Garmin Epix Pro or original Epix Gen 2? If you had to pick one for running, which should you get? Fortunately, we’re in good hands to answer that question as both Testers Mike and Nick have been long-term users of the original Epix having trained and raced marathons with the Garmin watch since it launched in 2022.
Now that we’ve had testing time with the Epix Pro as well, we’ve broken down the key differences and tell you if you should go Pro or grab the original Epix instead.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:02 – Intro
00:14 – What’s different?
04:33 – The Run Test
12:12 – Which should you buy?
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Foreign Hey this is Mike from the Run testers And in this video we are going to give You our multi-test to take on whether You should go for the Garmin epics Pro Over the Garmin epics gen 2. [Music] Okay so let's start with price and we'll Throw up some of the kind of key figures That you need to know about these two Watches but ultimately what you know Generally happens with a new gun watch Comes out the other one should go down a Little bit in price now that might not Happen necessarily very quickly on kind Of buying food directly through Garmin But for other retailers you're probably Going to see a change in a little bit in Terms of the pricing But ultimately These are two still very expensive Watches to own and that's not going to Really change but at least in the short Term now in terms of design differences The big one being is that the epics Pro Now comes in three case sizes whereas The original epics Gen 2 Only comes in that 47 millimeter case Option and that ultimately is not going To change now the other thing is we're Looking at we're seeing on the epics Pro That you're not going to get on the Gen 2 is the LED flashlight that sits at the Top of the case so that's not something That Garmin can ultimately add to the
Epics Gen 2 so if that's something that You like the idea of and obviously that Wasn't available in the original epics Then That might be a reason or that might be A reasonable thing that will appeal to You on the epics Pro the other thing to Mention here as well Is that you're getting an upgraded heart Rate sensor so again this isn't Something that going to be able to put Or change on the original Garmin epics Gen 2 and this promises improved Tracking when you are tracking Particularly exercise in terms of other Things obviously you are getting those Bigger case sizes the 42 and 47 Millimeter epics Pro feel very similar In terms that you're getting Characteristics wise on the 47 Millimeter Garmin epics gen 2. now in The bigger 51 millimeter epics Pro Obviously you're getting a bigger case Bigger screen screen size something more In par with what we got on the Phoenix 7x so from that point of view you are Going to get something that lives a bit Bigger on your wrist as well elsewhere Straps relatively stay the same in terms Of styling in terms of the mechanisms to Kind of take them off in terms of level Of waterproofing the buttons touchscreen Displays having amoleds that mix of Touch and kind of button used to kind of
Interact with the displays those all Kind of similar across the watches so Really the big difference here or Differences between these two watches Are that led flashlights that obviously The 3K size options that you do now have As well and that upgraded heart rate Sensor too So into the software and we do know There's a lot of things that are going To roll back to the original garming app Exchange and we'll try and do our best To kind of pinpoint what those things Are we don't know when they will be but You know over time these are things that Are going to go back to the Garmin epics Gen 2. so we're looking at things like Improvements in terms of mapping to Relief shading the kind of weather Overlays or maps and we're also looking At things like the kind of redshift mode Which kind of turns the entire screen Red so it's basically kind of been Preview using it at night Um and kind of being less of a Distraction when you are asleep as well Um we're also obviously talking about Things like the new Hill score and the Endurance score so he'll score It's something that tries to give you a Better gauge a better sense of how well You can tackle Hill so if you're trying To kind of prepare for a hilly race and This is a designed to kind of help you
Do that or give you a sense of whether You've done enough Hill training to kind Of uh tackle that or have the the level Of strength to kind of tackle a hilly Course as well endurance score obviously Is to do with your your ability to kind Of perform over a kind of sustained Period and looks at things like VO2 max And historical data to better understand That so those are some software things That are currently unique to the Garmin Epics probe but will in some capacity at Some point will go back to the Garmin Epics Gen 2 as well and then a quick Note on battery life because obviously Now that we have 3K sizes compared to The 1K size and the original Garmin Epics we are seeing some changes in Terms of the uh battery life promises Made by Garmin now if we compare the 47 Millimeter Garmin epics Pro to the Original 47 millimeter Garmin epics then The battery numbers pretty much Identical when you jump up to that 51 Millimeter Garmin epic Pro however you Are some improvements in terms of Battery life that you should get with The screen sets always on And also when you're just using the Raise to wake gesture so ultimately Right now now that you have those extra Case sizes particularly with a 51 Millimeter case the government epics Pro You are seeing a promise of bigger
