Choosing the right sports watch is not a piece of cake, if you make the right choice, you will use the multisport watch frequently and the advantages will be innumerable, the main one being taking care of your health. Then lose weight, be more agile, sleep better, improve your physical shape, exceed your marks.
In this section of the article, you have the main characteristics of each model of the mentioned sports watch, in which they stand out and their weakest aspects. You will have to assess the importance you give to its pros and cons to find your best multisport watch. Here below you will find some of the top-rated and best sports smartwatches for you.
10 Best Sports Watches To Track Your Fitness Activity
10. Garmin Forerunner 35
For runners and cyclists looking for a simple watch with precision at a good price. There is no better way to start than with the leading sports watch brand and a model that when it was launched was a complete revolution. A Garmin watch at this price is unthinkable. But the price alone cannot be the reason it remains on the best-seller list.
To begin with, saying that you have a Garmin Elevate optical heart rate monitor and GPS is already a declaration of intent. And if you add to this that it has Bluetooth and ANT + connectivity to connect with the mobile and with external sensors (cadence, speed, …), the possibilities of use increase substantially.
It is a simple watch, easy to handle, without too many functions or customization in such detail of the workouts, but what it does, it does well. A good option for those who do not quite get along with technology.
The Forerunner 35 is for running and cycling, so if you want it for another sport it would not be your best option. It allows advanced training plans at any distance, which you can customize by setting goals for distance, time, pace, …, and receive alerts when, for example, you leave a heart rate zone. A not-so-positive aspect is that it does not estimate VO2 max. , very useful to know your state of form.
And that’s not all, it has functions of current models such as intensity interval training or Live Track to share your route in real-time, very useful for mountain running and cycling. GPS is accurate and receives the signal fast, but its only function is sports, do not expect navigation.
As an activity monitor, it has all the metrics except counting the floors you climb. And as a smartwatch, you can only receive notifications from your favorite applications and read them. You won’t be able to listen to music or make payments with Garmin Pay.
9. Huawei Watch GT2 Sport
For those who do not settle for a multisport watch and also want a smartwatch. As Huawei was going to stay out of this ranking, it is the only one that I bring you out of the 3 brands that dominate the market and now you will see why.
Within its 15 pre-established sports you will find the most common, although you do not expect such precise metrics and as much customization of training as the sports watches of the leading brands. If I have to stick with one sport, I would say swimming, where it measures the heart rate, counts the lengths, calculates the distance, and recognizes the style, in the pool and in open water.
A sports smartwatch has to somehow allow you to measure your fitness to adapt to training, and in this, the GT2 Sport has made an effort with the VO2 max metric. In addition, para welfare measures your stress level as breathing workouts (Android only) to relax and identifies up to 6 sleep problems for suggesting remedies.
And now we go to his specialty, that of smartwatch, where you can see that it is Huawei. What if you are running enjoying the music you have on your watch (2 GB) and they call you for an emergency? You will be able to take the call and make the ones you need without using your mobile. When listening to music and answering calls, wireless headphones would be highly recommended.
Regarding the notifications you can read them although not respond, it will help you to know what is happening. It has a payment function in case you want to make a purchase after training.
The Huawei App is not very successful and it is not 100% compatible with iOS and neither is the clock. Another thing that could improve is the fluidity of the screen with the changes of functions and data.
8. Polar M200 Smart Watch
For runners who want a cheap watch with precision and advanced workouts. What distinguishes the Polar M200 from the rest of sports watches of this price level is having a heart rate monitor, an accelerometer, and GPS with very good precision.
It is a very simple watch in everything, design, screen, functions …, it is operated exclusively with 2 buttons, but this simplicity does not affect the level of training. Therefore, if you are looking for your first sports watch, think of the M200 as a good solution.
We are going to see what can most help you to know if it suits you. It has all the sports profiles that the brand, although for some as it does not have the necessary sensors, the metrics are not very relevant. This is the case of swimming, where you do not register anything beyond time and calories.
