I’ve been a fan of Garmin Multisport watches for years, since my first, an early Forerunner. I had an Apple Watch when they first came out but I still held onto my Garmin for swimming because the Apple Watch was not properly waterproof at the time and it was a bit of a faff to switch it into and out of swim mode. I’ve stuck with Garmin through the Fenix series and now have the Epix (Gen2). I tried the Apple Ultra 2 when it first came out but due to a few software faults it just drove me up the wall with its quirky operating system which seemed to work round Apple rather than my needs.

I’ve used the Garmin watches for a long time, and I’ve become a bit institutionalised. I know how to make it work for me and that might be a problem with moving to a new watch system. The beauty of the Garmin is that whilst it is a top end digital watch it has both a touch screen and an analogue interface, unlike the Apple Watches which run a fully touch screen interface. Garmin has basically 2 buttons either side of the unit and you click on one to open the sub-menu then scroll through to find the bit you want. The other advantage which I think is a huge advantage, is you can add as many screens per activity as you need and you can have as much information on each screen as you want. If you are running, you could have just your current pace on screen one so you can check this at a moment’s glance. Alternatively, you can have several pieces of information available, on the same screen, if you have a bit more time or are going at a more leisurely pace to read it. 

Garmin has all the native apps on the watch that I need, and they then are all available in the Garmin Connect App for you to review after your activity as they are all native apps. The Apple Ultra 3 also has all the native apps that I need too along with running, walking, cycling, skiing, XC skiing, paddling etc but the range of apps is not as extensive as the Garmin.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a much more finished product than its predecessors. It feels like an Apple product and is not as “buggy” as the Ultra 2 I owned before. One of the nice things about the Apple “Ecosphere” is that it all works well together and almost seamlessly! Yes, they do suck you in with their marketing and style but once you are in it does all work well together and it’s nice that the Ultra 3 works together with my other Apple products. Apple have worked extensively on bringing all their products into the same operating system and an upgrade to one is an upgrade to all your Apple products.

So, what is new with the Ultra 3 and what do I like about it? The big changes are from the new operating system, Watch iOS 26, which is part of Apple’s bringing further integration into all the disparate parts of the ecosphere and building on how they work together. This is part of what I like about Apple products. I can set up and control my new watch from my iPhone. I can choose a watch face, change the colours and decide what information I want on my screen easily and can change watch faces just as easily on a daily basis. Apple do not seem to allow you to change the screens or what you want to see on the workout apps though.

I like to know how far I’ve walked or run, how far I’ve paddled, how far I’ve skied or skinned and my total vert for the day, how long it took me to do it and it’s nice to have a map to check I was where I planned to be and if I was paddling in a straight line! I think my favourite feature on my Garmin Connect app is the “Fitness Age” which gives me a fitness age of 57.5!

I don’t need vast amounts of data per workout as I am not training for anything in particular. The last time I actually trained for anything was back in 2018 when we travelled to Lahti, in Finland, for the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Lahti, a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and then a 13.1 mile half marathon to finish, which was rather special as, unlike other Ironman 70.3 events, it started in the middle of the afternoon and finished by the light of the midnight sun. It has now dropped out of the Ironman series but you can still find plenty of Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races. Even then, I was working on my swim training, as my only ambition was to take part and to finish, my cycling and running were already up to scratch. Both Apple and Garmin offer similar amounts of feedback and data from their respective apps.

One area the Garmin has an advantage is in its use of buttons to stop and start an activity. More than once I’ve stopped the apps on my Ultra 3 instead of re-starting it, one time I think I caught it whilst pulling up my sleeve and unnoticed I stopped the app by mistake. This has also happened whilst out sea kayaking and it took about 3 tries to have the watch just run the app. I ended up snugging down the sleeve of my cag with the velcro wrist tab to stop it interfering with the screen. This can be pretty frustrating especially when you are settling into your cockpit and starting out on your latest little adventure. With the Epix 2 or Fenix you can start, re-start or stop the count using the buttons and even by feeling the buttons through your jacket sleeve, it also give you the option to “resume later”. With the Apple Ultra 3 you need to pull back your sleeve to access the watch screen.

