Overrated vs Underrated Running Watches

Overrated versus underrated running watches

I'm going to annoy a few people with this. None of these are bad products — that's not what overrated means. Overrated means you're paying for something that doesn't match what you get.

Garmin fēnix 9 — overrated

A genuinely great device, and you're paying a lot for features most runners will never touch. Put it next to the fēnix 8 and the base model has exactly the same battery life at every size, the same sensor, and the same core training metrics. What's new is stamina zones, a rucking setting and a rowing metric.

Meanwhile the fēnix 8 it replaces is sitting on sale about $150 cheaper. Great watch, wrong moment.

Apple Watch Ultra — overrated

Why buy the rugged, adventure-focused watch that you still have to charge constantly? The Ultra 3 is rated at 42 hours of normal use. That's better than a standard Apple Watch, and it's still a watch you're plugging in every day or two.

For a training watch that's the wrong trade. Every charge is a night of sleep and recovery data you didn't capture — and recovery data is the whole reason to wear something overnight. An Ultra is a superb smartwatch that also tracks workouts. It isn't a training instrument.

Coros Vertix 2S — overrated

The S does not stand for small. It's 50.3 mm across and 17.6 mm thick — noticeably chunkier than a 51 mm fēnix 8, which manages 14.7 mm. On a normal wrist it's a brick.

Credit where it's due: the battery is genuinely extraordinary — up to 118 hours of GPS and around 48 days of daily use, which comfortably beats anything Garmin makes. If you're doing multi-day unsupported efforts, that's a real argument. For everyone else you're strapping an enormous watch to your wrist for battery you'll never use, in a smaller app and accessory ecosystem.

Whoop — overrated

Not the hardware, the model. Whoop is membership-only: from $199 a year, and you never own the band. Three years in you've spent around $600 and you own nothing.

That argument held when there was no real alternative. Now there is. Garmin's Cirqa is $199.99 once, no subscription. The Fitbit Air is $99.99. Both are screenless, both track 24/7, and neither stops working when a card expires.

Garmin Forerunner 170 — underrated

Here's the one nobody talks about. At $299.99 the Forerunner 170 gives you Training Readiness, Body Battery, HRV Status, Training Status, VO2 Max, recovery time, race predictor, PacePro, suggested workouts, Smart Wake and Garmin Pay — on an AMOLED touchscreen.

That is the same training software a fēnix 8 runs. Identical metrics, identical algorithms, same Garmin Connect. What you give up is maps, multi-band GPS, music, a flashlight and a titanium case — and lactate threshold, endurance score and hill score, which matter if you're a trail or ultra runner and are forgettable if you run road 10Ks.

For most runners, that's the smart buy. Spend the difference on shoes and a race entry.

The rule underneath all of this

Almost nobody is underserved by their watch. Most people are overserved and underinformed — paying flagship money for maps they don't open and satellite messaging they'll never send. Work out which features you'd genuinely use, then buy the cheapest watch that has them.

Compare Garmin devices →