The five best GPS running watches you can buy right now, revealed.
In the latest Run Testers video, I joined Nick, Tom and Mike to take on the tricky challenge of choosing our favourite GPS running watches you can buy right now. To simplify things a little – for us and for you – we broke things down into four categories: the best budget, all rounder, top end and smartwatch.
Between us we’ve tested (pretty much) all the running watches that have been launched in the last 18 months, from all the brands including Garmin, Polar, Coros, Suunto, Samsung, Fitbit and Apple.
And after a lot of arguing about the merits of running power and whether Garmin or Polar has the best navigation, information and apps (Suunto we agreed doesn’t) we carefully selected our top five picks to help you zero in on the best options. And here they are…
The best GPS running watches revealed
How to choose the right running watch
Here are some of the main things we look for when we’re rating running watches.
Good battery life – a decent running watch should last at least a week for the average runner in GPS mode. So we’re looking for
Good features for the price – not everyone wants to know their VO2 Max estimate but you want a feature set that offers good value regardless of whether you’re paying £100 or £800.
Comfort – has to feel good being worn 24-7. 📈 Accurate GPS & Heart Rate – This one is always contentious but reliability here is key.
Easy to use – We don’t want to have to reach for the manual to start a run. Or memorise complicated button combos to unlock data.
Bright screen – it doesn’t have to be Apple Watch sharp but we do want to be able to read it in all light.
Did we miss something you always look for? I’d love to hear what you look for most in a good running watch.
