# Garmin Fenix 2 vs Suunto Ambit 2



## italianhound303

I ordered the new Garmin Fenix 2 and it should be here Saturday so I am pretty excited to test it out against my Ambit 2. I will let you guys know my initial impressions after a few runs and off road adventures obviously matched up against the Ambit 2.


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## pa7a7oz

Gold luck with the fenix 2. I have bought last week and I have returned the unit to my seller. It s a very big ..... You need to wait 3 minutes to see your resume activity or save your activity( a one hour activity)
The live track feature and upload activity only work with a iPhone better than 4s (don't work with android 4.4). The watch freeze some time and you need to restart the watch. If you start a second activity. The f2 don't recognize the heart rate strap....( restart f2...)
You can add map with navigation but if you turn around 180°. You need to wait 3 or more second to have the correct direction ( lag...)
If you don't move and the weather change. The barometric pressure move but the altitude too...
You can't invert the display and you don't see very well the data field in the dark( black screen)
So I keep my ambit 2 black edition!!! Maybe waiting one year the fenix 2 will be stable (using firmware 99.99  )

Envoyé depuis mon Nexus 4 avec Tapatalk


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## pa7a7oz

pa7a7oz said:


> Gold luck with the fenix 2. I have bought last week and I have returned the unit to my seller. It s a very big ..... You need to wait 3 minutes to see your resume activity or save your activity( a one hour activity)
> The live track feature and upload activity only work with a iPhone better than 4s (don't work with android 4.4). The watch freeze some time and you need to restart the watch. If you start a second activity. The f2 don't recognize the heart rate strap....( restart f2...)
> You can add map with navigation but if you turn around 180°. You need to wait 3 or more second to have the correct direction ( lag...)
> If you don't move and the weather change. The barometric pressure move but the altitude too...
> You can't invert the display and you don't see very well the data field in the dark( black screen)
> So I keep my ambit 2 black edition!!! Maybe waiting one year the fenix 2 will be stable (using firmware 99.99  )
> 
> Envoyé depuis mon Nexus 4 avec Tapatalk


I have used last firmware 2.5...


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## italianhound303

Pa7a7oz,
I hope I have better luck with the F2, I owned the F1 before I flipped it when the Ambit 2 was released. It will be here tomorrow so I will definitely post if the pros and cons to the watch. You have made me skeptical now..


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## cicciorun

italianhound303 said:


> Pa7a7oz,
> I hope I have better luck with the F2, I owned the F1 before I flipped it when the Ambit 2 was released. It will be here tomorrow so I will definitely post if the pros and cons to the watch. You have made me skeptical now..


did you got the Fenix2? I am very impatient for your review and comparison with the Ambit2!!!! I just sold the Ambit1 to buy Fenix2, but now I'm very undecided. Fenix2 has more function, has more connections, is more versatile... but I think that Ambit2 is more beautiful, has a better diplay, is more robust and reliable... Please help me to decide!!! Thanks a lot!!!


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## italianhound303

Sorry to be so late with my update but I had a very dramatic story and I want to share. I purchased the Fenix 2 and listed the Ambit 2 on Ebay for 7 day auction. I lose the Honeymoon phase fast with GPS units and loaded Garmin Connect on my computer. Everything we good until I decided to use the software to create my sprint workout, the program only allowed for a certain number of steps to be created for my circuits I think like 20 and a break counted for one step. So I decided to leave out the rest breaks and incorporate them without logging them in my watch. So the workout is sent to my watch, I get to the track and pull up the GPS and also selecting my workout. No joke it didn't load properly or something, I figure user error with new watch. Got home and redid workout completely from step one, yet failed me twice in one week. I cancelled my Ebay auction for the Ambit 2 and relisted the Fenix 2. Garmin Connect is garbage


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## martowl

italianhound303 said:


> Sorry to be so late with my update but I had a very dramatic story and I want to share. I purchased the Fenix 2 and listed the Ambit 2 on Ebay for 7 day auction. I cancelled my Ebay auction for the Ambit 2 and relisted the Fenix 2.


I have not tried a fenix but have quite a few friends that like them. I am glad that Suunto has competition in this area and the V800 should provide more competition. The short version of my story is purchasing a T6 when the watch first was introduced. It was a technological breakthrough and I used it for many years. I think Suunto did not see the importance of GPS logging and lagged behind after the T6. Meanwhile I tried the 310XT, 610 and 910XT. I ended up returning all of the Garmins for various reasons and bought a T6c on EBay to replace the T6. The Suunto watches worked, never crashed and I never lost a workout except to my own stupidity. I guess that is what I like about the Ambit. It works! There are a number of features I wish it had, and a number of fenix features I would like to have on the Ambit. The bottom line for me though is reliability. When my battery dies on the Ambit during a long run my move is saved, never lost one yet. When I head out the door I know it will take 2 sec for a GPS fix, my HR strap will be found and I can go run. No fiddling, no worrying just enjoy what I am doing and when I return I can examine the data.