Battery life compared to what we got on The Garmin epics gen 2. foreign Watch for most of last year I was a huge Fan of it when it came out lovely AMOLED Screen and having all of garmin's best Features in an anoled watch and I've Also really enjoyed using the FX Pro Over the last month I've been testing Both the 47 millimeter model and the Larger 51 millimeter model and there are Some big differences there that will Come on to talking about but for the Most part the experience of using the FX2 and the ethics Pro is very similar Like the key stuff it is the same across Both watches the GPS accuracy is top Notch on both of them Sports tracking The training analysis there are a couple Of new bits on the epics Pro but they Are coming to the epics too and they're Not really as exciting as the training Now so it's already there like Readiness And that kind of thing so there are Obvious Hardware upgrades on the Apex Pro the flashlight is a useful thing to Have like and when you're not using it It's completely unobtrusive not Noticeable so it is just a clear upgrade It's just how much you're going to use It I personally don't get a lot of use Out of it it wouldn't be a reason for me To get it over the older watch but for Some people it might be a more Compelling thing and then the heart rate
Monitor is an improvement so with the Epics 2 la last year I found it Performed more or less like most Optical Hiring monitors which is say it was Largely okay but I was having fairly Regular errors sometimes sustained Errors in heart rate reading that would Skew the training uh you know analysis Of an individual run or My overall like Monthly training analysis so I paired a Chest strap to it quite quickly with the Epics Pro I've used these for a month Now and it really have been very few Errors from them it's been very Impressive actually I think like a Handful of Errors across the two watches Whilst testing them on runs and those Errors haven't really been sustained Either like they might jump a little bit Higher at the start of a run or be late To turn into all that lag behind a chest Strap or sometimes miss an interval Entirely so they're notable errors but They're not like really annoying ones Like sometimes when the Epic team might Just get my heart rate entirely wrong For 20 minutes on the run it completely Changes how that run is framed within Garments training an assists if you're Trying to train by heart rate it's very Annoying and the Epic Pro is a Significant Improvement that said I Would probably still pair a chest strap To it because it still is there are
Still errors there and to trust it Entirely I probably won't test drive Readings going in which would mean it's A wash between both watches goes to Their both pair to chest straps but it Is definitely an improvement on the new Watch definitely notice that and then Probably the biggest thing I've noticed Is the difference is with the 51 Millimeter model epics Pro it's the Battery life like having this larger Watch really does increase the battery Life it doubles it essentially so the Epics 2 and the epics Pro 47 millimeters Last me Five days on the charge of yours on Screen enabled running every day which Is the epics Pro 51 millimeters will Last me 10 days if you start using the Raised awake feature then you know you Really are going to get weeks of the Battery life out of it it's a bigger Watch a more expensive watch and less Enjoy comfortable one to wear all the Time if you have thin wrists like me but The upgraded battery life is very Noticeable and for an AMOLED watch it's Very striking you've now got an AMOLED Watch that has a battery life that Really is not far off being equivalent To things like the Phoenix range and That will be a very attractive option But yeah overall the nuts and bolts of Everyday tracking I think are very
Similar between the two watches got some Small upgrades on the epics probe I Think the really interesting thing is Maybe the battery life on the 51 Millimeter model that's the only thing That might make me pause and think about Upgrading so into that run test and I Have used the Garmin epics Gen 2 long Term pretty much since it launched last Year I've used it uh pretty much all my Runs all my non-running activities I've Raced with it I've run marathons with it As well so it's a watch that I've tested Pretty much to its limits now in terms Of my experience of using the Garmin Epics Pro more recently now I've had These watches in both the same size as Well so it's been a good way to kind of Compare how these watches kind of um Perform in terms of run tracking in Terms of day-to-day use I would say there's not a huge amount in It for me personally and that includes The kind of hardware and software things That you're getting on the Garmin epics Pro so I'll start with in terms of just Generally they stay using it Size wise not that different I think you Know it's it's not a super heavy watch I Think it's a good size of 47 millimeter Case the design wise hasn't really Changed that much you do have that LED Flashlight As I said in our full review I have
