Mt. Whitney Hiking 2018 (7) ~ Garmin fenix 3 HR

Garmin fenix 3 HR

GPS Watch

I posted reports for hiking on Mt. Whitney Trail.  Today, I am writing about Garmin fenix 3 HR which is a GPS device for many spots activities.  I got it about two years ago, but this is the first time to ware it for hiking in higher elevation with the pace management.

This is not the latest model from Garmin, they introduce newer model such as fenix5.  However it is improved in many areas from the Forerunner 910XT that I had been using before this model.

Heart Rate sensor

In the previous model I own, it requires a chest-strap heart rate sensor.  Without the chest-strap sensor, it could not monitor heart rate.  However, this model has an embedded heart rate sensor inside the watch and it can monitor heart rate without the chest-strap style sensor.  It is much convenient for hiking and climbing.  It is different from running like carrying a backpack.  The sensor easy to get loose, move and etc.
Regarding the embedded sensor, I evaluated the embedded sensor during my running activities.  Basically to compare the value from the both sensor.  As my conclusion, I think the embedded sensor is reasonably close enough to the chest-strap sensor and I have no problem to use it for hiking and my running activities.
The biggest improvement is it can monitor heart rate 24/7!  It is a big thing for me!

Watch function

This depends on a model.  Particularly,  Forerunner 910XT does not have watch function in the standby mode which is not tracking activities.  It is not really a big problem since whenever I hike, it is in a tracking mode.   However once I get into a tent, it works as a regular watch.  It is just convenient.  A model I owned before Forerunner 910XT, Forerunner CX405, it has a similar watch function.  I just wonder why "910" does not have such watch function..... 

Hiking profile

My previous model is something like designed for just running (and swimming).  It was not considered to use other activities.  However, this model has more profile for other activities like hiking.  It is nice.  The previous model has a feature to change the display setup for different purpose.  But I need to change every time I use different purpose.  It is much better to have a dedicated profile for each activities.

Display of heart rate

This is probably the most useful feature in this hiking.  The legacy style which just shows a heart rate value in the previous mode when I set a target heart rate to manage the pace.  I just need to know the current heart rate value.  However this model display is improved like a photo on the top of this post.  It is color coded to show the heart rate zone as well.   Therefore it is easy to see where the current hart rate in a zone.  It is really nice when I try to maintain my heart rate in a specific heart rate zone.  I just try to adjust the pace to stay my hart rate in the middle of the zone.  I do not have to memorize the boundary of the target zone.  It is pretty good way to display the heart rate!

Overall, the latest model has very similar user interface and features.  Therefore, I believe it does not have much difference.  The capacity of the battery is also good enough.  Although I charged it in the tent just in case, it might be OK not to charge it.  Based on the specification, it can be covered this activity, the total hiking duration this time is a little less than 15 hours and it supposes to be covered.

(To be continue ....)