between features and a compact size. However the 245 has been discontinued so I would recommend getting it's replacement, the 255. Prices are basically the same and it's a slight upgrade in features. Down side it's slightly larger by 2mm(0.08 inch).

Arrived on Wednesday, used it then and took yesterday off from running.

Worked fantastic, probably way more features than I need, was easily readable in the bright sun.

I'll have to explore it a bit more and spend some more time with it to give an honest review, but so long as it keeps working without hiccups, it has way more features than I'll ever need.