Garmin quatix 3 review | White Bay 6 Marine Park

GARMIN’S quatix 3 watch is the company’s boating/marine answer to its ultra popular range of fitness and lifestyle products.

I’ve been wearing a quatix 3 now for over six months and during that time have become more and more reliant on its many and varied features. Truth be told, I’m now just as dependent on this smart watch as I am of my smart phone. It’s addictive!

Garmin’s latest range of integrated technology was reviewed back in the October 2016 edition of Boat Fishing. At the time I touched on the watch’s useful feature of “partnering” or “integrating” with Garmin’s extensive range of marine electronic products. It’s a fantastic feature and using the full suite of Garmin products in one spot shows the true potential of this technology.

Fishos and boaters with Garmin products can use the quatix 3 via wi-fi to connect your onboard electronics. Once connected it will display data such as depth, speed, water temp and more. It’s a very useful feature. While the screen picture isn’t available on your watch like it is with similar wifi/smartphone devices, the ability to quickly check essential data is such a great idea. No more yelling at the skipper every few minutes asking for the depth!

It also features tide data, a drifting anchor alarm, and a fishing feature for tournament anglers. There’s also a GPS track back function, barometer and altimeter built-in. These stand alone boating functions make this a worthwhile purchase even if you don’t have Garmin products installed on your boat. Of course the incentive to go and buy a Garmin unit and integrate your data is very tempting!

But the quatix 3 is much more than a boating accessory. Over the past few months I’ve really been taking advantage of its other features and worked out it really is a smart watch and good value with so many combined features! The smartwatch capability has loads of features suitable of all types of sports, from running to golf.

I’ve been using the walking, running and bike riding functions over the past few months. It allows me to track speed, distance covered and calories burned. There’s also GPS which maps your exercise path. An optional heart rate monitor can be used and wirelessly connected to the watch. All of this data can be downloaded via Garmin’s own Connect app or via a computer. Then it’s a matter of keeping track of your historical data. It even tells me how much sleep I’ve had, and I can tell you with two young kids, it’s not nearly enough!

Another handy feature I’ve found with the smartphone is the connectivity via bluetooth which shows incoming phone calls, text messages and social media updates. It may seem trivial, but any excuse to leave my smartpone in my pocket is a good thing. If you’re in a meeting or at dinner and the phone rings or buzzes, a quick glance at the watch will alert you to the importance of the call and will let decide whether to ignore or respond.
The quatix 3 marine GPS smartwatch is a very clever piece of technology and I’ve only touched on its full functionality here. Click here to learn more about the watch and see our October 2016 of Fishing World for the review of Garmin’s integrated technology.