Garmin Review
Introduction
During 2024, I have been reviewing the performance of Garmin watches and their suitability for wind sports.
These pages have been created to share a variety of observations and pertinent technical details.
Since there are so many topics to cover, multiple pages have been created to avoid one giant summary!
Background
Early in 2022, I had a look at the data coming out of several Garmin watches; Forerunner 255, fenix 7 and fenix 7S. All of these watches had issues with the speed data, despite using the windsurfing mode (fenix) or other (Forerunner 255). A somewhat brief summary of the issue can be found on Seabreeze in the topic “Garmin Fenix 7” on 25 Apr 2022 6:13 AM.
Fast forward to 2024 and TBWonder (Andrew Haigh) posted some impressive test results from his Forerunner 255. I decided to buy myself one and I have been testing it ever since. Not only have the original issues been resolved but coincidentally, COROS have subsequently introduced the Garmin issue of 2022 to their Airoha-based watches in 2024!
General Overview
Before diving into any technical details, I will quickly summarise the Forerunner 255 as follows:
- Accuracy is far greater than any previous Garmin watches. 5 x 10s averages and longer runs are typically within 1 or 2 of tenths of a knot, relative to Motion / ESP benchmarks.
- Max speed is best ignored, but max 2s is typically within 2 or 3 tenths of a knot, relative to Motion / ESP benchmarks. Sometimes it is higher than the motion, sometimes it is lower but on average it is slightly lower.
- In my opinion, recent Garmin watches allow for a reasonably fair competition at GPS-Speedsurfing and GPS Team Challenge. I don’t consider it up to an ISWC World Championship event, but it’s a solid performer for recreational use and semi-serious competition.
- There are several apps / datafields that are worth using on the modern Garmin watches. These include APPro Windsurf, Windsurfing Application, and GPSTC V4.
- The integration of Garmin Connect with websites such as GPS-Speedsurfing, Hoolan, and Waterspeed is also really slick and convenient. Sessions can be automatically posted to these third party websites, without any user interaction.
- Battery life is pretty decent on the Garmin watches and a massive improvement on the Locosys GW-60 which needed to be charged prior to every session. The fenix line has comparable battery life to the equivalent COROS watches.
- I have recommended the Forerunner 255 to numerous friends who want a GPS watch which is reliable and value for money. I’ve never had cause to suspect inaccurate results from their watches.
Important Observations
Various observations have been made whilst testing Garmin devices.
- Firstly, it is the Airoha GNSS chipset which makes the modern watches perform so well.
- The default recording interval on Garmin watches is “smart”, and needs to be changed to “every second”.
- GNSS settings are important - standard GPS can really suck on Airoha-based watches from Garmin and COROS.
- Activity profiles are also really important.
- Windsurf, kiteboard, and other are suitable for speed sailing.
- Surf, SUP, sailing and boating are unsuitable for speed sailing.
- Apps get to choose their GNSS setting and activity profile, so it is crucial that they do it correctly!
Detailed Topics
The following pages cover a variety of topics in more detail.
- General topics
- User topics
- Technical
Summary
I have seen some pretty solid results from the Airoha-based watches during my testing throughout 2024. They aren’t so consistent and dependable as the Motion or ESP, but they are nevertheless extremely good. When testing 2 Garmin watches at the same time you see a lot more variability than you do with 2 Motions (or ESPs). However, they are probably “good enough” for recreational use and semi-serious competition.
There are some little quirks and niggles which I have documented on these pages. There are also future opportunities such as accuracy estimates in FIT files. Hopefully the content of these pages will prove useful to anyone who takes a deeper interested in the use of GNSS technology for speed sailing.