Welcome to latest in our series looking at the best running watches of 2024, and in this video we’re covering the best mid-range watches. Four watches have made the cut; the Suunto Race S, Coros Pace Pro, Polar Vantage M3 and Garmin Forerunner 265, and they all offer good value thanks to the extensive array of features on board at a lower price than high-end models. Kieran, Mike and Nick are on hand to guide you through the watches and give the pros and cons of each based on our testing.
00:00 – Intro
01:26 – Garmin Forerunner 265
04:46 – Coros Pace Pro
09:06 – Suunto Race S
13:02 – Polar Vantage M3
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Hello and welcome to the it might seem Never ending series on best running Watches that we are doing on the Run Testers which seemed like such a good Idea and uh here we are four videos in Um this one will be quick we're going to Keep this one to the point I promise Anyway it's mid-range watches today Which I think right now is the hottest Place in the market it is so hot right Now there are four fantastic watches in This area three came out this year You're getting a whole load of value Here which I think is what makes them so Exciting to me you're paying between 300 And £400 £450 sometimes but yeah 300 to 400 generally and you're getting now Watches that have nearly all the best Features across the Brand's range but Compared to high-end watches you Probably just miss out on really super Long battery life and then materials Like a lot of highend watches will have Metal bezels that kind of thing you're More looking at plastic builds here There always some bit of metal in play Here and there and there four watches in This area that I think are worth Shouting out we're going to talk through Each of them ter that's the coros pace Pro the Garmin for 2 65 the sunto race s And the polar Vantage M3 Kieran and Mike Are here I didn't introduce them earlier Cuz this point if you watch the other
Videos you know we're here you know you Know they're always here and we're going To go for each of these watches in turn Basically try and highlight what the Differences between them are why you Might go for one over the other because They do have pretty similar feature sets The price is all quite similar we'll Start with though the most expensive one On paper which is the Garmin forigner 265 this has been around the longest It's been one of the best running Watches on the market market for a while It's about 100 quid more I think on RP Than the other watches no 50 Quid 50 to 100 more than the other watches in this Video but is now often on sale because It is an older watch guys the Garin 4265 Going to come to you first Kieran why is This such a great watch yeah I mean Firstly I've just seen today that the Price has dropped I think it's around £390 in the UK which makes it even Greater or more competitive with the Other watches in this kind of lineup now But for me it's just to watch the it Kind of hits The Sweet Spot in terms of Of the training recovery uh performance Features that you're going to get in a Lightweight package with a pretty Competitive battery life um you've got Really good kind of um General Health Tools Amed screen is excellent I think What you're looking at here in a 265 is
A watch that generally speaking has Enough Firepower to cover what most Runners would need you know you are Lacking Maps um but there's most of the Bells and whistles that you're going to Want to go and do I reckon sort of Training for a mar In a compact package that I think also Looks quite good for the price as well What do you think this watch Mike what Would you single out about it compared To some of the others maybe yes I think Um in comparison to some of the other Watches we're going to be talking about One of the key things here are the size Options you've got two size options for The 265 so I tested 265s which is a Smaller version and and unlike some of The other watches we talk about you've Got those kind of size options if you Like something a little bit smaller you Have the option here with the 265 range Now k has spoken about it you know the 265 launch with the 965 it's one of Those first 4Runners with the AMOLED Displays and I think what it's it's Given us is a 4Runner with an amalo Display where the battery life is not Hugely compromised and I think that's The key thing for us and a lot of the The other watches will be talking about You're getting a you know a vibrant Colorful display you're getting things Like that kind of dual band kind of
Multiband mode is as Garmin will call it And you know really good performance There and you're getting you know a rich Array of kind of Garmin smartwatch Features there as well so as a package If you like the idea of a running watch That has that kind of Smartwatch Functionality I think you know the 265 And the 265s really kind of represents That good kind of overall package in Terms of what you're getting yeah Definitely yeah so compared to the more Experience of gments maps is the big Feates you lose which you do get on the Other mid-range watches in this video They all have Maps but the 4 and a 265 Doesn't but I think where it stands out Maybe compared to its competitors in This video is I think the training Analysis and fact you get training Readiness on the 265 it's a really Really good level of training last you Have this watch it's all quite clearly Presented it all makes sense intuitively It looks good on the watch as well and The smart features are definitely A Cut Above what you get from other brands you Can link up to streaming services with Your music storage if you want to do That you have NFC payments you're not Getting that on your other watches in This video and design I think is really Nice I think this is probably my Favorite looking of the four watches