The reality is that it is designed for running and its audience is amateur runners. When going out for a run you can schedule a session in intervals of heart rate rhythms and set a goal of time, distance, pace, calories.
Well, there you will have your Polar M200 to guide you in the preparation. You will be able to establish training plans for competitions of any distance, from 5 km to a marathon, define the intensity and hardness of the sessions, the days you are going to train – this is how it warns you and motivates you – and the date of the race.
With all the data from your day-to-day sessions, it will estimate your VO2 max. and the brand you could aspire to in the competition. In the end, it will help you to know your evolution and physical form, as well as to modulate the workouts.
As an activity bracelet, you can also count on the M200, activity time, distances and number of steps, heart rate, calories burned, and quality of sleep. The reception of the GPS signal is good and the functions are sports (distance, race pace, altitude, and route visible in the application). The screen resolution is from the last century, but look at it on the positive side, thanks to that the battery lasts up to 30 days.
7. Polar M430 Smart Bracelet
For constant athletes, especially runners who are beginning to think about popular racers. The first impression of the Polar M430 can be misleading, the design is not very stylish and perhaps a bit clunky, and the screen does not seem to have great quality, but when you use it surprises for the better.
It is a 100% sports watch with very basic functions such as a smartwatch and extensive functions such as an activity monitor. Although it has countless sports profiles, it is really designed for runners who prepare for competitions.
In running training it has metrics and advanced functions such as working on heart rate levels, intervals, rhythms, different phases … and if you stray it will warn you. You can set goals and when you break a new record, it alerts you to motivate you. You have specific training programs for events, 5 km, 10 km, half marathon, and marathon, which you can customize in intensity, time, distance, pace.
Its heart rate monitor is the one that uses polar in much more current models, and among other things, it serves to perform reliable fitness tests equivalent to VO2 max. This information, it will recommend the recovery time, and it will help you to know how your physical condition is evolving and to adapt to the training and breaks.
Let’s see, it does not replace a personal trainer, that is clear but better than training without any plan. It has an accurate GPS that picks up the signal fast for sports functions. In navigation, it is limited to indicating the location, distance to the destination, and an arrow with the direction to follow.
And if it is about seeing your daily activity level, it does quite well, it incorporates all the smart band metrics except counting the number of floors you climb. The smartwatch functions are scarce and basic, no music or paying with the watch, and you cannot respond to notifications, although at least you can read the message. This is where it is the weakest, but with the price, you can not ask for much more.
6. Polar Ignite Sports Watch
Mainly for fitness and weight loss routines, to generate muscle mass and to tone the body. Despite having a design more similar to a smartwatch, it is a multisport that will especially catch you for gym workouts and health care.
To start with, you have more than 100 sport profiles each with multiple types of training and highly customizable metrics (level of effort, series, and repetitions, phases, combinations of exercises, guided.
You will surely find your sports. Well, unless you play petanque! Ok, jokes aside, let’s see what stands out. It is a fitness watch, focused on users who want gym training plans with routines and circuits to lose weight, build muscle mass, and tone the body. Do you have a personal trainer? Well, you just found a digital one, the Polar Ignite.
It has the Fitness Test functions to know your aerobic capacity (VO2 max.) And Training Load measure the intensity of the workouts, and this is how it analyzes the evolution of your physical form to propose the exercises that most help you in your goals. At night, while you sleep, the Ignite does not rest, the Nightly Recharge and Sleep Plus Stage functions carry out studies of the quality of sleep that not even the best sports smartwatches have.
Finally, it is time for the personal trainer. The FitSpark function, based on all the data that it has collected, will propose the combinations of strength, cardio, and mobility training that best suit you, and to avoid injuries, it will accompany them with animations and a description.
As an activity monitor, you have all the usual records except for the plants uploaded. GPS is mainly for sports metrics, even so, it takes you to your destination through on-screen prompts and arrows. You cannot see routes, nor does it have a navigation system. The only function of the smartwatch is to receive notifications but it cannot read them.
