WHAT FEATURES ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Heart rate/sleep monitoring

Today’s smartwatches have cutting-edge electrical and optical sensors on the underside of the watch to record heart rate directly from your wrist and can monitor your sleep patterns too. The other great feature of a smartwatch is that it can detect for potential signs of atrial fibrillation of the heart (by checking for an irregular heart rate) and warn the wearer should there be any cause for concern. Many watches also come with stress level tracking as well as energy reserve tracking.

Navigation

If you’re more of a general outdoor enthusiast, or if a Three Peaks challenge is on your bucket list, then

GPS tracking is a must – and if you need help finding a route, then a watch with routes could be ideal because you can navigate and check your co-ordinates directly from the watch.

Sports modes

For triathletes or general sports buffs, a watch with the capability to switch between sports modes is key. This is particularly handy if you also do strength training, then head to the sports centre for some swimming training or a brick session, where you might be swimming, running and cycling in one session.

Battery life

You’re three miles off finishing the London Marathon when your sports watch dies, or you’re about to summit Mount Snowdon when its battery decides to give up. Not what you want to happen! Long battery life and easy charging is something that many of us may take for granted, until we get stuck in a rut. But it is something that is essential, especially in case of an emergency.