Right now we have a newer Garmin in the Fenix 8 AMOLED Pro which offers “InReach Technology” and SOS with “Garmin Response” alongside the sharper AMOLED screen. With the InReach connection if I don’t have a phone signal, I can still send a help message via satellite if I’m in trouble. Apple have a stake in this game too with the new Apple Watch Ultra 3 which offers “Emergency SOS. ASAP”.

The Garmin Fenix 8 Pro with this new feature costs £1,029.99 and on top of that you need to subscribe to the “InReach: service from Garmin which enables you to contact the Garmin Emergency Response Centre, which is staffed 24/7. The cost for this service is either, £7.99 per month for the Enabled subscription then rising to, £14.99 for the Essential, £29.99 for the Standard and £49.99 for the Premium Service.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 costs £749.00 and the basic emergency response is included in the price. Worth noting that it is only the direct connection and not the text version unless you have a “cellular” plan for your watch. The Garmin Fenix 8 costs £749.99 for the AMOLED version but not the latest “Pro” version.

You can buy cheaper watches from both Garmin and Apple or even try a different brand like Coros which are similar to the Garmin offerings starting at £229 for their ‘basic’ running watch or £599.99 for the Coros Vertix 2S at the top of their range. With the Coros Vertix 2S it matches most of the Garmin apps but it only runs a “whitewater” paddle app, not a sea kayaking version. Apple Watches start at £219 for the Apple 3 SE or £369 for the Apple Watch 11. You can happily use any of these, but you will not have the emergency contact option whilst you are out of range of a phone signal unless you have a current model iPhone with satellite connection. 

If you fancy a change of watch strap the official Garmin ones cost from £44.99 whilst the Apple Ultra 3 Straps cost an eyewatering £99.99. There is a big market for third party suppliers of watch straps.

With the cost of these plans, I had a look at other options and one of these could be a solution, Zoleo. Zoleo is a satellite communicator which hooks up to the satellite network via an app on your phone. It allows messaging back and forth. I think this is a better option if you are on an expedition and more likely to be out of regular mobile communication. Cost for the Zoleo is £169.99

Having looked at all the options for us as outdoor people I find them all a bit expensive, never mind the cost of the hardware! Before I checked out these options, I was considering a PLB, Personal Locator Beacon. These are a one-off hit, pull the plug and wait for help. It would only be used in an emergency and realistically the situation would need to be desperate as how often in the UK are you beyond a mobile signal? The one I had recommended to me is the ResQLink and the current model is the 410 and costs £369.95 on the Acratex website. I’m sure it can be found online for less. Another one to consider is the Ocean Signal RescueMe PLB1 which retails at £309.95 though again it can be found online for less. These are quite small, compact, and several members of our kayak club have these units and recommend them.

So, which is the best watch, and which one should you buy? Well, aside from it being the million dollar question it is really hard to answer as they are both very good, both do the same things well and both are pretty accurate. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 works well within the Apple Eco system. The Garmin works well with both Apple products and Android phones too. The way I see it is that the Garmin range has been designed round the needs of sports professionals with over 20 years of running, cycling and mountaineering in the mix whereas the Apple Ultra Range has been developed from the Apple Watch series and then further developed as a sports option. Most of the features are available as a less expensive Apple Watch but without the bigger screen etc. There is little to choose between them but if you do help need to make a decision then the Apple Watch Ultra 3 retails about £300 less than the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro! Having the problem with the sleeve stopping the apps or needing to tap in a passcode whilst kayaking is a bit of a killer for me. It would be fair to say that the Apple Watch Ultra works well with traditional sports, running, cycling etc but not adventure sports. The Garmin range seems to be a better all round sports watch. I will stick with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 for now and will see what Garmin launch in September which is when Garmin launch new products in their “Multisport” range. There may be a new Fenix 9 on the way so it would be great to see what they have in store.

We hope that you have enjoyed what you have been reading, if so, we’d love you to subscribe. We will send you an email as each new post goes live and that’s it, no spam. We would like to build our subscriber numbers so if you can share this with your friends then we would appreciate that too.