THE MAKING of the FENIX7
We’re not saying it’s tasteful, but there was a t-shirt doing the rounds a while ago at races that read, ‘If I collapse, pause my Garmin’. But that use of the brand name rather than just the word ‘watch’ is telling. Not only have Garmin long held the top spot in sports watches, but as well as their ubiquitous nature this points towards how important that data collection (and the accuracy of it) is to athletes. Plus, if you’re doing three sports in one, you need a load of data.
Ever since its inception in 2012, the Fenix has led the way in Garmin’s multisport range with its impressive feature set, tough exterior and market-leading battery life. But it may surprise you to learn that in those early days, attracting multisport athletes was by no means the goal.
“Our first Fenix was largely targeting hikers and adventurers,” says senior product manager Jon Hosler. “It did well in the fact that it had some cool features. It was a very unique product, but with Fenix 2 we really wanted to broaden it and make it the first multipurpose watch.” From that point,
