Best Running Watch-table
From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
Revision as of 11:25, 22 June 2016 by User:Fellrnr (User talk:Fellrnr | contribs)
| Score | How far did you run? |
How fast are you running? |
Where are you? |
What's your cadence? |
Bonus Points | Value for money |
Price at Amazon.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 19 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 18 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 18 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 18 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 18 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Leikr ($380) |
| 18 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 17 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 17 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 17 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 17 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 16 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 13 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! |
The score is the sum of how well each watch can answer the four basic questions (how far, how fast, where are you, what's your cadence), plus some bonus points. I give 1-2 bonus points for application support and 1-2 bonus points for Optical Heart Rate Monitoring. Value for money is the score divided by the price (at the time I last updated the table.) Your needs may be different, so you might weight the different aspects of the watches differently, or be basing your decision on different criteria totally. Hopefully this table will give you a good starting point for your decision. (Older Reviews: Polar RC3 GPS, Soleus 1.0, Motorola Motoactv.)
Features
|
Review |
GPS Accuracy |
Weight (oz) | Size (CM3) | Display (mm) | Resolution (Pixels) |
Waterproofing |
Pace from |
Heart Rate |
Data Upload |
Battery Life (hr) |
Tested Battery Life (hr) |
Extended Battery Life (hr) |
Altimeter |
Navigation |
Training |
GPS cache |
Sensors |
Charge on the run? | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garmin Epix Review | 5.3 | 3.0 | 48 | 29 x 21 (609mm2) | 205 x 148 (30.3K total) | Good (50m) | Yes | Yes | Internal/Footpod/Heart Rate Monitor/Alert | Yes | 24 | 17.6 | 50 | Yes | Color Maps, Track Outline, Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint, Compass | Yes | Record | Yes | Ant+ | Yes* |
| Garmin 920XT Review | 6.6 | 2.2 | 35 | 29 x 21 (609mm2) | 205 x 148 (30.3K total) | Good (50m) | Yes | Yes | Internal/Footpod/Heart Rate Monitor/Alert | Yes | 24 | 19 | 40 | Yes | Track Outline, Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint, Compass | Yes | Record | Yes | Ant+ | No (terminates) |
| Garmin 910XT Review | 7.4 | 2.5 | 49 | 33 x 20 (660mm2) | 160 x 100 (16K total) | Good (50m) | Yes | Yes | Footpod/Alert | Yes | 20 | 20 | Yes | Track Outline, Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint | Yes | Record | No | Ant+ | Yes, but no display | |
| Suunto Ambit3 Run Review | 7.9 | 2.5 | 30 | 29 (round) (661mm2) | 128 x 128 (16.4K total) | Good (50m) | No | Yes | Internal/Footpod | Yes | 10 | 10.5 | 100 | Optional | Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint, Compass | Yes | Record | Yes | Bluetooth | Yes |
| Suunto Ambit3 Peak Review | 7.9 | 3.1 | 30 | 29 (round) (661mm2) | 128 x 128 (16.4K total) | Good (100m) | No | Yes | Internal/Footpod | Yes | 20 | 100 | Optional | Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint, Compass | Yes | Record | Yes | Bluetooth | Yes | |
| Leikr Review | 7.5 | 2.4 | 25 | 41 x 31 (1271mm2) | 206 x 148 (76.8K total) | Fair (IPX6) | Yes | Yes | Footpod | Limited | 5 | 6.5 | 5 | No | Color Maps, Track Outline, Course Outline | No | No | Yes (few hours) | Ant+ | Yes, but tricky |
| Garmin Fenix 3 Review | 6.2 | 2.9 | 33 | 30 (round) (726mm2) | 218 diameter (37.3K total) | Good (100m) | Yes | Yes | Internal/Footpod/Heart Rate Monitor/Alert | Yes | 20 | 22 | 50 | Yes | Track Outline, Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint | Yes | No | Yes | Ant+ | Yes* |