A long-winded comment but I still cannot believe what my watch can do, a long way from the tritium glow in the dark Timex of my youth--those in my generation will appreciate that one.
,

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## morey000

martowl said:


> ...a long way from the tritium glow in the dark Timex of my youth-....


Great quote. 

Yeah- this thread about sizes it up. The Fenix 2 really does have a lot of great features, but I've had a few Gamins. Always a love-hate relationship with them. Great watches... when they worked. Styling always a little off. They all froze for no reason. Sometimes while on the starting line of a race! I became an expert on all the different ways to bring them back to life- one of which involved letting the battery run all the way down, then tapping the charger on the terminals a few times (yes, got this trick from Garmin Tech support... and it works- had to use it many times) One leaked.

Would it be nice if the Ambit2 had a vibration alert? sure. But- I'm impressed at how stable it has been over the last 5 months. I wear it and use it daily.

OK- off for my morning run now!


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## cicciorun

italianhound303 said:


> Sorry to be so late with my update but I had a very dramatic story and I want to share. I purchased the Fenix 2 and listed the Ambit 2 on Ebay for 7 day auction. I lose the Honeymoon phase fast with GPS units and loaded Garmin Connect on my computer. Everything we good until I decided to use the software to create my sprint workout, the program only allowed for a certain number of steps to be created for my circuits I think like 20 and a break counted for one step. So I decided to leave out the rest breaks and incorporate them without logging them in my watch. So the workout is sent to my watch, I get to the track and pull up the GPS and also selecting my workout. No joke it didn't load properly or something, I figure user error with new watch. Got home and redid workout completely from step one, yet failed me twice in one week. I cancelled my Ebay auction for the Ambit 2 and relisted the Fenix 2. Garmin Connect is garbage


thanks for your feedback, I agree in all, in fact, I did not take a lot to choose again Suunto, Ambit2 instead of Ambit1 obviously... Are two weeks with'm enjoying my new Ambit2!!!:-!:-!:-!


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## RandM

I tried the original Fenix and could not even get it to perform the most basic functions on it's first outing. I returned and had a chance to talk to a Garmin Rep at a marathon expo and he told me that it was not supposed to work out of the box. As a result, I have no interest in the Fenix 2 despite my love of the trails. As far as setting intervals on my GPS unit, I just wear a Timex Ironman on my right wrist. It never malfunctions and it is easier to change my intervals on the run if the need arises.


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## gaijin

RandM said:


> I tried the original Fenix and could not even get it to perform the most basic functions on it's first outing. I returned and had a chance to talk to a Garmin Rep at a marathon expo and *he told me that it was not supposed to work out of the box.* As a result, I have no interest in the Fenix 2 despite my love of the trails. As far as setting intervals on my GPS unit, I just wear a Timex Ironman on my right wrist. It never malfunctions and it is easier to change my intervals on the run if the need arises.


Come on, seriously? I can understand brand loyalty for Suunto, especially in the Suunto forum, but this is just silly.


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## RandM

gaijin said:


> Come on, seriously? I can understand brand loyalty for Suunto, especially in the Suunto forum, but this is just silly.


True story pal. The employee at REI could not get it to function properly either. However, I traded it in on a Garmin 910xt which was to replace my Garmin 310xt. I had the Garmin 310xt from the week that they went on sale. I used the 910xt up to 45 days ago. Even though I have had Sunnto Vectors for quite some time, I am ony 45 days into the Suunto Ambits. I have an R and An S, both an Ambit 2 and I enjoy them very much. I think that they rival if not exceed the Garmins I had been using. But what would I know? I have only been running distance since 1978.

Do I stand by my earlier post, yes, the first generation Garmin Fenix I owned never worked properly. Do I think that Suunto makes the best GPS for distance runners? My answer would have been different 45 days ago but I have to say Suunto at this point in time is putting out a better product than Garmin. However, in a few years, both of these wonderful profucts are going to be as dated as phone booths and 8 tracks and maybe Timex will be leading the market. I just hope I will still be running.


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## MiklosR

I have a fenix2 for 3 weeks now, and I love it. Flawless so far (1 ultra + 17 shorter runs). But it is definitely not:
-an ABC watch (no alti/baro lock, not even auto mode like in my Core)
-a day2day watch (too big for me).
It's a sport tool, and as a sport tool it works well for me.