We're talking about here although it's All very personal because there are some Probably slightly more elegant watches To come but I really like the all Plastic design of the 4Runner it's Lightweight it looks good and you are Tapping into basically the Garmin Ecosystem which is really well Established probably a little bit more Polished than maybe the other brands and You know regularly updated so that's a 265 that's been around for a while the Other watches have all come out this Year and basically undercut it on price And have added color maps and they're All you know really going at the king in This area they've gone at the Garmin and They haven't missed they're all very Good watches let's go on to the chorus Pace Pro that's the one we're just Testing at the moment review to come Soon this is chorus's first AMOLED watch It's got maps on it it's also got a new Dual band chipset compared to some other Chorus watches in general it looks like All corus's best watch yet I think it's Fair to say we recently gave an award in The Run tester Awards we're all big fans Of the watch but what you're getting Here maybe compared to other watches I Guess is classic coros stuff like longer Battery life and you know a really Lightweight design so who wants to go First on this one Mika we go to you
First on this what do you like about the Coros pace Pro yeah I think it really Kind of represent I think we've you know We've seen with the pace three a really Kind of strong good value watch now this Is kind of moving away from a price Point of view in terms of what you're Going to get with the pace Pro but I Think in terms of that that extra money That you're getting on the P3 the Features that you're getting in return I Think you know it's worthy of paying That extra amount of money I think Something that's really stood out for me And you know talked about in in in our Review is the kind of performance side Of things it's not just the performance In terms of the kind of run tracking I Think in terms of how the software kind Of runs and I think that's kind of been A key kind of difference for me in terms Of my experience with the other Mid-range watches that we've spoken About and you just that software just Running very slick very kind of smoothly You know really no it when I've been Kind of using the mapping support and I Think while the chorus watch maybe has a Little bit of kind of catching up to do In terms of the presentation of kind of Training analysis and the training Insights which we kind of really like on The Garmin watch I think it's going it's Going in the right direction and I think
Crucially with that AMOLED display as Its first watch the battery life it's Very good you know we've kind of really Associate that with corus's watches that You know don't have an display and I Feel like it's really delivered strong Battery life I think they always on Display mode and kind of rais to wake so I think as a package it's a watch that I Really like using this year and I think There's a lot to like from a tracking And a performance point of view yeah on That bachel I've looking about of five Six days with the ORS on screen on Actually longer at the moment because I'm not running so much CU spray my Ankle Kier what have you found about the Battery life and about the pace Pro in General yeah I mean this has always been A thing with me and ameds is just Waiting to the point where the battery Life is you know is almost it's Comparable with the older watches and That's something that corus have really Done I think on outside of training so Whole day um without any training it was Super stingy it burnt around 2% for the Whole day got 2% overnight burn as well Which is really low for most watches go A bit higher than that and a 1H hour run For me in Max accuracy mode on this burn Just 2% which is the best performance I Got out of any of these watches on test Super stingy so if you look at the Gin 4
265 that was around 5% for an hour so it Does deliver that got Amed screen with a Really stingy performance which is great You've also got a much longer overall GPS battery life so if you want to think About doing crazy Ultras this one will Probably take you a bit further with an AMOLED screen I also I mean I it has Some limited sort of Smartwatch features I think that's one thing that you are Lacking when you compare it to the 265 The other things I'm not entirely Convinced by the watch faces on there Which are you know there's not many to Choose from they're not so customizable And I think they're not going to float Everyone's boat you get more of there's More kind of uh when it comes to the Garmin watches I know you guys really Like this and I'm I'm being a bit Negative here but when I compare it to Some of the other watches I do feel like It is a bit plastic and this is a kind Of it's a two-sided coin right this Because it makes it maybe feel a bit Cheaper than some of the high end Watches for sure but it makes it really Lightweight which I think of all the Watches on this it's it's super Comfortable to wear 24/7 so it's a bit Of swings and roundabouts on that um Yeah I 100% agree on that design thing So I even said it in the review we're Just doing at the moment which is like I
Really like the corus pce Pro Design but I think objectively it's probably not Quite as nice as Des design as something Like the sunto or the polar in this Video which just do have a slightly more Elegant look and feel to them but yeah I Do like a very very you know lightweight Plastic watch me Too but that's the pce pro I like like K Mentioned there like the Smartwatch Features are limited on this you got Drag and Drop Music which I think is Almost less useful than just having the Music controls you get on the polar and The sunto and yeah you can't customize The watch faces enough that's a big bug B for me they won't shown weekly mileage Which I like to see but otherwise I do Think is a user interface that I quite Like you know it is I think it's quite easy to use because There's not as much on the watch as some Others so it does mean actually it's Quite easy to navigate the menus but Let's move on now to the suto race s Which is the cheapest of these watches In the UK I think their pric is more Equal in the US but it's just a little Bit cheaper with the sun race s you're Getting a steel bezel so you have got a Little upgrade there you are getting you Know I think what feels like a slightly More sturdy and well put together watch Perhaps than the all plastic designs
