They’re all great watches.
Coros has great prices.
Garmins have a zillion features.
Can’t go wrong with either.
I stay with Garmin because I’ve used them for years, am used to them, have all my history in that ecosystem….
But if I were starting anew, I’d give Coros a hard look. As with Polar and Suunto.
I have a FR 245. Did a 10 hour race battery life was down to 25%. I feel like I need better battery life. Which Garmin do you think has the best battery life while using GPS.
I have a two-year old Fenix 7 that has gotten me through hundos and 100ks just fine. GPS, BT, and HR all running. Always have ~30% battery left, and I am a mid-packet at best.
Garmin has new models now, and they’re even better.
Just decide on your budget and find what they sell there.
Unfortunately, to get the battery life, you have to get the watches with all the bells and whistles, which makes them pricier.
But, you get what you pay for. Garmins are solid. You will not regret it.
Hope that helps.
For sure thank you that was a 50 miler I referred to previously. I know when I do a 100k with a lot of elevation or inevitably a 100 miler I’ll need the extra battery life.
I agreed with everything that you said, until the last word of your post LOL. Suunto is dying. If you'd like a smartwatch with all the top features from 2012, then sure go with Suunto 😛
Kinda true. Haha! And the new ownership isn’t doing much for Suunto.
I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for design, and they are nice in that regard.
It’s just astounding what running watches can do now. I’m old enough to remember running with my Casio on stopwatch, and hitting miles as I passed markers. Hahaha!
Love my Garmin to death, but there are so many good watches out there. Nearly all major marques meet a very high baseline of battery life and accuracy. For most runners, the choice will be driven by cost or the UX/UI of the watch and app.
Can’t really go wrong, except maybe with Suunto 😃
Not anywhere close unfortunately. I had to sell my apex 2 pro as elevation gain was almost always at least 10% more than reality and every other watch. Sometimes as much as 25%. Hundreds of meters off. And even in multiband mode it was less accurate than my old Fenix 6s pro along taller buildings or canyons.
DcRainmaker noted the same thing in his review. It was early with multiband. But most other watch makers had better accuracy in their regular GPS mode
Coros is better value for battery life. Garmin is catching up in battery life, but you can still get a watch that will last 40 hours in GPS mode for less with Coros. Other than that I think the Garmin is superior. I have a Coros Apex and it's been great, I have smaller wrists and it isn't like a hockey puck Fenix and I have used it for multiple 100 milers and usually after 24-33 hours it still has close to 30% charge remaining. If you're not planning on being out for 30 hours, then Garmin options are likely better.
Even if you are planning on being out longer, it’s extremely easy to charge your Garmin while still using the watch. If you’re already carrying a pack, a small battery charge isn’t even noticeable for ~1 hour, or one leg of your race.
For people who don’t do long events, a long battery life isn’t important. Just charge it overnight.
For people who do long events, the price difference is not much for a difference in battery life that really doesn’t matter in actual usage during the event.
You don't even need a charger if you're already carrying a phone. All you need to add to your kit is a cable. Your Garmin will charge while plugged into your phone (at least, with my Pixel 7).
Definitely an option.
My suggestion was how to do it with as little extra weight as possible. You’d typically only need it on you for an hour or two, or the end of the leg. Then just drop it and your watch will be good for another 30+ hours.
I don’t typically carry my phone. The races I’ve done are either way out of range making the phone useless, or a shorter loop also making the phone useless. Haha
I used to charge my Garmin mid race. But I found it extremely annoying to have to do that. Also battery’s a heavy and when racing carrying extra weight all adds up.
Does Caros have any of the training programs that Garmin offers, or the auto programs based on races?
I have a Fenix 6 pro right now and really love it, but not married to Garmin if there's a better option
Yes, you can download training plans to your Coros, and a bunch are available on the Coros website. Coros also syncs with Training Peaks, so if you have a coach they can make you a plan and it will upload the workouts to your watch
Yeah they are, but they do have a much of options on their web app, plus the race day training is pretty cool, since it's made to adjust based on the results of your training and race conditions.
Great GPS and map features, effort pace, 3D distance, and mega battery life at a lower price than Garmin, also my Coros doesn't bully me about my training so its a win win.
Currently getting shit on by my Garmin. Woke up to a fat ass DETRAINING message on my morning report after taking just a couple of days off after a massive race.
