Garmin 620 vs Fenix 2

Garmin 620 v Garmin Fenix 2. Both are great watches and we have been using and testing the 620 for 12 months and the Fenix 2 for 7 months. Both were purchased outright in Australia and nothing was received from Garmin for this review, unfortunately!

Usage

The 620 was used primarily for running, between 20 and 40 km per week. The Fenix 2 was actually worn as a daily watch to work as well as for exercising. The Fenix 2 was used for running, cycling and swimming and the occassional triathlon. The 620 is on the left below and the Fenix 2 on the right:

What was Good: 620

• Extremely light, hardly realise you are wearing a watch
• Wifeless upload. Get home and your data is automatically uloaded to Garmin Connect using WiFi
• Touch screen, easy to use, intuitive
• Connects to satelites for GPS quickly and efficiently by pre loading satelite positions

What was bad :620

• Battery life. I reckon you would just make a marathon, not much more. I charge mine Sunday and then have to turn it off when not used and if I'm lucky I can make a week of running.Been like this since new.
• No Track Back. Left out from the 610, Not that I use it a lot, but nice to know it is there if you are a trail runner
• Not really a watch you would wear to work or socially? Maybe
• Limited to running only. There have been upgrades in the software but I have not been able to make these work for me

Full specs for the Garmin 620 here.

What was good: Fenix 2:

• Good looking watch if you are into that sort of thing and I wear to work and socially
• Can upload maps (Not easy or that useful though)
• Tough, very tough. Worn 24 hours, swimming, surfing, running and it just carries on
• Battery life is excellent. Only charge with the above running around every 2 weeks odd.
• More functionality and settings than you will need. Multi sport from skiiing to running, cycling, even parachuting, indoor and triathlons etc.
• Additional sensors in the watch like temperature and barometer

What was bad: Fenix 2

• No wireless connectivity
• No touch screen
• We felt it under read distance and this was checked to 2 differnet Garmin 620s and the same result. You run further on the Fenix 2 than the 620 when running the same distance. Makes you feel more awesome if nothing else. Not a big deal but thought it worth mentioning.
• Big. Hard to use when doing other exercises like push ups. This was a small issue though
• Heavier, but again, not a big deal
• Temperature functionality is poor, affected by your skin. You have to remove the watch to get more accurante readings
• The Altimeter constantly tells me I am underwater
• Little harder to set up and get to use due to the additional functionality and sensors

Full Garmin Fenix specs here.

Simultaneous usage:

Now, I will probably cop a lot of abuse here. Both watches were on my left hand during a Wolgan valley trail run in the blue mountains. Auto pause was off. As best as I could with 1 hand and in the cold I tried to start and stop them both at the same time. So this was by no means a scientific test but the differences are pretty clear.The image on the left was the 620 and the right was the Fenix 2.

Differences included, hiogher reading on the Fenix on all 3:

Time: 21 seconds

Distance: 240m

Elevation gain: 31m

I can understand why there might be differences with the distance, but not the time. Especially on a GPS watch. Even so, in 21s, at that pace which was over pretty rough retain, the distance difference should only have been around 48m not the 240m above. On a separate test we did over a 5km run, the difference was around 75m odd. Maybe some differnet calibation or software.

In Conclusion

If all you do is run, shorter distances and have a dress watch, the Garmin 620 is good, light and easy to use and may be the watch for you. My wife also thoroughly enjoys this watch. 

If you run, cycle swim and do indoor gym work which is more what most of us do, I would go the Fenix anyway. This watch is touch, very tough and the completely waterprood, as well as the heart rate monitor. Would also recommend buying the bundle. With the additional functionality you won't regret it. But beware the Garmin Fenix 3 has been anounced. Looks good, looks fancy. Good news is it has wireless upload, bit is it as tough is the question? Right now, we recommend the Garmin Fenix 2 for men. This is maybe a little too big and bulky for the ladies but that is a personal choice. I love my Fenix 2.

You can check out the new Fenix 3 specs here.