Quite liked it I do see the appeal of Having it on a watch particularly if you Run a lot alone at night it is it does Feel bright enough to be a useful source Of light but ultimately most of my runs Are during a day Right now I haven't needed you know Massively needed or massively felt that I would miss it if I went back to the Garmin epic Gen 2 Um from a kind of run tracking Performance it's been near identical I Used both in the multiband kind of top End multi-band multi-frequency modes in Terms of GPS the performance has been Very very good on both these watches I Haven't seen a massive Improvement in Terms of what I've seen on the Garmin Epics Pro compared to the Epix gen 2. In terms of that heart rate and in terms Of that improved or promised to improved Heart rate sensor Um and accuracy I haven't really seen Enough to suggest that there's enough There for me to say well actually I Could rely on the epics Pro sensor and And ditch a heart rate I wanted to chesh Up I just wouldn't do that and because So many of the features and training Features are built on really good heart Rate whether it's VO2 max or you know Any kind of heart rate measurements as Well I would not be dropping using a hot ring
Wanted chest strap and I don't think That really changes with the Garmin Epics Pro and it's the same with the Garmin epics Gen 2 as well battery life Again I think it's very similar in terms Of experienced I think I generally tend To use it with the raised awake and I Kind of don't need the always on display Mode but when I have I think the battery Life drop off is about the same maybe You're getting a little bit more uh on The epics Pro but I don't think it's a Massive amount in it these are watches That can last you Comfortably a week if you're doing a Regular amount of training And I think you know in terms of what You're getting both these watches Battery life is very very similar from That point of view using them outside of Tracking things like smart watch Features generally getting around the You know navigating the menus and things Like that it's identical you know that's Really what we see generally in terms of Those kind of Pro Models and the non-pro Models and we've seen with the Phoenix And when garm is done with the Phoenix Models it's they've added some features And I think you know obviously you've Got that kind of Hill School endurance Score there's kind of mapping extras Which I do like I think they're nice Those are going to come to the epics Gen
2 and when I know that that's going to Be the case then it's not thing Something and I'm going to massively Miss out on if I just stuck with the Older watch ultimately so for me in Terms of my kind of run testing Experience I felt it's been very very similar in Terms of what I've experienced in the Garmin fx20 mainly from that kind of Day-to-day use what you're getting in Terms of the screen the design the level Of comfort you're getting the battery Life uh the run tracking that you're Getting the level of data yes you're Getting those extras in terms of Hill Schools endurance scores but in terms of What how I use the watches and their Level of analysis that you're already Getting without those without those Features and scores I think the government epic's Gen 2 you Know still offers a lot ultimately and It's going to get those features as well At some point too it's just obviously You're getting a little bit better Package on the Garmin epics pro at the Moment so for me in terms of my run Tracking experience It's been very similar in my experience Outside of those extra Hardware features Which I don't think are groundbreaking Features or features that necessarily I Think really dramatically change the
Experience unless you are someone that Runs a lot at night and you really need That flashlight because for me the heart Rate sensor just doesn't offer enough Boosting accuracy to you know warrant Jumping from that to the Um from the Garmin epics Pro uh it's From the Garmin epics gen 2. Thank you So my vote on whether you should go for The Garmin epics Gen 2 over the Epix Pro It really boils down to one thing for me Only really and that is the flashlight If you really care about the flashlight That is really something you are Desperate to have and it is good and It's well integrated in the in the Pro Then you're not going to get that on the Garmin epics Gen 2 and that would be the Main reason to go for this watch over The the older gen 2. outside of that a Lot of software features don't feel big Enough for me particularly when you know That they're likely are going to be Rolling down to the Epic Gen 2 as well At some point probably won't be long Before you wait you're getting those as Well in terms of overall performance Feels identical to me whether it's brand Tracking the battery life What you're getting day-to-day from all The other features as well whether You're using a smart watch you're using It as a fitness tracker as well
