At a Glance: Quick Ratings
Heart Rate Functions
Fitness / Sport Features
Ease of Use
Battery Life
Where To Get It
A Deep Dive Into The Garmin Fenix 3
The Garmin Fenix range has been an outstanding line-up of outdoor adventure watches since they were first released.
You can trust Garmin to innovate and improve on an already successful product and that’s precisely what they’ve done here with the Garmin Fenix 3 HR.
Garmin have taken the previous Fenix 3 – popped it in a robust sapphire crystal display – more importantly – they’ve added Garmin Elevate OFF the WRIST heart rate sensor.
Garmin have also given it some great new strap styles and added 3 new sports profiles > golf, stand up paddleboarding & rowing. On top of that they’ve included the latest advanced running dynamics and physiological measurements and even. The Garmin Fenix 3 HR has been reviewed by Tristan Haskins aka CardioCritic
Video Review
Pros
Cons
Just like the rest of the Garmin Fenix range the Fenix 3 is aimed at people that don’t want to compromise in any aspect of their training. It’s got all the essential performance monitoring metrics of the Forerunner 630, the swim metrics and multisport triathlon functionality of the 920XT / 735XT …. it’s also a competent GPS navigation tool and 24/7 activity tracker with off the wrist (Garmin Elevate) heart rate monitor.
I’ll be quite frank here and say if budget is not an issue and you’ve been considering any of the following, Forerunner 735XT, Forerunner 630, Forerunner 235 or any previous incarnations of Garmin Fenix, bit the bullet and get this model.
It looks great, it’s got outstanding battery life (up to 16 hours in GPS mode) and, to top it all, it comes with a sapphire crystal watch glass to keep it looking pretty for years to come.
Key Features
- Stainless steel EXO™ antenna with GPS and GLONASS reception
- Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate technology measures heart rate at the wrist
- fēnix 3 Sapphire HR with high-strength domed sapphire lens and 1.2 inch sunlight readable colour display
- Fitness training features like advanced running dynamics stride length, vertical ratio, VO2 max, recovery advisor and more
- Outdoor navigation features like 3-axis compass, altimeter and barometer and TracBack® feature
- Smart Notifications and download data fields, watch faces and apps from Connect IQ™
- Omni-directional stainless steel EXO™ antenna, with GPS/GLONASS satellite reception, has the ability to track in more challenging environments than GPS alone
- 1.2-inch sunlight-readable Garmin Chroma Display™ with high-strength domed sapphire lens
GPS & Glonass Navigation
Navigate GPX routes with clearly visible waypoints and breadcrumb trail showing your desired path. Routes can either be downloaded from GPX sources or you can built your own on Garmin Connect website.
fēnix 3 HR provides comprehensive navigation and tracking functionalities to guide you on and off the beaten path using GPS plus ABC (altimeter, barometer and compass).
TracBack feature navigates you back to your starting point the same way you came. Its built-in sensors provide information on heading, elevation and weather changes
Barometric Pressure Sensor
The built-in altimeter provides elevation data to accurately monitor ascent and descent, while the barometer can be used to predict weather changes by showing short-term trends in air pressure. The 3-axis electronic compass keeps your bearing whether you’re moving or not.
Note > The Garmin Fenix 5 was released in March 2021. Same great functionality with wrist based HR and 3 x sized cases and enhanced fitness monitoring.
Smartphone Notifications
Love them or hate them, smartphone notification alerts can be very useful. The Fenix 3 will alert you to incoming calls, texts etc.
5 x Heart Rate Training Zones
The Fenix 3 HR is a great sports watch for anyone involved in serious heart rate training. With 5 x auto-set heart rate training zones see at a glance which zone you are in. Your training zones can be personalized if you want to set them yourself.
If you’ve not used a heart rate monitor before please try our heart rate zone calculator to get an idea of your own training zones. The clear colour coded heart rate display of the Fenix 3 HR also makes it a great watch for HiiT training.
24/7 Heart Rate Monitoring
Like the Forerunner 235 and Vivoactive HR the Fenix 3 HR samples your heart rate every 4 minutes (approx). Get a clear view of your peaks and troughs throughout the day.
As well as this 4 hour view it is also possible to recall a 7 day HRH graph.
This graph shows your daily average resting heart rate. Periods of extended elevated heart rate could be an indication of over exertion, illness or over training.
Daily Activity Tracking and Move Alerts
Top Alternative
The Garmin Forerunner 935 aimed at elite athletes in all disciplines including Triathlon provides some of the very best training feedback with Training Load, Training Effect (aerobic and anaerobic) and Training Status.
The 935 features a barometric pressure sensor but lacks some of the navigational features found on the Fenix range (e.g. route follow)
For more information, check out our full Garmin Forerunner 935 review.`
Closest Competitor
It’s difficult to recommend a direct alternative to the Garmin Fenix 3 as it depends on the features / functions that attracted you to it. Watches that come closest to the Fenix 3 are the Suunto Spartan range of GPS sports watches.
If it’s primarily for sports use and your racing time is under 9 hours then there is the Spartan Sport Wrist HR – also with wrist based heart rate For those looking for a fully featured ABC outdoor adventure racing watch it would have to be the Spartan Sport Ultra (currently not available with wrist based HR, but I am certain coming very soon ….) [April 2021]
Suunto Spartan Sport review – best suited to triathletes and other multisport exercisers – this version requires a chest strap
Spartan Sport Wrist HR review – best suited to triathletes and other multisport exercisers – also features off the wrist heart rate
Suunto Spartan Ultra review -best suited to outdoor adventure racers and ultra marathon / Ironman – chest strap required