Although you know none of these watches Are broken for us or anything like that Um you're getting really good uel band GPS uh the heart actually I didn't find Quite a good but you are getting maps on This watch and this was the watch I Think that led the charge in Undercutting Garmin in this area and it Did a really good job I think this is a Great watch Kieran you've also been Testing the titanium version which is a Bit pricier but both these watches have Similar features and just nice designs Right yeah I mean I've just literally Been out and run with it just now I I Really like this and I think it's you Know I sort of said this in our other Sort of highend watch is this cor sunto Have basically done a coros to you know They've come in with a really kind of Rich full featured watch but undercut The price and made it definitely more Attractive it's one that it's much more Easy to recommend because of that Because you're getting really good value Here I really like the looks I think it Feels nice on the wrist uh you've obious Got the big bright AMOLED screen the Battery life is good and competitive you Know that burned around 3% for for an Hour long run for me which is kind of Not far off the choros as well uh music Controls no offline Spotify that maybe Sets it apart from the four and a 265
I've had really good performance from The Dual fre frequency GPS not hit and Miss with the optical heart rate but I Have that with all of the watches on This list some works for some runs Better than others I also just find the UA the UI sorry on sunto watch is not The most intuitive compared to the Others but once you do dive into some of The training analysis and stats I think They're fairly well presented Particularly in the app comparatively so Yeah I think there's a lot of plus Points here for this watch at a very Good Price yeah I agree with that Mike what Your thoughts on the RAC s yeah I think We know we kind of saw it first with the C race which was really aggressively Priced and then we got which I think was A bit of a surprise with the cin race s And it's kind of brought that kind of Price down even more but still kind of Retained that performance that we saw And we really liked on the S race I Think I agree with Kieran in the sense That you know I think there's elements That you know I'm not absolutely loved I Think it's got a little bit of work to Do in terms of presentation in terms of The user interface it's not the only one On this list that has things to probably Work on from a software point of view But from that core performance it's all
Very very good and I think there's areas To improve on I kind of quite like the Design I think cinto before the race was Getting towards a design where where I Think you know you can tell that is a Sunto watch it very much feels unique From that point of view and I kind of Like that that Soto's kind of tried to Do something a little bit different on The design front and I think you're Getting a really good quality Amo Display I think mapping is is really Strong in terms of that support and yeah The battery life for me with that AMOLED Display is very good good the Dual Band Um you know that best accuracy mode the Battery life performance is very good Like we saw with the cinto vertical the Cinto race as well you know this has Really kind of changed the state of play With mid-range watches and I think it's Been a good thing because it's made the Other watch brands that we've talked About kind of act and you know bring Other options and bringing those Features down from those High kind of Premium end watches into a more Affordable package because you know we Can't all afford to spend 500 600 on a Watch but you're getting a lot of the Functionality from a top end since a top End watch in something like the cinto r S now yeah fantastic watch actually one That is on sale as well during Black
Friday already which makes it even Better value I think that is a key thing Here it is the best value of these Watches in the UK and you're really not Losing anything in terms of performance I'm not 100% sold on the user interface Stuff like that find it a little bit More Awkward to use and the design is You know I think very very nice but like I say I like a all plastic watch but um I do think sunto is moving very fast to Work on upgrades and stuff like software As well so I do think it you know keeps Pushing forward you know really really Strong watch in this category as well as Is the last watch here which is the Polar Vantage M3 which again came out Fairly recently was priced at exactly The same price point I think in the US As the choros and the sunto but and then Obviously the g a little bit more Expensive so in the UK they're all quite Similar as well again got a really nice Bright AMOLED screen you've got Maps You've got a lot of the stuff you're Getting on the Polar Vantage V3 higher End watch which maybe has slightly more Battery life and slightly better Materials but again you've got a metal Bezel on this watch a really nice Looking watch I think really screen Really pops for me and yeah I think best Polar I've tested forever the V3 and the Grit X2 Pro are great but they are not
