Unlock the power of the sun with Garmin Fenix 7 Solar, a revolutionary smartwatch that combines cutting-edge technology with eco-friendly solar charging. Discover its features, benefits, and why it’s a game-changer in the world of wearables.
Maps, the show-stopper, was one of the many things the Fenix 6 offered. Not simply simple maps, but ones with enough information to be useful and guide one through. Maps would be included in the all-new Fenix, of course, but what else would it contain, and how would it be improved? More importantly, would it be sufficient to entice users of Fenix 6 to upgrade?
Solar Innovation Continues: The Inspired Border on Fenix 7 Solar
There have been a lot of changes since I received the Fenix 7 Solar to experiment with before I get into the features. While many new features have been added, some of the changes have been made to address bugs. I will be reviewing the watch in its upgraded form.
Garmin has improved its after-sales service recently, and they are paying more attention to customer criticism and giving more of a response. This may have been influenced by Coros, who provides great after-sale support and often provides updates with enhancements and problem fixes. In any case, I’m happy with how things are going!
I love that my device includes a silicone strap that can be quickly released. Although some people may react to the strap if they wear it tightly all the time for exact HR measurements, it appears sturdy and comfy. There should be something for everyone with Garmin’s vast selection of straps, which are available in materials other than silicone.
The narrow solar panel border that is seen right on the inner edge of the bezel is once more comparable to the Enduro. It doesn’t take up much room on the face, so there’s no reason to be unhappy. If the Enduro is any indication, it is worthwhile.
The fundamentals. The face is clear, but it could be more brightly. If you want brightness, you should get the Epix Gen 2, which costs money because it runs on a battery. It has an AMOLED screen that is just as bright as your phone.
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Many individuals will find satisfaction in Garmin’s wide range of faces, but if you require anything else, there are undoubtedly many more third-party faces available. I’ve decided on a plain, stock-watch face, and I adore it.
Garmin Fenix 7 Solar: Multisport GPS Watch
- Smartwatch: 18 or 22 days with solar power
- Battery Saver Watch Mode: Solar power can last up to 57 days or 173 days
- GPS Only: Up to 57/73 hours when using solar power
- All satellite systems: 40–48 hours of solar power
- Maximum Battery Life for GPS: Up to 136 hours/289 hours when using solar power
- All Satellite Systems and Music: Up to 10 hours
- GPS expedition: up to 40 days or 74 days in solar mode
- Solar charging, presuming three hours a day outside in 50,000 lux conditions and all-day wear
- Solar charging, supposing operation under 50,000 lux
The upgraded Elevate Gen 4 optical HRM, which is located on the back of the device, is made of glass rather than plastic like the F6, making it more robust. For reliability, I prefer to use an external monitor when I use HR for training, but otherwise, especially at night, I rely on my wrist HR. It is true.
It constantly takes accurate readings of my pulse during the day and at night, with no obvious false results that seem wrong. I attach my Polar Verity Sense strap to my trainer via Bluetooth, and thus far, it has worked flawlessly—I haven’t lost connection once!
Precision in Motion: Garmin Fenix 7 Solar’s Impressive GPS Capabilities
My phone opens Garmin Connect practically instantly, and it takes five to ten seconds to finish the sync. Right now, everything is really sleek. However, I will admit that for a long, syncing was a complete mess, wasn’t working effectively, and was getting really annoying. Fortunately, Garmin released an update that resolved the issue. Wonderful!
Given how much we care about the weight of the majority of the other stuff we run with, I should talk about the weight. My variant, the 7 Solar, weighs 79g and features a silicone strap. Although it’s not the lightest out there, it feels comfortable and light on the wrist.
In keeping with Garmin’s feature additions, you can use Bluetooth headphones to stream music from your Spotify, Deezer, or Amazon Music account without having to have your phone close by. As I don’t own any BT headphones, I can’t test this.
Additionally, there is smart notification functionality, which I find incredibly lovely and works well at keeping me from staring at my phone too much!
Garmin Pay is another incredibly helpful function that eliminates the need for me to carry a card with me during a workout in case I need to make a purchase. Simply an amazing technological application! For some reason, I still feel a little foolish using it, but I adore it!
When we train, let’s go right into GPS capability. I’ve run quite a bit, but lately, I’ve been riding more because of a grumpy knee! It is easy to start an activity and quickly locks onto satellites. This is nice! Say goodbye to idling around at the beginning of a session, trying to get a lock with your wrist raised! It hasn’t taken more than 30 seconds! Accuracy has been good when using the highways and trails.
There was a small, straight line on my trace, which led me to believe it may have lost lock once. On rare occasions, it may veer five or six meters off course for about a kilometer before returning. All in all, the tracking has been superb—better than any GPS I have ever used.
