Garmin has just launched the Tactix Charlie, a fitness watch that probably has more functionality than you need, unless you need water resistance to 100 meters and a night vision mode.
That mode reduces the backlight to levels that won’t interfere with night vision goggles, and it’s one of a number of tactical features, which also include a Jumpmaster mode that tracks jumps from airplanes, and a dual-positioning mode, which can display two sets of coordinate systems at once.
Of course, the Tactix Charlie – which apparently builds on the Garmin Fenix 5X and Tactix Bravo - covers all the basics too, with GPS (and GLONASS) built-in, a heart rate monitor, a compass, barometer and altimeter.
It also comes with pre-loaded topographic mapping and navigation tools, so you’ll never get lost, and a battery that can apparently last up to 12 days in smartwatch mode or 20 hours in GPS mode.
Back to basics
The Tactix Charlie can also do step and general exercise tracking and its 1.2-inch sunlight-readable color screen will be the window onto all your data.
Smartwatch notifications are included too, with the Charlie able to get email, message, calendar and call notifications from your phone, among other things. You can also download apps and widgets to the watch from Garmin’s Connect IQ store.
And the Garmin Tactix Charlie is built to last, even if you are jumping out of planes with it, as it has a black diamond-like carbon coated titanium bezel, a black titanium rear cover and stainless steel buttons.
Of course, all of this comes at a high price, as the Garmin Tactix Charlie is set to cost $749.99 (around £545/AU$960) when it becomes available, which it’s likely to sometime in April.
