Conquer fitness goals with these wearables

Garmin has no shortage of wearables in its arsenal, so much so that if you were to approach its wares without any instinct over which one to get, the whole thing could get quite overwhelming pretty quickly. With that in mind, if you just want the absolute top dog from Garmin that can do almost anything and won’t leave you wanting when out on a run, then the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) is your best bet.

It certainly doesn’t come cheap with a starting price of £829.99/$899.99 but in return, the Epix Pro (Gen 2) packs one of the most feature-rich Garmin experiences to date. For starters you get an AMOLED display which is much brighter and easier on the eyes than Garmin’s traditional memory-in-pixel panels, making this feel like a proper modern running watch.

If you’re ever running in the dark or travelling down a dimly lit trail, then you can make use of the built-in torch on the Epix Pro to illuminate the way. You won’t have to worry about it draining the battery either as the Epix Pro can run for up to 16 days on a single charge.

This is all on top of the excellent mapping features offered by Garmin, which show you detailed topography and points of interest ahead of time on any outdoor runs you want to undertake. It’s definitely overkill for most people but for the ardent athletes among you, you’ll get on very well with the Epix Pro (Gen 2).

Reviewer: Michael Sawh
Full review: Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) review

The Enduro 2 is Garmin’s latest wearable for extreme runners. It’s also one of its most expensive. The Enduro 2 differentiates itself from the other watches on this list with its overt focus on battery life above all else.

Garmin’s designed it to offer up to 46 days of use as a smartwatch (with solar) and up to 150 hours GPS battery life (with solar). During testing we easily managed to get 3.5 weeks of heavy use out of the wearable. This included daily 5km runs with the GPS on and 10km’ jogs over the weekend.

Add to this its near indestructible design, healthy portfolio of fitness and health analytics, which are identical to what you get on the Fenix 7, accurate distance tracking and local mapping support, and the Enduro 2 becomes an easy recommendation for hardcore runners.

The only real downside is that you have to pay a real premium to get the battery life with it costing significantly more than the Fenix 7. As a result, we recommend most runners, that don’t need 150 hours of GPS tracking, to opt for the cheaper Fenix 7.

Reviewer: Michael Sawh
Full review: Garmin Enduro 2 review

While the likes of Garmin and Coros are best sought out by athletes and long distance runners, Fitbit has always been a better recommendation for those just starting out on their fitness journey, and the Fitbit Charge 5 shows exactly why this is the case.

Unlike the majority of running watches, the Fitbit Charge 5 is far more easy on the wallet. While it started out with an RRP of £169.99, you can easily find it for far less these days, sometimes dropping below the £100 mark.

In spite of its low price, the Charge 5 packs untethered GPS tracking, so you can leave your phone at home and keep the distractions to a minimum as you track your run solely from your wrist.

It even packs an ECG sensor to pick up any signs of atrial fibrillation, and unlike previous devices in the Fitbit Charge series, this one features a vibrant AMOLED display that’s bright and easy to read. Couple this with Fitbit’s easy to understand metrics and helpful companion app, and the Fitbit Charge 5 is a winner for beginners.

Reviewer: Michael Sawh
Full review: Fitbit Charge 5 review

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the best option for runners that want a full-functioning smartwatch too. The tracker is powered by Wear OS and that means you’ll find a much more developed application library than any of the other trackers on this list. Of course, you need an Android phone for this device, so it’s also for people who don’t have an iPhone.

There’s support for all the major running ecosystems including Strava, Runkeeper, my Fitness Pal and Samsung Health. 

On top of that, you’ll get Spotify support and reliable GPS that, during our tests, proved wonderfully fast and reliable.

The rugged watch impressed when it came to analytics. The Samsung Health app offers detailed breakdowns of your running performance. These include common metrics, like how long you spent in each heart rate zone as well as more detailed ones like contact time and stiffness. It was the latter that helped our reviewer identify issues with his technique and will prove especially useful to other runners.

The only real downside to the watch compared to some of the other options on this list, like the Forerunner 955, is that the Watch 5 Pro has a distinctly shorter battery life. Like many smartwatches, our reviewer never managed to get three days of regular use out of the device. 

It’s also slightly annoying that despite supporting GPX route planning, the feature doesn’t support running. Instead it’s limited to cycling and hiking. But if you want a proper smartwatch as well as a running companion and don’t like the look of Apple’s then this is the best option available.

Reviewer: Alastair Stevenson
Full review: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro review

If you’re a confident runner who wants a reliable and accurate running watch – but you don’t need all the extra bells and whistles of the top-end variants – then our recommendation is the Garmin Forerunner 255.

Despite its mid-range price point, this wearable offers a great range of fitness metrics, not just offering highly accurate readings from its 24/7 heart rate sensor and GPS, but also measuring your SpO2, VO2 Max, and delivering reliable sleep monitoring too. You’ll find that this wearable works as an excellent companion whether you’re just tracing your running routes or as a day-to-day fitness tracker.

What’s more, this wearable is water resistant up to 5ATM, and it has long-lasting battery life that will get you through a busy week on a single charge.

While you might not have all the smartwatch accoutrements offered by all-round devices, and it may not look as flashy as some of its rivals, this delivers where it matters for runners, giving you an excellent and balanced picture of your fitness progress.

