Too many fitness and running watches models and you do not know what is the best sports watches with a heart rate monitor to buy? Fear not, on this page you will find our ranking and reviews constantly updated with all the top smartwatches.
Within our buying guides, we have made several articles on wearable products due to the vast world of wearable devices as the best VR viewers for smartphones, the best fitness tracker, the best smartwatch with Android Wear and many others. Today we present rather specific guidance for those who habitually practice sport at a professional level or nearly so, by offering you the best Sports Watches with heart rate monitor. You will find watches useful to practice many types of sports at a competitive level, from jogging and cycling, or swimming at the same time also have a part of “smart” that allows you to interface them with your smartphone and then receive notifications or listen to music, etc.
We, therefore, decided to directly choose and select the best sports watches for runner and fitness, considering the important factors such as quality of materials, functionality, accuracy and especially the price. Are you ready? Let’s start.
Also, read our other guides on the best cardio belts, recumbent exercise bike, mini exercise bikes and the best wheels for yoga.
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Guide to best GPS running watch for running and cardio
Discover the comparative ranking of GPS Running watches. What is the best GPS watch for running? Which GPS watch has the best reviews? Which GPS watch to choose to run? What is the best GPS watch for running?
Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS Running Watch
The Forerunner 35 model is the best GPS running watch ideal for those who also think about aesthetics.
The Forerunner 35 is a GPS watch that records all your progress, allowing you to share it through social networks with the LiveTrack function, so as to have information on your performance while running. It is a precise watch that you can wear during the day, monitor your heart rate minute by minute, measure the calories lost in each exercise and race.
There are many preset features, suitable for many sports such as running, cycling, or even able to monitor your sleep while you rest. One of the most important functions, in this case, is that if you are resting for a long time, the GPS watch will warn you to pick up the pace. It is easy to handle, light and very beautiful, you can use it all day, if you wish and even in the evening for a more elegant outing.
It has a compact and elegant design that corresponds to the latest sports fashion trends, which is what the most demanding runners need, both while training and during everyday life. Its screen allows you to see perfectly in any type of light, both inside and outside.
Discover more and the price here
TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music
This is one of the proposals with the best quality / price ratio that you will find in this guide. Fitting design is more comfortable and ergonomic than its previous model thanks especially to new interchangeable straps, much more light and soft, and the main body which is to be even more up and thus less cumbersome. The Spark 3 is water resistant to 40 meters, has a GPS, a backlit display and a large physical button is very convenient to move around the menu. Side software will allow you to use it for many sports among which are swimming, running, cycling and gym as well as the new navigation function of the path that will encourage alternative paths not yet explored within the preset area of interest via apps.
It also presents a pedometer function and the monitoring of sleep, integrated heart rate monitor. You will also get 3GB of internal memory useful for listening to music during a workout using BT headphones.
+ PROS
- Excellent quality/price ratio.
- Top model with sensor cardio and 3GB memory.
- Accurate GPS and Heart Rate data.
- Ergonomic and complete.
– CONS
- Music support still a little clunky.
- MySports app needs a makeover.
- Activity tracking still a secondary feature.
Discover more and the price here
Polar M400 GPS Smart Sports Watch
As the model presented above, has an excellent quality / price ratio, thanks above all to the very comprehensive and well developed software that makes this perfect wearable for both the amateur athlete and for those who practice sport at a professional level. The design is certainly not delicate, like all watch sports, but it is quite comfortable to wear and allows you to also monitor the hours of sleep, if you want to keep it on your wrist. It has an interesting feature called “back to start” to bring us back to square one and provides a wealth of information during training sessions also allowing you to change the layout to see what interests us most.
In the rear part, it is not present but a cardio sensor is sold together with the excellent band with Polar heart rate sensor, providing a count of beats really fast and precise. The only flaws are a slightly shorter range to competitors and a GPS fix is not always fast.
+ PROS
- Excellent quality/price ratio.
- Compatible with Polar cardio-end.
- Slim and light for GPS tracking.
- In addition, the software is complete and well developed.
– CONS
- No underwater heart rate monitoring.
- Chest belt needed for heart rate.
- Slightly shorter range to competitors.
- The GPS fix is not always fast.
Discover more and the price here
Also, read our best folding road bike list here.