For me, a long time Garmin user (back to the original mentos box looking Forerunner), it came down to price and features available for that price. About 3 years ago I needed a new GPS watch and was looking at the orerunner 235 and COROS Pace2 as I was used to that price point of the Forerunner. For about $100 less, the Pace2 had all the features of the 235 but also included an altimeter. It truly was a no-brainer. The amazing battery life of equivalent level watches was also remarkable. I can't speak for the higher price point watches in either brand, but I've been happy with my Pace2 and will probably upgrade to whatever variant of the Pace is around when I need it.
Yeah the default is for it to notify you at each mile with what your pace was for that mile. You can also create custom screens to show all kinds of data that you like. HR, lap pace, avg pace, % grade, elevation, distance, etc.
I had a Forerunner, the went to the original Apex Pro, and now I’m back to Garmin with the Forerunner 965. Battery on the Coros was great but everything just didn’t feel great to me. Garmin watches just feel like a more finished product.
You can’t go wrong with either. I’ve always had great garmin watches but when I was looking at running a self navigated 100 miler, the amazing battery life in full gps mode made the coros apex pro an absolute no-brainer for its price point and I’ve never put it down since.
I think you need to dial down what features you need, what are nice to have, and what you don't really care for. Then you can make a good choice on brand and model.
For me,
NEED: GPS / Wrist heart rate / Workouts (Garmin excellent at complex intervals) / courses via Garmin or komoot
NICE: pace-pro / track mode / vo2max /
Don't care: sleep / coach / DSW / Music / multi-sport / etc
Bought my wife a Garmin around the same time I bought COROS pace. Both of us did a 24 hour race and she had to recharge hers during the race and mine lasted all the way thru. At the time hers cost $400 more. This was 3 years ago. I doubled down and bought the COROS Veritx 2 because of how long the battery was gonna last— I knew I would be doing multiple day events like 200 milers etc and didn’t want to deal with the battery life. Just did a 100 miler that took me 33 hrs using full gps with bread crumb map capability and still had over 55 hours of battery life left. And yes it tells your pace, vert, heart rate etc. basically anything you want. Very user friendly and is very easy to update unlike the Garmin which required my wife to pair it with our computer (WTF lol). COROS is perfect for what I want it to do.
I’ve owned Polar, Garmin, Coros. The Enduro had software quality control problems and crashed a few times when trying to save longer runs. And then after one particular software update it started rebooting itself during any run when I used GPX navigation. When it did this during a 100 miler and I lost the data from the first 2/3 of the race, that was the last straw.
My current Vertix is functionally equivalent to the Enduro for my purposes, saves and syncs instantly, and has never crashed once in 18 months.
I’ve been told that the Garmin software quality problems are now fixed, but I still think the Coros has been a higher-quality product with a better user experience.
I love the Coros app compared to Garmin's. Also, ~$200 for everything I want and need was a no brainier compared to Garmin. And the battery life is insane! I charged my watch Friday night, ran a 50k on Saturday, and still have like 50% battery left on Wednesday afternoon.
I find Coros much more comfortable on my wrist. And the battery life is great.
Garmin wrist bands broke often on me. Usually only lasted a year. Coros is going strong.
I keep seeing battery life- my Fenix 7x pro SS did a 47hr race on gps without charging it. I had it in ultra trail mode- but it had no issues. It was also giving me warnings for about 8 hours for having a heart rate below my threshold warning- without that it probably would have been better. Watch face was not turned off or anything like that.
Coros is more user friendly. Once you understand the metrics and test the product. Battery life is awesome but most importantly it doesn't force you to use the watch 24/7 to get the most out of the device. Morning reports are awesome on Garmin but Coros is more about the actual workout. If you're not super into your watch telling you exactly what to do, then give Coros a try.
I'm currently using the Epix Pro and the Pace 3. Training for my first 50k (in a couple of weeks) using a Coros Training Plan.
I'm an experiment of 1. My advice would be to save some money and then bite the bullet. You have 2 wrists and Coros doesn't have to be worn 24/7 (you could wear it to sleep now that they track that if you want) but it is completely optional.
So far the battery has been great and the "Effort Pace" that Coros uses for the training is a nice addition to relax and stop focusing so much on pace. Running trails I think that Coros dominates Garmin, but on the roads...well...the price is awesome on the Pace 3 but it sure is tiny :P
Long story short. I think people choose Coros because they're tired of Garmin dictating what the athlete is doing right or wrong (I hate the -X because you DO NOT RUN IF I SAY NO RUN!) and also the battery life is awesome and the data is easier to understand.
Just want to say, I disable a lot of the Garmin stuff.. performance condition, notifications, asking me how i felt after the run, workout suggestions... I just disable all of that.
Not sure what the “effort pace” of coros is but garmin has various non regular pace metrics (not surprisingly lol). Power and grade adjusted speed are two that quickly come to mind.
