Best ultra running watches

Best ultra running watches: overview

Let’s start with a scannable overview of the best ultra running watches so you get an idea of which watch might be best for you straight away.

Name	Battery life	Weight	Features	Price	Durability
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Best overall	4.5/5	3/5	5/5	2/5	4/5
Suunto 9 Baro Best overall, runner up	5/5	2/5	3/5	2.5/5	4/5
Garmin Instinct 2 Best value for money	4/5	3.5/5	4/5	3.5/5	5/5
Coros Apex Pro Best value for money, runner up	4.5/5	3/5	3/5	3.5/5	3/5
Garmin Vivoactive 4 Best budget	2.5/5	4/5	2.5/5	4/5	3/5

Scores are based on a number of factors. For example, for battery life, we don’t just look at the hours claimed by the manufacturer.

We also compare these numbers to real-life test results and factor in power management settings, whether the watch has multiple battery saver modes, etc.

FYI: In this article, when I’m talking about battery life, I’m talking about the battery life when the GPS is turned on.

 

List of the best ultra running watches

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro

Best overall — Weight: 2.11 oz / 60 g — Battery life: 36 hours

The Garmin Fenix 6X Pro is a great watch for long distance runners. It has most of the running features you could possibly want. It has a great battery life, has great outdoor tracking performance and it’s a durable, high quality product.

Sure enough, the Garmin Fenix series is known to be rather expensive. So it really depends on what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend.

Another great thing about the Fenix is that it has a solid and robust design. You don’t need to worry about too much about it getting broken.

If you want to get even more features, you should take a look at the newer version, the Garmin Fenix 7. The Fenix 7 comes with a touchscreen, has improved mapping and an increased battery life. It’s definitely a worthy upgrade.

However, I feel like the Fenix 6 Pro is already expensive enough as it is, that I actually recommend the Fenix 6 instead of Fenix 7. Once again, it simply comes down to what you are looking for, because the Fenix 7 is a great watch as well.

If you prefer a smaller watch, the 6S Pro will suit you better. However, getting the smaller version of the watch would cost you a bit in battery life. The 6S Pro has a GPS battery life of 25 hours, while the 6 Pro has a GPS battery life of 36 hours.

And then there is still the question whether you should go with solar or not. Once again, it depends on your needs. Solar does give you an add tonal boost in battery life – which is great for ultra running. However, it does make an expensive watch even more expensive and in many cases, the non-solar version would have sufficient battery life.

The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro can usually be bought for the best price on amazon: Garmin Fenix 6 Pro.

For convenience, I’ll include the links to the other models as well:

• Garmin Fenix 6S Pro
• Garmin Fenix 6Pro Solar
• Garmin Fenix 7X Sapphire solar

 

Suunto 9 Baro

Best overall, runner up — Weight: 2.86 oz / 81 g — Battery life: 25 hours

The Suunto 9 Baro is within the same price range as the Fenix 6 and is similar in many ways. For many runners, it’s a personal preference that decides whether they prefer the Suunto 9 or the Fenix 6.

The Suunto 9 has a very good battery life, which makes it such a solid ultra running watch. You have the option to play with the settings so that you have a very long battery life. However, in “normal” GPS mode, you have to be happy with 25 hours, which is still pretty good.

Still, the battery life is one of the strong points of the Suunto 9.

The tracking is also very accurate. However, the Fenix 6 would be the winner in terms of tracking the altitude.

There are a couple of things that aren’t that great, like the accuracy of the heart rate sensor.

Also, the Suunto 9 feels far more bare-bones and basic when it comes to configuring data and choosing what you display on your watch. If this is important to you, the Fenix 6 should be the watch to go for. It has fewer features and feels more bulky.

It may sound like the Suunto 9 isn’t that great a watch. However, for a certain type of ultra runners this will be the right companion.

All in all, the Suunto 9 is a great runner-up option. However, for most ultra runners, I feel like the Fenix 6 would be the better option.

As always, it comes down to personal needs and preferences. The watch can also be found on amazon: Suunto 9 Baro

 

Garmin Instinct 2

Best value for money — Weight: 1.83 oz / 52 g — Battery life: 32 hours

The next option on the list, the Garmin Instinct 2. Although it is more considered an outdoors/hiking watch than a running watch, it’s still a great option for ultra runners. On top of that, it’s a very reliable and durable watch.