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## martowl

MiklosR said:


> I have a fenix2 for 3 weeks now, and I love it. Flawless so far (1 ultra + 17 shorter runs). But it is definitely not:
> -an ABC watch (no alti/baro lock, not even auto mode like in my Core)
> -a day2day watch (too big for me).
> It's a sport tool, and as a sport tool it works well for me.


How long was the ultra? My understanding from the forums is that Ant+ is disabled in ultratrac mode. Is that correct?


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## RandM

Most of my running is in the very early morning hours. How is the negative face in the dark?


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## MiklosR

It was a bit more then 8 hours long, the battery went down to 49% with 1 sec recording and two ANT+ sensors. In Ultratrac there is no ANT+ communication, but the f2 runs 50h in this mode.


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## MiklosR

This is my very first negative display watch, so I was a bit sceptical. But I'm glad to report that the f2's display is as good as the positive display of the 910xt. The backlight is even better - 20-30% power is enough in the dark, 50-70% is perfect for pool swimming.


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## martowl

MiklosR said:


> It was a bit more then 8 hours long, the battery went down to 49% with 1 sec recording and two ANT+ sensors. In Ultratrac there is no ANT+ communication, but the f2 runs 50h in this mode.


I did a 50 mile ultra yesterday with the Ambit, 12h long and had 25% battery left so both watches look very similar at 1 sec fix--should get about 16h. I could not deal with no Ant+ in 60s mode, I use both my HR strap and footpod with the Ambit. I use the latter for a much better estimation of my pace and distance as the 60s track is not so accurate.


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## morey000

martowl said:


> I did a 50 mile ultra yesterday ....


Congrats on the finish!


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## MiklosR

I agree. The 60s mode for hikeing, not running. For runs longer than 15h you will need an accu bank. If you dont have extra map installed on your fenix2, it can record and store 220h data in 1s mode.


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## anto1980

Is not possible to navigate a route or a waypoint during an activity on fenix2? Needs to stop it and start navigation mode?


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## RandM

Congratulations on finishing a tough distance. When I turned 50, I ran a 50 miler and it was tough. My hat is off to you.


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## morey000

anto1980 said:


> Is not possible to navigate a route or a waypoint during an activity on fenix2? Needs to stop it and start navigation mode?


If that's the case- that's a substantial difference in capability between the F2 and A2 for those that desire the Navigation capability. With the Ambit- you can turn on and off navigation, switch routes, return along the same course, go to a POI, etc... all within the same 'move'.


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## martowl

morey000 said:


> Congrats on the finish!


Thanks morey000


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## martowl

RandM said:


> Congratulations on finishing a tough distance. When I turned 50, I ran a 50 miler and it was tough. My hat is off to you.


Thanks RandM, have a 100 miler and a 120 miler left for the season, hope to finish them both


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## martowl

MiklosR said:


> I agree. The 60s mode for hikeing, not running. For runs longer than 15h you will need an accu bank. If you dont have extra map installed on your fenix2, it can record and store 220h data in 1s mode.


I use the 60s mode on the Ambit2 to get a rough GPS track for longer ultras (100 milers as I am old enough I cannot do the ones I enter in 24h) without worrying about a recharge. I can record speed/distance with the footpod and still get HR and R-R data, which are important to me for judging performance and adjusting my training. Not having that option in UltraTrac would be a deal killer for me. On multi day trips I have not yet filled up the Ambit memory, I do not know how much the capacity is but it is over 50h on 60s with Ant+ recording every 10s.


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## MiklosR

The "old" fenix1 has this function (sensors+60s). I have no idea why they killed it in the new one.


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## gpglns

I was also between Ambit2 and Fenix 2 and honestly if I had to choose without reading any reviews I would have bought the Fenix 2. 

However after reading the reviews and visiting the respective forums it seems that the Fenix 2 is still in beta version and for me this is to totally unacceptable for such an expensive (for me) watch.

Anyway it all comes down to personal preferences so I finally bought the Ambit2.


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## ovid77

Hi Everyone, any updates on this? I am about to make a decision  need some advice from everyone


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## Artivis

I had the original Fenix (replaced twice on warranty due to battery problems) Fenix 2 (replaced once on warranty due to GPS problems) Fenix 2 Special Edition (got it because the inverted screen on the original Fenix was hard to read) and now Ambit3 Peak. I never used Ambit2 though .

The Fenix 2 overall is a good GPS watch. I never experienced many of the problems people talk about on garmin forums (https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?468-fenix-2)... it is solid, I like the mapping/tracking features (Ambit could at least draw the path you are travelling) and I miss the vibration alarms (silent wake up or alerts when I run with earphones)... but in my opinion it is troubled by two big problems:
- inability to save your settings, any time you have to make a master reset.. and you should really do it every time you update or have trouble with the watch... you lose all your settings! No way to save it. It is a step back from original Fenix which left your activities settings untouched. It is a pain.
- GPS problems.. the watch is very vunerable to worsening reception conditions (trees, buildings, bad weather) and the tracks go wild. They don't analyze or correct the gps track in any way (like Ambit 3 does). Oh maybe beside WAAS/EGNOS correction, but it doesn't catch the geostationary equator satelites where I live (central Europe).