Garmin Fenix 7 Solar Maps: A Game-Changer in Wearable Navigation
The maps are really good! Except for the most recent Coros Apex Pro upgrade, which incorporated maps, this was the first time I had ever utilized maps on a watch. They really are wonderful, and I was excited to try them out! The maps are colored, labeled with important details, and offer enough information to be really useful. When traveling, the map follows the direction of movement at the top (if that is how you want it configured), which makes things very apparent and practical—exactly what you want in a competitive setting.
I occasionally have to halt to minimize movement in order to see the text because I noticed that the size is a bit small. Overall, I think Garmin did a pretty decent job of making it function, given the screen size. However, it might be too small if you have issues with aging eyes.
I have taken several different paths. I recently downloaded several from Strava, and I’ve established some on Garmin Connect as well as the Strava app, which are both great tools in and of themselves! Once more, routes were unexpectedly straightforward to follow. Because of the great accuracy, if I strayed off the path, I would receive an alert in less than twenty seconds.
Sleep and Recovery: Garmin Fenix 7 Solar’s Holistic Approach
Heart Rate Variability was just included, which was a really fantastic feature. Numerous Garmin devices have already measured this; the information was utilized to compute recovery, among other things.
However, the HRV figure was not displayed. I now check my HRV first thing in the morning, and it’s become one of my new favorite Fenix data points. Although it is a personal estimate that shouldn’t be compared to others, it makes sense in light of your prior HRV statistics.
It reflects exactly what’s happening in my life! Large training session naturally results in a poor score the next day, but I also like that when things are difficult in my life, or I’ve had a bad night’s sleep, it also results in a low score. When I get a great night’s sleep, my HRV score will likely be high. A seemingly excellent assessment of your current condition that considers almost everything.
The Acute load is another intriguing training aspect that is present in the training state. This is wonderful since it does not offer you a 7-day load as is customary, which is troublesome because you lose a whole day’s worth of work in one day. Instead, it progressively drops the load over time as you train and add more, rather than dropping off all at once in 7 days. Establishing a data flow that is more realistic, fluid, and beneficial.
Overall, the Fenix 7’s data collection and analysis capabilities are fairly good, and as a result, I regard it more seriously and find it to be a more useful training tool. Amazing content!
Sleep is one analysis that I consider, although it’s not always correct. I always leave my watch on overnight because I wear it constantly. Both my point of going to sleep and my point of waking are accurately captured by it, albeit the latter is only sometimes accurate. There is more randomness in the distribution of light, deep, REM, and awake time sleep.
Although it often estimates my wake periods accurately, I am aware that there are instances when I am awake for longer. It’s a respectable attempt, though there is definitely room for improvement—and this applies to all companies equally. Training readiness is one analysis that is driven by sleep statistics, so if they improve, so will the training readiness output.
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Optimizing Performance: The Impact of Garmin Fenix 7 Solar
The body battery statistics will be recognizable to many. This well-liked function gathers information from activities, stress, and HRV. When you are awake during the day, it falls, and when you go to sleep at night, it rises.
A restful night’s sleep significantly impacts your body’s energy reserves, whereas an intense workout has a significant counteracting effect. This feature is great. Take it with a grain of salt, but it’s still a good idea to monitor it every day to look for any troubling trends.
We received the Morning Report in a recent update. This delightful little tool allows you to peruse a report on your training readiness, weather, HRV, and quality of sleep each morning as you wake up.
It is customizable, and after using it for a few weeks, I must admit that, although I wasn’t too concerned about it when it first arrived, I truly like it! The Morning Report disappears from your watch screen once it has left it, which is a minor annoyance. Although the data displayed can be seen individually at any time, why can’t I obtain the report whenever I want? As mentioned, a small annoyance.
We now have native running power. Thus, thanks to a recent upgrade, we don’t require a pod (like Stryde) to gather power. Since HR is more realistic in steep terrain, I haven’t found much use for power in my training. However, this was a great feature that some people might find useful and one that, quite frankly, the Fenix series of watches should have included in the first place.
The Fenix 7 has a ton of features, but I’ve highlighted the ones that stand out based on my use of it so far since I wanted to attempt to convey how the watch feels overall. Visit DC Rainmaker’s for a comprehensive and technical review.
You should be able to navigate through all of the capabilities on the watch if you have previously had a Garmin device. It is straightforward to use after you have figured it out properly and is rather intuitive. It also features touchscreen functionality, which you may turn off when the circumstances are unsuitable or you don’t want it.
Best of both worlds combined! This reduces the amount of effort required to navigate menus and move the map compared to using buttons. Even though I don’t use it often, I’m glad it’s there.
The best part about the Fenix 7 is how customizable it is, with almost every function you could want! There’s really little chance it won’t fulfill your needs! Price, battery life, performance, and, for some, customer support are the decisive criteria. According to my observations, performance has been generally excellent.