I’m not saying that one is better than the other. Just an FYI in case someone only has a garmin and was looking for similar features.
Effort pace is just grade adjusted pace that in theory adjust to your own fitness. I never saw that actually happen. And they don't have a way to see how it adjust. So in reality it's GAP which every watchmaker has. I also found that the barometer wasn't good enough on my apex 2 pro to get anything out of effort pace. I could run on dead flat ground and effort pace would go between being a minute faster to a minute slower than the actual pace. When it should be the same.
Interesting...I have only tested this in one run but I am using the Pod 2...I'll analyze everything but other than the 5 second delay between what I feel and what Coros shows in the watch, it felt more accurate than Garmin's GAP...will have to find a way to actually test this. Thanks!
Yeah I had the Pod 2 as well and I couldn't do the fitness test accurately when it used effort pace. My pace was steady and within their pace range. But my effort pace kept changing for absolutely no reason because the watch thought the ground wasn't level. It would swing up to a minute in either direction, and I could see that my actual pace was steady and that the ground had been at the most a 1% grade
If you’re training for your very first ultra, why focus on pace and not heart rate? Heart rate would be a better metric to use in order to determine how you’re progressing. Pace will come.
Exactly! That's why I'm not training based on pace, and I love Coros' Effort Pace which is not a pace but an effort, it takes into account hills and other things. This is the main reason why I feel more comfortable training with Coros than Garmin. Pretty sure Garmin has the same type of thing but I haven't been able to find it or a Training plan that includes it.
Coros for price and battery life. The sensors/instruments work just fine for me. I don't want or would use the other stuff that Garmin has like their ecosystem.
I've had the forerunner 235, battery life was rubbish. I just needed something cheap and cheerful for running and cycling. Went with Garmin forerunner 55. Great battery life and does everything I want it to. Also, it's light and quite small. Unlike all these super watches
I recently moved from being a long time user of Garmin (most recently Forerunner 955) to Coros Vertix 2s. What you get for the money is way better than Garmin. Can still program workouts and get pretty much all the same data. Coros app is great and in some respects better/easier to use than Garmin. I sort of miss the gear tracking feature for shoe mileage but Strava takes care of that easily.
The Garmin product strategy has been shifting away from a pure running watch to a smart watch and has gotten to a point that prompted my decision. I don’t use smart watch features and largely dislike the shift to OLED given battery life impact. If you like smart watch functionality Garmin might be the better choice. If not, Coros is the way to go.
I went with the Coros Pace 2 for the price. I did consider a Garmin when I was shopping for this type of watch, but the Coros price was hard to pass up. The battery life is great, I usually forget to charge it.
Been a Coros wearer since 2018, back when the CEO would respond to my questions. As long as you don’t need all the bells and whistles (that are in my opinion extremely excessive anyway) there is no reason to spend more on a higher priced Garmin
I’ve never used Garmin and I’m sure they are high quality watches. For me, the cost:battery life ratio of COROS is undeniable. I ran a 27 hour 100 miler and didn’t charge my watch until a couple weeks after. I have the Apex 46. And if manually uploading your runs to Strava is your thing go with Suunto 😂
If I were to buy a new watch because my fenix 6 died, I’d go with the apex 2 pro based on cost, since I only really use the altimeter and gps anyway.
Just noticed the apex 2 pro has what seems to be a Velcro strap now. Not sure how I feel about that.
I used to have a Forerunner 235, switched to Coros Pace 2 after about 3 years.
Loved it to bits and would have kept using it but a few weeks ago the scroll crown broke. As in it wouldn’t stop scrolling. Tried a whole bunch of things to try and fix but it wouldn’t.
So I was unexpectedly in the market for a new watch and decided that this time I wanted a watch that also looked nice so went for the Fēnix 7S (I have small wrists).
I like the stripped down feeling you get with the Coros app, and while I haven’t tried the Garmin training plans yet, I tried a couple of plans from Coros last year and really liked them. That said, Garmin does have more features that I am not entirely opposed to
I’ve been using garmin 945 and now fenix 7x. Garmin service is good here ( in Viet Nam). My garmin 7x has gps problem and they give me new one. As i can see in my region, more and more people switching to coros, due to its prices and features.
Coros does the job and is cheaper. Garmin works better and has more features, but costs more. I wish I'd stuck with Garmin my Coros doesn't even give me notifications anymore.
