Buyer’s Guide: GPS Sport Watches

Remember the days when wearing a Timex Ironman Watch was a status symbol? (Yes, I’m old enough to have seen the coverage of President Bill Clinton proudly wearing his during the early years of his presidency.) Back then a watch that was waterproof and had a stop watch that could do multiple splits was a big deal. Fast forward to 2024 and the watch you have on your wrist has more computing power than a lap top Clinton could have used in the 90s.

These days our watches do so much more than just time our workouts. They track our sleep, monitor how we’re recovering, can suggest what workouts we should be doing and much more.

Apple Watch

If you’re an iPhone user, it’s easy to become somewhat addicted to having an Apple Watch on your wrist. It doesn’t take long before the watch becomes a valuable tool to keep track of all the information and data that seems to always be coming at us. The easy connection becomes a valuable tool to help you with directions while using Maps, you can download music and podcasts to listen to during walks or workouts, you can use it as a remote to take a picture with your phone and much more. The health and fitness data the watch could track quickly became addictive, too, as people sought to complete their rings (activity, exercise and standing) every day. For years serious endurance athletes were frustrated that all that functionality had to be left at home when it came time for training – mostly because the battery life wasn’t good enough to get through their biggest days of training.
That all changed with the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra in 2022.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

C$1,099/ US$799

When Apple watch launched the first Ultra, it signalled to endurance enthusiasts that the company was truly serious about them. The Ultra offered a much larger screen and all the training data a triathlete could ever want. Most importantly, though, the Ultra finally offered the battery life required to get through an Ironman. We put that to the test ourselves when Triathlon Magazine editor Kevin Mackinnon’s wife Sharon won her age group wearing the Ultra at the Ironnman World Championship just days after the watch was launched.

Just like the yearly iPhone update, we can now expect a yearly revamp of the Ultra – the Ultra 2 added even more training features to the mix, including enhanced running and cycling data metrics. There was also a considerably brighter screen and a faster processor. In fact, the processor is so powerful Apple was even able to add the ability to just tap your fingers to control different features.

This mini powerhouse manages 36 hours of battery life (72 hours in low power mode), which might not seem like a lot compared to other multisport watches, but it is more than enough to get through virtually any triathlon or training day you have on tap.
The Ultra 2 maximized the potential of Apple’s watchOS 10 update, which offers impressive GPS performance, heart rate info, expansive running metrics and a slick multisport workout mode that automatically detects when you’ve gone from swim to bike to run. The new OS also allows you to track your power output while on the bike. The watch can also calculate your FTP and come up with appropriate power zones to help with your training and provide a new FTP score at the end of every month based on your training efforts. Last fall Apple added Training Peaks functionality to the mix, so you can download specific workouts to the watch. Cycling workouts started on your watch will automatically show up on your phone as a live activity – a feature that’s probably not applicable for a day on your tri bike, but has been a great option for riding on our gravel bike.

For those looking for all the connectivity they’ve become addicted to from their watch, along with the ability to get through a day of Ironman racing, the Ultra 2 is the best bet.

Apple Watch Series 9

From C$549/ US$399

For roughly half the price of the Ultra 2 you can still get a watch that offers some outstanding training and fitness features. The Apple Watch Series 9 uses the same S9 chip you’ll find in the Ultra, so you get all the functionality, including the game-breaking double-tap feature and increased Siri functionality.
The Series 9 is a lot smaller, which might be a draw for women with smaller wrists, and it also comes in two different sizes – 45 and 41 mm. It offers 18 hours of battery life. You still get the wrist-based heart sensor, temperature sensing, always-on altimeter, high-g accelerometer, high dynamic range gyroscope and ambient light sensor you’ll find in the Ultra 2, which means this watch will track all your training and even do an ECG if you need it. When hooked up to a Bluetooth power meter you can track all your cycling data, and it offers all the enhanced running and swimming data the Ultra 2 provides as well.
If you are not into long-distance racing, the Series 9 is certainly an excellent option as a watch to track your health and training data, all while enjoying all the bells and whistles inherent in an Apple Watch.