Priced competitively I think compared to Their Rivals whereas I do think the M3 Is priced exactly where it should be for Such an impressive watch let's go to Mike first on this one yeah I think you Know for me from the polar watches and The polar range if I was picking a polar Watch this is the one that I would be Going for now while you are I mean I Think the difference between this and The volage 33 are not huge enough for me To say well I'm going to be going for The volage 33 from a value point of view I think all the features that I would Want from a watch whether that's kind of You know really good dual frequency Support but getting that mapping which Maybe isn't the most detail and most Feature Rich in terms of mapping and Navigation support compared to some of The other options here but as a package Everything that I'd want from a Mid-range watch is here with a polar I Think you know I really There's real Elements of the training analysis and Insights that polar offer that I really Like I think again it's a little bit About that presentation I think on the Watch and off the watch as well which There's a lot of good stuff there but I Think ultimately have to dig around a Little bit and I think you know it could Do a better job in terms of you know Making that stuff a little bit more
Usable a little bit more readable Glanceable but I think you know it's It's getting there and I think you know It you know if there if there wasn't any Of these other watches that we talked About it was just a POA you know it Would be a standout watch for us but you It's come out at a time where there are Other very competitive mid-range watches And that is up against and you know Trying to pick between them is is Definitely a challenge but polar's for Me this is the best watch that I've in The watch that I would be going for its Range yeah great definitely a stand out With in po Kieran maybe if you could Look at how it compares to the other Watches in this video and where you Think it it excels or on on excels I Really like the the the polar Vantage M3 I think this is kind of almost pushed Polar on a bit and I one thing I really Like about it is that unified platform That they've got now so the software is The same as the Vantage V3 and the g X2 Pro so and I it sounds like polar are Going to develop whatever new watches Come out on that platform and all the Features that are developed for those Watches will roll down across into the M3 so the one thing that you should be Getting with the M3 is almost like a Futureproof watch that's going to get Better over time as other new features
Arrive that's a big positive I I really Like some of the things that polar does That are different and unique from other People Hill split is one where you can See you know time and and your Performance on different sort of Descents and climbs are like fuel wise That helps you put together a fueling Strategy uh I really like the um the the Rest and uh work feature for strength Training that tells you based on heart Rate when it's good to go again and do The next set I think all those things Are quite unique and quite interesting From Polar I had good performance from The GPS the one area where I found a Little bit sort of not so good was in The heart rate again sort of struggled With some of the runs particularly Interval runs it was quite a way off for Me and that's a bit of a problem uh Battery life was not quite as good as You get from the corus or the CTO as Well it was a bit higher I think it was Between 4 to 6% for that kind of 1 hour Run In Max battery mode so or sorry Max Accuracy mode so yeah I think there's a Really there's a lot to like here I do Think that you the polar flow tool as Well I think is really really capable But I think it does feel intimidating to Some people they like Mike said I think There might be a way of making that feel
Like it's less for a coach and more for A user yeah I think po had definitely Some work to do on presentation and the Software and it's my fear is it's work That I think has been needed to be done For a couple of years and actually it Hasn't been done they're not really as Fast as rolling up updates I think Sometimes their software feels a little Bit behind and the user experience is Slightly negatively affected by that There little things that I do find quite Annoying about using a PO day today as Much as I like this watch I just find it Slightly more annoying than the others So I would probably put it behind them If I was ranking the four in this video But you know a lot of stuff is that is Obviously quite personal and most people Be using this watch in a vacuum they Won't be using it in comparison but I do Think it's slightly less well presented And you know a little bit um you know Not as fun and enjoyable to use as the Others but still a very good watch as Are all these watches in this video Hopefully there's a bit more clarity There or maybe how you go about picking Between them like you're not really Going to go too far wrong this is lots Of personal preference involved in this When we're talking about the ones that We like more or less and that's really The main watches in this area you could
Also quickly look at the Apple Watch Series 10 which is a smartwatch in the Mid-range area which obviously has a Really nice design a really nice Smartwatch design with Smartwatch Features that you don't get the level of On these watches but isn't quite as good A sports tracker without the extra Buttons and the Dual Band GPS you're Getting here and so yeah that's another One chucking at the end there but we're Not going to talk about that it's Already too long we got we've talked About the Apple watch 10 a lot in our Beginner's V video and I'm sure we'll Talk about it in our Smartwatch video as Well but I think we can wrap this one up There guys yeah um unless you've got Anything burning to say about these Mid-range watches we talked about the Meril mo flight Nick that's the only Thing I'm wondering yeah meril Mo flight Is actually cheaper than all of these Watches you could actually buy two or Three or four pairs of Mer morph light So maybe maybe maybe consider that Either way I think my favorite group of Watches at the moment these are the ones I'd probably be shopping in if I was Buying watch myself uh and they're Really good so cheers thanks bye see you Later see you perfect
