10 Great Watches to Wear Running

With a recent surge into a healthy lifestyle, there’s focus on keeping track of your calories, your steps, and to provide motivation for a better you. Originally built for athletes to know their peak/optimal condition, it has transitioned into everyday life as a wardrobe staple and has, in some cases, become fashion statements. From a stroll to your neighborhood cafe to training for your first marathon, there are devices readily available for you to provide data.

We at Gracious Watch scoured around and found a collection of watches that will suit any lifestyle in every price-point. As you require more features, the prices increase with the ‘sweet spot’ being around $100-250 mark. However, don’t let that scare you; there are great examples below and above that spot so let’s take a look and see what’s in store.

Less than $100

Letsfit Fitness Tracker

First up is the Letsfit Fitness Tracker. At Amazon, it’s at an affordable $29.99 with app compatibility called “VeryFitPro”. It also has phone sync capabilities, giving you the ability to see missed calls, text message alerts, calendar reminders, etc. It’s feature-rich for the price-point which includes:

• Heart rate monitor with no additional straps
• Sleep monitor
• Calorie counter
• Multi-sport tracking (up to 10 sport-specific data)
• Sedentary reminder (Remind you if you’ve been sitting around for too long)

It comes in a variety of colors and this is a great contender for someone who wants to start tracking their lifestyle but doesn’t want to commit to too much money at the beginning. The main gripe we have is the small screen, but that’s just us nitpicking considering how affordable it is.

Misfit Shine 2

If you want a more stylish version of a fitness tracker, then the Misfit Shine 2 will be the right candidate for wrist space, or should we say, the lack of it? The Misfit Shine 2 is a design language towards the future and takes multi-tasking to a new level.

Using LED technology, it can provide you data on goal progressions and also has an app available to keep data logs of your activities. With this configuration, it requires more attention and has a steep learning curve with telling time, activating progress, and what the different light sequences mean. It also features a smart button, which gives you the ability to control smart electronics. Typical features include:

• Bluetooth connectivity
• Vibration alerts
• Capacitive touch sensor
• Step tracker
• Calories Burned
• Distance
• Activity Types
• Sleep Quality and Duration

At 50m water resistance, it’s a great companion for swimmers and a different offering is that the battery is replaceable in the Shine 2, making it a more adaptable option for the future. This is more fitting for everyday wear than the Letsfit as it has a more elegant profile, which goes well with your casual or smart outfits.

Fitbit Zip

If you’re looking for something different in terms of style, the Fitbit range has something to offer with the Fitbit Zip. Meant to be worn clipped to clothing, the Zip provides a daily tracker for someone who also wants to wear other wrist accessories and likes to keep an incognito lifestyle regarding fitness.

With a silicone casing, it still has water-resistant capabilities but we wouldn’t take it to the swimming pool for a lap as there have been reviews about the lack of waterproof protection with the Zip.

As for features, it has your everyday fitness tracking arsenal which includes:

• Step tracking
• Distance
• Calories burned
• Active minutes
• App sync

The neat part of Fitbit is that it has their own ecosystem of dedicated users and you can invite friends/fellow users for challenges. As a motivation tool, it’s a great way to keep yourself active and get out there to collect steps.

Fitbit Charge HR

As mentioned earlier, the Fitbit system has their own tracking system that can sync with other Fitbits to start/track challenges amongst others. If you’re a competitive individual and want more features for your active lifestyle, then the Charge HR is a suitable companion for you.

With Bluetooth technology, it can sync with your smartphone and provide phone information such as caller ID, incoming text messages, etc. within a more modern, clean wristband configuration than the bulky clip setup that the Zip is based on. It tracks your usual aspects such as:

• Heart rate with no additional straps
• Steps counter
• Auto Sleep + Silent Alarm

But has more advanced features such as:

• Activity Tracking (calories burned, floors climbed)
• Exercise Tracking (detailed data tracking for specific exercises)

The advanced features are offered in more pricier configurations so this Fitbit Charge HR is great value for money.

