It'll take some doing to strap one of these onto your wrist but if you really need its capabilities, you're probably willing to pay the R23,000 price. For your money you get long-distance tracking, even during stringent Adventure Race conditions, to help you elevate your next outing even further.

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The Garmin Enduro 2 is a robust multisport GPS watch designed for athletes who thrive on adventure and demand top-tier performance. To put the Garmin Enduro 2 to the ultimate test, I took this powerhouse of a watch to the Adventure Racing World Championships 2023. The long distances, demanding terrain, unpredictable weather, and intense competition provided the perfect backdrop to assess the watch’s capabilities in a real-world adventure racing scenario.

What is Adventure Racing?

Adventure Racing (AR) is a grueling and exhilarating multi-day endurance event that challenges mixed teams of four to race through rugged terrain using a variety of outdoor disciplines such as trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, abseiling, and more, all whilst navigating an unmarked wilderness, strategically seeking out checkpoints (CP’s) laid out by the race course director, using only a topographical map and compass. The essence of adventure racing lies in teamwork, strategy, navigation skills, and the ability to adapt to unpredictable conditions.

The Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS), comprising some 69 regional races held around the world, uniting the world’s best endurance athletes, culminates in the AR World Championship. The first took place in 2001 in Switzerland and this year the AR World Champs found its way to African soil for the very first time. The 2023 Adventure Racing World Championships held in the scenic landscapes of the Kouga Region, South Africa, hosted by Expedition Africa, marked a monumental gathering of 109 teams, with a vibrant mix of 436 athletes representing 36 nations.

It wasn’t just a test of human endurance but also a proving ground for the Garmin Enduro 2 with its Adventure Race function and importantly, its exceptional battery life.

The race covered a staggering 839km, encompassing 10 legs, a 56km trek, 181km cycle, 80km trek (including an abseil), 10km trek, 65km kayak, 3km trek, 224km cycle, 64km trek, 124km cycle, ending with a 32km trek to the finish. The actual distance covered at the end depended on how accurately a team navigated the route, with most teams ultimately exceeding 900km.

The Garmin Adventure Race Activity

Author Richard Brown at the Adventure Race World Championship at Kouga in the Eastern Cape.

In terms of the ARWS Rules of Competition, GPS devices capable of displaying position, maps, routes, distances, or any other location information that may assist a team with navigation, are not permitted. However, Garmin (with its Adventure Race activity) is the only multisport GPS-enabled watch that is sanctioned and approved to be worn during an ARWS race.

Garmin offers adventure racing functionality in several watches within their extensive range of multisport and outdoor watches. The Garmin Enduro 2, designed with adventure in mind, incorporates features such as navigation, real-time performance metrics, and the dedicated Adventure Race function. Other models which include the Adventure Race feature are the Fenix 6 and Fenix 7.

A participant is required to have the watch registered with the race director before the start of the race so that it can be verified at the end of the activity to ensure it was only used to record the adventure race.

Once activated, the Adventure Racing activity will not show you a map or a track of your activity, permit the use of any Connect IQ apps, or allow access to any other features that would help you navigate the course except for the compass and altimeter features which continue to function while recording the activity.

All of the activity metrics, heart rate, speed, distance, etc., as well as your GPS position and route are still recorded in the background, allowing review of your path and activity data after the activity has ended and been uploaded to Garmin Connect or third party app such as Strava. This is great for those, like me, fascinated with delving into all of the data and allows checking of the actual route against the intended course set by the race organiser.

Once in the Adventure Racing activity, the watch sets alerts, laps, calibrate the compass, and stop the activity through the Action Menu by pressing the Start/Stop button and selecting an item. It shows a data page in the activity that gives your start time, and time passed since the start of the activity. It will stop the recording when the activity is saved, and a new activity must be started if you stopped the activity by mistake.

The following features are allowed to be accessed during an Adventure Race activity.

