Pulse & Sports Watches

Your sports watch needs to fit you and your wrist

First things first – for you to actually carry your watch regularly, it needs to optically appeal to you and most of all, fit your wrist well. When doing sports, you move around quite a lot, and there are some sports that will simply not allow you to use your other hand to turn the watch to be able to read it. As for example when going down the hills on your mountain bike at really high speeds. Because that will not only annoy you, but it is also dangerous! Moreover, it is simply uncomfortable having your watch jump around on your arm while on a run or hurting underneath a tight jacket. As of this, you need to choose one that is not too large, not too small, not too thick and not too thin. Women will often choose small watches and men larger ones. By the way, some brands even offer interchangeable straps, so you can go for some crazy colors without getting tired of the straps design!

Just as important as the fit is the handling of the watch. Some watches have buttons, some more, some less. Others have touch screen. Both have their pros and cons. But you should definitely keep in mind what sports you are intending on doing. Because for sure, you will not want to take your gloves off when it is negative 20 degrees out there! Also, the display needs to suit you, some have background light, others can even be read when wearing a night-vision device.

So what about battery? Different watches have different battery capacities. As of this, you should consider whether you will be using the watch all the time or just when doing sports. Also, how the battery is charged and what energy save modes there are.

©Stretching with a sports watch by Fitbit

Operating system and compatibility of your sports watch

All brands have their own operating system, you should therefore chose a watch whose system seams logical and easy to use for you. Because that simply depends on your own personal preferences. Then there is the compatibility with desktop and mobile apps. Best is, you check in beforehand what apps are compatible with what watch and take a closer look at these. Because you will probably be spending lots of time tracking and analyzing your movements with these or load data from and onto your watch. Suunto for example has developed an app called Movescount, which lets you compare GPS data with other users. There you will also find training plans, events and groups, as well as be able to track and monitor your every activity and progress.

©Sports watch desktop app by Movescount - Suunto

Sport watches offer a bunch of different features and possibilities. Do I really need all of these?

Most likely, the answer will be no. But that is the reason why there are so many different watches and different price categories. Multisport watches offer a large variety of different sports: running, trail running, diving, stand up paddle boarding, biking, general fitness, snowshoeing and so on – so many options. Many of these watches come with integrated GPS trackers and barometric altimeters, for those who want to precisely measure distance and altitude. Some will even let you load GPS data onto your watch, so that it can navigate you on new tours and trails! Meaning, you will be equipped perfectly for your outdoor adventure, be it on over-night tours or your evening cardio training.

Additionally, there are tools to measure your pulse and heart rate. Oftentimes are separate breast belt is available. And there are watches that have a compass, step counters, weather forecasts and details on sun rise. Many are water proof, some have integrated music players or will let you connect with your smartphone via Bluetooth to play music. And then there are specific functions such as those of the Suunto Traverse Alpha Sports Watch, giving you infos for hunting and fishing such as a shot detector.

Read more regarding sports watches

• How to find the perfect GPS watches for trailrunners?