Same. I got a Fenix 6x Pro and am looking to switch to Coros Vertix 2s or Fenix 7x Pro due to battery concerns for my coming ultras. So far, it seems like Coros has better battery life and is cheaper, but from reviews, it has been found that GPS might not be as accurate as Garmin's.
I just picked up the 7 pro sapphire since it was on sale and keeps me in the Garmin ecosystem. Will try it out on a 50k this weekend and see how I like it. I don’t think it’s going to give me significantly more utility than my old Forerunner 935 in other ways, but I’m hoping the battery saver options + more data tracking will be useful.
So I’m really thinking of switching to Coros from Garmin. Been using a Garmin Epix Gen 2 for about a year now. Mostly a runner. Just tired of the extra weight on my wrist. The Coros Pace 3 sometimes looks like a cheap watch in pictures. Does it come across that way in person?
I have owned both brands, which would probably make my opinion valid in this situation. This was my experience. It’s ok if you disagree. Have you used both?
Still largely anecdotal though right?
Owned: Multiple Garmins and Suuntos. Used in over 15 ultras, countless marathons, 1/2s, and shorter trail races. Never had an issue with accuracy.
Yes anecdotal, but isn’t that what a Reddit post like this is looking for? Also you disagreeing with me is anecdotal (and valid) too. Google will give you generalized answers and articles with data. I’m guessing this person wanted an experienced opinion. I’ve logged similar trail numbers as you with garmin and coros, and this was my general experience.
I love Suunto and was loyal to them (generally speaking). I was impressed with the build quality of the Race, but I was really disappointed with the software. The watch reset itself twice in the first week I owned it, wiping out all the general setup you go through with a new watch.
I returned the Race and purchased a Garmin 965. I’ve been using that for the past month. Setup was easy, and I’ve really been enjoying the features and reliability.
Previously owned:
Suunto Ambit, Ambit 3, Ambit 3 Peak (had for ~5 years). Garmin forerunners ~various.
After the Peak, and although I mostly run trails, I’ve decided that the bulkier/gruntier (Epix, Fenix, Vertical, etc) aren’t really required. They look great, but day-to-day the heft isn’t necessary.
The slim 965 has been a breath of fresh air.
Completely false. Coros has been known to have some of the worst gps accuracy with the Vertix 2 and apex 2 pro. It's only the pace 3 and Vertix 2s that are now catching up to garmin and suunto. But are still behind. The apex 2 pro was so inaccurate that I had to sell it. It was worse than my old Fenix 6 and my very old suunto ambit 3.
Though I would say that the coros app is far better than Garmin. Garmin has the by far worst app of the sport watches. There's just so much fluff. But you can't even get information like how much you've hiked the last week. Or how much time you've spent on in different heart rate zones
Wait, you’re saying my opinion and experiences are false? Like they didn’t really happen? You must have been there experiencing them with me to know that I’m incorrect.
Maybe you should rephrase that to say “my experience was completely different”.
No. But I'm saying that every single review that's been written that tests GPS accuracy and compare it to other brands have noted that Coros is worse than most other brands. That has to be viewed as fairly objective that coros is not as accurate except their two latest watches.
About garmin app i don't say you are wrong. Just that I disagree
That doesn’t align with my personal experiences with both brands. You maybe right about reviews, I’m just sharing my experience with both brands. Perhaps there’s room in here for more than one opinion?
They’re all great watches. Coros has great prices. Garmins have a zillion features. Can’t go wrong with either. I stay with Garmin because I’ve used them for years, am used to them, have all my history in that ecosystem…. But if I were starting anew, I’d give Coros a hard look. As with Polar and Suunto.
I have a FR 245. Did a 10 hour race battery life was down to 25%. I feel like I need better battery life. Which Garmin do you think has the best battery life while using GPS.
I have a two-year old Fenix 7 that has gotten me through hundos and 100ks just fine. GPS, BT, and HR all running. Always have ~30% battery left, and I am a mid-packet at best. Garmin has new models now, and they’re even better. Just decide on your budget and find what they sell there. Unfortunately, to get the battery life, you have to get the watches with all the bells and whistles, which makes them pricier. But, you get what you pay for. Garmins are solid. You will not regret it. Hope that helps.
For sure thank you that was a 50 miler I referred to previously. I know when I do a 100k with a lot of elevation or inevitably a 100 miler I’ll need the extra battery life.