Garmin vívoactive HR GPS Smart Watch
It has many interesting aspects and is positioned midway between pure Sports Watch and fitness tracker more evolved. Garmin VivoActive is a product usable 24 hours thanks to the constant and automatic monitoring of physical activity, heart rate, and duration of sleep, as well as thanks to the impermeability of up to 50 ATM, enough to ergonomic design and the weight of just 48g. It has a touchscreen display, two physical buttons, a battery that provides up to 8/9 days of autonomy and a very complete application that lets you also receive all notifications on your smartphone.
You can monitor a wide range of sports and you will be supported by the ecosystem Garmin. It also includes an application compatible with Windows 10 Mobile operating system. In essence, the VivoActive HR is a really good product from all points of view that has as its only flaw the price that would have been slightly lower.
+ PROS
- Automatic physical activity detection.
- Great metrics, even for niche activities.
- Optimized and complete software.
- The average lifespan is 8 days.
– CONS
- Still looks ugly.
- The screen is not great in quality.
- HR suffers at high intensity.
Discover more and the price here
Also, read our selection of the top famous watch brands for men and women.
Garmin Forerunner 235
Sports Watch GPS and sensor integrated cardio, a rich software and specific for even the most intense workouts. It works very well in all its aspects, both as regards the part smart with complete management of notifications, both in the sport with the monitoring of continuous heartbeat (24 hours on 24 and 7 days out of 7) and with the ability to set a multitude of sports. The Forerunner 235 is very convenient to take the wrist, weighs only 42g, possesses a thick case of only 13 mm, and a particularly breathable strap.
Three more positive aspects of this product are the average life of eight days, the display clearly visible under the light of the sun, and the particular care management software and customizable, especially in the desktop version. Affordable and powerful sports watch for runners.
+ PROS
- Looks great.
- The average lifespan is 8 days.
- Light and comfortable to wear.
- Superb activity tracking.
- Monitoring 24 hours on 24.
- Complete management software and customizable.
– CONS
- Optical HR tech not accurate enough.
- Garmin Connect app confusing.
- Missing fun training modes.
Discover more and the price here
Garmin Forerunner 735XT
The fifth device that we propose is again a Garmin, is proposed as a “running watch” but it is capable of handling a wide range of sports including swimming, cycling, hiking and cross-country skiing. It integrates a sensor for the heartbeat with Garmin technology Elevate, a GPS and is waterproof up to 5 ATM. The excellent Garmin software allows you to install new applications and add widgets inside the large color display, in order to personalize the interface according to their habits. Being a specific sports watch for running offers many dedicated functions such as the measurement of the physiological metrics, anaerobic threshold, calculation of recovery time and many others.
The design has been carefully chosen for the category, the main body has a thickness of only 11 mm and integrates a battery that provides autonomy for 11 days in clock mode and up to 14 hours in training mode. The price is obviously higher than previous models, but we are facing one of the best sports watch available.
+ PROS
- Functions dedicated to running.
- High overall quality.
- Strong battery life performance.
- Great Strava integration.
- Accurate heart rate data.
– CONS
- Bland looking design.
- Some Bluetooth connectivity issues.
- In addition, the Garmin Connect app needs refining.
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Polar V800 GPS Sports Watch
The V800 is the top of the Polar range, has the highest technology developed over the years by the brand and integrates a GPS sensor very precisely and quickly. The perceived quality in this device is high, profiles, aluminum keys and strap make it comfortable to keep it always at the wrist. It offers intelligent monitoring of all types of sports on two wheels, on foot or by water, calculating the steps, distance, calories and fat burned, and heart rate when combined with cardio Polar H7 end, and showing accurate and complete data to inside the customizable display. Also present at the sleep monitoring and sync with your smartphone via BT to display notifications and other information.
By using the Official GoPro toolkit it is also possible to interface with the GoPro action cam and automatically integrated within video filmed all the information regarding your performance or training. The integrated battery provides up to 13 continuous hours of training, or up to a month of normal monitoring. Difficult to expect more from one Sports Watch.
+ PROS
- Excellent quality of both hardware and software
- Up to one month of battery life
- Intelligent monitoring of sport
- Easy to follow training plans
- Great addition of circuit workouts
– CONS
- Bulky to wear all day for activity tracking
- The mobile app lacks a web app’s data
- No built-in heart rate monitor
Discover more and the price here
Also, see the perfect gift ideas for running enthusiasts.
What is your favorite smartwatch with a heart rate monitor?
That’s all for now, folks. These are our selection of the best sports watches with Heart Rate Monitor. In addition to the products featured in this guide, there are other, perhaps equally valid and performing, which for various reasons we decided not to enter. You can comment on this article recommending your favorite product even if it is not present in this list. Thank you for visiting us.