The Finest GPS Watches of 2024

Whether or not you’re a backcountry skier venturing off-grid or an ultra-marathoner on the lookout for above-average endurance monitoring, the perfect GPS watches cater to numerous wants and actions. This wrist-mounted tech is available in numerous varieties, from solar-powered behemoths lasting days with out charging to on a regular basis wearables with on-demand GPS and well being monitoring. 

Past monitoring and display readability, these watches supply complete well being and health options. They monitor coronary heart charge, analyze sleep metrics, assess every day restoration ranges, and even present personalised coaching steerage. However their true energy lies in correct GPS monitoring, with some fashions just like the Garmin Fenix 8 providing superior navigation options like watch-based route planning, turn-by-turn instructions, and detailed maps paired with a dynamic touchscreen interface that doesn’t essentially require a telephone to maximise potential.

With costs starting from $1,100 for feature-rich fashions to $300-$400 for user-friendly on a regular basis choices, the important thing variations lie in battery life, options, and sturdiness, all of which we examined to see whether or not every watch was definitely worth the worth of admission. In case you’re undecided which GPS watch is best for you, try our Purchaser’s Information, Comparability Chart, and Value & Worth sections.

The Finest GPS Watches of 2024

GPS Watches Comparability Chart

How We Examined the Finest GPS Watches

Our Testing Course of

We received our arms on the perfect GPS watches within the class, placing them to the check in any and all conditions. Our lead tester took his watches from his house within the Boise foothills for mid-summer extremely marathon coaching to mountain bike rides and rounds of golf at Solar Valley Resort, to excessive alpine climbing and climbing in and round Wyoming’s Teton vary. He additionally received some actions in whereas touring, working laps across the Silver Lake Reservoir and using his bike throughout Montreal.

Evidently, these watches have been put by means of the wringer throughout North America (and we’re certain he would have taken them to Europe if he had the chance). Along with simply utilizing the watches as a lot as attainable, we appeared intently at battery life, consumer interface, ease of use, exercise monitoring, sleep monitoring, and superior coronary heart charge metrics to slender down our prime picks and determine which stood out above the pack. 

Our Knowledgeable Testers

Our lead tester and author for this information, Will Porter, is a runner who likes to get out and run for so long as attainable. He relishes the Sunday future (however loves a hard-hitting monitor exercise) and can spend hours within the native Boise foothills just a few instances per week for a path run. He has run a number of marathons, together with the Boston Marathon, and has frolicked biking, climbing, and working in NYC, San Francisco, Austin, and the mountains of Colorado. GPS watches have been his obsession for years. 

We even solicited the recommendation and expertise of one among our shut mates, an NYC-based NICU nurse who additionally occurs to be a runner. She is a big fan of the Garmin vivoactive 5, particularly as a result of it’s straightforward to put on whereas she’s on the job, whereas she’s sleeping, and whereas she tracks her runs round Prospect Park.

Purchaser’s Information: The right way to Select the Finest GPS Watch 

Shopping for a GPS watch is a giant choice. Even essentially the most inexpensive ones value a considerable chunk of change, although there’s a good vary of worth choices accessible. GPS monitoring is the throughline right here, however completely different watches are higher for various issues: some will present turn-by-turn instructions on detailed maps, and others monitor when you’re out and about so as to verify your stats afterward.

Some are nice for sporting 24/7 and monitoring a large number of well being metrics, whereas others are most likely higher for navigating a multi-day backcountry journey. That will help you make your choice, we went over among the most necessary components to grasp when choosing the right GPS look ahead to you. 

GPS Monitoring

Make sure the watch makes use of accelerometers for exact knowledge seize throughout runs, each within the backcountry and within the metropolis. All GPS knowledge will fluctuate barely relying on the place you might be and the energy of your watch’s satellite tv for pc connection — you’ll get extra correct GPS readings on a working monitor than in a dense forest or amongst skyscrapers. Nevertheless, to get essentially the most from a GPS watch and reduce GPS errors, you’ll need to select one which connects to a number of GPS satellite tv for pc programs. For instance, the Suunto Vertical makes use of GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, and BEIDOU to mixture essentially the most correct positioning attainable. 

Battery life

Battery life is a key specification to search for when shopping for a GPS watch, particularly should you plan to apply it to lengthy backcountry journeys or endurance races. All the watches had better-than-average battery life in smartwatch mode, however the specification you’ll need to hold a detailed eye on is the battery life whereas utilizing all of its options without delay, i.e. coaching mode, multi-band GPS, and always-on coronary heart charge monitoring.