It has great battery life, has a ton of features and is relatively cheap considering what it brings to the table.

If you like the idea of the Garmin instinct 2, but it’s still a bit too expensive? Take a look at the Garmin instinct 1, one of the best outdoor budget GPS watches ever made.

In terms of accuracy, it’s a very good watch as well. Not as good as the Garmin Fenix, but still very good.

If you want even more battery life than what this watch has to offer by default, you should take a look at the solar version of the watch.

For more information about battery life, feel free to take a look at my comparison page: Garmin watches battery life.

One complaint, some people have/had, is that the Instinct is a pretty large watch. Which can be annoying for running. However, Garmin did create a smaller version of the same watch, the Garmin Instinct S2. Seems like a great watch for running, but you should know that the smaller version also has a worse battery life.

For the best price, amazon is usually the place to be: Garmin instinct 2

Or the other models:

• Garmin Instinct
• Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

 

COROS Apex Pro

Best value for money, runner up — Weight: 2.08 oz / 59 g — Battery life: 40 hours

The key takeaway is that the Coros Apex Pro is another very all round high quality watch. It’s priced lower than many similar watches, which makes it a great value for money watch.

It has a great battery life, it’s easy to use and simply doesn’t have many negatives. The Apex Pro is a quality product, but it’s not really rugged when you compare it to a watch like the Garmin Instinct 2. It might be a factor to consider when you do a lot of off-road/trail running.

The only other “downside” is that it does lack some of the functions that the higher ranged watches have.

If you really care about those functions, a watch like the Garmin Fenix would be the clear winner. However, if budget is the more important factor, the Apex Pro makes a really solid option.

If you want to go even cheaper, you could also take a look at the non-pro version of this watch, the Coros Apex. It’s also a solid, budget-friendly watch, but you do make some sacrifices. For example, instead of the claimed 40 hours battery in GPS mode, you would only get 25 hours.

Talking about Coros, the Coros Vertix 2 is also a good option, especially the better battery life comes in handy. However, it seems to be more beneficial for more adventurous activities like mountain climbing. On top of that, it’s a more expensive and larger/heavier watch.

Therefore, the Apex Pro will be my number one Coros recommendation for an ultra running watch.

The Coros Apex is not being sold on amazon at the time of writing. If you are interested in this watch, take a look on their official website: Coros Apex Pro

 

Garmin Vivoactive 4

Best budget — Weight: 1.78 oz / 50.5 g — Battery life: 18 hours

The Garmin Vivoactive 4 is a fantastic watch for the money.

Sure, you do make a large sacrifice in terms of battery life, but with 18 hours of GPS time, the Vivoactive 4 is still a great ultra running watch.

In terms of features, it doesn’t come close to a watch like the Garmin Fenix. However, it does come with a surprising amount of features for the money.

Simply think about garmin pay, music (with internal storage), heart rate monitor. Pretty impressive, however, features are limited to the “basics”, so don’t expect a lot of fancy smart features.

That said, for some ultra runners this is not needed at all, so why spend so much more money?

It’s also lightweight and easy to use. It isn’t really a rugged watch, so it might be less suitable for adventurous runners.

The Garmin Vivoactive 4 can be bought on amazon: Garmin Vivoactive 4

 

What to look for in an ultra running watch

Battery life – Let’s state the obvious, battery life is super important in an ultra running watch. You need to be able to use all desired functionality without having to worry about your battery life on a longer run.

Functionality – Very personal, but functionality is an important factor. Make sure that you have all the functions that you care about on your ultra running watch.

Weight and size – Weight and size are important for obvious reasons, we don’t want to have a heavy, bulky item attached to our arm. Of course, this is different for everybody, but usually lighter means better. The only downside is that this usually comes with compromises, like a lower battery life.

Tracking options & accuracy – Tracking and accuracy are important for both navigation and analyzing your runs.

Ease of use – You shouldn’t need to follow a course before you are able to use a watch. Also, a watch should be designed in a way that it provides the best user experience.

Price – For most of us, price is an important factor to consider when making a purchase. Especially when buying more expensive products like GPS watches.

 

Best ultra running watches – conclusion

When selecting the best ultra running watches, we have considered battery life, features/functionality, weight and size, tracking options & accuracy, easy of use and price.

All watches mentioned in this article are great options for ultra runs.

Every runner has a different budget and different preferences. Therefore, the selection was made with the intention of having a recommendation for every type of ultra runner.