5. Garmin Vivoactive 4S GPS Sports Watch
Elegant multisport watch with a smartwatch profile for high-intensity activities. This time I bring you the most versatile multisport watch from Garmin, designed to compete with smartwatches. A model for all audiences. It maintains the essence that differentiates Garmin from other brands, the creation, and customization of sports profiles for almost any sport.
However, do not expect so many metrics or possibilities in the training schedule. The results of previous models support their high-intensity workouts with weights, HIIT, or Crossfit, without forgetting those of cardio, yoga, Pilates. And for those who need a monitor, he has created guided workouts with animations, little dolls that perform the exercise on the screen to guide you.
For yoga, add guided relaxation breathing exercises to the animations. Also very useful at bedtime, they will help you fall asleep earlier. Before starting sports activity, check the amount of energy your body has with the Body Battery function and the oxygen level ( SpO2 and VO2 max.), Then schedule a training according to how you feel.
If you want the Vivoactive 4S for mountain sports, you will have all the precision in the meters of unevenness and altitude, but the GPS navigation functions are basic, it will help you follow the route but without tracks, waypoints or maps. In relation to your daily activity, measure all the parameters of the top-rated sports watches.
The truth is that as a smartwatch is more than meets, stores (4 GB) and plays music that you can listen to with a Bluetooth headset, Garmin Pay functions to make payments, receives, and allows you to respond to notifications with predefined short messages (Android only), ideal for going out without mobile to practice sports.
4. Garmin Forerunner 735XT GPS Watch
For professional triathletes and runners or those who want to train like them. The Forerunner 735XT is a classic sport watch, despite having been on the market for a few years, it is always among the best sellers, and that says a lot.
It is evident that the price of now is an important reason, but you can be clear that you will not go wrong if you want the watch for running, cycling, swimming or triathlon, although in these last two sports you will need the HRM-Tri sensor or the HRM-Swim.
The number of types of training, the number of metrics, and the degree of customization are at the level of the most modern watches. And as you would expect from a multisport watch for triathletes, you can concatenate the measurements of several sports to keep the records of each one of them individually and of the whole of the test.
Although his specialty is the above sports, you can create a personalized profile for any sport where you can program and analyze advanced training by intervals, in heart rate zones, by blocks, of power, … without a doubt, if you are constant you will improve your physical form and your brands in less time.
But not everything is going to be training to compete, if you want results you will have to rest and schedule workouts according to the state of your body and the freshness of the muscles.
To avoid this, measure the lactate threshold (you need a sensor) and the functional power threshold (FTP), estimate the maximum oxygen level in the blood (VO2 max), and perform a stress test. And not only that, but after each training or competition, he recommends recovery periods.
The navigation system is intended to be an aid. Yes, you can create or import routes from Garmin Connect and Wikiloc and view them in a basic way, because it does not have route navigation with maps.
Every day you have the most common metrics bracelets activity with the exception of the floors upstairs and r ecibirás notifications, but you can not interact, but at the least serves to know if it’s something important. It does not have the Garmin Pay payments feature.
3. Suunto 9 GPS Sports Watch
For triathletes, ultra-distance runners, swimmers, divers, and mountain sports. Suunto is a Finnish brand specializing in diving instruments and compasses, which competes with Garmin to see who makes the best sports smartwatch for ultra-depth and triathlon races.
Their watches are manufactured with extreme detail and care, to guarantee their robustness, maximum quality, and durability, although in this model it is strange that the materials of the strap are not up to par. It has 80 predefined sports activities in which you can set goals for time, pace, distance, and specific training for intensity intervals, power levels, and heart rate zones.
The Suunto 9 has one of the best navigation systems on the market to create and follow routes that will never leave you stranded, long battery life with customizable adjustable modes for the unexpected, high precision compass, altimeter, and 100-meter submersible with the guarantee ISO 6425 certified, making it suitable for diving.
The reason, the Suunto 9 Baro, with which you will know the altitude, the atmospheric pressure, the accumulated unevenness meters, and the outside temperature, all with maximum precision. It will even warn you in case of storms.