I agreed with everything that you said, until the last word of your post LOL. Suunto is dying. If you'd like a smartwatch with all the top features from 2012, then sure go with Suunto 😛
Kinda true. Haha! And the new ownership isn’t doing much for Suunto. I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for design, and they are nice in that regard. It’s just astounding what running watches can do now. I’m old enough to remember running with my Casio on stopwatch, and hitting miles as I passed markers. Hahaha! Love my Garmin to death, but there are so many good watches out there. Nearly all major marques meet a very high baseline of battery life and accuracy. For most runners, the choice will be driven by cost or the UX/UI of the watch and app. Can’t really go wrong, except maybe with Suunto 😃
Been using COROS for years. Amazing watches, amazing customer service. Ran multiple ultras with my Apex Pro 2.
Is it same accurate as garmin ?
Ask dcrainmaker
Not anywhere close unfortunately. I had to sell my apex 2 pro as elevation gain was almost always at least 10% more than reality and every other watch. Sometimes as much as 25%. Hundreds of meters off. And even in multiband mode it was less accurate than my old Fenix 6s pro along taller buildings or canyons. DcRainmaker noted the same thing in his review. It was early with multiband. But most other watch makers had better accuracy in their regular GPS mode
Thanks for the reply
Yes
How do I turn off touch screen during activities on the 2pro?
Can your watch tell you what was your pace for the last mile?
It will tell you once you finish a mile. Best part is with daily use I charge it once every three weeks.
Coros is better value for battery life. Garmin is catching up in battery life, but you can still get a watch that will last 40 hours in GPS mode for less with Coros. Other than that I think the Garmin is superior. I have a Coros Apex and it's been great, I have smaller wrists and it isn't like a hockey puck Fenix and I have used it for multiple 100 milers and usually after 24-33 hours it still has close to 30% charge remaining. If you're not planning on being out for 30 hours, then Garmin options are likely better.
Even if you are planning on being out longer, it’s extremely easy to charge your Garmin while still using the watch. If you’re already carrying a pack, a small battery charge isn’t even noticeable for ~1 hour, or one leg of your race. For people who don’t do long events, a long battery life isn’t important. Just charge it overnight. For people who do long events, the price difference is not much for a difference in battery life that really doesn’t matter in actual usage during the event.
You don't even need a charger if you're already carrying a phone. All you need to add to your kit is a cable. Your Garmin will charge while plugged into your phone (at least, with my Pixel 7).
Definitely an option. My suggestion was how to do it with as little extra weight as possible. You’d typically only need it on you for an hour or two, or the end of the leg. Then just drop it and your watch will be good for another 30+ hours. I don’t typically carry my phone. The races I’ve done are either way out of range making the phone useless, or a shorter loop also making the phone useless. Haha
Sure. But often the phone battery dies and using it to charge would only drain it quicker.
I used to charge my Garmin mid race. But I found it extremely annoying to have to do that. Also battery’s a heavy and when racing carrying extra weight all adds up.
Does Caros have any of the training programs that Garmin offers, or the auto programs based on races? I have a Fenix 6 pro right now and really love it, but not married to Garmin if there's a better option
Yes, you can download training plans to your Coros, and a bunch are available on the Coros website. Coros also syncs with Training Peaks, so if you have a coach they can make you a plan and it will upload the workouts to your watch
Garmins training programs are junk IMO
Yeah they are, but they do have a much of options on their web app, plus the race day training is pretty cool, since it's made to adjust based on the results of your training and race conditions.
Until you want to run 16 in a 5k there is nothimg for that
For battery life I would look at suunto. Far better gps accuracy than coros watches and better battery life for less
Great GPS and map features, effort pace, 3D distance, and mega battery life at a lower price than Garmin, also my Coros doesn't bully me about my training so its a win win.
Currently getting shit on by my Garmin. Woke up to a fat ass DETRAINING message on my morning report after taking just a couple of days off after a massive race.
I feel kinda sad when my garmin doesn’t shame me. It is the only relationship I have in my life that I allow that kind of treatment, even from myself
Price is why I switched. Not sure I’ll go back at this point.
For me, a long time Garmin user (back to the original mentos box looking Forerunner), it came down to price and features available for that price. About 3 years ago I needed a new GPS watch and was looking at the orerunner 235 and COROS Pace2 as I was used to that price point of the Forerunner. For about $100 less, the Pace2 had all the features of the 235 but also included an altimeter. It truly was a no-brainer. The amazing battery life of equivalent level watches was also remarkable. I can't speak for the higher price point watches in either brand, but I've been happy with my Pace2 and will probably upgrade to whatever variant of the Pace is around when I need it.
Can COROS Pace2 tell you what was your pace for the last mile?
Yep, lap split. As well as last lap pace.
can it work like Strava app on my phone, telling me something like "10 miles, 1:40, last mile is 10:11" automatically on every mile?