| Garmin 310XT Review | 7.5 | 2.5 | 63 | 33 x 20 (660mm2) | 160 x 100 (16K total) | Good (50m) | Yes | Yes | Footpod | Yes | 20 | 20 | No | Track Outline, Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint | No | No | No | Ant+ | Yes, but no display | |
| Suunto Ambit2 R Review | 7.6 | 2.5 | 30 | 29 (round) (661mm2) | 128 x 128 (16.4K total) | Good (50m) | No | Yes | Internal/Footpod | Yes | 8 | 7.3 | 25 | No | Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint, Compass | Yes | Record | Yes | Ant+ | Yes |
| Suunto Ambit2 Review | 7.6 | 3.1 | 30 | 29 (round) (661mm2) | 128 x 128 (16.4K total) | Good (100m) | No | Yes | Internal/Footpod | Yes | 15 | 50 | Yes | Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint, Compass | Yes | Record | Yes | Ant+ | Yes | |
| Polar V800 Review | 8.1 | 2.8 | 31 | 23 x 23 (529mm2) | 128 x 128 (16.4K total) | Good (30m) | No | Yes | Internal/Footpod | Limited | 13 | 24 | 50 | Yes | Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint | Yes | Display | Predictive | Bluetooth | No (terminates) |
| Garmin 610 Review | 7.1 | 2.5 | 41 | 25.4 (round) (507mm2) | 128 diameter (12.9K total) | Fair (IPX7) | Yes | Yes | Footpod/Alert | Yes | 8 | 8 | No | Back To Start, Back To Waypoint | Yes | Record | No | Ant+ | Yes, but no display | |
| Garmin 235 Review | 1.5 | 19 | 31 (round) (755mm2) | 215 x 180 (38.7K total) | Good (50m) | Yes | optical HRM]]) | Internal/Footpod | Yes | 11 | 11 | No | Back To Start, Back To Waypoint | Yes | No | Yes | Ant+ | Yes, but no optical HR | ||
| Garmin 620 Review | 6.9 | 1.5 | 20 | 25.4 (round) (507mm2) | 180 diameter (25.4K total) | Good (50m) | No | Yes | Internal/Footpod/Heart Rate Monitor/Alert | Yes | 10 | 10 | No | No | Yes | Record | Yes | Ant+ | No (resets) | |
| Garmin Vivoactive Review | 1.3 | 13 | 29 x 21 (592mm2) | 205 x 148 (30.3K total) | Good (50m) | No | Yes | Internal/Footpod/Heart Rate Monitor/Alert | Yes | 10 | 10 | 10 | No | Back to start | No | No | Yes | Ant+ | Yes* | |
| TomTom Cardio Runner Review | 6.7 | 2.2 | 30 | 22 x 25 (550mm2) | 144 x 168 (24.2K total) | Good (50m) | No | optical HRM]]) | Internal/Footpod | Yes | 8 | 6.3 | 8 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Bluetooth | No (resets) |
| Garmin 225 Review | 6.9 | 1.5 | 24 | 25.4 (round) (507mm2) | 180 diameter (25.4K total) | Good (50m) | No | optical HRM]]) | Internal/Footpod | Yes | 10 | 11 | 10 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Ant+ | No (resets) |
| Garmin Fenix 2 Review | 5.5 | 3.2 | 32 | 31 (round) (755mm2) | 70 diameter (3.8K total) | Good (50m) | No | Yes | Internal/Footpod/Heart Rate Monitor/Alert | Yes | 15 | 50 | Yes | Track Outline, Course Outline, Back To Start, Back To Waypoint, Compass | Yes | No | Yes | Ant+ | Yes* | |
| Polar M400 Review | 4.0 | 2.0 | 24 | 23 x 23 (529mm2) | 128 x 128 (16.4K total) | Good (30m) | No | Yes | Limited Footpod | Limited | 8 | 8 | No | Back to start | No | No | No | Bluetooth | Yes, but tricky | |
| Garmin 10 Review | 5.0 | 1.3 | 33 | 25 x 24 (600mm2) | 55 x 32 (1.8K total) | Good (50m) | No | No | No | Yes | 5 | 5 | No | No | No | No | No | None | No |
For "navigation":
- Color Maps gives you full color maps, rather like a smart phone, with roads and paths marked out.
- Track Outline is a display of where you've run, rather like a breadcrumb trail. If there are maps, the outline is superimposed otherwise this is just the outline on its own without any context.
- Course Outline is an outline of a route that can be downloaded. I've found this useful during ultras or in unfamiliar cities where I've needed to know where to go.
- Back To Start is a simple arrow point to your starting point, so it won't help you backtrack.
- Back To Waypoint returns you to a previously marked location using a simple arrow to point.
- Compass. A magnetic compass can help you orient yourself or the map. Without a magnetic compass you have to be moving for the GPS to give you a sense of direction.
