Absolutely LOVE my 965. The Amoled display is awesome and great battery life. I think they had a sale for $50 off.

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Kiwami Racing Team

I've had every generation since the 935 plus a few adjacent, and Wahoo, and Suunto.

I currently have the 965 and absolutely LOVE it. Its screen is the best on any smart watch I have ever used. Big, bright and high resolution. I have older eyes, and I cannot say enough how easy it is to read.

The 955 & 955 Solar are also very good with a slightly larger screen than others, and a gold value with holiday discounts.

The two 255 watches are great value choices and do not lack much from the 9xx versions.

I'm not a fan of the Wahoo RIVAL - it is out dated and behind the two value Garmin options.

The Suunto are super nice and best looking for daily wear.

+1 for the 255. I bought this after having a 935. I’m not a fan of a lot of the new training features being added to smartwatches so was happy to spend a little less for the core functionality.

With discounts you can get a Epix Gen 2 (non-pro) for the same price as a 965. Very similar watches, but the Epix might be a bit better as a daily wear if that is your style. The Pro versions have also had some heavy discounts which would get you ECG if that is something you need. And all of the Fenix 7 equivalents are also on sale (can find for under $500US), but I do really like the AMOLED screens of the Epix / 965

I just came off the 945 & onto 955. I would have gone 956 but Black Friday deal. Not saying you shouldn't go for the 956, but just letting you know the 955, very similarly specked, is a HUGE upgrade from 945. That's all I got!

I'm selling my 955xt solar (it is in the classifieds). Only selling because my wife got me an apple watch, so I can't exactly not wear it. I loved the 955.

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http://www.savagesentiments.blogspot.com/
http://www.tricoachmartin.com/
https://www.facebook.com/teameverymanjack

I bought an epix 2 based on the recommendation of DC Rainmaker, and clearly others agree, but while I loved the AMOLED screen indoors I could not read the screen with sunglasses on in direct sunlight. Unloaded that watch and moved to the Fenix 7x Pro which works way better outdoors for my eyes. No comparison indoors with the AMOLED indoors but then I race outdoors so I’m satisfied. Battery life on the Fenix, especially with the solar charging, lasts forever. Only making a note here because my own experience with the AMOLED was so contradictory to a lot of others that you may want to see if you know anyone with one and can preview.

Should add one of the big reasons I found the screen not readable in my case is that at full brightness it was ok in sunlight but the unit kept auto dimming and there was no way to keep on at full brightness. The full brightness relied on wrist flipping which was not responsive enough for me and/or would also turn the full brightness off while I was running. That ended being a really frustrating user experience.

https://dumbrunner.com/...-late-for-everything

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I saw that today, thought it was hilarious :)

Remy may be an accused plagiarist, and a former Runner's World hack, but his characterizations are pretty clever, even if you DO need to go down a Rabbit Hole to figure them out; e.g., "Lewis Lapin-Blanc"

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Had a 935 that could not get the elevation any more, read the DC Rainmaker reviews for the 265 and 965, and settled on the 265 (I actually pre-ordered it, something I've never done before). It does a little more than the 935, and does it better. I love having the heart rate measured during the swim so I get credit for that in my overall training load.

The only real issue I have with it is when I'm in the aerobars - I would like the display to brighten when I rotate my arm, but there is just not enough motion to trigger the display. I have to sit up and bring my arm up to be able to see the display clearly. I had to do this with the 935 too, so it's not a huge deal, but I do know the motion detection is pretty sensitive so I would think the trigger could be adjusted for cycling activities.

Sadly, I have a warranty replacement watch now - the elevation reading broke after 6 months. Not impressed with that as it took about 3 years for the 935 to get to this point. Also, there is the ongoing debacle with Garmin software development introducing bugs in two successive software updates, the most recent of which disabled the touch screen display.

I still really like the watch though.

Recently gone from the 745 to the 965
The 965 is just in another league and is a great watch , easy to use , see and looks great
Battery life is amazing

Thanks everyone for the input so far.

I think the 965, Epix Pro (gen 2), and Fenix 7 Pro Solar are the ones to chose from.

The 965 is appealing because its the lowest price and seems like a very updated 935 so it feels like I know what Id be getting. The one thing it's missing is ECG. I'm not sure if this is a need but it seems like a nice to have when spending this much.

Between the Epix and Fenix, it looks like display is one of the main differences. I unfortunately cant easily see these in store somewhere so would need to take a best guess on which display I'd like best.

I found a couple of posts in another thread here where complaining about the display on the Fenix 7 Pro Solar that the solar glass was distracting. kansaiben, you seem to like this watch but Im wondering if you have any more comments on the screen in particular the solar?

Last consideration is whether to get a standard (47mm) or X (51mm).

It was so much easier when there was little choice and I just bought the best offering like the 310, 910, 920, then 935.

Look for a used 955, 965, or Fenix 7 on Kijiji or Marketplace and you'll save stack of cash.

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So I did end up with the X pro 51mm, mainly because I’m getting older and the extra real estate made reading the numbers easier. I have no problems with the solar glass and I think it’s also because one other thing I failed to mention. With the AMOLED display you only have the option to use white text on black background. That coupled with the reflection just made the Epix not useable while I was running and only glancing at a screen. The Fenix screen allows you to flip this to dark text on white background and in direct sunlight this made a ton of difference to me. In nearly every other way the AMOLED display was superior but for using in direct sunlight. I just couldn’t make the Epix work for me without frustration. DC Rainmaker chose the Epix over the Fenix in a direct comparison (which was actually why I originally went with a much less expensive option) so not everyone has the same experience as me. If you purchase from a place that has a good return policy like I did you could always try both or try one and exchange it for another if one doesn’t meet your needs?