Wrist Action

Serious fitness plans require a serious fitness gadget – three of the best sports watches fight it out

Like seasoned drinkers watching tipsy pubescents, GPS sports watches chuckled patronisingly when they saw the excitement surrounding the first smartwatches and fitness trackers. but then they copied them.

Does a serious runner honestly care about an activity tracker that records how many steps they take between their desk and the kettle if they’re going to be running 15km later? And as their workout might be the only time they get to block out the incessant white noise of email and social media, do they really want notifications on their watch? The answer to both questions is probably not. But, afraid to miss out on a new market, the big boys have adopted these features. And surprisingly, it works. Well, some of it…

If you’re serious about exercising, you need a GPS sports watch – ideally one with a heartrate monitor. Garmin and Suunto are the Canon and Nikon of the scene, and both are onto the third iterations of their premium sports watches. How does the young pretender to the throne, Polar’s V800, shape up against them? Who, to use Strava speak, is the sports watch King of the Hill?