If you’re becoming serious about outdoor activities such as running, hiking, and rock climbing, it’s absolutely worth investing in one of the best GPS sports watches. They can assist you in keeping tabs on your movements, steps, caloric intake, and more. Some of them also offer useful safety features. Altimeters, preloaded maps, specialized metrics, and music storage are extra features that can be expensive.
While many of the best sports watches and fitness trackers include location tracking on the watch itself to correctly record outdoor exercises, GPS watches for sports include capabilities that can give you considerably more information about what you’re doing and last much longer on a single charge.
While runners are the primary target market for the majority of the top GPS sports watches, there are also models designed specifically for golfers, hikers, skiers, triathletes, and endurance athletes. We’ve ranked the top GPS watches across a range of criteria, evaluating them for performance, usability, and design to help readers decide which gadget is right for them.
How to select the best sports watch for you.
You must first choose the athletic activity you want to monitor because this will dictate the essential elements you require. GPS monitoring is essential for cyclists and runners, although waterproofing is more important for swimmers. Triathletes want a multi-sport mode to easily move between their many disciplines, and those who regularly work out in the gym may want to track different types of indoor workouts like weight training and HIIT. Whatever type of athlete you are, there is almost certainly a watch out there for you; all you have to do is choose it.
List of Best sports watches:
- Garmin Epix (gen 2)
The second-generation Garmin Epix fulfills all of your watch needs. It has a vibrant, extremely sharp 1.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen that is fun to use, although it reduces battery life. The Epix is jam-packed to the gills with features, including topographic maps from all over the world, unmatched GPS accuracy, a RealTime Stamina tool that gauges your remaining energy, Wi-Fi connectivity, the capacity to store music from popular streaming services, and dedicated modes for virtually every type of exercise, both on land and in the water. Even the information about 42,000 golf courses is included.
- Apple Watch Series 7
Apple’s latest smartwatch is not really a significant improvement over the Series 6 it replaced. The majority of the sports monitoring functions are mostly unchanged from the previous version; instead, the major enhancements concentrate on small hardware upgrades. The Series 7 has a 20 percent larger display than its predecessor, a thicker cover glass that is both water- and dust-resistant, and a charger that, according to the manufacturer, charges the battery 33 percent more quickly.
- Huawei GT 2e
The Huawei GT 2e falls in the middle of a smartwatch, and a sports watch. Because it doesn’t support Wear OS and has no app store, it isn’t a true smartwatch. However, it has a sizable, brilliant AMOLED touchscreen, and you can play music on it. With 100 workout options, it’s safe to say that the Huawei GT 2e excels in the sporting arena. Using the same Firstbeat technology found in Garmin devices, it gives runners particular, outstanding insights into their training intensity and overall fitness. You can also use various pre-made running exercises and training schedules for distances ranging from a 5K to a marathon. The GT 2e contains a heart rate monitor, GPS, and a SpO2 sensor that can measure your blood oxygen levels.
- Coros Vertix 2
It has a larger, 1.4-inch sapphire crystal display and a more durable titanium case. Other noteworthy features of the Vertix 2 include its exceptional battery life, which lasts for up to a month when used for five to six hours of training per week. Its twin channel, all-systems GPS radio ensures utmost accuracy even in challenging weather. The Coros application and new online training platform are outstanding, and it also includes offline maps and an optical heart-rate monitor with good accuracy.
- Garmin Forerunner 945
The Forerunner 945 is a superb all-purpose wristwatch. It provides accurate and thorough tracking across a variety of sports, in-depth training and recovery analyses, as well as convenient functions like music playback and onboard navigational maps. Its slim, lightweight design, which is pleasant to wear throughout extended activities, together with the swimming and multi-sport sports mode it offers, is what makes it so great for cyclists and triathletes. 945 is compatible with any sensor you’d like to pair with it, including running foot pods and cycling power meters, and you can do it using either ANT+ or Bluetooth.