I did extensive research last year on a new watch and was down to the Fenix 2 and the Suunto Ambit 2 Sapphire. I ultimately went with the Suunto because the Fenix 2 had so many issues and bugs that were not being fixed by Garmin, also the Fenix 2 was a bit too cheaply made and GI Joe looking IMO.
Now I have the Fenix 3 and couldn’t be happier. I looked at the Suunto Ambit 3 but the Fenix 3 has so many more features it is not even a competition anymore. My Fenix 3 is the Sapphire edition, the metal band on the sapphire really classes the watch up a lot IMO. I have worn it every day all day and night since I got it in late February. Battery life is excellent, the features are awesome and work well, notifications are handy while riding, my wife loves the Garmin Live Track for when I am riding alone. I had one freeze the day of an update, reset the watch and it has been fine. That was the only time it had an issue.
Some say the lack of quick release is an issue for them. I primarily bike these days and my Fenix is the only bike computer I own. I don’t mount it to the bike, just a quick glance at the wrist works fine for me. Very nice that I don’t have to move it between my four bikes, I always have it on so I just grab a bike and already have a computer. I did the same with all my GPS watches in triathlons, just keep it on the wrist. You don’t need to stare at data the entire ride and it saves you time in both transitions. If you move the watch to the inside of your wrist, the display is right in your face while on the aero bars.
The ability to add apps, data fields and different watch faces through Garmin IQ is another cool bonus.
Anyway, I was nervous about switching from Suunto to Garmin. Suunto has the rep for being rock solid and for the year I used Suunto it was absolutely rock solid, never a freeze, reset anything, it just plain worked. Suunto also has the rep for best GPS tracks. The features made me move to the Fenix and it has been 98% as solid as the Suunto, the GPS tracks are just as good in my experience. The Fenix works much better as a daily wear watch, looks better, is slimmer, and the features make it a great all around watch. I definitely recommend it.