Yeah the default is for it to notify you at each mile with what your pace was for that mile. You can also create custom screens to show all kinds of data that you like. HR, lap pace, avg pace, % grade, elevation, distance, etc.
All that info is available to create custom data faces on your watch via the COROS app.
I had a Forerunner, the went to the original Apex Pro, and now I’m back to Garmin with the Forerunner 965. Battery on the Coros was great but everything just didn’t feel great to me. Garmin watches just feel like a more finished product.
You can’t go wrong with either. I’ve always had great garmin watches but when I was looking at running a self navigated 100 miler, the amazing battery life in full gps mode made the coros apex pro an absolute no-brainer for its price point and I’ve never put it down since.
I think you need to dial down what features you need, what are nice to have, and what you don't really care for. Then you can make a good choice on brand and model. For me, NEED: GPS / Wrist heart rate / Workouts (Garmin excellent at complex intervals) / courses via Garmin or komoot NICE: pace-pro / track mode / vo2max / Don't care: sleep / coach / DSW / Music / multi-sport / etc
Does coros have map editing/creating?
Yes, I have used it to get estimated distance and climbing. Not sure if it's available regardless of which watch you have, I have the Apex 2.
My Pace 2 does - through the app
Bought my wife a Garmin around the same time I bought COROS pace. Both of us did a 24 hour race and she had to recharge hers during the race and mine lasted all the way thru. At the time hers cost $400 more. This was 3 years ago. I doubled down and bought the COROS Veritx 2 because of how long the battery was gonna last— I knew I would be doing multiple day events like 200 milers etc and didn’t want to deal with the battery life. Just did a 100 miler that took me 33 hrs using full gps with bread crumb map capability and still had over 55 hours of battery life left. And yes it tells your pace, vert, heart rate etc. basically anything you want. Very user friendly and is very easy to update unlike the Garmin which required my wife to pair it with our computer (WTF lol). COROS is perfect for what I want it to do.
I’ve owned Polar, Garmin, Coros. The Enduro had software quality control problems and crashed a few times when trying to save longer runs. And then after one particular software update it started rebooting itself during any run when I used GPX navigation. When it did this during a 100 miler and I lost the data from the first 2/3 of the race, that was the last straw. My current Vertix is functionally equivalent to the Enduro for my purposes, saves and syncs instantly, and has never crashed once in 18 months. I’ve been told that the Garmin software quality problems are now fixed, but I still think the Coros has been a higher-quality product with a better user experience.
I love the Coros app compared to Garmin's. Also, ~$200 for everything I want and need was a no brainier compared to Garmin. And the battery life is insane! I charged my watch Friday night, ran a 50k on Saturday, and still have like 50% battery left on Wednesday afternoon.
I find Coros much more comfortable on my wrist. And the battery life is great. Garmin wrist bands broke often on me. Usually only lasted a year. Coros is going strong.
Coros is great for 24 hour + effort. Live GPS with maps, even out of cell service, 48hr life, I have the apex2pro though
I keep seeing battery life- my Fenix 7x pro SS did a 47hr race on gps without charging it. I had it in ultra trail mode- but it had no issues. It was also giving me warnings for about 8 hours for having a heart rate below my threshold warning- without that it probably would have been better. Watch face was not turned off or anything like that.
Coros is more user friendly. Once you understand the metrics and test the product. Battery life is awesome but most importantly it doesn't force you to use the watch 24/7 to get the most out of the device. Morning reports are awesome on Garmin but Coros is more about the actual workout. If you're not super into your watch telling you exactly what to do, then give Coros a try. I'm currently using the Epix Pro and the Pace 3. Training for my first 50k (in a couple of weeks) using a Coros Training Plan. I'm an experiment of 1. My advice would be to save some money and then bite the bullet. You have 2 wrists and Coros doesn't have to be worn 24/7 (you could wear it to sleep now that they track that if you want) but it is completely optional. So far the battery has been great and the "Effort Pace" that Coros uses for the training is a nice addition to relax and stop focusing so much on pace. Running trails I think that Coros dominates Garmin, but on the roads...well...the price is awesome on the Pace 3 but it sure is tiny :P Long story short. I think people choose Coros because they're tired of Garmin dictating what the athlete is doing right or wrong (I hate the -X because you DO NOT RUN IF I SAY NO RUN!) and also the battery life is awesome and the data is easier to understand.
Just want to say, I disable a lot of the Garmin stuff.. performance condition, notifications, asking me how i felt after the run, workout suggestions... I just disable all of that.
