25% of 110 verified Fenix 8owners don't recommend it, and 4 describe specific problems — based on real owner comments from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.
For balance: 59% recommend it. This page collects the complaints so you know what you're signing up for — read the full owner report for both sides. How we score
“Price is ridiculous and the features do not justify it.”— @bellosthomas on YouTube
“For a thousand bucks you'd think Garmin would do better”— @tankerzuke on YouTube
“I still love my Fenix7 Pro very, very much and will continue to do so for a long time to come”— @MrTwixraider on YouTube
“I'm truly mad at them for crippling one of the most iconic watches on the market”— @ted363636 on YouTube
“There isn’t an extra $500 worth of stuff compared to my 965, not even close.”— @MattSwain1 on YouTube
“Oof, the loss of the "S" line sucks.”— @jamisonswift4444 on YouTube
“For this price, I'm much happy staying with my €350 FR955.”— @RaulViitor1 on YouTube
“What a madness the prices!!”— @borjac.6641 on YouTube
“I'll definitely keep my Epix pro gen 2 for the moment !!”— @pnjee3200 on YouTube
“Wow at the price.. So much wow... Enduro 3 seems like a bargain now..”— @ymaizosz on YouTube
“Puts wallet back in pocket and waits another year.”— @gregrunsultras on YouTube
“Rushed out train wreck of an LTE / Satellite solution.”— @OSh3a on YouTube
Not complaints — practical notes from owners that didn't affect the score.
“But I'm still not sure if it's a worthy purchase, even after 7 years of having it (it still works perfect, just sensor is worse than on the new, no music, no garmin pay, no maps)”— 92_Solutions on Reddit
“I was thinking of switching to 8 just so I can add the diving feature. Does it support all features a basic diving watch would? I'm not planning to do any technical diving”— vievlkn on Reddit
“On mine it is not deleted, it is rather not shown on the watch and still seen in the app, even if I have not synced until it "disappeared". Just one of many of these small-ish bugs on the 7 SS”— maethor92 on Reddit
“Im happy people are liking it as a dive option. I plan to use it for when i dive as a backup and to track logs easier. But the for most part having it alone side my normal dedicated computer is nice.”— Nbenito97 on Reddit
“I thought about creating a activity as well. Good to know. You’re saying that I can add a temperature sensor on the activity and track that on the watch itself?”— iLOVEnippolas on Reddit
“The leather strap is made of leather on the outside with a silicone inner lining for sweat resistance. That said, for sweaty activities, Garmin recommends using a full silicone or nylon strap instead.”— Az0r_ on Reddit
“My Fenix 5X just bit the dirt about 2 weeks ago, and the new prices SHOCKED me. Like I went in completely okay with $400, but seeing the Fenix 8 for like $900 had me literally pause and laugh out loud.”— Secret-Spinach-5080 on Reddit
“That's a bug I noticed and reported a while ago. In the patch notes of last Forerunner release (23.XX) it shows that this is resolved. I haven't encountered it yet since yesterday”— LaughFun3707 on Reddit