Which Smartwatch brand is best for your triathlon training?
Fitness and health tracking on your wrist
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
Anyone else remember how excited all of us endurance junkies were when Timex came out with a watch that could recall 50 laps? To see what the current crop of smartwatches can do is nothing short of amazing – nowadays these amazing devices can act as voice assistants, notify people if you’ve been in crash or had a fall, do calls and texts and much more.
Then there are the incredible training features that are now available, too. Who would have thought that rather than just being able to get a split during your 10 km race, you’d be able to analyze your running dynamics – how long your strides were, how much you were going up and down, how fast your turnover was and much more – during that effort. Or that that little unit on your wrist could keep track of how well you slept and make some suggestions as to what your workout should look like.
Or how about the incredible health options. In those heady days when we were just happy to not have to carry a stopwatch in our hand, we never imagined that a watch might be able to check our pulse ox levels, or to measure our heart rate variability. Or be able to track how many steps we take in a day or count all the calories we burned.
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And, on top of all this, these incredible wrist-based computers can tell us what time it is (literally tell us – all we have to do is ask) and, you guessed it, take splits during our workouts. The scary thing is, they can do that without us having to press a button.
They do a lot, but the one thing they can’t do is help you decide which brand of watch is going to be best for you. With that in mind, we’ve come up with a check list that should help you make the call:
Apple
If you don’t have an iPhone, you can quickly skip past this section and move on to the other brands. OK, if you’re still reading, then there’s lots of good reasons for you to pick any of the Apple Watches – the Ultra 2, Series 9 or SE as your training and health tool. If you’re a serious triathlete, you’ll want to steer towards the added battery life and larger screen of the Ultra 2. The Series 9 is an able sports watch, too, but if you’re training for a half- or full-distance race, you’ll push it to the limit. Recent WatchOS updates have made the Ultra 2 more than competitive as a training and racing watch with all the other brand’s flagship offerings with one proviso – the 36-hour battery life, while more than enough to get you through even an Ironman, requires that you charge the watch more often than much of the competition. The more than added bonus is that you get all these training features along with the impressive smartwatch features that make these watches so popular.
Coros
While not as well known in the triathlon world, Coros offers some impressive multisport GPS watches that offer impressive battery life and lots of features for considerably less than many of its rivals. The Coros line is a bit more basic than its more expensive rivals, but offers a lot for the price. If you intend to wear your watch only for training, this brand is certainly worth a look.
Garmin
While Apple is the undoubted leader on the Smartwatch front, Garmin is the undisputed champ when it comes to GPS sportwatches. The company’s extensive lineup covers a variety of price ranges and capabilities. While the Smartwatch features aren’t quite as extensive as you’ll see with Apple, they’re not far off, and you can easily sync everything with either an Android or Apple phone. For those who are really into adventure activities, or don’t like to charge their phone as often, the battery life of some of the Garmin watches is incredible. (During our review of the Fenix 7 Solar we went for almost a month including lots of training and extensive use of the watch’s flashlight) between charges.
Polar
Polar, the Finish company that pioneered wearable fitness technology almost 50 years ago, has long been a leader in the wearable sports market, but hasn’t been as active on the new-watch front over the last few years. The company recently released the new Vantage 3, which features a beautiful AMOLED screen and excellent mapping capabilities to go along with all the high end features you’ll find in Garmin or Apple products. For those who have enjoyed Polar’s excellent products in the past and want to continue with the platform, it remains a great choice.
Suunto
Triathletes with an adventure leaning are sure to gravitate to the Suunto watches with their excellent barometer and altimeter functions, not to mention the durable, hard-core designs. Suunto makes a number of watches that offer lots of sports functionality, too, providing all the training and health data offered with the other platforms. Excellent battery life makes this a brand that’s good for those who like to go a few days between charges, too.