Garmin Tactix 7 vs Garmin Tactix Delta – What’s Changed for the best tactical watch series

I’m guessing Garmin finally thought ahead far enough to worry about what the phonetic alphabet would do to the name of their Tactix series. Tactix Hotel just doesn’t have the same ring to it that Delta, Charlie, or Bravo did. That’s my theory, at least on why the latest Tactix watch from Garmin is called the Tactix 7, instead of Tactix Echo.

What’s Changed – Tactix 7 vs Tactix Delta

The most significant changes for the new Tactix 7 model are the following:

• LED Flashlight
  • This flashlight is unique to the tactix 7 and features a green light instead of red (fenix 7). It should be less harmful to your night vision than red light
• Increased Battery life
  • Smartwatch mode: increased by 7 days (non-solar), increased by 13 days (solar-recharging)
  • Battery saver mode increased by 10 days (non-solar and solar)
  • GPS increased by 29 hours, 56 hours (non-solar, solar respectively)
  • GPS + Music no increase
  • Max battery GPS Mode increased by 93 hours, 430 hours (non-solar, solar respectively)
  • Expedition GPS Activity increased by 16 days, 83 days (non-solar, solar respectively)

*Solar charging, assuming all-day wear with 3 hours per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions

• Tactical Recreation mod
• On Device Connect IQ Store
• Real-time settings sync with Garmin connect mobile
• Aviation Features
  • Worldwide airport databases preloaded onto the watch
  • 3-Axis Compass with Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI)
  • Multiple Time Zones with ZULU/UTC
  • NEXRAD Moving Map
  • Moving map with aviation airports, NAVAIDS, roads, bodies of water, etc
  • Worldwide navaid and intersection databases
  • In-flight pulse ox
  • METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report)
  • TAF (Terminal Aerodrome forecast)
• Smart Controller Compatible
  • Use real-world data from your watch and import to a smart trainer to simulate the resistance, and distance of your course based on the recorded stats of your watch.

Tactical Features – How the Garmin tactix 7 differs from average smartwatches

Excepting the new aviation features, the abovementioned changes don’t explain what makes this watch such a sought-after tactical smartwatch. Below I’ve outlined the actual ‘tactical’ features of this watch. These features are what separates the tactix 7 from the Fenix 7.

–          Applied Ballistics Elite Software

o   Calculate aiming solutions for long-range shooting in the field with a built-in ballistics calculator. Get environmental data readings from your compatible weather meter and ranges from your compatible range finder sent directly to the Applied Ballistics solver. (tactix 7 Pro Ballistics only)

–          Built-in flashlight

o   The tactix 7 has a green flashlight and a white flashlight, instead of the red/white combo on the Fenix 7 watches. The green is to supposedly to help preserve night vision while using night vision goggles. Below from left to right I’ve linked photos of the flashlight at increasing levels of brightness.

• Stealth Mode
  • Watch remains operational in this mode, but you will no longer be storing or sharing your GPS position. This separates stealth mode from airplane mode, which is available on most smartwatches. If you run an activity in airplane mode, it will still record location data that can be accessed later. No location data is stored in Stealth mode at any time. It also disables wireless connectivity and communication.
• Kill Switch
  • This completely wipes all data from your watch (factory reset). It can also be programmed as a hotkey for quick activation.
• Jumpmaster mode
  • High Altitude-High Opening (HAHO)
  • High Altitude-Low Opening (HALO)
  • Static Jumps
• Dual-Position Format
  • Displays two positional formats on the watch face
• Night Vision mode
  • This mode significantly reduces the backlight intensity so that it can’t be viewed by the naked eye but is easily readable with night vision.
• Multi-GNSS and Multi-Band
  • Access multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) to track in more challenging environments than GPS alone. Receive multiple frequencies sent by navigation satellites, improving position accuracy.
• Hunting Activity Profile
  • This mode is neat if you just need to instantly drop a waypoint with a label. You do this by pressing stop while the activity runs to bring up the waypoint menu.

Another change from standard watches is the engraved bezel with 24-hour time. The buttons on the tactix 7 watch are also knurled, which gives them a better texture. The tactix watches (pro edition and ballistics edition only) come with a nylon band. These bands are a lot tougher than the standard silicone bands standing up to more wear and tear, have better resistance against UV, and the material is breathable, making it much nicer in hot climates. It’s these small changes that add up across the whole watch that make it a solid tactical watch.

Differences between Tactix 7, Tactix 7 Pro Edition and tactix 7 Pro Ballistics Edition