In short, it would be for mountaineers or other athletes who train at altitude. Also for skiers who will be able to measure the distance of the descent, the average and maximum speed, the slope, the number of descents …
A pity that it does not incorporate a pulse oximeter, you will have to settle for the estimate it makes of your level of aerobic fitness (VO2 max). In your daily activity, measure calories, sleep quality, a number of steps, and heart rate, this is with less precision than you would expect.
2. Garmin Fenix 5 GPS Sports Watch
The most complete multisport watch for professionals in any sport. It’s been a few years since the launch of what was Garmin’s flagship and one of the brand’s biggest leaps in quality. And that many athletes prefer this model over the Fénix 6 has to be for something.
It has practically any physical activity you can imagine, from the most popular like running, swimming, or cycling, to the most exclusive like golf, skiing, or mountaineering. And if we talk about mountains and hiking. If you are also an adventurer, search Wikiloc for high mountain routes and waypoints and send them to your friends so that they can follow you in real time and show off a bit.
The workouts can be customized as much as you want, distances, times, beats, repetitions and series, rhythms, power, intervals … Beware that there are so many options that they can overwhelm. But to train like a professional you need to take care of your health just like they do, and in that regard, the Garmin Fenix 5 wants to be the best.
Function Body Battery to know the energy that your body, monitors, stress relaxation mechanism, respiration rate and hydration, estimating VO2 max…. You will have all the information to plan or recover demanding workouts according to the state of your body.
Nobody buys a watch of this level to measure daily activity, but here it was not going to be left behind the best activity bracelets. In order not to miss anything that your friends do, receive notifications from practically any application and if you have an Android mobile, respond with predefined short messages.
You can sync it with your smartphone to control the music. But, how about listening to music without carrying your mobile? The Fenix 5 Plus has 16 GB to save routes, and maps, and play music. And that’s not all, you can sync it and save your songs from Spotify which is the perfect companion for you in all your journey. No matter whether you are in the gym, driving on a long trip, having a home party, or uplifting your mood, Spotify Premium APK is all you need to install.
In the mountains the level has risen considerably, now you have route navigation on color maps, you can search and save routes directly from the clock and plan ascents dividing them into stages.
To improve the analysis of your state of health and know your state of form, introduce a pulse oximetry sensor to accurately measure the level of oxygen in the blood (SpO2 and VO2 max).
1. Garmin Fenix 6 Pro GPS Smartwatch
This is the jewel in Garmin’s crown, it has it all, design and customization, cutting-edge technology, sophisticated functions and programs for professionals along with endless advanced performance metrics to train at the highest level.
The Fénix 6 Pro in essence is like the Fenix 5 Plus that we have just seen but it introduces a series of very interesting novelties. We are going to see the most revolutionary ones.
It increases battery life up to 36 hours using GPS and has copied customizable battery modes from Suunto 9 to extend the autonomy. Of special relevance for ultra-distance races such as the Ironman.
For runners and cyclists, it incorporates the PacePro, which will set the pace you are taking considering the unevenness of the route and shows what you should take according to the race plan. It will allow you to define more comprehensive strategies when competing.
And for skiers, it now includes maps of the ski resorts and the difficulty of the slopes. It also brings news for swimmers, it is capable of measuring heart rate in the water with precision, something that few achieve without a chest heart rate monitor.
The maps and routes are better visualized and create layers with several routes so that you can choose the best one according to your level, the weather, and the time you have. Another interesting aspect of yours is the high mountains and the great challenges, estimate the degree of acclimatization to temperature and altitude.
To keep talking about the mountains, but also for risk sports and speed, you can go calmly, they have automatic detection and warning of incidents sent an alert with your location to whoever you have indicated.
Finally, this model incorporates a Wi-Fi connection, very convenient for dumping the records from the clock to the application since it will be automatic. It is difficult to find any negative aspect other than the price, although I do think that the materials and screen are not up to the standard. In the end, it is a Garmin strategy to bring out the top model of the range, the Fénix 6 x Sapphire.
Also Read: Cheapest Activity Bracelets