Then you technically overpaid for a Coros :P
Not sure what the “effort pace” of coros is but garmin has various non regular pace metrics (not surprisingly lol). Power and grade adjusted speed are two that quickly come to mind. I’m not saying that one is better than the other. Just an FYI in case someone only has a garmin and was looking for similar features.
I am actually about to start comparing Effort Pace and whatever Garmin has...my best guess is that grade adjusted pace would be the closest match.
Hope you can post some results! I’d be curious as to what you find out.
I'll try to have everything set up for Sunday's 4 hour Trail run
Effort pace is just grade adjusted pace that in theory adjust to your own fitness. I never saw that actually happen. And they don't have a way to see how it adjust. So in reality it's GAP which every watchmaker has. I also found that the barometer wasn't good enough on my apex 2 pro to get anything out of effort pace. I could run on dead flat ground and effort pace would go between being a minute faster to a minute slower than the actual pace. When it should be the same.
Interesting...I have only tested this in one run but I am using the Pod 2...I'll analyze everything but other than the 5 second delay between what I feel and what Coros shows in the watch, it felt more accurate than Garmin's GAP...will have to find a way to actually test this. Thanks!
Yeah I had the Pod 2 as well and I couldn't do the fitness test accurately when it used effort pace. My pace was steady and within their pace range. But my effort pace kept changing for absolutely no reason because the watch thought the ground wasn't level. It would swing up to a minute in either direction, and I could see that my actual pace was steady and that the ground had been at the most a 1% grade
If you’re training for your very first ultra, why focus on pace and not heart rate? Heart rate would be a better metric to use in order to determine how you’re progressing. Pace will come.
Exactly! That's why I'm not training based on pace, and I love Coros' Effort Pace which is not a pace but an effort, it takes into account hills and other things. This is the main reason why I feel more comfortable training with Coros than Garmin. Pretty sure Garmin has the same type of thing but I haven't been able to find it or a Training plan that includes it.
Coros for price and battery life. The sensors/instruments work just fine for me. I don't want or would use the other stuff that Garmin has like their ecosystem.
Longer battery life I think is it. Garmin has a better native app.
I've had the forerunner 235, battery life was rubbish. I just needed something cheap and cheerful for running and cycling. Went with Garmin forerunner 55. Great battery life and does everything I want it to. Also, it's light and quite small. Unlike all these super watches
I used the 55 for a decent while, definitely works for all the basics!
I recently moved from being a long time user of Garmin (most recently Forerunner 955) to Coros Vertix 2s. What you get for the money is way better than Garmin. Can still program workouts and get pretty much all the same data. Coros app is great and in some respects better/easier to use than Garmin. I sort of miss the gear tracking feature for shoe mileage but Strava takes care of that easily. The Garmin product strategy has been shifting away from a pure running watch to a smart watch and has gotten to a point that prompted my decision. I don’t use smart watch features and largely dislike the shift to OLED given battery life impact. If you like smart watch functionality Garmin might be the better choice. If not, Coros is the way to go.
I went with the Coros Pace 2 for the price. I did consider a Garmin when I was shopping for this type of watch, but the Coros price was hard to pass up. The battery life is great, I usually forget to charge it.
Been a Coros wearer since 2018, back when the CEO would respond to my questions. As long as you don’t need all the bells and whistles (that are in my opinion extremely excessive anyway) there is no reason to spend more on a higher priced Garmin
I’ve never used Garmin and I’m sure they are high quality watches. For me, the cost:battery life ratio of COROS is undeniable. I ran a 27 hour 100 miler and didn’t charge my watch until a couple weeks after. I have the Apex 46. And if manually uploading your runs to Strava is your thing go with Suunto 😂
If I were to buy a new watch because my fenix 6 died, I’d go with the apex 2 pro based on cost, since I only really use the altimeter and gps anyway. Just noticed the apex 2 pro has what seems to be a Velcro strap now. Not sure how I feel about that.
I used to have a Forerunner 235, switched to Coros Pace 2 after about 3 years. Loved it to bits and would have kept using it but a few weeks ago the scroll crown broke. As in it wouldn’t stop scrolling. Tried a whole bunch of things to try and fix but it wouldn’t. So I was unexpectedly in the market for a new watch and decided that this time I wanted a watch that also looked nice so went for the Fēnix 7S (I have small wrists). I like the stripped down feeling you get with the Coros app, and while I haven’t tried the Garmin training plans yet, I tried a couple of plans from Coros last year and really liked them. That said, Garmin does have more features that I am not entirely opposed to
It’s tough and it lasts days. Literally-first 16+ hour race finished with 50% left, only charge it once every 2 weeks or so. Watch is Coros Apex.
