Garmin Enduro 2 review
The Garmin Enduro 2 is absolutely jam-packed with features. Is it overkill? Or does it justify the high price? We find out...
Yes, that price is correct. So how do you justify remortgaging your house? Well, there are a catalogue of new features over the original Enduro but less so over the Fenix 7.
If you have the latter, you’d have to be a total Garmin acolyte to buy this, too. If not, it might be time to dig deep…
New features on the Garmin Enduro 2
First up, the impressive pre-loaded TopoActive maps with Garmin’s new NextFork feature. As the name implies, this tells you the distance to the next trail intersection, which is a neat addition for triathletes who might spend the winter off-road running.
Another new highlight is Grade Adjusted Pace that assesses the topography of the terrain and displays what your equivalent pace would be on flat ground. This is one of those features you never knew you needed but, once it’s presented to you, you become obsessed by.
Both are great in theory but only work if GPS is accurate. And in the case of the Enduro 2, it’s incredibly so thanks to its access to multiple global navigation satellite systems.
This brings us to its SatIQ GPS technology that determines the best satellite support depending on conditions. Again, this is a neat feature as some GPS systems are more draining on battery life than others.
This cranks up the battery life to 150hrs in GPS mode, which is 50 more than its predecessor and 28 more than the Fenix 7. Improvements in its solar ‘Power Glass’ also help here.
It features an LED at the 12 o’clock position (in old money) that will add appreciated light on winter trail runs. It’s similar to that seen on the Fenix 7X but even brighter.
Is it a good triathlon training tool?
And it includes the majority of new features that we saw on the Forerunner 955 we tested recently. These include Training Readiness and heart-rate variability status.
Of course, arguably the most important remain the sports features, of which there are countless. Each sports profile has its own metric set specific to them.
As a snapshot, for swimming – pool and open water – this includes pace, stroke count, swolf and, for pool only, stroke-type detection.
The bike links to your power meter as well as featuring a safety feature that sends a message to your nearest and dearest if you’ve crashed.
And running, well, the list stretches into next year and includes predicting your race time. You can also tap into run power, ground contact time and more, but you need the HRM-ProPlus strap to do that.
What else is on offer?
You can also download playlists from music providers like Spotify; tap into Garmin’s Connect IQ store for apps galore; and receive smart notifications. And a whole load of features that you’ll probably never use.
It also comes with a nylon strap and silicone band. And is surprisingly light for such a big piece of sports tech.
But should you buy it? If you’re a committed triathlete with the money and don’t have the latest Fenix, it’d be hard to resist.
Verdict: Simply stunning training tool at an equally stunning price.
Score: 88%
James Witts
Freelance sports writer and author 
