T3 - UK (2020-05)

Fitness watches

MAY 2020 T3 51

Fitness watches can give you an enormous amount of insight into your track and

workout performance. But which ones go that extra mile for active people?

Fitness watches

Photography: Neil Godwin

top-quality running watch will
be a real step up if you have only
used fitness trackers before.
Unlike fitness trackers, running
watches have a range of advanced features
such as built-in GPS, more accurate wrist-
based optical heart rate sensors and plenty of
available sport modes. They also provide
detailed running metrics in real time, like
pace and cadence, that can help you better
your running technique on the fly.
Running watches have long been
suitable, to varying degrees, for tracking

your prowess in the gym; the reason they’re

now often known as fitness watches is that

brands explicitly design them for multiple

sports and activities – not just gym but

hiking, cycling, paddle boarding and a host

of other fitness-friendly activities. As well

as all this, high-end models can often be

used for navigation, thanks to their offline

map function.

However, you don’t necessarily need to opt

for a pure sports watch. For more casual

users, a decent smartwatch will provide all

the fitness features they need, and also do a

whole range of other things that ‘proper’

running watches cannot do.

And if affordability is more your concern

than umpteen different activity modes or

tweeting out mid-workout humblebrags,

there are plenty more wallet-friendly watches

that will enable you to track your runs,

monitor your vitals and more besides.

Clearly there’s a lot of choice on offer. To

make it easier to decide which is the best

option for you, we’re taking a look at the best

in each of these three categories and seeing

how they compare head-to-head.

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