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=Watches for Ultrarunning=
[[File:ChargingOnTheRun.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Charging a watch on the run can work, but it's awkward at best.]]
Choosing a watch for an ultramarathon requires some tradeoffs and there's no simple answer. The main factor is battery life, and some runners will want navigation. I wish I could provide, simple, clear cut advice, but unfortunately things are not so easy. You'll need to think about how long you'll be running for, the features that are important to you, and how much compromise you can live with. * If you need good navigation information, then I'd suggest the [[Garmin Epix]], though you'll need to carry a USB battery pack and charge on the go. The Epix will last for 17 hours, but using the navigation features will dramatically reduce that. For less money and better GPS Accuracy, consider the [[Garmin 910XT]]. The [[Garmin 920XT]] or the [[Garmin Fenix 3]] have more features, but worse accuracy. (You'll still need the battery pack if you're going to use the navigation mapping with any of them.)* For races up to 20 hours the [[Suunto Ambit3| Suunto Ambit3 Peak]] has great accuracy and a small form factor. * For races up to 30 hours the [[Epson SF-510]] is the least bad option. If you can afford it, get another watch that works better for training and shorter races, using the Epson only when you run for 20-30 hours. * For races over 30 hours I'd either charge on the go, or use the [[Suunto Ambit3| Suunto Ambit3 Peak]] again. You can get 200 hours with 60 second sampling, which would give you a rough idea of how far and where you've gone for more than a week. If you're going to charge on the go, then any of the watches that support this are viable.
==Battery Life==
* The claimed battery lives don't hold up in the real world, with some watches going longer, others much shorter.
* If you want the maximum battery life, you have to avoid the backlight, the use of map/course displays, and don't press the buttons unless you have to.
* In my testing, the longest battery life that's available with GPS on is 30 hours with the [[Epson SF-510]]], 24 hours with the [[Polar V800]], 22 hours with the [[Garmin Fenix 3]], 19 with the [[Garmin 920XT]], and 17 with the [[Garmin Epix]].
* Of the watches where I've not tested the battery life, there's 20 hours for the [[Suunto Ambit3| Suunto Ambit3 Peak]], [[Garmin 310XT]] and [[Garmin 910XT]]. (I only test battery life on fairly new watches as the life degrades with usage.)
* For ultras lasting less than 20 hours, such as 50 miles or 100 Km, you have plenty of choice and battery life should not constrain you too much.
* For 24 hour races or 100 mile races where you expect a finish in the 24-30 hour range the [[Epson SF-510]] is worth considering though the battery life is one of its only few good points.
* Some watches can extend the battery life by only taking a GPS fix less frequently. This can be acceptable on a straight course like the Keys 100 or Badwater, but it can be appalling on twisty trails. However, if you need more than 30 hours then this is you only option without recharging on the go.
** The [[Suunto Ambit3| Suunto Ambit3 Peak]] has 20 hours with normal GPS recording, and 30 hours at 5 second sampling, which is great. It will go as high as 200 hours with 60 second sampling. There is some course display capability, but it's not as good others. There's also the cheaper [[Suunto Ambit3| Suunto Ambit3 Run]] that gives 15 hours at 5 second sampling, or 100 hours at 60 second sampling.
** The [[Suunto Ambit2| Suunto Ambit2 R]] gives 20 hours in extended mode (60 second GPS sampling) and the more expensive Ambit2 gives 50 hours. There is some course display capability, but it's not as good others.
** The [[Polar V800]] has a stated battery life of 13 hours, but without Bluetooth I found it lasted for nearly 24 hours! The extended mode increases the rated life to 50 hour (I got just over 50 hours), and you can charge it on the run. The V800 has no map or course display.
** Garmin's latest watches use a Variable type of UltraTrac. Instead of setting a fixed update frequency like 15 seconds, they dynamically vary the GPS recording interval and use the internal accelerometer to fill in the gaps. This makes it harder to predict how long the battery will last in a specific situation, something I dislike. There's no option for a fixed frequency extended recording mode. *** The [[Garmin Epix]] and [[Garmin Fenix 23]] will give use Variable UltraTrac and claim up to 50 hours.*** The [[Garmin 920XT]] claims 40 hours in extended Variable UltraTrac mode, but it .* Avoid the [[Garmin Fenix 2]] which has mediocre [[GPS Accuracy]] even in normal mode and it has the occasional "lost satellite reception" problem.
* You can turn off GPS and use a [[Footpod]], which boost the battery life of most Garmin watches to several days. Obviously you lose navigation and while the accuracy of a [[Footpod]] can be better than GPS, the Footpod does not do so well if you're taking [[Walking Breaks]] or running on twisty single track.
* You can extend the battery life a little by avoiding using the backlight or changing the display. Showing the course outline or the map seems to drain the battery quite fast. I've had 37+ hours out of the [[Suunto Ambit2| Suunto Ambit2 R]] in extended mode with these tricks.
* Another option, depending on the race, is to have two watches and swap part way through.
==Navigation==
For some ultras (and shorter trail runs), navigation is a problem. I've been lost on the occasional race and it's a horrible experience. Even when I've been on course, the doubts and stress of worrying can be an enormous drain. My first GPS watch was purchased so that I'd have an outline of the course I was running and there were many races where I was glad of its comforting conformation. Remember that using the navigation features of these watches will dramatically reduce their battery life.
* The [[Garmin Epix]] has a display that shows full color maps, so for navigation, nothing else comes close. (Well, the [[Leikr]] is even better, but it has a short battery life.)
* The [[Garmin 310XT]], [[Garmin 910XT]], [[Garmin 920XT]], and [[Garmin Fenix 3]] will show an outline of your run and allow you to load a course outline to follow.