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This is a feature that is absent from my edition; nevertheless, the flashlight is included if you choose the 7X. At first, it sounded a little ridiculous, but it has a few useful settings. It can function as a simple flashlight, flashing to make you more visible for safety.
It can also be programmed to react to your arm swing, sending a red light out the back when you swing backward and a white light out the front when you swing forward (I’d want to try this out!). Lastly, it can flash the SOS signal. It is a useful addition rather than a curiosity, but regrettably, it is limited to the 7X models.
Of course, Garmin Connect—both the app and the website—has to be mentioned. Once more, Garmin has everything covered, in contrast to Suunto, which has the app and recently discontinued its web presence. Having both alternatives makes a lot more sense, in my opinion.
Although the app offers nearly all the features of the web version, sometimes working on larger screens is just more pleasant. All in all, the app is wonderful for certain tasks like creating routes and reviewing charts. Although I think it could be a bit more clearly organized, I find the software to be very intuitive.
It is evidently difficult to make the app incredibly user-friendly and easy due to the vast amount of data it contains. If the watch is within range, the app will sync each time you open it. If there is a lot of information to update, this process could take up to 45 seconds, but it usually happens much faster.
Exercises can be immediately uploaded to third-party apps, such as the incredibly quick Strava. Everything is submitted to Final Surge and Strava, and both are just as quick. Usually, the session has been uploaded to Final Surge, Connect, and Strava by the time I get home.
Pricing Dilemma of Garmin’s Fenix 7 Solar, Epix 2, and Enduro 2
Which gets me to the price. It most definitely was costly! There are three sizes: 7S, 7S, and 7X. Standard, solar, and sapphire solar glass are included in each size, for a total of nine possible models. The most expensive model is the 7X with Sapphire Solar glass, which costs an astounding £1049.99! The least expensive model is the 7S, which costs £599 with regular glass. At £689.99, my test watch, the 7 with Solar glass, is priced squarely in the middle.
Do they merit the effort? The technology is amazing, the design and execution are well-proven, and it’s worth noting that they appear to have a respectable after-sales team now that they’re regularly issuing updates (it was updated this morning). This watch has exceptional mapping capabilities that are unparalleled for a watch with this kind of long battery life.
Although its precision is not flawless, it is nonetheless quite remarkable. You can choose the course you want to take, but in my opinion, I could go as far as the 7 standard; anything beyond that is too much.
Naturally, the other timepieces are only considered in this. As previously mentioned, the Epix 2 was also released at the same time and is essentially the same except for its lovely bright AMOLED screen, which uses a lot of battery life. However, if you really want a screen that is very clear regardless of the ambient light conditions, and you don’t particularly need a large battery life, this might be a better option for you. Garmin announced the Enduro 2 shortly after the Fenix 7 was released.
It has the same extended battery life as the original Enduro, but it now has maps! The main disappointment with the first Enduro was that it was an expensive outdoor watch with no maps. Thus, the Enduro 2 appears like the clear choice—but that’s before you take pricing into account! There’s only one option, and it costs a whopping £929.99! For now, I believe I’ll continue using the Fenix 7!
FAQs
Q: How long does it take to charge Garmin Fenix 7 Solar using solar power?
Experience rapid charging times as Garmin Fenix 7 Solar harnesses the sun’s energy efficiently. On a sunny day, a few hours of exposure can provide a substantial charge.
Q: Is Garmin Fenix 7 Solar suitable for extreme outdoor activities?
Absolutely. With its rugged design and durable build, Garmin Fenix 7 Solar is engineered to thrive in challenging outdoor environments.
Q: Can I customize watch faces on Garmin Fenix 7 Solar?
Yes, you may customize your Garmin Fenix 7 Solar experience and show off your sense of style by selecting from a wide range of customizable watch faces.
Q: Does the smartwatch support third-party apps?
Indeed, Garmin Fenix 7 Solar offers compatibility with a range of third-party apps, enhancing its versatility and functionality.
Q: What is the warranty period for Garmin Fenix 7 Solar?
Garmin stands by the quality of its products, offering a solid warranty period for the Fenix 7 Solar. Check the official website for detailed warranty information.
Q: Can I track my sleep patterns with Garmin Fenix 7 Solar?
Absolutely. The smartwatch provides in-depth sleep-tracking insights, helping you understand and improve your sleep quality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Garmin Fenix 7 Solar stands at the forefront of innovation, combining sustainable energy solutions with cutting-edge technology. Whether you’re a fitness enthusiast, outdoor adventurer, or tech-savvy individual, this smartwatch promises an unparalleled experience. Embrace the future with Garmin Fenix 7 Solar.