Coros Pace 3

From C$329 / US$229

It is hard to argue the value of this multisport GPS watch that offers impressive battery life and lots of features for considerably less than many of its rivals. You can get up to 17 days of use with daily and sleep tracking, and 25 hours of full GPS activity (connected to five satellite systems), or 38 hours of GPS connectivity if you drop the accuracy level a bit. While this watch is a popular option for runners (they even have an Eliud Kipchoge edition), there are lots of triathlon-friendly features including a triathlon mode that will track your entire race day, including transitions.

There’s 4 GB of memory, which will track up to 500 hours of activity. Data tracking is done through an optical heart rate monitor, a barometric altimeter, an accelerometer and gyroscope, a thermometer and an optical pulse oximeter. All this is somehow crammed into a super-light, 30 g watch with a 42 mm case. It offers Bluetooth connectivity that will allow you to connect to compatible power meter for cycling. The Coros App allows you to easily integrate your training data to Training Peaks, Strava and the like. There’s also a smartphone notifications widget that will keep you up to date with info from your smartphone.

The Coros is a bit more basic than some of the more expensive watches on the market, but it does offer a lot for the price.

Suunto Race

From C$619/ US$449

Suunto might be better known these days for its more adventure-oriented watches like the Vertical or the 9 Baro, the Race is definitely geared towards multi-sport use. With a bright, crisp AMOLED screen, maps and training data are easy to see during any activity. (It is also a touch screen, but the touch features turn off during activities – a great feature in our mind.) It’s easily seen in even bright daylight, but even with this excellent display you get a whopping 40 hours of battery life in training mode – that’s considerably more than any other AMOLED sports watch out there. There’s a Tour mode that will last up to five days. Suunto’s Coach AI provides feedback based on all the health and training data the watch takes in, providing workout advice and also giving you feedback on your training load, progress and recovery.
Triathletes will love some of the training features that include automatic interval recognition while swimming, or route tracking while out on the trails. It supports Bluetooth sensors, so you can connect to a power meter to get all your cycling data. (You can also connect a heart rate strap if you don’t trust the wrist-based sensor.)
The Race will also track extensive health data – everything from sleep, stress levels and heart rate variability – to complete the multi-sport training package. The Race doesn’t have some smartwatch features like music or any pay options, but it does provide notifications if your phone is within range.
For those looking for a training watch, you get a lot for the money with the Race with its outstanding battery life and crisp, bright screen.

Suunto Vertical

From C$849

Whether you go with the basic steel version or upgrade to the steel or titanium solar options (pictured above – $1,099), you’ll be ready for any adventure, training day or race with the Vertical on your wrist. While adventurers will love the detailed maps and weather forecasting that the barometer and altimeter help provide, triathletes will love the 85 hours of exercise tracking (even on the most accurate GPS setting) for the solar versions (60 hours for the standard), and the 60-day battery life in daily mode. In addition to all the regular training stats available through the more than 95 sport modes, you get lots of advanced training metrics including heart rate variability.

Polar Vantage 3

C$880 / US$600

Polar goes for broke with the new Vantage V3

With a spectacular AMOLED screen, enhanced body measurement capabilities and extensive mapping options, this latest offering from Polar has some great features that make it a more than viable option for serious triathletes, especially those who are fans of the Polar platform. A stylish aluminum bezel surrounds the Gorilla Glass touchscreen, but you also have five buttons around the watch in case you’re more comfortable navigating through the features that way. The new Elixir technology provides precise optical heart rate measurement and can also measure blood oxygen saturation levels and there’s even a built-in wrist ECG sensor. Add to all that the extensive training capabilities that includes accurate GPS measurement and Bluetooth syncing to a power meter. The Vantage 3 really excels in the mapping department, coming preloaded with North American and European maps, but you can use some of the 32 gb of storage to download detailed maps of various regions around the world.

Wahoo ELEMTRival

C$300/ US$200
Designed to provide a “simple, yet powerful, user experience,” the ELEMTRival has an intuitive operating system designed to allow you to utilize all the features of the watch with ease. Triathletes will love the multisport features that include Touchless Transition and Multisport Handover, so you won’t have to worry about hitting any buttons during your race. Things look good because of the 64-bit color screen and ceramic bezel, so you’ll have no qualms wearing this watch around town, and you can be sure it’ll handle everything you throw at it thanks to the Gorilla Glass lens.