Garmin has made many GPS watches during the past few years, such as the Forerunner 910XT, the Forerunner 620 and many others along with the original Fenix and now the Fenix 2, which is available from March 2014. The Fenix watches are very versatile watches that are mainly focused on adventure and exploration, also offering powerful features for outdoor training.
Both Garmin Fenix and the Fenix 2 are multi-sport watches and the Fenix 2 advances upon the previous first generation Fenix, which was released in 2012. The Fenix was aimed at hikers and also at ultra runners, with features like Bluetooth Smart notifications, among other specs. The Fenix was mainly aimed at runners, but did not have many features for the triathlete. On the other hand, the Fenix 2 has been aimed to cover this shortage and offers swimming support and also power meter features. The Fenix 2 also offers an advanced multi-sport mode, so that the user can immediately switch over to different modes during a race, just like in 910XT.
The outdoor and the adventure features and capabilities of the Fenix 2 are almost similar to those offered in the previous version Fenix, as the latter offered plenty of options. Some of the common highlights present in these watches are the altimeter and the barometer, the mapping and navigation features, the GPS breadcrumbs, a maximum of 1000 waypoints and also a maximum of 10,000 track points, a Trackback feature to prevent you from getting lost, geocaching, several time zone display and many other features.
However, one important addition in the Fenix 2 is the Ski Board mode as well as the XC Ski one. As for the Ski Board mode, the device is capable of measuring the user’s 3D speed as well as the distance, the horizontal distance along with the vertical drop. If you suddenly stop or go back in the ski lift, there is an automatic pause feature. The run gets stored in the form of a lap, so that the user is able to compare each run data. The strap extender allows you to wear it over the jacket sleeve for greater convenience and easy viewing.
The previous version of the Fenix mainly focused on running as well as cycling but did not have many intuitive features. However, the Fenix 2 has taken some of the best features of the 910XT and improved on the original Fenix. It is an excellent multi-sport triathlon device and also has the swim features. The watch is able to record the pace and the time as well as the stroke count and the interval distance for both indoor swimming and outdoor swimming. You can also measure pool lengths in case of indoor swimming, ascertain the type of stroke and make computations for swim golfing or SWOLF, in order to make as few strokes as possible for a lap, to enable greater efficiency at swimming.
You can buy the Fenix 2 at a starting price of around $450, which is exactly the price at which you could buy the original Fenix, but the Fenix 2 manages to bring in the best of the Fenix. If you indulge in multi activities, such as running, cycling, swimming as well as go out on adventurous hikes and snowboards, there is no need of wearing a different watch on these occasions, as the Fenix 2 is a watch that rules them all.
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