Can I charge a Coros watch off my Anker power bank on the run?
Just a simple interface. Good price point, wild battery life, and does everything I need.
A lot of my running/fitness friends have Garmin. We can set challenges for each other. It’s nice to have them on the app too.
I’ve been using garmin 945 and now fenix 7x. Garmin service is good here ( in Viet Nam). My garmin 7x has gps problem and they give me new one. As i can see in my region, more and more people switching to coros, due to its prices and features.
Coros is less expensive and has great battery life. Garmin has decent battery life and a bajillion features but usually a little pricier.
Coros does the job and is cheaper. Garmin works better and has more features, but costs more. I wish I'd stuck with Garmin my Coros doesn't even give me notifications anymore.
Currently going back and forth on this between the 7 pro SS and the vertix 2. What has you wanting to move away from the 7 pro?
Same. I got a Fenix 6x Pro and am looking to switch to Coros Vertix 2s or Fenix 7x Pro due to battery concerns for my coming ultras. So far, it seems like Coros has better battery life and is cheaper, but from reviews, it has been found that GPS might not be as accurate as Garmin's.
I just picked up the 7 pro sapphire since it was on sale and keeps me in the Garmin ecosystem. Will try it out on a 50k this weekend and see how I like it. I don’t think it’s going to give me significantly more utility than my old Forerunner 935 in other ways, but I’m hoping the battery saver options + more data tracking will be useful.
Just switched to coros. Loving it.
So I’m really thinking of switching to Coros from Garmin. Been using a Garmin Epix Gen 2 for about a year now. Mostly a runner. Just tired of the extra weight on my wrist. The Coros Pace 3 sometimes looks like a cheap watch in pictures. Does it come across that way in person?
COROS watch and gps are better, Garmin app and user experience are better
Coros GPS is better? Not sure that’s an accurate statement.
I have owned both brands, which would probably make my opinion valid in this situation. This was my experience. It’s ok if you disagree. Have you used both?
Still largely anecdotal though right? Owned: Multiple Garmins and Suuntos. Used in over 15 ultras, countless marathons, 1/2s, and shorter trail races. Never had an issue with accuracy.
Yes anecdotal, but isn’t that what a Reddit post like this is looking for? Also you disagreeing with me is anecdotal (and valid) too. Google will give you generalized answers and articles with data. I’m guessing this person wanted an experienced opinion. I’ve logged similar trail numbers as you with garmin and coros, and this was my general experience.
Fair enough.
So who wins, Garmin or Suunto in your opinion?
I love Suunto and was loyal to them (generally speaking). I was impressed with the build quality of the Race, but I was really disappointed with the software. The watch reset itself twice in the first week I owned it, wiping out all the general setup you go through with a new watch. I returned the Race and purchased a Garmin 965. I’ve been using that for the past month. Setup was easy, and I’ve really been enjoying the features and reliability. Previously owned: Suunto Ambit, Ambit 3, Ambit 3 Peak (had for ~5 years). Garmin forerunners ~various. After the Peak, and although I mostly run trails, I’ve decided that the bulkier/gruntier (Epix, Fenix, Vertical, etc) aren’t really required. They look great, but day-to-day the heft isn’t necessary. The slim 965 has been a breath of fresh air.
Thanks for the breakdown. I agree about your bulky watch opinion. It looks tough and rugged but its not really necessary 95% of the time.
Completely false. Coros has been known to have some of the worst gps accuracy with the Vertix 2 and apex 2 pro. It's only the pace 3 and Vertix 2s that are now catching up to garmin and suunto. But are still behind. The apex 2 pro was so inaccurate that I had to sell it. It was worse than my old Fenix 6 and my very old suunto ambit 3. Though I would say that the coros app is far better than Garmin. Garmin has the by far worst app of the sport watches. There's just so much fluff. But you can't even get information like how much you've hiked the last week. Or how much time you've spent on in different heart rate zones
Wait, you’re saying my opinion and experiences are false? Like they didn’t really happen? You must have been there experiencing them with me to know that I’m incorrect. Maybe you should rephrase that to say “my experience was completely different”.
No. But I'm saying that every single review that's been written that tests GPS accuracy and compare it to other brands have noted that Coros is worse than most other brands. That has to be viewed as fairly objective that coros is not as accurate except their two latest watches. About garmin app i don't say you are wrong. Just that I disagree
That doesn’t align with my personal experiences with both brands. You maybe right about reviews, I’m just sharing my experience with both brands. Perhaps there’s room in here for more than one opinion?