THE quatix 5 is Garmin’s third generation marine GPS smartwatch, an update from the quatix 3, which was released in 2016. I’ve been wearing the quatix 5 for the past three months and in addition to keeping time, I use it daily to track and record my activities and as a handy accessory for fishing and boating.
With a diameter of 47 mm, it fits my wrist well and lacks the excessive bulkiness of some competing offerings while maintaining a feeling of quality. It’s built tough with premium materials and a thoughtful design.The colour display with LED back light, for low light conditions, is easily visible and the glass lens has been very scratch resistant. Although initially quite daunting, once familiar with the menu system via five buttons, functional navigation becomes second nature; reading the instructions helps!
Notable improvements from the quatix 3 are the additions of a wrist based heart monitor (no need to wear a chest strap), improved battery performance (up to two weeks in smartwatch mode and up to 24 hours in GPS mode) via a new cradle-less charging cable, doubled internal memory, plus advanced autopilot control for boaties.
The quatix 5 is based on Garmin’s highly acclaimed fenix 5 multi-sport fitness watch with additional bonus functions specifically designed for “on-water” activities. These include high sensitivity GPS tracking and navigation data. The quatix 5 can also integrate and stream important information direct to your wrist from compatible Garmin devices, such as boat speed, depth, water temperature, waypoint + MOB marking, and autopilot control. You can even remotely adjust the volume and tracks on your Fusion stereo and operate a Garmin VIRB action camera. As well as being waterproof to 100 metres, other handy fishing features include a compass, barometer (to predict weather changes), thermometer, anchor alarm, tide data, a fishing activity “widget” for tournament anglers, sunrise/sunset times and an alarm for those early morning starts.
When paired with a compatible smart phone via the Garmin Connect app (or via a computer), the quatix 5 can track and save normal daily activities and health + performance data and alert you of connected functions including calls, texts, e-mail and social media notifications. Garmin Connect IQ compatibility allows you to download customised watch faces, apps, data fields and widgets.
Its activity and health and performance tracking functions allow you to monitor customised activities as varied as walking, stand up paddle boarding, golf, strength training, sailing, swimming, rowing and more. It was perfect when training for a recently completed 100 km charity walk. I have also been making use of the cycling and hiking functions.
For the fashion conscious, the QuickFit band system allows you to change bands without tools quickly and easily – it comes standard with a blue silicone band. Additional coloured silicone and stainless steel bands for more formal occasions can be purchased.
The quatix 5 is a sophisticated multi-function smart-watch for those who have the opportunity to combine activities on water and land and want to make use of a single device that covers both very well.
The quatix 5 is priced at $799 and Wi-Fi Sapphire edition priced at $949 with sapphire crystal lens and a stainless steel band as well as a blue silicone QuickFit band.
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