The SkyCaddie LX5 Vs The Garmin S62 Golf Watches – Clash Of The Heavyweights

The SkyCaddie LX5 Vs The Garmin S62 Golf Watches – Clash Of The Heavyweights

Early this year, we wrote an article claiming that the performance and feature set of the Garmin S62 would not be touched for years for to come.

Before the year ended however, we already had a challenger to the throne in the brand new SkyCaddie LX5 but how do these watches compare and which one should you invest you hard earned money in.

The Garmin S62 is slightly more expensive than the LX5 but it is also a much faster watch in finding your course and updating yardages. The S62 has a better battery life and it has a lot more features although it does cost $200 more. The LX5 is the most graphically pleasing on the market, the screen is crystal clear and the visuals are absolutely amazing. It’s a worthy attempt by the LX5 but it is not quite as good as the Garmin S62 this time around.

Make sure to read to the end to see our overall recommendation!

Let’s Take A Look At These Watches Head To Head

Garmin S62	SkyCaddie
41,000 Courses	35,000 Courses
Fast Satellite Location	Slow Satellite Location
Great Battery Life	Moderate Battery Life
Great Graphics	Excellent Graphics
Excellent Ease Of Use	Good Ease Of Use
Heart Rate Monitor	Heart Rate Monitor
Fitness Tracking	Fitness Tracking
Most Features	Good Features
Excellent Design	Excellent Design
Free Garmin App	Free App For 3 Years
Most Expensive ($450)	Expensive ($300)
Overall Score: 96/100	Overall Score 86/100

Garmin S62 Vs SkyCaddie LX5

Garmin are heavy weights in the GPS tracker business and they have been around for a long time, we expect them to do everything well and they do.

Skycaddie are much newer and we expect them to take a few more iterations before they get everything right with their new devices, which they will.

First Impressions

First thing to notice is that these watches are beautifully designed and it is impossible to set them apart based on aesthetics.

When we showed up the course, we hit the start round and the satellites went to work finding our location. The Garmin S62 was faster to load the course, much faster. The SkyCaddie took over 5 minutes to pull our location and course data so make sure you get it started as soon as you arrive

Garmin S62	SkyCaddie LX5
3 Round Battery	1 Round Battery
Customizable Face And bands	Customizable Face
Display Size: 1.3 Inch	Display Size: 1.39 Inches

On The Course

Setting off on the first hole, these watches give us the details we need, how far to hit, where the obstacles are, lay up options and basically allow us to plan our hole to perfection.

The LX5 shows the hole beautifully with HD graphics but the Garmin S62 is also excellent.

The LX5 shows these 4 contour lines excellently that show where your shot will end up in all of the possible eventualities. The S62 does the same but this is one of the nicest features of the LX5.

Another problem we ran into with the LX5 is that it kept dimming off and you need to hit the button to bring it back to life.

As I’m walking toward the ball, I like to check it a few times and it got annoying pretty quickly.

The max time to keep it on is 30 seconds and that drains the battery.

The Accuracy

When we fork out for an expensive golf watch, we expect laser like accuracy but this is going to come down to the quality of the satellite more than anything.

There can be differences of up to 10 yards between these devices and we found the Garmin to be more accurate compared to our rangefinder.

It’s no surprise really when you consider who Garmin are as a company but definitely something worth keeping in mind.

The Battery

The battery life in the LX5 is going to last you a full round in GPS mode which is pretty good but the Garmin S62 is going to last you nearly 3 full rounds.

Garmin learned from the battery mistakes they made with Garmin S60 and added an extra interior battery to combat this. The result is a long time between charges and a much better battery performance than the LX5.

The LX5 Screen shut off is to probably help with the Battery life and stop the unit from over heating but the more we move ahead with the watches, the more it becomes a deal breaker.

Fitness Tracking

Both of these watches will count your steps, monitor your heart rate and give you a nice breakdown on your fitness work which is ideal if you like running, walking or jogging.

The Garmin S62 also has modes for cycling and swimming so again it is just going it edge proceedings on the fitness tracking side of things as well.

The Design

As Mentioned both watches are exquisitely crafted and both allow customizable interfaces to be downloaded to the watch at any time.

The Apps

You will get 3 years free access to the SkyCaddie App with LX5 watch but expect to pay $100 per year there after. Probably not a deal break in terms of the watch but something worth keeping in mind with your purchase.

The Garmin Golf App is free forever with any Garmin device and that is what we like to hear.

Both Apps perform very well and track your stats over time

What Both Watches have in Common

• 35,000/41,000 Courses Worldwide

• Stunning Graphics

• Downloadable Custom Interfaces

• Fitness Tracking

• Heart Monitor

• Tracking App

• Colour Touch Screens

• Distance To Hazards

• Lay Up Options For Dog Legs

What The Sky Caddie LX5 Has That The Garmin S62 Doesn’t

• Amazing Graphical Interface

• As we mentioned, this is the leading feature and one of the best in the game

• Synch The Watch Up To your Skytrack

• Skytrack is on of the leading home golf simulators and to synch it up with your watch and app is a great touch.

• Intelligreen allows you to see contours on the green to plan your puts more effectively

• Skycaddie have walked each course manually to ensure accurate distances and they have also set out the contours and slopes of the greens to show you on the watch for approach shots and putting.

One of the main reasons for the paid subscription is to keep all of this data up to date.

Check Out More Reviews Of The LX 5 Here:

What The Garmin Has That The SkyCaddie Doesn’t

Gorilla Glass As Standard

Strong glass on your watch that can take as much punishment as a heavyweight boxer

Garmin Pay

Hook up your credit card and pay directly with your watch.

Compass Feature

Automatically points in direction of the green and gives distance from wherever you are.

Changeable Bands

You can quick change the bands on the S62 easily and buy custom bands online or at the Garmin store.

Check Out More Reviews Of The Garmin S62 Here:

SkyCaddie LX5 Pros And Cons

Pros

• Excellent Interface
• Beautiful Design
• Great Value For Money
• 3 Years Free App
• Cheaper Than S62
• Intelligreen is excellent
• Hooks Up To SkyTrack
• Autohole Progress And Shot Tracking

Cons

• Screen Turns Off Quickly
•  Not As Fast As Garmin
• Not As Accurate
• Pay For App After 3 Years

Check Out More Reviews Of The LX 5 Here:

Garmin S62 Pros And Cons

Pros

• Leading Watch In Class
• Unbeatable features
• Awesome Battery Life
• Playslike Slope Feature
• Autoshot
• Compass Mode
• Shot Tracking And AutoHole Progression
• Customizable

Cons

• Expensive

Check Out More Reviews Of The Garmin S62 Here:

Conclusion

The LX5 is a good first attempt from Skycaddie but it cannot touch the quality and feature set of the S62.

The S62 is by far the superior golf and fitness watch but it does cost $150 – $200 extra.

For me the extra investment is well worth and we can only recommend the Garmin S62, A quality watch from a trusted brand.

Check Out More Reviews Of The Garmin S62 Here: