The purpose of this buying guide is to help you find the best
gps running watches for your workout lifestyle.
Here are links to the complete guide:
In the last few articles we have introduced you to
GPS running watches and given you a list of features to consider. Now it's time for our recommendations.
Recommended Manufacturers
While there is a number of brand names available today for GPS running watches, there are some brands that are ahead of the rest.
There can be a lot of different criteria when researching GPS running watches:
- GPS accuracy and satellite acquisitino
- monitoring data available
- comfort of watch
- ease of use of watch
- durability
- and of course ... PRICE!
Through it all, some brands rise the top and have a strong following because of the quality of the product.
The manufacturers we would recommend:
Garmin (
official site) has been the leader in portable GPS technology since the beginning of GPS development for consumer devices. It is not surprising that they are the leader in GPS running watches for men and women. Granted they are not the sleekest and most attractive watches, but for function and durability they are the top. And for the two main keys of GPS technology: acquisition and accuracy, they are head and shoulders the best.
As the years have progressed, they have continued to have fantastic GPS quality but the ease of use has gone up and down as they have attempted to add more features and better features and better usability. And as GPS watches have become more complex in features, they have also started developing simple GPS watches for those that were hesitant to learn complicated new technology.
They are definitely always thinking and developing and analyzing the market and they listen to their customers: a top-rate company
Nike (
official site) and Nike+ (
official site) has very good and solid products out and have always been a well known name in athletics. THe main strength of the Nike brand is the addition of the Nike+ website: a fantastic resource to monitor your workouts, plan your workouts, and share them: a combination resource and social network.
While the GPS (powered by
TomTom, the runner up behind Garmin in the GPS market) may not be as good as Garmin, the addition of Nike+ as well as a more sleeker looking product is a great reason to check out Nike.
Polar (
official site) is a well known name in portable athletic technology. They are best known for portable heart rate monitoring, not as much with GPS technology. That being said, Polar puts out a great product and a complete product. They are definitely a bit on the pricier side, but if you are looking for a quality heart rate product to go with your GPS product, then Polar is a great name to look at.
Recommended Models
Here are some recommended individual models.
- 4.5 out of 5 stars
- Expensive
- High quality GPS
- Battery life: 10 hours
- Comes with heart rate monitor and ANT+ support.
This is one of Garmin's earlier GPS running watches, and still one of their best and one of the most popular. Simple design, and feature rich and easy to use. And as the years go on, the model will continue to get discounted from time to time down from its retail $350 to sometimes as cheap as $150. The main dislike is that it is not the most attractive watch. Aesthetics aside, it's one of the best GPS running watches on the market.
- 4.5 out of 5 stars
- Moderately Expensive
- High quality GPS
- Battery life: 10 hours
- Comparable to the Garmin 305, slighty cheaper, no ANT+ support
The Garmin 205 is another fantastic GPS running watch from Garmin. It is also cheaper than the Garmin 305. The main differences are the Garmin 305 has the heart rate monitor and features more auxiliary support such as the ANT+ support which is how you can get support for a heart rate monitor. Also this means support for cadence meter (bicyclists) and foot pod for running. The other main difference is color (the Garmin 205 is blue-silver, the Garmin 305 is red).
Both are definitely high quality and you will be happy with either of them.
- 4 out of 5 stars
- Inexpensive
- Great quality GPS
- Battery life: 8 hours
- Easy to use, simple in functionality
- Includes ANT+ functionality (heart rate monitor and other auxiliary devices)
For those that may get scared off by complicated set-up and functionality of Garmin's GPS watches, the Garmin 110 is Garmin's answer for that demographic: the Garmin 110 is smiple for set up and functionality. Includes ANT+ support which means heart rate monitor and other auxiliary devices. One knock is that as good as Garmin is, from research and reviews the GPS quality on this watch seems to be a bit less accurate than the Garmin 205 and Garmin 305. The benefits you get: smaller and more attractive design, much more simple functionality and ease of use. And a quality GPS.
- 4 out of 5 stars
- Inexpensive
- TomTom powered GPS.
- Battery life: 8 hours
- Extensive Nike+ website.
TomTom is without doubt the second best GPS behind Garmin. And teamed up with Nike, the NIke+ GPS Sportwatch is a great product to look at. You will get extensive tools for monitoring your workouts with the Nike+ website as well as a very attractive sportwatch as opposed to the bulky Garmins. Nike has long been a name in athletics in both function and attractive look, and the NIke+ GPS Sportwatch is a great alternative to the Garmins if you are looking for an attractive GPS watch.
- 4 out of 5 stars
- Expensive
- Good quality GPS
- GPS is arm band unit, which reduces the bulk of the watch and gives better battery life to both GPS and watch
- EKG accurate heart readings
Polar is the top name in portable heart monitors. The Polar RCX5 is a good quality heart rate monitor watch: attractive and very accurate. The big benefit is when you purchase the entire training system which includes arm-band GPS, Data-Link transfer unit to seamlessly transfer your workout data, and much more. The strength in this product is not the GPS (it won't beat the Garmin or the Nike+ TomTom), but the strength is in the completeness of this unit including training data and a very accurate heart rate monitor.
If you're looking for a pure GPS watch, you will find better and cheaper models in the Garmins or even the Nike Sportswatch.
With the Polar system, while pricey (close to $500, occasionally discounted to below $300), the big bonus to the arm-band GPS unit which means the size of the watch is smaller and more "normal" looking. This also saves on battery life for both the watch and the GPS unit. This is a nice complete training system for those looking to add GPS to their workout regimen.
That Concludes This Portion Of Our Buying Guide
We hope that this "How to Buy A GPS Running Watch" buying guides has provided you more than enough tips to help you figure out the best GPS running watches for your workout.
Good luck!
References
And here are links to our complete guide:
Cheers!
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