Reviewer: Peter Phelps
Full Review: Garmin Forerunner 255 review

Apple Watch Ultra

Best for watchOS

Pros

• Improved battery on previous Apple Watches
• Surprisingly light design
• Good sports tracking performance
• Bigger, brighter Retina display

Cons

• It’s not cheap
• Design could be sleeker
• Some outdoor features are a work in progress
• New straps are a mixed bag

If you’ve been seduced by the sheer smoothness of Apple’s software, then the Apple Watch Ultra is your best bet for a reliable running watch that can see you through all weathers.

The construction quality of this wearable is far more rugged than the regular Apple Watch Series 8, given that the case is made from titanium and the screen is of sapphire crystal – in fact it’s even been tested to the MIL-STD-810H military standard for toughness, so you can rest assured that it will deal with whatever is thrown at you on the trail.

We also found the dual-band GPS to be very accurate, even when dealing with weaving around the notoriously challenging high-rise buildings that dominate the Chicago marathon. It held up as well as a high-end Garmin watch, so you can trust this to give you fairly accurate results when tracking the distance of your runs.

Furthermore, battery life is sufficiently strong though not brilliant by this category’s standards; it can get through 36 hours in normal mode, 60 hours in power-saving mode, and that aforementioned marathon took just over 20% of our charge after three and a half hours.

However, there are still a couple of minor teething problems with this all-new watch. For one thing, the strap isn’t as comfortable as we’d like, and for another there were some inaccuracies in the heart rate readings when near our maximum effort, as measured compared to a chest strap.

Nonetheless, if you need a rugged running watch that still has all the creature comforts of Apple’s excellent wearables software, then this is the one to plump for.

Reviewer: Michael Sawh
Full review: Apple Watch Ultra review

Coros Apex 2

Best for durability

Pros

• Top-tier titanium and Sapphire build
• Small face but great screen clarity
• Good battery life
• Sufficient number of advanced fitness features

Cons

• On-watch maps are of limited use
• Crown-led navigation can feel clunky
• Some issues with early workout HR reliability

Garmin and Fitbit may be the go-to reference points in the public discourse surrounding fitness trackers and running watches but Coros has been gradually making a case for its own line of wearables and the Coros Apex 2 shows exactly why the company is a force to be reckoned with.

For starters, the Apex 2 features a part-titanium chassis with a robust sapphire display, both of which are rare for wearables around the same price point. What this means is that if you’re the type of person who worries about getting scratches on their smartwatch or accidentally knocking the device during a workout, then the Apex 2 can give you peace of mind with the ability to withstand a fair amount.

As great as the watch’s durability is, it’s not the only reason why you should consider it over a Garmin. In accordance with the Coros app, the Apex 2 can offer up a near dizzying amount of metrics and you can also programme a workout routine on your phone which is then ready to be viewed whenever you need on your wrist.

All of these metrics don’t come at the cost of battery life either, as the Apex 2 can still manage to crack on for up to 17-days on a single charge, making it ideal for anyone looking to head off on a long hike.

Part of that outstanding battery life is owed to the transflective LCD screen which, even though it isn’t quite as snazzy as an AMOLED display, is by its very nature easier to read outdoors which is exactly what you want when out on a run.

The key issue holding the Apex 2 back from greatness is the on-the-watch map system which just isn’t as intuitive or easy to populate as it is on Garmin devices. If you already know the routes that you plan on running however then this won’t be much of an issue.

Reviewer: Andrew Williams
Full review: Coros Apex 2 review

If you’re looking for a running watch that is well suited to smaller wrists, the Garmin Forerunner 265s is a fantastic choice. The smartwatch sits below the top-end Forerunner 965 but offers more advanced training metrics and features than the budget-oriented Forerunner 55. 

The Forerunner 265s sports a 41.7mm case, keeping it small and light on the wrist. The watch has five physical buttons and is paired with an 18mm quick-release silicone band available in three colours. 

Unlike our best mid-level running watch, the Garmin Forerunner 255, the 256s boasts a small 1.1-inch AMOLED display with a 360 x 360 resolution, an always-on mode and raise-to-wake gesture support. The screen is built from tough Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and is incredibly vibrant with deep blacks and rich, accurate colours 

While the Forerunner 265s is primarily designed to support runners, the wearable also offers some swimming, cycling and indoor workout tracking capabilities. There are even profiles for skiing and snowboarding, as well as a dedicated triathlon mode. 

For running, the Forerunner 265s is excellent. The wearable is small and lightweight to run with and the screen makes it easy to view and customise your stats in real-time. Many of the running features are the same as those found on the 255, including the Sat IQ and multiband GPS technology which ensure you’re using the best GPS tracking option for any environment. We found this feature performed well against similar features on the Apple Watch Ultra and Garmin’s own Forerunner 965. 

Treadmill runs perform similarly well and there’s the option to calibrate the watch to ensure it offers accurate tracking on future runs. 

The Garmin Coach feature allows you to sync running-focussed workouts on the watch and there’s the option to upload routes for breadcrumb-style navigation (for more complete mapping, opt for a pricier Garmin watch). Other features include the race predictor and PacePro pacing strategies, while Training Readiness offers insight based on heart rate variability, sleep quality, recovery and training load to let you know whether you should be training that day or taking a day off to rest. 

Despite the new AMOLED screen, the battery life is still very good, offering up to 15-days of use in smartwatch mode with the always-on screen deactivated and up to 24-hours when using the optimal GPS tracking mode. 

That Garmin Forerunner 265s may be a bit pricier than the Forerunner 255 with its coloured AMOLED display, but it’s nevertheless a great running watch and perfectly-sized for smaller wrists. 

Reviewer: Michael Sawh
Full Review: Garmin Forerunner 265s review