$100-250

Garmin Forerunner 35

A great offering from Garmin is the Forerunner 35. What makes this different from other fitness trackers we’ve seen so far is that it has a built-in GPS tracker. This is important if you like to know your pace, average speed, beyond just distance in general. It also provides a more accurate reading of your exercise data as it follows you everywhere you go.

In general, it has decent water resistance at 50m and has great features such as:

• Heart rate tracking with no additional straps
• Vibration alerts
• App compatibility
• Auto-updates
• Music control

It has a monochromatic display that is legible even with the sunniest of days so you’ll always know if you’re not trying hard enough!

Fitbit Charge 3

Fitbit lives on community feedback and they listened with the challenges the previous Charge had. The new version is the Charge 3 and it looks even better than the previous Charge HR we saw earlier.

With a bigger, more legible screen the Charge 3 now gives users a better platform to chase their daily goals or beat the competition around them. At 24mm, it can provide more information to the user and acts as a personal dashboard. In addition to that, the Charge 3 now has 15+ exercise modes to choose from for tracking.

The biggest change thus far is the increased water resistance to 50m. Now it’s even more usable with more aquatic fitness and has added features such as app notifications, touchscreen capability, and a better battery life.

Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro

For what it is, the Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro offers a lot for the money. At this price point, it has a lot to provide that even the higher-priced trackers don’t have such as:

• Music storage with Spotify integration
• Color display

Associated with Under Armour, the fitness app gives you the same tracking features that you can get such as:

• GPS tracking
• Heart rate monitor without additional strap
• Phone alerts

With 50m water resistance, it’s a great all-arounder that can give you everything you need and things you didn’t know you needed before.

Greater than $250

Apple Watch Nike+

The Apple Watch is now in their fourth series and one is better than the last with more improvements to bring to the table. The Series 3 is still available for the time being and this one is branded with the Nike Plus line. It has the Apple Watch offerings such as:

• Aluminum casing
• Heart Rate Sensor
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Built-in GPS

The biggest offering is the Nike+ heart rate sensor which provides an accurate reading for the Nike+ app. If you’re a Nike fanboy that loves Apple, this is the right combination for you.

Garmin Forerunner 935

At 49 grams, the Forerunner 935 is a heavyweight in the fitness tracker world. At almost $500, it better be and doesn’t disappoint in delivering the goods. Focused on runners and triathletes, the Forerunner 935 has more analytics beyond just pace and stride. It has advanced calculators such as, but not limited to:

• Barometer
• Altimeter
• Electronic compass
• Training evaluator
• Multi-sport modes
• Advanced dynamics for “running, cycling and swimming, including ground contact time balance, stride length and more”

One technical aspect it offers is the VO2 Feature which is:

“Your VO2 max score is the key to seeing, understanding and, more importantly managing your personal fitness level.

At a technical level, it describes the maximum rate at which you can bring oxygen into your body, transport it to your muscles and use it for efficient aerobic energy production. At a personal level, it is a remarkable and versatile tool with a variety of health and performance implications.”

In general, it has app compatibility where you can customize your alerts with your phone and other apps and interchangeable straps. It’s the little things that add up to something great and the 935 has the focus on these nuances to elevate your game.

Garmin Forerunner 920XT

While the 935 is the new kid on the block of the Garmin line, the 920XT is still a trusty companion for any serious athlete at a more effective price point. As a serious triathlete, you would have one of these fitness trackers and there’s a reason why – analytics you cannot get anywhere else.

It still offers the same goodies as the 935 but it doesn’t have the optical heart rate monitor. The challenge is you have to wear a body strap for heart rate monitoring. Some purists will argue the lack of accuracy of an optical monitor, but don’t let age underestimate the capabilities of the 920XT: it can still keep up with the big hitters.

If you want a data-rich, capable tracker and you don’t mind additional strap to wear, and features like Bluetooth control aren’t must-haves for you, then look no further with the 920XT for a great value.

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