Some watches will boast an extended battery life whereas in every day smartwatch mode, however you need to deal with the minimal battery life, not the utmost battery life. In case you’re on the lookout for a watch with a battery that may actually final, we advocate a photo voltaic charging choice, just like the Garmin fenix 8, which may last as long as 29 days in smartwatch mode or ~50 hours with all of its options going without delay. 

Coronary heart Fee Monitoring

That is essential for gauging your effort degree and optimizing your coaching depth. One factor we’ve observed about wrist-based coronary heart charge, although, is that it tends to fall wanting our desired accuracy ranges. In case you’re a heavy sweater, have tattoos on the highest of your wrist, or work out in a method that makes your coronary heart charge go up and down ceaselessly (like a HIIT exercise or working intervals), you’ll have bother getting an correct studying. Our tester solely depends on coronary heart charge if he wears a chest strap monitor. Fortunately, you possibly can join these to virtually each watch we examined by way of Bluetooth — nevertheless it does add a further value and one other accent to fret about. 

Coaching Instruments

Search for options like programmable exercises, coaching schedules, and digital teaching to reinforce your health and journey expertise. These watches all include some sort of teaching function, which may do the whole lot from sleep monitoring and exercise suggestions to serving to you prepare to run a sub 3:00 marathon or conquer that week-long backpacking journey you’ve been prepping for. 

Value & Worth

As we talked about earlier, GPS watches are available in an enormous vary of costs. Our checklist covers watches that value wherever from $280 to a whopping $1,200. This alone most likely doesn’t assist making a decision. When shopping for one thing this costly, to not point out one thing that will probably have lifesaving options, it’s important to know what you’ll get at every worth level. 

Price range

Within the finances vary, you possibly can count on to spend someplace between $200 and $500. On this worth vary, you possibly can count on to get exercise monitoring, smartphone connectivity, and, in fact, GPS monitoring. Nevertheless, the watches on this vary don’t usually permit for turn-by-turn instructions or among the extra highly effective GPS options like route constructing. All the watches we examined inside this worth vary, nevertheless, do report nearly any health exercise you possibly can consider, will monitor your sleep, and may give you a glance into your general well being. 

You gained’t discover many premium supplies at this worth vary; if you would like titanium you’ll should spend a bit extra. The identical goes for battery life. Most watches on this vary could have first rate battery life, however chances are you’ll discover them missing in the case of multi-day adventures or lengthy days off the grid. You could discover that you simply get an excellent display, good battery, or rock-solid GPS, however you’ll all the time have to present one (or two) of those options as much as keep underneath the $500 mark.

The G-Shock Rangeman ($500) we examined, for instance, is a brilliant cool wanting watch, isn’t too expensive, and carries the G-Shock pedigree, however is missing in consumer interface, telephone connectivity, and ease of use. We have been so underwhelmed by it in virtually all the most necessary classes that we didn’t really feel snug together with it right here. The Garmin vivoactive 5 ($300), although, was shortly the most effective watches within the eyes of our testers, low worth however. 

Mid-Tier

Mid-tier GPS watches value between $500 and $800. They provide higher battery life than finances watches, extra sturdy shows and casing, and easy consumer interfaces which can be straightforward to grasp and be taught. On this vary, you’ll begin to see some stellar battery energy, superior navigation options, and extra complete health and well being monitoring. 

For instance, the Polar Grit X2 Professional, which prices $750, has one among our favourite AMOLED shows, an intuitive consumer interface, and better-than-average battery life. It simply outworks our finances picks, however at this worth degree you’re going to have to present just a few issues up — the Grit X2 Professional has a giant case in comparison with others with equal battery life and has a charger that doesn’t all the time keep on until you set it down precisely proper. That is the value vary the place the little particulars actually begin to matter.

Premium

Premium GPS watches are going to run you $800 or extra. That is the class the place you’re actually going to start out seeing some spectacular options, like 40-day battery life, AI teaching that truly works, and GPS that will get you from level A to level B with minimal confusion and maximal accuracy. 

At this worth, the faults in a watch aren’t obtrusive and develop into extra of a private desire — they will all do some fairly unimaginable issues. To offer an instance, the Suunto Vertical ($839), which we named the perfect look ahead to the backcountry, has outrageous battery life, conserving you on the map longer and additional than some other watch within the class.

Conversely, our prime decide, the Garmin Fenix 8 ($1,100), doesn’t fairly have the identical battery life because the Suunto, nevertheless it’s extra snug on the wrist, which makes it simpler to put on all day, on daily basis, permitting you to make the most of its superior coronary heart charge and sleep metrics. This worth vary presents the whole lot you would ever need, so selecting the most suitable choice for you comes down to simply being actually nitpicky. And that’s honest — for $800+, you higher get what you need. 

Often Requested Questions