The 10 best sports watches

All you have to do is look at the Garmin 945 to know that this thing means business. Garmin has a rep for making the best sports watches around, and the 945 is one of their finest models. Not only does it do all the usual heartrate, GPS tracking and stopwatch stuff – the 945 can also store and play music, has contactless card capabilities and even its own maps. It can be adjusted for pretty much any variable you’ve got going, too, and while it will set you back the best part of £400, the 945 is pretty much peerless.

Looking between the enormous list of things that this Teminice fitness tracker does and its price is enough to give you whiplash. With a sizeable HD touch screen, a heart rate and sleep monitor, GPS tracking, and the capacity to tune in to different sports, the Teminice can even be linked to a smartphone and display notifications. And all that comes for just £35.99. Sure it might not be the slickest or most accessory-loaded thing on this list, but the Terminice is exceptionally good value for money.

For when you’ve got the gym at 6 and a swish dinner at 7, why look further than Withings’s Steel HR? This obviously does all the usual sports watch stuff, tracking your heart rate, calories, activity and sleep, but it also looks bloomin’ swanky. It also has other party tricks like an alarm clock and a whopping 25 days of battery life on a single charge, and it can easily be linked to a smartphone and display notifications. So not only is this a classy alternative to bulky sports watch, but it’s a subtler version of an Apple or Samsung smartwatch, too.

Garmin’s top-of-the-range stuff gets a hell of a lot of praise, but people don’t give enough cred to the brand’s more reasonably-priced stuff. Even the Forerunner 45, one of Garmin’s simplest and least complicated models, is a step above most sports watches. Here you’ll still find a heart rate monitor, on-board GPS, pace/distance trackers and smartphone compatibility. You even still get some Garmin Coach fitness plans. Heck, I’m sure loads of people actual prefer this kind of uncomplicated, reliable watch to its more expensive, show-offy older siblings.

If you’re that dude/dudette who just has to have everything Android, well, this is the sports watch for you. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 does lots of classic sports watch things like measuring your blood pressure and heart rate, and keeping track of both your fitness and sleep. But it also does quite a bit more. The Galaxy Watch 4 has its own 4G, so can play videos and direct you on Google Maps. It’s somewhat pricey, but it is basically a sports watch and a smartwatch. That’s the price you pay for seamless smartphone compatibility.

This is pretty similar to the Android watch, in that, if you’re a guy/gal that loves all things Apple, the Apple Watch Series 7 probably does everything you need it to do and more. Apple stuff has always been a lot about how it looks, and the Series 7, with its big screen and sleek, bright, familiar interface, certainly looks fantastic. But it also does lots of stuff too. The Series 7 shows everything from blood oxygen levels to an ECG chart, includes loads of workouts and features three months free of Apple’s Fitness+ subscription service.

Whoop’s straps are small, comfortable and unobtrusive because they’re designed to be worn 24/7. Yes, even in the shower. It measures strain, recovery and sleep because it’s all about optimising each element of your personal fitness. Unlike a lot of the others in this list, Whoop doesn’t have a screen – it’s entirely done on an app. And it’s also a bit different because it’s more of a subscription package than just a watch, but that’s because Whoop is for real fitness fanatics. No wonder these things have been such a smash in the States. 

By this point, you can even get a Fitbit for your dog (sort of). They’re everywhere, and for good reason. Fitbits have great smartphone usability, loads of features and they’re reliable and accurate. They also look understated and minimal, like a cross between an Apple Watch and a plain wristband, and, with interchangeable straps, they’re versatile too. The Charge 5 is almost certainly the Fitbit with the best quality-to-price ratio, and includes six months of premium membership – which features games, mindfulness exercises and additional workouts.

Polar is the OG sports watch brand. They’ve been making sports watches longer than the vast majority, maybe even all of the other companies on their list. Polar launched the world's first wearable wire-free heart rate monitor all the way back in 1982, and since then they’ve channeled decades of experience and usability into their watches. Polar’s watches are famously accurate and user-friendly, and the Vantage M2 is one of the company’s most well-rounded models. This is one for those that want an accurate, high-spec watch that isn’t needlessly techy.   

Maybe you don’t want any of those fancy-ass sports watches. No HD screens, no sleep monitoring rubbish. You want something you can batter around. Something rugged. Something (nearly) indestructible. Well, Timex’s Ironman series caters precisely to people like you. These watches are brutes. This Classic Ironman is light, hardy and exceptionally simple. It’s got an alarm, a lap counter and a glow-up face. It’s waterproof for up to 100 metres in depth and has up to ten years of battery life. It is, in short, a no-nonsense sports watch for no-nonsense people.