Following on, Conjays very own Chairman, Daren Conway, reviews the Garmin Tactix 8 51mm AMOLED…..
As a confirmed GADGET man, I am amazed I held out long enough not to trial the top of the range Garmin Tactix 8 51mm AMOLED. I have long been a fan of smart watches which started well back when the Casio Calculator Watch came onto the scene.
Before I went down the Garmin route, I used an Apple Watch 7 for a few years and although it was easy I got so frustrated with the very short battery life (less than 18 hours) which drained much faster if I used most of the apps.
Next, I bought a Garmin FENIX7 47mm MIP Solar which out functioned the 7 by a factor of 30! Using it in the Summer, the Battery life between charges was over 28 days…in the Winter when I tended to use the torch a bit more this dropped to a respectable 16 days. The advantage of the Solar/MIP display is that it tends to outlast the traditional display…that is until I read the spec sheet of the Tactix which with the larger diameter boasts a 29 day battery life (which it achieved).
Battery Life isn’t the only stand out feature of the Tactix. The AMOLED display is crisp/sharp and quite amazing to behold. All the sub menus and screens are quick to load and easy to comprehend.
The advanced calibrations and metrics out performed my iPhone 16 ProMax with their accuracy, as they relied on Satellite locations rather than mobile signals. The activities of the TacTix as compared to the FENIX 7 are more numerous and more relevant to the type of activity the typical end user will cover, from rucking (which is hiking whilst carrying a pack (whose weight you can enter into the watch for extra accuracy); to Sailing/Canoing/Kayaking/Scuba; or Yoga/Boxing; or HALO parachute jumps; or escape and evade scenarios. It’s this later aspect which solidifies the Military capability of the Tactix as you can enter Night-Vision mode when using appropriate gear; or stealth mode if you don’t want to be tracked or even the ability to wiping all data if your watch falls into the wrong hands.
Throwing in an accurate Ballistics Computer via the AB Quantum App helps ensure the point of impact is what you want to achieve.
Finally, the flashlight, which is an actual bulb rather than illuminated watch face and hence is located on the side of the case is super useful at night when trying not to walk into the bedroom wall or door!
