Got mine last week from REI -> Coming from the F2 then F3 this is a worthy upgrade. It essentially is the F3 sapphire with a optical HR sensor recording 24x7 HR data, including resting HR data. I enjoy the new strap as well - slightly softer and a touch more give then the rubber F3 strap. The bezel also does away with the red accents replacing them with silver. Also the sapphire glass is flat not domed.

You will have many say oHR sensors are still "inaccurate" and that is mostly true but it all depends on the user, potential usage and expectations. I find the elevate oHR sensor to be excellent for most training runs, and for daily HR tracking. Once you begin to get into sprint intervals, hills and other types of extreme HR fluctuations is where you begin to see the limitations of the optical technology. However most serious runners will be using a chest strap paired with this watch, which I also do.

So far three workouts in with the F3HR -

1. 3 mile run wih F3HR on left wrist and I also wore my ambit 3 on right wrist with sunnto chest strap hrm.
results: after an indoor warmup I headed out - both units tracked within 1-3bpm from each other from the start. Pretty happy with that.

2. Cross training indoors – Same setup with both watches – burpees, medballs, pullups, pushups, sled pushes and etc… The only noticeable difference was a few second lag for the F3HR to catch up to the suunto. Both average HR were only 2bpm off at the end of the 45-minute session.

3. 15 mile trail long run pace – F3 (non-HR) with garnin hrm-run + F3HR on opposite wrist - during the first mile the F3HR was about 10-15bpm below the HRM-Run - after things settled in they both tracked nearly identical for the remainder of the run except for hills. I should note I walked the uphill sections and the F3HR did show about a 10-15 second lag when the HRM-Run was spot on. So if you need this immediate data for some reason the HRM-Run is still tops - but at the end of the run the average HR were both nearly identical.

4. Ran my first race with the watch - a muddy, gritty 50k - I opted for the HRM-RUN chest strap so for HR data not much to reports. GPS accuracy (GLONASS ON) was spot on - Watch behaved super responsive compared to my older F2, as a matter of fact comparing the two gps track recordings from a friend who ran (used his F2) the F3HR has a better track - the F2 was smoothed much more than the F3HR.

Review in progress...

This is an incredible watch! It does everything you would want a sports watch to do and I'm sure is the best one out there, period! If it doesn't do something you might want, chances are that there is an app you can download that will.

I give 5 stars on every aspect of it that I tested.

Unfortunately, I'm returning it simply because it's just too damn big for my wrist. I couldn't get used to the size so I downgraded to the Garmin Forerunner 735XT (which I upgraded to from the Garmin Forerunner 25 that I had for a year).

If you are in the market for a true sports tracking watch that is very easy to use, battery lasts a long time and connects seamlessly with the software for review and tracking, Garmin is the way to go. They have several options and do it the best!

I've attached a couple of pictures showing the size difference from the fenix 3 HR and the FORERUNNER 735XT

As Im writing this review, it will be my second full week of using the Garmin Fenix 3 HR (w/HRM-Run).

I mainly bought this for a daily watch/smartwatch, track my daily exercise 5/week including weights and running, with the occasional paved path trails around my area. In the past, Ive used the Apple Watch, Fitbit Charge and Surge.

So, after two weeks what are some awesome features Im loving? To start off, I think this watch is gorgeous. Very masculine (definitely too big for my wife's wrist) and looks like a real watch vs activity bands/watches.

I think its easier to list out the small things Ive noticed that are really glanced over in other reviews. But know, my list is way bigger.

+Activity tracking screens are highly customizable and can track up to 4 different things you would like to monitor (elapsed time, cadence, heart rate, heart rate zones, balance, temperature, distance, etc)

+Notifications! The Apple Watch did GREAT with notifications. Although this isnt on the same level as an Apple Watch, its definitely better than the Surge which can ONLY tell you who texted and a few lines of the text and who is calling you.

