Sidekick: 12 Best GPS Running Watches

The M430 by Polar was designed for optimal performance and offers a load of features that will help improve your run. The most notable feature is the Smart Training, which hosts a variety of information to boost your performance. Enjoy several different running programs to help you train, a running index to help you utilize your energy more efficiently during a run, sleep monitoring, and even suggested recovery time based on the intensity of your workout. To help you track your progress, run the 5-minute fitness test, which compares your heart rate against your activity levels. The wrist-based heart rate is accurate with no chest strap required. Built-in GPS technology lets you track your run distance, speed, and your pace while running both outdoors and indoors. The watch tracks activity and heart rate 24/7, which gives you access to information like daily steps and calories burned. Polar offers an extended battery life compared to other watches in its league with 30 continuous hours of training between charges. This watch is waterproof and Bluetooth compatible, with its own app to help you keep up with your fitness goals from your smartphone.

Purchase

The Fitbit Ionic adidas edition packs everything you need to track your run and improve your training into one stylish, breathable wristwatch. You’ll never be stumped for ideas again with the adidas Train feature, which gives you access to multiple on-screen workouts at your fingertips. The built-in GPS lets you track your speed and distance in real time, and the wrist device always displays your current heart rate. It automatically tracks workouts and daily activity and monitors sleep patterns. This watch is compatible with your favorite tunes, too, and lets you easily download Pandora stations or Deezer playlist, or store over 300 of your own hand-selected songs directly on the watch. Access all your frequently apps from the watch, like call, text, and weather information. A built-in NFC chip gives you access to your credit cards for easy pay at compatible locations. Take your time in between charges, too, because the Ionic can last up to 5 days on a full charge, or 10 continuous hours while using GPS functions. Like any great sports watch, its waterproof up to 50 meters, so running in the rain is no sweat. Choose from two interchangeable bands, including a durable sports band for workouts and stylish leather band for everything else.

Purchase

This Samsung Gear Sport Smartwatch is compatible with both your iOS and Android devices, so it will sync perfectly with your iPhone, too. It’s loaded with all the latest conveniences, like a NFC chip for easy payment solutions using Samsung Pay, access to S-Voice and all your favorite phone apps, like call, text, alarm, weather, calendar, music, and even Find My Phone functions. It can even control other smart devices, like compatible TV’s, speakers, lights,and more. Aside from being a great smartwatch, though, it seriously performs as a sport watch as well. Enjoy premium GPS functions that track your daily activity, the distance of your runs, and your speed. Keep up with your on-screen heart rate 24/7 and get workout tips and exercise ideas from the Samsung Health personal coach features. It’s water resistant up to 50 meters, so feel free to take a swim. A full charge on the 300 mAh battery should give you between 3-5 days of run time, so no need to worry about your watch running out on you in the middle of your run. You can truly customize this watch to your preference by switching out different watch face and band options to choose one of over a thousand different combinations.

Purchase

Garmin is renowned for offering the latest technology and for their seamless designs. This watch stands up to the best of them, boasting a lightweight, durable build with several customization options, like stylish, interchangeable bands ranging from silicone for sports outings to leather for more formal events. The watch has lots of goodies, like a built-in barometer and altimeter, an electric compass, wrist-based heart rate monitor, and, of https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/564291?course, GPS technology that tracks your runs. This gives you access to information like distance and speed, as well as working and resting heart rate, and the app utilizes that information to offer you personalized workouts and track your progress. This watch is a great choice if you’re looking to improve your performance since it makes it possible to measure important running metrics, like cadence, balance, vertical oscillation, vertical ration, and stride length. With this information, you can easily perfect your form, improve your runtime, and see exactly what changes you can make to boost your running performance. The watch is great for multisport outings and is water resistant, making a suitable choice for swimming, sweating, and running in the rain. It may have one of the most powerful batteries on the market, boasting up to 2 weeks of life on a full charge, or 24 hours of continuous GPS use.

Purchase

The Timex Ironman offers a budget-friendly option that is suitable for beginners and advanced runners alike. All of the necessary features are included, like a built-in GPS, touchscreen technology, a backlight, running pace, distance, and speed alerts, and several vibrating alarm options. The watch also offers hydration alerts that can help you stay properly hydrated during long runs. The silicone band and water resistant watch face makes this a great option for running during rain or shine, and also suitable for swimming and water sports. The watch features a simple interface with menus that are easy to navigate and a micro USB cable that helps you connect to your Mac or PC for data transfers and updates. The low profile watch is only 38mm at its widest point and comes in a sleek, solid black design, with the option to purchase interchangeable bands. The Timex Ironman features just enough of the latest technology to keep your runs on track and to help you track your progress without all the confusing bells and whistles. If you’re looking for a high quality but straightforward GPS running watch, this is exactly where you will find it.

Purchase

The Suunto Spartan Ultra is the ultimate GPS running watch for multisport athletes. It features all the necessary basics for tracking the distance, speed, and overall pace of your run, but that’s not all. 80 different built-in sports modes and 100-meter water resistance and dust resistance par to make this watch perfect for any sports outing or training routines. The watch also includes a built-in altimeter, barometer, and compass, and has the ability to seamlessly synch with your smartphone to let you make calls, edit text, receive notifications, access your calendar, and more, all from your stylish wrist watch. Suunto has an attractive wide-angle touch screen with easy to read data and a backlight option. Don’t mistake all this modern convenience for fragility, though, because this watch is built for the outdoors. The watch face is made from high-quality sapphire crystal glass, and you can choose from either a stainless steel or titanium bezel, so you can feel secure that the watch can handle daily wear and tear. It has about a 26-hour battery life, so you only have to worry about charging it while you sleep.