There's just not enough you know there's Not enough in it for me I would say to Say that it's a worthy upgrade or a Desperate upgrade as I said it it really Boils down for me whether you want that Flashlight if you don't want it get the Epic's Gen 2 if you do want it if you Want that upgraded heart rate sensor Which I didn't really see the massive Gains for me personally in my testing Then that might be another reason to go For it but just be mindful of the fact That a lot of the software features are Going to roll back here it's gone extra Gen 2 and if it's me and I could pick up The Gen 2 for Less I'll be getting this I might be looking at the flashlight Thing and that'd be quite nice to have But I wouldn't be thinking well you know I should have paid more for it um Because ultimately I think the Epic Gen 2 it's still a great watch So it gives you that strong run tracking Experience that you're getting on the Epics Pro with a few extras that Ultimately I don't think a massive deal Breakers for me but my ability is that You've got very similar watches here With the FX2 and the FX Pro and they're Very good Watchers and and I think if You already have Netflix too I wouldn't Go and upgrade to the epics Pro I think It's a pretty marginal update you're Getting those software features anyway
And the flashlight's nice the improved Heart rate tracking is nice but unless You have a very clear idea that those Things are going to be game changers for You there's not a big reason to jump on And upgrade to the new watch same goes If you're looking at buying one of these You know from scratch if you're looking Just looking choosing between them to Buy the Epic 2 is gonna be a lot cheaper And I would try and get a sapphire model To make sure you get the multiband GPS Because I do think that is really Impressive on the watches and I love a Very accurate GPS and I do think it Makes a big difference but if you're Going to get a good deal on the epics 2 Again I think it's the starter pick Because the watch is also silver in Their day-to-day experience the one Caveat to that is the 51 millimeter Model where you are getting that big big Upgrade in battery life and that is a Bit of a game changer for an AMOLED Watch so if you are happy to spend the Money get the big watch wear the bigger Watch you know it is a bit heavier I'd Use a nylon strap if I were using the Bigger one myself um you can get them Off eBay very cheaply I used a nylon Strap with it from eBay then that is a Slightly different matter that is a I Would say that is a big upgrade from the FX2 to get double the battery life out
Of an emerald screen is quite important Same time if you're happy charging every Five days instead of every 10 then again The experience of the Epic 2 is Fantastic I would have no hesitation Recommending that watch I'd also say as A little side note on that battery life Is if you already have an epic 2 and We'll think about upgrading then I would Maybe wait because I think battery life Is moving really fast with AMOLED Watches like this is like I said big Upgrade and what we saw from just last Year from Garmin and Samurai watches I Think over the next year or two we're Gonna start seeing abroad watches that Really do last even longer than this and Maybe hopefully smaller ones as well so That would be a reason to wait on it and See what maybe you know next year's Ethics or the year after epics is going To be and This isn't a huge upgrade cycle from Garmin I put it that way they've been Introduced new sizes they've got the Flashlights better heart rate monitoring Better battery and a larger model it's One I think it'll be worth waiting and Seeing on and I think you know maybe a Couple years down the line you're going To see ethics models of all sizes with Very long battery lives so that might be A reason to stick with the cheaper older Epics 2 for now and see what you get in
A couple of years really looking at any Which way I do think the Epic 2 is the Smart to pick up just now the experience Of using it is fantastic but if right Now you want the very best AMOLED Sports What you can get is the epics Pro 51 Millimeters in my opinion because that Battery life is so good okay so there You have it that is our take on how the Garmin epics Pro compares to the Garmin Epics gen 2. now if you've got any Questions about these two watches or any Other features that you'd like to know About how they compare do let us know in The comments as always like And Subscribe hit that little bell to find Out about our latest videos and yeah We'll see the next round test this video Good
