[RNAlfons]

> Even the Garmin stuff is problematic. I had a Garmin watch crap out entirely while up a mountain.

I switched into the Garmin environment some years ago. Have my second watch now and spread it all over the family. Never had I one person having any kind of issues with it and we have both outdoor and everyday models.

[cosmojg]

Which model would you recommend for a desk jockey who either runs or lifts weights a few days a week and goes hiking and climbing on weekends?

[i_am_jl]

Garmin's watches have differentiating features, but any Garmin sportswatch will be sufficient for what you're doing. The biggest differences between the watches are the screen.

Venu/Vivoactive is a perfectly fine starting point. Move upwards if you need specific sensors, on-device music playback, etc. Upgrade to the Fenix if you want the better battery life and you're not bothered by the dim screen. Upgrade to the Epix if you want the better battery life of the Fenix and you can't live without a bright screen.

When I got my Fenix I thought the screen would bother me, but I got used to it quickly. If you've got a traditional smartwatch and you're moving to a Garmin, the Fenix might be an adjustment. Readability in direct sun can be problematic, (especially trying to read it on a bike) only you know whether or not that matters for your use case.

[sheepshear]

The cheapest one with GPS. If you choose a model with a small watch face but you don't have dainty wrists, make sure you can find a longer after-market band first.

[baz00]

I had a Fenix (can't remember which one) that would crash with specific GPX files were used. Also wouldn't talk to anything other than windows occasionally. I think someone else reported the latter as well.