Garmin watch sapphire display durability.

Possibly thinking of upgrading my Garmin watch to the fenix 7. Reguarding the sapphire display it should be way more scratch resistant but what about resistance to cracking under impact?

I’m on call for my job a lot so it can be nice have a watch when I’m climbing on call or for tracking or timing if I’m doing training where it may be beneficial. I’ve cracked the display on my Apple Watch and new use a screen protector when I do choose to wear it climbing. 

Sapphire is scratch resistant but not super crack resistant. It should have a raised bezel. That's why smart phones need to be in cases with raised edges.

Not my name is right.. You should expect  sapphire to be more scratch resistant, but more prone to cracking, when.. In the other hand, mineral glass scratch more, but doesnt crack open with a few bumps.  My personal experience.. Ive never had a sapphire watch break, but i dont use them for activities prone to bumps, like climbing. I used to trian for triathlons and never had any issue. But i dont know if i would use it for climbing.. Unless is something verg easy and unlike to fall. And rotate it facing the inside of your wrist, like the soldiers do, to give a little more protection in case of a fall

Apple watch is planned obsolescence. They expect the screen to crack. They expect you to pay to get it replaced. That glass is likely much much thinner than on the Fenix watches, plus their rounded corners offer no resistance to impact like an actual bezel does.

As long as there is no hand jamming or offwidth kinda stuff, should be ok... but I always just put it away if I'm out on real rock, because I always encounter places where I can do that.

I have a Fenix 5x with sapphire glass and it doesn't have a single scratch on it. I don't usually wear it crack climbing (interferes with hand jams) but it's definitely been smacked into a wall a number of times when I forgot to take it off at the bottom of a route. I also wear it welding, working on trucks, and just generally abusing it. The bezel is thrashed, but the glass looks brand new. 

I hate the watch, but the glass is extremely durable. 

Fenix 5x.  No scratches or cracks with 4 years of near daily use including climbing, backpacking,  etc...  Been dropped occasionally and definitely scraped against walls often.  Only annoyance is that I'm on my 4th band ..

Travis O'Neil wrote:

Apple watch is planned obsolescence. They expect the screen to crack. They expect you to pay to get it replaced. That glass is likely much much thinner than on the Fenix watches, plus their rounded corners offer no resistance to impact like an actual bezel does.

As long as there is no hand jamming or offwidth kinda stuff, should be ok... but I always just put it away if I'm out on real rock, because I always encounter places where I can do that.

Ugh! I hate it when I climb a fist crack in my Apple Watch and somehow the screen gets cracked and scratched. Stupid Apple build quality! 

I have the sapphire glass on the Fenix 6X,  there are several dents on the bezel but not a single deflect on the glass. Would absolutely recommend the sapphire glass.

I wore a $50 Casio G shock watch climbing. Has a built in raised bezel.

are the maps on the fenix big enough to actually navigate with? Seems like a major shortcoming in watch. also isnt sapphire and mineral glass the same thing?

Since a watch has such a small screen by nature, I went with the Epix over the Fenix 7. Much better detail on the map. So far so good