First Look: Garmin Fenix 3 HR

My quest continues. I've provided quite a few tests and reviews of fitness wearables over the last few months, in an effort to find a wearable that can live up to the capabilities of the Microsoft Band 2. At my last check-in I was using the Garmin vivoactive HR and decided to keep using it only due to the woes attributed to the material and build quality of the Microsoft Band 2. Since that check-in I've had to replace yet another Microsoft Band 2.

Hey, Microsoft! Are you listening?

If it weren't for the material and build inadequacies of the current Microsoft Band revision, I'd still be wearing it. It has proven to be just as accurate and full-featured as a Garmin device - which is essentially the industry leader for hardcore athletes.

So, then I wondered, how would the Microsoft Band 2 fare against Garmin's top-range fitness wearable? The Fenix 3 HR is Garmin's current, high-end, full-featured activity tracker. It also comes with a hefty price tag at around $600, which also isn't quite as much as the just announced Garmin Chronos. The vivoactive HR is essentially the junior version of the Fenix 3 HR. Can the Fenix 3 HR be that much better than the vivoactive HR? Can the Microsoft Band 2's capabilities finally be put to the test by a higher-end device?

Stay tuned. I'll be testing the Fenix 3 HR out for the next few weeks and will report back.