The Garmin Forerunner 735XT is a waterproof, functional, and lightweight option that is comfortable and long-lasting for all-day use. Despite lacking some high-tech features for elite athletes, this watch is easy to use and highly compatible.
The Garmin Forerunner 35 is a comfortable, easy-to-use, and runner-centric watch that provides the basics necessary for easy runs and all-day fitness tracking. Although this watch lacks extra features and is not the most accurate in terms of data tracking, this watch provides enough performance metrics for the casual 3-times-a-week runner.
The Garmin Fenix 5 is a highly-functional, versatile, and high-tech watch that boasts a wide range of features all users will enjoy. Despite being expensive, lacking music storage, and not having the most sensitive heart rate monitor, this Garmin is jam-packed with handy features. This watch can track almost any activity, estimate your VO2 Max, track your sleep, monitor your heart rate, use contactless payments, and show your text messages, making this an extremely functional choice for any level of athlete.
The Garmin Phoenix 5X Sapphire is something like a polished culmination of all the lovely features Garmin watches are known for. This watch has every function a techie-athlete could dream of (with arguably the most data fields available from any watch on the market)- and on top of that is easy to use once you get the hang of it, has an incredible battery life, and is very durable. The biggest downside is the price, but if you value the pre-loaded maps and the implications this feature has for route creation and navigation, this watch is worth it.
The Suunto Traverse GPS Watch is a feature-full option that is best suited for tech-geeks that like having a huge variety of data provided and features at their fingertips. The easy integration with phones, durability, push notifications, and GPS accuracy makes this a great choice. Be aware that the battery life won’t last more than a day or two, so a charging option is necessary for longer trips.
The Suunto Suunto 9 Baro is a smart fitness watch that offers some of the best battery life out there, with several different modes that optimize battery power depending on need. Although the battery power is exceptional, the other watch features are fairly average, with a nice touch screen, selectable sport modes, and a sleep monitoring program. Unfortunately, the watch feels quite overpriced considering the clunkiness of the software, inaccuracy of the heart rate monitor and the pedometer, and some problems with the accuracy of the GPS, making it a watch for very niche uses.