Coros watch review
From the most pared-down stopwatches to high-tech strap-on heart rate monitors, there are dozens of options when it comes to exercise watches. However, it’s hard to find a watch that is both comfortable to wear and provides high-quality health and performance data to help you reach your fitness goals.
Coros is a UK-based wearables company that claims to have a solution. They describe their Coros Pace 2 sport watch as a lightweight and stylish device that seamlessly tracks your activity and sleep patterns to provide an in-depth and informative view of your athletic training.
We wanted to see if the Coros Pace 2 lived up to the claims of providing us data that was both accurate and actionable for the average athlete. Here’s what we found.
How we tested Coros Pace 2
Our tester was an experienced runner who used Coros Pace 2 over the course of several weeks while training for the Boston marathon. To see how the watch performed in a variety of activities, our tester used the watch while running outdoors and indoors, cycling, weight lifting and swimming.
Previously we’ve tried other popular GPS activity tracking watches, including the Apple Watch and Garmin devices.
What is the Coros Pace 2?
The Coros Pace 2 is an activity tracking GPS watch designed for athletes. It’s billed as the lightest GPS watch on the market and weighs only 29 grams with the band. This featherlight design is meant to keep athletes moving without the distraction of a heavy jostling watch. The watch also has a powerful computer processing system for a seamless user experience.
The Coros Pace 2 tracks metrics like heart rate, distance travelled, cadence and stride length while you wear it. It also pairs with the Coros smartphone app to provide an in-depth look into your energy expenditure and athletic performance on a day-to-day basis and over time. In addition, the watch has a built-in trainer meant to guide you to your athletic goals. The Pace 2 can even make training recommendations based on your exercise history.
How is Coros Pace 2’s battery life?
The Coros Pace 2 sport watch has a battery life that can last up to 30 hours on a single charge, even while using GPS. Additionally, the UltraMax mode cuts your battery use in half for those days or trips when you need to squeeze in an extra few hours between charges. We found that one charge lasted over two weeks if we only wore the watch while exercising.
How to use the Coros Pace 2
We found setting up the watch to be straightforward. Once we downloaded the smartphone app and filled in a brief questionnaire about our activity levels and goals, the watch was ready to record our first workout.
After that, we selected our activity from a list of built-in options, which includes track running, indoor cycling, rowing and more. If you’re outdoors, the watch will need a minute to locate a clear GPS signal, but if you’re in a hurry, you can start without GPS connection (the watch’s accelerometer will track your distance until the GPS kicks in).
When our session was done, we held down the digital crown to close out of the activity tracker. Then, all of the data from our workout was sent to our phone, where we could dig into the data from that day and view our progress over time. When we weren’t working out, the watch tracked our heart rate to collect calorie expenditure, sleep data and more.
Does the Coros Pace 2 feel light?
Given its size, we found the watch to be surprisingly light, and it’s easy to forget you’re wearing the watch. However, we did feel the watch face was a bit bulky, especially compared to sleek activity trackers like the Apple Watch. It’s great for exercise, but it may not be the most stylish accessory to pair with your formal attire.
Coros Pace 2 cost
The Coros Pace 2 costs $199.99.
Where to buy Coros Pace 2?
You can find the watch on Amazon.
Coros Pace 2 pros
This Coros watch is an excellent and feature-rich GPS and activity tracking watch for runners, bikers and weight lifters. The combination of GPS tracking and muscle heat mapping with the built-in trainer makes this a strong choice for multisport athletes.
The lightweight design and easy-to-read face made the watch user-friendly and comfortable. The face is full color and has a handy night mode for low-light runs in the early morning or after sundown.
The watch also provided us with in-depth insight into our day-to-day activity, including calorie expenditure, heart rate, step counts and sleep metrics. Having all of this data compiled into one smartphone app can give athletes of all levels a helpful window into their training and performance. It can also help people set reasonable athletic goals that will push them without burning out.
Coros Pace 2 cons
Depending on your style, the design of the watch could be a potential drawback. The watch may be too bold for some, especially if you choose one of the less discrete colors like white or gold. Despite its lightweight design, the watch face is large and a bit bulky. Of course, this is also what makes the device easy to use on the move.
We found that there is a somewhat steep learning curve when first starting to use the watch. The two buttons are not the most intuitive to understand, and the default setting requires users to unlock the watch by rotating the digital crown every time they want to use it. We felt this was frustrating to do in the middle of a run or on a bike. Fortunately, with a bit of tinkering, we were able to disable this setting.
If you’re looking for a watch with built-in training plans, the Pace 2 leaves something to be desired. There are a few plans on the Coros site that you can send to the watch, but we didn’t find them particularly engaging and preferred to do our own routines.
Is the Coros Pace 2 worth it?
If you’re looking for a watch that will track your performance and guide your training with accurate data, the Coros Pace 2 is worth it, especially if you engage in several different activities. From runners and swimmers to weight lifters, this Coros watch has something for everyone. The more data you provide the watch with long-term use, the better picture you get of your performance and trends. You may be able to reach new athletic goals with the help of this feature-rich activity tracker.
Lizzy Briskin is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
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