The official unveil of Garmin Enduro 2 dropped yesterday. This is a watch for extreme endurance athletes, such as those into ultra-marathons and trekking. It is probably the best trail runners timepiece out there.

The device shares a lot of similarities with the latest Fenix watch and has narrowed the gap between these two lines thanks to a slew of upgrades such as storage for music, maps, WiFi connectivity. You can find all the details on changes between the two Enduro generations on this link. The improvements really are across the board.

In this article we compare Garmin Enduro 2 and its closest match – the Fenix 7X Solar. Or to be more precise, the Sapphire version of the same. What exactly is the difference between all these devices? It turns out, there’s not a lot to separate them.

The Garmin Enduro 2 was announced on 9 August 2022 and is available to buy now from Garmin’s website and Amazon.

There are three different sized Fenix 7 editions but here we’ll just delve into Fenix 7X Solar. That’s because its diameter is 51mm, the same as that of Enduro 2 which comes in only one size.

Garmin Fenix watches are quite chunky. That’s even more the case with Enduro 2. It has a depth of 15.6mm which makes it 0.7mm thicker than the Fenix 7X. So this is not really something a person with small wrists can wear.

Having said that, Enduro 2 is not heavy for its size. Its weight comes in at 70 grams (case only: 64 grams), which is actually 26 grams less than Fenix 7X thanks to is lightweight nylon strap.

The build of most Garmin watches is fibre-reinforced polymer with titanium rear cover. And these devices are no different. But Enduro 2 comes with a titanium bezel and Power-Sapphire lens material. For that you’ll need to opt for the Sapphire version of Fenix 7X Solar as the regular iteration has the less fancy stainless-steel bezel and Power-Glass lens.

Another difference is the strap. The default option on the Fenix line is a silicone band whereas Enduro 2 comes with an ultra light-weight elastic nylon hook and loop (along with the silicone band). Of course, straps on Garmin watches are interchangeable so you can tweak this to your liking with additional purchases.

Beyond this it is much of the same. The watches comes with a 1.4″ (35.56 mm) diameter, sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display with 280 x 280 pixel resolution. This is touch enabled. The water-resistance rating is 10 ATM.

Below the surface the similarities continue. The watches pack the exact same bunch of sensors. This includes heart rate, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, thermometer, Pulse Ox, barometric altimeter and GPS/GLONASS/Galileo. There’s also NFC for payments on the go. 

The Sapphire edition of Fenix 7 and Enduro 2 also have Multi-frequency positioning. This is a useful feature which makes sure your satellite signal is strong and quick to find.

Out of the box, Enduro 2 also comes with SatIQ. Switch this on and the watch will automatically choose the best satellite mode in terms of power efficiency and accuracy. This feature will come via a firmware update to the Fenix 7 Sapphire, too. In fact its already in Beta.

Whichever option you go for, rest assured you will not be charging your device often. With Enduro 2 you get a bit more battery life than with the Fenix. But its probably not something most people will notice very much.

For example, in smartwatch mode you can get 34 days between charges on Enduro and 28 days on Fenix. Which GPS you can get around 110 hours on Enduro or 20 more than on Fenix. These types of gains are similar with Solar.

Here’s how the tech specs compare.

As mentioned, the Enduro 2 has narrowed the gap with the Fenix line. Which means most of the differences between these watches now are to do with design. In terms of their ability and functionality, they are almost the same.

In this section we’ll only delve into the differences. Not much point in going through what these watches can do – as it would make for quite a long article.

It is worth noting, at the time of writing Enduro 2 has a few features that can not be found on the Fenix 7. These are mainly to do with the recent crop of performance metrics that arrived with the Forerunner 955, namely, Training Readiness, HRV Status, Native Run Power and more. But all of these are already in Beta so should be landing on your Fenix watches in the next month or so.

A big change for the Enduro line is that it now has preloaded TopoActive maps. This rectifies a big omission from the first generation device. It was an odd omission considering the timepiece is meant for use by train folks. Maps should be made all-the-more easier to use thanks to the large, touchscreen display.

Fenix folks have had maps for a while now. But they don’t have access to two Enduro specific features: NextFork and Grade-adjusted Pace. The first is a guide which shows the name of the upcoming trail, the distance to the next trail intersection and more.

Grade-adjusted pace is designed to help you pace your runs over varying terrain. Essentially, this displays the equivalent running pace on flat ground so that you know how hard you are pushing yourself. It is a more simpler version of Run Power and a re-tweaking of the 3D Speed and 3D Distance features on the original Enduro. The feature has been available on platforms such as TrainingPeaks and Strava for a while now.

Enduro 2 also has a Auto Rest Timer. As its name implies, you no longer need to trigger rest/aid station time. This will be done automatically for you.

Plus there are a few extra sports modes over the Fenix. This include Sail, Sail Race, Hunt and Duathlon.

The final feature worth a mention that has arrived to Enduro 2 is the physical flashlight of the Fenix 7X. But it is better than ever. Gamin says Enduro 2 packs Garmin’s brightest flashlight. In fact it is twice as bright as the one that can be found on the Fenix 7X, making it much more useful. It even provides the option of a strobe mode to match your cadence. Plus you can enable a red safety light mode allowing others to find you easier.

Garmin Enduro 2 is as good as it gets for extreme endurance athletes and train runners. It improves on the first generation in a number of different ways and is what the original Enduro should have been.

But this raises the question – does Garmin really need this separate line. If you take the time to read through this whole article you’ll realise there really isn’t very much to separate Enduro 2 and Fenix 7X Sapphire. Hence, only the $100 price difference.

For those extra bucks, you get slightly longer battery life, a more lightweight build, two straps in the box (nylon/silicone), a few extra sports modes, Auto Rest Timer, trail-specific NextFork, Grade-adjusted Pace, along with a more capable flashlight. Not really that much extra. Plus you get a device that is slightly thicker than the Fenix.

Enduro 2 will set you back $1,100 on Garmin’s website (check price on Amazon). Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar costs around $1,000 while the non-Sapphire version of the same starts at $900 (check price on Amazon).

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