Here an example of tracks recorded with iPhone 5s (iSmoothRun) -grey, Fenix 2 SE-blue and Ambit3 - red .. as you can see the Fenix 2 track goes wild.. and this happens very often 









Of course there is a chance that they will think of something and correct the GPS problems with another firmware... but I have waited long enough and I am bored with it.
If you ask me at this moment I would say go Ambit (Ambit3 preferably..)
Hope I helped 

I am travelling and in rush.. so sorry for the grammar


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## gaijin

I don't have an Ambit, but I've always had good luck with my fenix watches. Here's a close-up section of a 10km bike ride where I recorded 5 devices at the same time - FR310XT, fenix, tactix, fenix 2 and Edge 800:










I have not experienced any of the horror stories found on the Garmin forum - just good, reliable tracks.

Based on my experience with other Suunto products, I am sure the Ambits are also great products.

I suggest choosing the feature set that best meets your needs and going with that.

HTH


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## Artivis

gaijin said:


> I don't have an Ambit, but I've always had good luck with my fenix watches. Here's a close-up section of a 10km bike ride where I recorded 5 devices at the same time - FR310XT, fenix, tactix, fenix 2 and Edge 800


At least when it comes to GPS I think some of your luck comes from the fact that you use them in rather open areas where WAAS is operational (at least that is my impression from your other posts in Garmin forums). I am not so lucky I usually run through forests, hills etc, WAAS satelites are too low over the horizon to be useful... and the GPS weakness of Fenix2 shows 

I did 4 runs with both Fenix2 and Ambit3 and I have to say that Ambit is superior every time when it comes to tracking. It lacks some of the features I used on Fenix2 though (like vibrating alarms) and doesn't even show the mapped path (unless navigating) which makes me run with 2 watches atm 

I also didn't experience the other 'horror' stories people write about on Garmin forums. I think many problems come from not keeping the watch 'clean' (deleting old activities, doing a hard reset after fw update etc). I do those things and my watch never hang up, switched off or corrupted the .fit file!

Again if I was to recommend at this moment.. I say Ambit, unless you live in a similar area as Gaijin


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## morey000

Artivis said:


> ...
> -* inability to save your settings, any time you have to make a master reset.*. and you should really do it every time you update or have trouble with the watch... you lose all your settings! No way to save it. It is a step back from original Fenix which left your activities settings untouched. It is a pain....


This is one of the big points in favor of the Ambits. It's one thing if you have a running watch or even tri watch with 3 sport modes. But after having the Ambit2 for a while, I've got multiple running modes (like, a race day mode, a track day mode, ultra distance race mode), special displays set up with app for things like skiing and hiking, etc. If you use the watch for a lot- you can easily have a dozen or more special setups, each with multiple screens and multiple variables per screen. To have to reset the watch (which gamin's seem to require pretty frequently) and lose all that setup work- is lousy.

So, while the Fenix got points for being able to change screen variables on the fly- it's the wrong solution for such a complex watch. So much better to have them managed off line. The ambit 3 solved the best of both worlds problem.

then again- I've never need to do a reset/reboot on my Ambit.


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## bruceames

Artivis said:


> At least when it comes to GPS I think some of your luck comes from the fact that you use them in rather open areas where WAAS is operational (at least that is my impression from your other posts in Garmin forums). I am not so lucky I usually run through forests, hills etc, WAAS satelites are too low over the horizon to be useful... and the GPS weakness of Fenix2 shows
> 
> I did 4 runs with both Fenix2 and Ambit3 and I have to say that Ambit is superior every time when it comes to tracking. It lacks some of the features I used on Fenix2 though (like vibrating alarms) and doesn't even show the mapped path (unless navigating) which makes me run with 2 watches atm
> 
> I also didn't experience the other 'horror' stories people write about on Garmin forums. I think many problems come from not keeping the watch 'clean' (deleting old activities, doing a hard reset after fw update etc). I do those things and my watch never hang up, switched off or corrupted the .fit file!
> 
> Again if I was to recommend at this moment.. I say Ambit, unless you live in a similar area as Gaijin


Also want to add that a person is always going to get a better track on a bike just because the watch is in a fixed position and oriented optimally for max sat reception. On your wrist it's not ideal and the constant movement of the arm (especially running rather than walking) adds further degradation to the optimal quality of the track (given the location).


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