+Watch Face customizablility. At the moment Im using DigicFace and Clarity. Some of the watch faces you download are GREAT with a ton of stuff that can be displayed. Other watch faces are extremely elegant and looks like a normal watch. Others... look pretty dumb. There is a ton of things you can download including other widgets, apps, watch faces, and data fields. Im hoping some of the watch faces will start updating and integrate the 24/7 HR soon.

+24/7 HR. The optical HR is much like that of the Fitbit. I think its relatively accurate for everyday things. If you used a optical HR before, you will know the limitations. Anything that requires you to clench your fist (weightlifting, mountain climbing, even rowing, etc) will make the optical HR give you false readings (usually low). Since I came from a Fitbit and knowing this limitation, I knew I wanted to get the bundle with the external HRM (which has worked REALLY well).

Everyday use the watch has been great. Its definitely heavier than the Surge, but I havent really found it much of a problem. After a few hours I barely even noticed it.

So how come I only gave it 4 stars out of 5?

-The App sucks. Compared to Fitbit, the dashboard looks like a mess. You still are able to put the same thing into the dashboard as fitbit (steps, sleep, calories, etc) but its not as pleasing on the eyes and easy to find things. You cant customize where you want to put things. Quite honestly, I think Fitbit is easier because its listed out. Garmin for example; to see your activity you did today, you click on the activity icon, then you click the particular activity, then if I wanted to see my HR and other stats, I have to click on the submenu to see the stats. On Fitbit, you just click on the activity you did for the day.

-It NEEDS your phone. For example want the weather app to work? If your phone closes out the Garmin Connect app, it wont retrieve the weather. It REQUIRES your phone to do quite a bit of the calculations and other things.

-Screen. In general, the screen is works well and during the day its beautiful. But the marketing images of the Fenix 3 HR with the beautifully saturated colors? Nope. It definitely looks more washed out.

-DAMN BACKLIGHTING. I dont understand why this is such a big issue. Apple Watch has done it incredibly well, Fitbit Surge was able to do it well, some of the other smartwatches/activity trackers were able to get it to work well as well. For some reason the Fenix 3 HR when raise your hand to tell the time, it SUCKS at recognizing youre trying to look at the time and turn on the backlight. SUCKS. I know this can easily be fixed with a firmware, but this is one HUGE gripe I had. This is such a problem, sometimes just rolling over in bed the backlight will light up but wont light up when I want it to!.

-No auto-activity feature. I always loved my Surge for auto detect that Im doing something. Not this. You have to tell it youre doing an activity.

-Sleep feature is okay. Doesnt tell much compared to Fitbit and also doesnt detect naps. In fact if you sleep out of your specified window of your normal sleeping schedule it starts making up stupid data.

+/-Lastly, I dont think this is a con only because it inspires me to get off my lazy butt and move around. I also dont consider it a con because I always felt the Fitbit was too liberal in what it thinks was a step. On the Garmin, the step counter is a lot less sensitive. Taking small steps around the kitchen might not register. Going up and down the stairs, it will. But you definitely wont get as much steps as you are with a Fitbit.

Honest to God, this is overkill for my needs. In truth, in terms of activity tracking there are WAY cheaper products out there that can do what I want it for. Garmin's 235 or more recently announced new vivoactive HR, seems like it would be able to track my exercises just fine but at less than half the price. When I researched the 235, it seemed like the 235 was almost a cheaper version of the Fenix 3, but with a few less features, but at half the price. Financially speaking, I should've saved the 300 bucks I spent.

But, after using the Fitbits and shopping around for other watches, I was done with the activity tracking-escue watches and bands. Google Watches and Apple's Watch didnt do it for me either because they lacked any real activity tracking (but they were GREAT smartwatches). The Fenix 3 HR just spoke to me because of how it looked like a real watch.

Am I going to use ALL the features in the Fenix 3 has to offer for me? Hopefully, but not the full potential and as consistently some people would.
All in all, Im trying to say this: youre going to be just as happy with the Fenix 3 HR. If financially you can justify it. DO IT. I love it. My wife? Thinks Im stupid.