Continuing my trend of discussing things after they have been out for a while, I’ll post some thoughts on the Garmin Epix 2 here and my thoughts as to whether it’s worth forking out 500 euros for one. I have had a couple of Apple Watches before and was openly underwhelmed. However I did like the health metrics especially when I had my first bad arthritis flare and was on the road to recovery. That said the apple system was not exactly user friendly to playing with other systems/devices and felt restricted. I had noted many friends all using Garmin watches and did some research online. I also wanted to get beyond what I was getting from Garmin Connect and it’s rest advice etc. as well as what I was getting from my 1040 solar (love that GPS). I decided a Garmin Fenix was the way to go and made a couple of miserable attempts to buy on Leboncoin (a French eBay that is very good). After failing on some bids and doing further research I found a great deal online for a EPIX V2 with its super cool AMOLED screen and rushed to a shop to grab the deal.

I am not going to do a super in detail review. There are people doing that for a living and will give you a far better break down of all the details. The tech go to is DC Rainmaker and here is his review on the said watch.

Fun Fact is I have actually raced “with” Ray. Years ago when he lived in Paris we were both members of the Expatries Triathlon Club and hence I think we raced in Versailles once. That said don’t think I have ever meet him! Back to the watch.

First things first. As I said I had been underwhelmed by the Apple Watch experience but the Garmin right out of the bag was such another experience. The Epix is not a “smart” watch and does not have the options of millions of apps. However I never really found any apps that I felt where really good and the smart aspects really didn’t do anything for me. I did like getting Office meeting reminders but that was it. The screen was really too small to do anything useful and the fact I could take a call on it just made me look like a freak talking at my wrist. The EPIX does receive apple phone notifications which is perfect for me, I don’t need more and I wouldn’t want less.

The great thing about the EPIX is how it works as a sports watch and perhaps more. I would go so far to say the EPIX is more a lifestyle coach, one to be generally followed but not to let rule your life! That sounds strange yes? Then welcome to the world of what Garmin does so well. I am sure there are other competitors like Sunito and Whoop but the training metrics are just brilliant.Let’s start with the one that really freaked me out at first. STRESS. Stress, it measure stress… BS I hear you maybe call, fair enough.. try it. Garmin measures stress on a 0 to 100 scale based in Firstbeat Analytics. Using the optical heart rate monitor it calculates stress from heart rate and heart rate variability. To quote Garmin:

Divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, your ANS regulates your physiological systems to best match the expected demands of your current situation. The sympathetic branch dominates when it’s time for action. Your pulse quickens, blood vessels dilate, digestion is interrupted, and adrenaline flows. This is sometimes referred to as the fight-or-flight response. In quieter times, the parasympathetic branch is more dominant, and your body enters what is referred to as rest-and-digest mode. This is when your body can repair itself and replenish resources depleted during more hectic times.

It is scary how well the stress measurement seems to work. Have a few drinks and see your stress go sky high – and how much it messes up your sleep. The old adage that a drink to help you go to sleep is busted there and then on your wrist. I can see at work before and during a high profile presentation how my stress rises. Combined with the sleep analytics it has made me make to life style adjustments, for the better. During the week to bed early, no drink, avoid blue light.. all stuff before I thought was slightly over the top but wow I do sleep better, feel better in the morning and can train better. However I have heard stories of how this stress measurement can freak some people out and becomes an obsession. I can understand that a bit but openly I am doing better than before I had the measurement so I know its an improvement and don’t get to wrapped up in it. A great guide, take it for that and no more.

The other aspect I am really coming to appreciate is the training recommendations it makes. I firstly noted how it gives me a score on my training and basically it said “unproductive” which is a really polite way of saying shite. The system has really encouraged my to do much more base, that said I am guilty of not taking all the rest days it recommends. There is a truth that whenever I get on the bike I rarely take it easy. On friend has told me how I was doing it all wrong and the watch confirms it, so I am doing a lot more base work now. The result is I feel less tired but also I can hit the harder sessions better. All common sense and it has been been pointed out by my better half everyone has told me about stress and overdoing it and I only listen to a “watch”! Francis Cade has done a video on this, it is a promotional video but I think it is reflecting my own experience largely (expect I don’t follow it exactly as I have a weekly milage problem and hence not getting the full FTP boost). See the video below.

Other highlights include the fact it is so easy to use with a great touch screen and frankly the buttons are so good you almost do not need the touch screen. It can hold loads of music (I do not bother with that) but more importantly lots of maps. Recently in Monaco where 4G is crap I used it to navigate around and it was brilliant. The screen is a little small but the haptic prompts worked a treat as we tried to find a decent restaurant in the old town.

Another huge deal is battery life. If you have a standard Apple Watch then welcome to the world I had to charging it every day! It is a pain. The Epix in gesture mode (screen off til you raise it to look at it) gives me 16 days. 16 days. Let me put that into perspective. Apple Watch will need charing 365 times in a year. The EPIX, only 24. Hold my beer Apple Watch. I can go in a business trip and not need to take another lead. The battery life can be expended as you shut down more functions but 16 days works for me with pretty much 100% functionality.

So is the EPIX Gen 2 epic. 100% from me, I love it. As said 500 euro’s on a watch is a lot, you can buy a pretty nice (!) analogue watch for that but the Garmin brings so much to the game and still looks like a proper watch. Garmin really did hit the nail on the head with this product. I am sure the Fenix is lovely but the AMOLED scree on the EPIX is perfection for me. As seriously awesome bit of kit even if I did replace the strap for a leather on (which my RoadID fitted – bonus!).