A Guide To Great Running Watches

When it comes to selecting a new watch to assist with
running, there are few features that can be considered as standard for such an
item. Some enthusiasts may debate over which are an absolute must-have feature,
but in general, the following categories and general running watch reviews
discuss all the most popular setups.

Fully Loaded Smart Watches

For those who don’t mind spending a few hundred dollars on a
piece of athletic gear, there are running watches that come fully loaded with
heart rate monitors, GPS, distance tracking, gait tracking, and much more. An
example of one of the higher end models is the Garmin Forerunner. It costs
nearly $500 and has all the desirable features, plus has a built in program
than can monitor your cadence and predict not only how far you can go, but also
how long you should rest and after how long you should rest. For those who love
to plan out their runs meticulously, this style of running watch is exactly up
to speed for such a task.

Basic Tracking Watches

Designed to monitor, record, and report basic information, these
watches are useful for those who like to study their patterns themselves. They
are also more ideal for those runners who don’t want to spend too much on
features like GPS and planning programs. Watches such as the Soleus Dash, which
clock in around the $50 to $60 price range tend to serve the basic tracking
functions desired by almost all runners.

Cardio Focused Watches

Coming in a class that often rates higher than basic
tracking watches, but not as expensive as fully loaded models, the cardio focused
runner’s watch tends to be between $100 to $200. A popular example is the Mio
Alpha. One of its biggest appeals for runners is the simple and accurate use of
a light to give steady feedback regarding heart rate. Lacking in GPS, the
watch’s prime function in regards to monitoring is easily outweighed by its
comfortable design and reason price around $199.

All Around Fitness Watches


While not always considered a dedicated runner’s watch, many
fitness enthusiasts are finding the all-around fitness monitors to be quite
handy. These devices track vitals, count calories burned according to heart
rate and step count, as well as monitor things like sleep patterns. With prices
ranging wildly from $40 to $200, watches and monitors in this category can be
difficult to choose between. The simple and popular FitBit monitors, such as
the FitBit Charge, cost $90 to $130 and have some of the highest ratings from
customer obtained running watch
reviews
. The versatile concept of having a device that can track steps,
calories, heart rate, sleep cycles, and also be synced with a smart device
makes the fitness monitoring device highly valuable. Unlike high end running
watches, which have higher costs due to the casing and GPS features, combing
the hand held monitoring with a smart phone’s capabilities to track, means
runners can get all the features they could want, at a fraction of the price.

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