Best Running Watch

Best running watch. What are the best sport watches for running?

There is not such a thing as the best running watch. There are definitely several recognised brands that provide the best range of sports watches, consistently, so the list usually is narrowed down around their products. The features they provide are simply breathtaking.

1- The Garmin Forerunner 935

The Garmin Forerunner 935 is probably one of the most popular and some will say it is the best running watch. No other action-oriented GPS fitness watch even comes close to the depth of features, ease of use, and daily wear functionality of the frontrunner 935. This is the perfect watch for active people who enjoy tracking every aspect of their fitness exploits with deep metrics. It isn’t cheap, but for all that it does, it might be one of the best wrist watch bargains around.

Only the SUUNTO Spartan Ultra HR or Garmin Fenix 5X Sapphire can compete in terms of features. The Forerunner 935 is yet another beast of a multisport GPS watch. It’s a tracking powerhouse and the new metrics based around optimising your training and recovery are really great additions.

2- The SUUNTO Spartan Ultra HR Sports Watch

The SUUNTO Spartan Ultra HR Sports Watch is designed for hardcore multi-sport enthusiasts/ athletes in mind. Unless you are part of that rare breed, this piece of tech, however incredible, will be a waste of your money. On the other hand, if you belong in that unique and rare category, the Spartan ultra HR can be so much more than just a watch. It provides training and endurance sports performance measurement and analytics so extent, with such precision and accuracy that it is an investment worth making.

For those thinking of doing a FULL IronMan then you will want to consider the ULTRA model over the SPORT as the Spartan Ultra will record for up to 18 hours in maximum sampling rate, the Spartan Sport only 10 hours. With the Suunto Spartan, it’s all about functionality and build quality. There’s not much out there that comes close to the quality of the Suunto Spartan Ultra.

3- The Garmin Fenix 5X Sapphire 

The Garmin Fenix 5X Sapphire is one of the best GPS sports watches available right now. Some will argue it is not only the best running watch but one of the very best and most complete. It’s rugged, well connected, covers lots of sports, includes colour maps and has brilliant battery life. Plus you can use this as a daily activity tracker without worry of damage thanks to that sapphire screen and water resistance rating to 100 meters. You’ll look good too thanks to that chunky metallic build. If you’re a fan of the outdoors then this is the map, tracker, storm alert and notification giver for you. If the size and price don’t scare you off then this is a super capable running, cycling and swimming tracker too, plus any other sport you want it for.

It is expensive and it includes more tech features than any one person will ever use. But for those who keep track of all their athletic pursuits and biometrics in excruciating detail and want all that data on their wrist, all the time, there is no better watch than the Fenix 5X at any price.

4- The Polar Vantage V 

The Polar Vantage V is a multi-sport and triathlon watch that also monitors activity 24 hours a day. It is intended for demanding athletes who are looking for advanced performance analysis functions and training tools. High-level athletes, professionals, amateurs looking to train like the pros or fans of statistics and analysis will find their happiness with this watch from the word go.

Thanks to its power and HR monitoring, this sport watch scores the overall training load of a session, as well as the muscle and cardiovascular load. As you do more or fewer workouts, the Vantage V determines the overall effect your training sessions are having on your body, detraining, maintaining, productive or overtraining. The Polar V will give you an impressive 40 hours of battery life for use with GPS and recording every second! That is quite remarkable. The Vantage does not offer a power-saving mode, which is unfortunate for all those who make very long trips, especially since the watch cannot be charged in recording mode.

The Polar Vantage V is at the higher end of the sports watch spectrum and represents a serious investment. But if you’re someone who cares a lot about performance then, based on what I’ve seen so far, this is a watch that’s got a great deal to offer.

Conclusion

The truth of the matter, these are only the top line of sport watches for running in the market. The best running watch is something very personal and we all have our favourite based on our own running style, distance, etc. There are cheaper alternatives but ultimately you get what you pay for. The 4 options above are what most pro athletes will use and they know one or two things about reliable metrics and accuracy.  Buy any of these watches and they will last you for many years plus should you venture into any other multi-sport, they got you covered. It will be an investment more than worth it.