Data Fields

Compass
Elevation (autocalibration is disabled)
Heart Rate
Lap Time
Rest Timer
Time of Day
Total Time

Functions

Alarm Clock
Eat/Drink Reminders
Bluetooth and ANT+ Sensors (paired sensors will only report allowed data, such as heart rate, during the activity. Other data will be available in the activity summary after saving and syncing the activity.)

Features that are disabled during the activity are grayed out in the menus and the watch shows the message Adventure Race Active if you try to access these features. The disabled features will not resume functioning until the activity is stopped and saved or discarded.

An important part of adventure racing is managing sleep deprivation and choosing when and for how long to sleep or nap, where strategic naps can be a game-changer. Having access to the alarm during the race turned out to be crucial as you don’t need to worry that you are going to oversleep.

The watch resumes activity after a restart if you choose to do so. It will automatically prompt you to Resume or Save after a restart.

Design and Build

The Enduro 2 boasts a rugged design that reflects its commitment to endurance sports. The fiber-reinforced polymer case is paired with a scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass DX lens, ensuring durability in challenging environments. Its adventurous spirit is further accentuated by the stainless steel or diamond-like carbon (DLC) titanium bezel options, providing a mix of strength and style.

It features a water resistance rating of 10 ATM and robust construction that can withstand shocks, ideally suited for the unpredictable nature of adventure racing. The rugged conditions of the AR World Champs really showcased the Enduro 2’s durability. It withstood bumps, scrapes, and challenging weather conditions with ease, emerging from the race unscathed and ready for its next adventure.

A favourite feature of the watch for me is the Enduro 2’s nylon and Velcro watch strap, with lightweight and breathable construction. Transitioning between different disciplines or adjusting the fit on the go was hassle-free and the secure fit ensured that the watch stayed in place during intense activities without any discomfort or irritation. The strap was durable, resisting abrasions and maintaining its integrity throughout the race.

Another great feature is the watch’s flashlight function. Although I did not want to use the light too much so as to preserve battery life, this came in really handy during the nights as I was able to turn on the flashlight at a push of a button if I did not have my headlamp or bike light nearby. You can also adjust the brightness and switch between a white and red light.

Battery Life

For me, the standout feature of the Enduro 2 is its remarkable battery life. With solar charging and customizable Power Manager, the watch can last for weeks using the Ultra Trac mode, even in the most demanding scenarios.

Power Glass Solar Charging Lens

At the heart of the solar charging function is the Power Glass lens, seamlessly integrated into the watch face, without compromising the watch’s aesthetics or adding unnecessary bulk. In fact you don’t even know it is there. This specialised lens is designed to convert sunlight into energy, effectively transforming natural light into a power source for the watch. The Enduro 2’s solar charging is remarkably efficient even in less-than-optimal conditions. This means that, whether you’re racing under the sun or navigating through overcast skies, the watch continues to charge and extend its battery life.

The Enduro 2 will not stop the Adventure Race activity when the watch is plugged in to charge the battery unless the watch is plugged into a computer. Even though the battery life is remarkable, over an expedition-length adventure race like the AR World Champs, you will still need to charge the battery at times. I was able to do this at one of the race transitions after two and a half days of racing when the battery life was still at 50%. I charged the watch a second time at about the seven-day mark when the battery was fully depleted. The watch died just as I was plugging it into the charger and I was very happy to see that the activity resumed without any hiccup as the watch restarted.

Garmin Enduro 2 verdict

Having faced the rigors of the Adventure Racing World Championships 2023, the Garmin Enduro 2 surpassed expectations. We clocked 196 hours and 44 minutes of racing, just over 900 kilometers and 16,412 meters of ascent, with more than 48,000 calories burned. For adventure racing enthusiasts seeking a durable and reliable companion, this watch is a standout choice. With its robust design, comprehensive Adventure Race functionality, and exceptional battery life, the Garmin Enduro 2 proves itself as a trusted partner capable of enduring the most challenging adventures.