Running Watch Manufacturers Compared

Each running watch manufacturer has its own level of charm and appeal. For instance Timex are generally more intuitive than other watch systems, whereas Polar are reknown for their high level of sophistication, but may require you to bury your head in a complex manual to use their best features to your optimal advantage.

Here is a brief summary of the leading running watch watch manufacturers: Timex, Polar, Suunto and Garmin. In this article we generalize to a certain degree, so keep it in mind that your mileage may vary depending on which individual watch model you are using. On the other hand there tend to be common attributes present in watches of the same brand, which we do our best to summarise here.

Timex

As mentioned, Timex watches tend to be intuitive to use right out of the box, so to speak. They also deliver a lot of functionality for a very cheap price. While they produce more complex watches that cost more, the basic ease of use tends to show even at a higher level of sophistication. In Timex Ironman watches you will find distinct common elements such as lap memory, a 100 hour chrono with lap and split recording and the famous Indiglo lighting system. Essentially Timex watches are great, pick-up-and-use watches that are suitable for beginners to the elite.

Polar

Polar is the company that invented the heart rate monitor device and so as you might expect, it's running watch range tends to lean towards heart rate monitor features. Polar watches tend to be designed with your complete fitness program in mind, many of their watches feature fitness coaching with pre-installed fitness tests. Polar watches display a weekly summary of your progress and are capable of being programmed to perform complex training sessions. They can be a tad hard to figure out, but if you invest a little time they can be a great training tool for your program.

Suunto

The Suunto "Training Series" is a collection of running watches that offer more advanced ways of mesuring your performance and fitness level. For instance, they are the only running sports watch that offers "Training Effect" a more accurate way of measuring the effectiveness of a workout. The t6c is a highly sophisticated sports watch capable of measuring things like EPOC, and beat-to-beat R-R capacity. The Suunto watches also come with some highly sophisticated software. These watches are good for running or all round fitness. Some models even offer coaching features that guide you through a workout plan.

Garmin

Garmin have developed a GPS watch from the ground up that features just about every feature a runner could require. Garmin's complex menu system makes them somewhat unintuitive, but the powerful features will more than make up for this failing. Expect to spend a little time reading the manual, but less time than a Polar or Suunto running watch.

For a much more thorough overview of running watch manufacturers, and for coverage of specific models from each of these watch makers, visit the sports watch informant website.

Running Watches. What To Look For

There are loads of running watches to choose from! What to look for in a running watch will depend on what sort of running you'll be doing and how serious you are treating your sport.

For a runner who wants nothing more than to do a couple of runs a week, then you do not need anything fancy, a basic sports watch with a stopwatch timer can be purchased for around $10-20 and should cover your basic needs, which are to measure how long you have been running for. For a little more money you could invest in a running watch that can record a history of your times in it's memory banks. This allows you to go back and compare your recent times against historical runs over the same course.

A runner who has a more structured training program, might benefit from a running watch that can record laps and splits as well as historical runs. Another handy feature for more serious runners is an interval timer feature, which allowes the running of variable length repetitions. For example eight, 3 minute intervals followed by a 2 minute recovery. More advanced watches cover this and more. Some need not cost the earth either.

Many of the Timex Ironman watches are inexpensive, yet can save session history, accomodate the recording of laps and splits within a session and support an interval timer feature. The cost tends to rise when you purchase running watches that feature heart rate monitors or GPS tracking. Highly sophisticated watches such as running watches within the Polar and Suunto line can offer state-of-the-art measuring and tracking of advanced fitness metrics such as EPOC (Excess post exercise oxygen consumption) and Training Effect, an indicator of how effectively you trained over a session. The sophisticated Polar watches measure nearly every heart rate metric available with detailed summaries of the current session and long term history tracking with indicators of how you are progressing with your training.

While you do not need to buy the most feature-laden watch to benefit from what a decent running watch can offer your running program, there are certainly plenty of options for the runner who intends on taking their sport seriously. We will summarise some of the more significant ones in this blog including in-depth overviews of some of the more advanced features in the sports running watch market.