The Garmin Enduro 4 just launched, so I went hunting for deals on the Enduro 3, and it’s $110 cheaper than the new model
Latest from Tom's Guide ·
Nick has been a journalist since 2012 and has spent most of that time writing about health and fitness for a variety of publications. Nick spent nine years working on the Coach magazine and website before moving to the fitness team at Tom’s Guide in 2024. Nick is a keen runner and also the founder of YouTube channel The Run Testers , which specialises in reviewing running shoes, watches, headphones and other gear. Nick has covered all aspects of health and fitness throughout his career, interviewing experts and celebrities, trying fitness classes and running marathons, all in the name of providing readers with the information they need to get the most out of an active lifestyle. Nick ran his first marathon in 2016 after six weeks of training for a magazine feature and subsequently became obsessed with the sport. He now has PBs of 2hr 25min for the marathon and 15min 30sec for 5K, and has run 16 marathons in total, as well as a 50-mile ultramarathon. Nick runs 60-90 miles a week and races regularly with his club, which gives him a lot of opportunity to test out running gear: he has tested and reviewed hundreds of pairs of running shoes, as well as fitness trackers, running watches, sports headphones, treadmills, and all manner of other kit. Nick is also a qualified Run Leader in the UK. Nick is an established expert in the health and fitness area and along with writing for several publications, including Live Science , Expert Reviews , Wareable , Coach and Get Sweat Go , he has been quoted on The Guardian and The Independent . Nick graduated from the University of York in 2010 with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and worked in the NHS for three years, during which time he completed his NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at News Associates in London. Before starting on Coach and moving into health and fitness, Nick worked as a football journalist and lived in Kathmandu, Nepal for two years.
Given the rocketing costs of top Garmin watches, the Garmin Enduro 4 is actually pretty good value at its launch price of $899, since it offers most of the key features of Garmin’s flagship Fenix 9 Pro and longer battery life.
However, the Garmin Enduro 3 is currently just $789 on Amazon , and that makes it even better value than the new Enduro 4, because Garmin has only made minimal updates to the watch and most of its new features will be rolling back to the Enduro 3.
The Garmin Enduro 3 has all the same key features as the new Enduro 4, and is definitely the better value buy for $110 less. View Deal
I’ve just started testing the Garmin Enduro 4, and the most noticeable change so far is cosmetic; it has a silver bezel with fewer yellow marks than the Enduro 3.
It also comes with Garmin’s new ComfortFit band, which is absolutely lovely and more comfortable than the UltraFit band on the Enduro 3, but you can buy this ComfortFit band separately and strap it on the old watch.
The new watch also has more storage — 64GB vs 32GB — and a faster processor and more RAM for maps, which should load more quickly when panning and zooming.
You also get a new perspective view on the map with the new Enduro 4, which isn’t coming to the Enduro 4, and a new archery feature I can’t claim to have tested.
These are all the features that won’t come to the Enduro 3, but there are also a lot of updates on the Enduro 4 right now due to come to the Enduro 3 in time through software updates.
Some of the most notable features in this category are Garmin’s Epic feature, which bundles activities into one group so you can look at all your stats for a multi-day ultramarathon, for example, and the new stamina feature that launched with the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro .
Looking at that list, you can see the Enduro 4 is an iterative update aimed at people looking to upgrade from the Enduro 1 or 2 rather than the 3, which matches the new watch pretty closely in design and software.
I’d pick up the Enduro 3 in the sales myself, even if it might end up being phased out of software updates earlier than the Enduro 4 at some point in the future.
It’s not just the Enduro 4 that’s threatened by this deal on the Enduro 3, however, because I also think it’s a strong alternative to the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro.
The Fenix 9 Pro has an AMOLED option and extra features like LTE and satellite connectivity with a diveproof design and a mic and speaker, but the nuts and bolts of its sports tracking, training analysis and navigation features are the same as on the Enduro 3.
Furthermore, the Enduro 3 and its MIP display with solar charging offer longer battery life and a lighter design than the 51mm Fenix 9 Pro, which has a full titanium case.
At $789, the Enduro 3 is $110 cheaper than the Enduro 4, but a full $400-$500 cheaper than the 51mm Fenix 9 Pro. That’s a saving worth considering.