GPS Watch Question

[datbrew]

Looking for some guidance on GPS Watches. I've been using a Garmin Fenix 2 for the past year to track all of my runs and hikes. I went with the Fenix 2 because I wanted GPS capability, heart rate monitoring (external chest strap which I bought separately), and a barometric altimeter for my hikes. This older model was also much cheaper than most of the other options out there.

The watch has been great for tracking my runs. My issues have mostly been with longer activities (long runs over 2 hours and all hikes). Often times the watch will crash, resulting in lost data. Sometimes it even gets stuck in a loop where it will reset during an activity and let me restart it once the reboot is complete but then it just crashes again.

I wanted to see if anyone else has had similar issues and if they were able to find a fix. I can't find a clear fix in any of the Garmin forums although the problem is clearly reported. It does seem to be more likely to happen when the memory hasn't been cleared recently but that hasn't solved all issues.

I'm debating looking at either a Fenix 3 (similar problems have been reported online) or moving to the Suunto Ambit 3 Peak. Any thoughts?

 

[JToll]

I have a Suunto Ambit 3 Peak and have had no problems on long hikes as long as I remember to charge it up the day before.

 

[KRobi]

I have the Fenix 2 and have not had the issues you describe. My only issue is that the mileage recorded during a hike tends to be 15-18% higher than actual mileage. When I download the tracks on the computer it comes out right. This inaccuracy limits it's ability to be used to find spots that you need to know the distance to. Also do not know of a fix for this.