Purchase

The infamous Apple Watch is easily one of the most luxury smartwatches on the market, but it actually works well as a great GPS watch and has a slew of fancy features that make it great for tracking workouts and progress, too. Apple designed this watch in the light of their other popular devices, so it includes a wide backlit touchscreen and the same attractive, modern design as the newest iPhones. Enjoy built-in GPS technology that helps you track the distance, pace, and speed of your run. A few other built-in technologies boost the convenience of this intelligent watch, like a barometric altimeter, heart rate sensor, accelerometer, and a gyroscope, which are all run seamlessly by the dual-core processor. This watch is built to endure any environmental factors and features Ion-X strengthened glass and a composite back, with complete water resistance at up to 100 meters. The Apple Watch is WiFi and Bluetooth compatible, and you can choose between the GPS only version and the Cellular+GPS model depending on what works best for your lifestyle and budget. It holds about 18 hours of battery life, so it should easily make it through any run, morning, noon, or night.

Purchase

The New Balance Run IQ is another budget-friendly option that packs a load of great technology into a simple accessory. Perhaps the most notable feature that New Balance brings to the table is the watch’s Strava platform, or the online global community of athletes who share workouts, tips, and support. The watch also has Bluetooth compatibility that helps it connect to your favorite devices, like your bluetooth headphones for listening to Google Play playlist (stored directly on the watch) while on a run. You can also connect to your smartphone to get quick notifications, like alarms, texts, or calls while your phone is tucked away. You get all your workout basics: Built-in GPS to track distance, course, and speed, as well as a heart rate monitor with consistent readings and automatic and manual lap button. The battery is adequate, offering approximately 24 hours of life between charging, or 5 continuous hours of GPS use. The watch is pretty slim and trim, with a variety of color options for the breathable silicone band and a simple but functional backlit watch face, so it should pair nicely with all of your workout gear.

Purchase

TomTom is most frequently known for its premium GPS systems, which it has managed to pack inside a tiny, attractive wristwatch. GPS isn’t it’s only shining feature, though it does manage to track your distance, speed, course, and pace all in real time while you’re on the go. Enjoy other premium features, like 3GB of storage space for your favorite music, Bluetooth compatibility to use in sync with your headphones or smartphone, and compatibility with several leading fitness apps. The watch features several different useful health and fitness modes, like interval training, automatic sleep monitoring, 5 heart rate training zones, and indoor training mode. The multiple sports settings and water resistant properties make this watch appropriate for any athlete. Single button controls make it easy to use, and built-in social media access makes it simple to share your workouts and progress with your friends and followers. The watch’s band is interchangeable, with several stylish options to choose from, and come in multiple sizes to help you get a comfortable fit for any workout.

Purchase

The Garmin Forerunner 735XT combines ultimate comfortability with the supreme functionality you need to really get the most out of every run. The built-in heart rate monitor gives you pulse readings around the clock with no need for a chest strap. GPS technology allows you to track to exact course of your run, as well as the distance, speed, and pace. All of this information can be easily accessed on the watch’s app platform, Garmin Connect, where it is automatically uploaded and stored while you move. Bluetooth capabilities let you easily control your favorite running tunes, share all of your progress to social media, and receive important notifications from your phone. You can also get the motivation to push farther with audio prompts, or improve your form with stride length, ground contact time, and cadence information. This watch is built for multisport activities and is water resistant, so use it to track your next marathon or while taking a swim to cool off. Plus, it automatically tracks your recovery period and suggests an appropriate recovery time after each workout to help you get the most progress out of every move you make. The watch looks pretty sleek and simple and comes in a couple different neutral color schemes. The large, round digital face and sleek silicone band give it a modern look that pairs well with all your fitness gear.

Purchase

The Ambit3 Vertical is like a sidekick for all your running ventures since it features a variety of real-time information to help you track your progress and run time. Enjoy details like your altitude profile, with ascent gain and remaining ascent, as well as the running power meter and consistent heart rate measurements, all displayed on the watch face. This watch is great for aiding fitness both during workouts and rest since it recommends a recovery time for each workout, tracks your recovery period, and helps monitor sleep patterns and heart rate while at rest. The Ambit3 Vertical connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and gives you access to notifications like calls and texts while also letting you easily sync your workouts and activity information and store it for reference. This unique watch allows you to create motion pictures of your run or adventure and use them to later create a Suunto movie, which you can easily share to social media along with your workout details. It has a pretty good battery life too, offering up to 100 hours of life on a full charge or up to 15 hours with continuous GPS usage at its highest accuracy setting.

Purchase

The Polar V800 has everything you need and more, including GPS capabilities to track your running data, a heart rate monitor, an integrated app, Bluetooth compatibility, and more. You can easily connect to the Polar Flow app to store fitness data and track progress, or get access to workout guidance specific to your sport. The app allows you to create and customize multiple profiles, so you can have one to track your run time, and separate profiles for all of your favorite sports, along with personalized fitness information and workout suggestions for each. The watch tracks activity around the clock, including rest periods and recovery periods, as well as daily steps and calories burned. Even though everything you need is built into this stylish accessory, it is also compatible with many third-party power meters, so you can use it with most of your favorite gear. The watch is built to be durable enough for any sporting venture and features a breathable silicone band and a wide face that is easy to read. Its water resistant up to 30 meters, so take it for a swim if you’d like.

Purchase