Best triathlon watch 2024: track your swims, cycles and runs more accurately

The best triathlon watches for the discerning athlete from Garmin, Polar, Suunto and more

Best triathlon watch 2024: Quick links

Polar launches Vantage V3 multisport watch and debuts new sensing platform called Elixir

(Image credit: Polar)

00. Top 3↴
01. Best overall: Garmin Forerunner 965
02. Best rugged: Garmin Fenix 7
03. Best budget: Polar Pacer Pro
04. Best for small wrists: Garmin Forerunner 255S
05. Best mid-range: Garmin Forerunner 745
06. Best lightweight: Coros Pace 2
07. Best die-hard: Wahoo Elemnt Rival
08. Best for recovery: Polar Vantage V2
09. Best premium: Suunto 9 Baro Titanium

Is the best triathlon watch a must-have? It isn't, but monitoring performance and recovery with a multisport watch can provide a competitive edge over your fellow triathletes. Track your swims, cycles and runs without excessive button pressing using one of the below performance wearables.

If you're new to the sport, a proper triathlon multisport watch can help you train more effectively than going on intuition alone. Triathlon watches differ from the best running watches as they can be used for multisport training, not just running. They also provide more accurate heart rate reading than even the best fitness trackers.

Need even better accuracy? Pair your triathlon watch with one of the best heart rate monitors. One of the most common triathlon mistakes is to get your pacing wrong by not knowing which heart rate zone you should train in. A dedicated tri watch can help get that right and provide data to train and race more efficiently in the water, on the bike or on your feet.

The Top 3

Best triathlon watches to buy right now

Why you can trust T3 Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Best overall

Garmin Forerunner 965 reviewT3 Awards 2023 Logo

(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Best triathlon watch overall

Specifications

Weight: 52 g
Battery life: See full review
Water rating: 5 ATM, Swim (Withstands pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 metres)

Reasons to buy

+
Amazing, bright AMOLED display
+
Long battery life
+
All the features and sensors that made the Forerunner 955 the top multisport watch are present
+
Lighter and thinner than its predecessor

Reasons to avoid

-
UI has garish colours

The Garmin Forerunner 965 is a mind-blowingly capable multisport wearable and our current favourite triathlon watch. It's everything we hoped the Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar would be – and then some.

Despite using the same sensors and features as its predecessor, the Forerunner 965 is lighter and thinner, which is not a bad thing for enthusiasts and pros alike, who often prefer lightweight gear to optimise performance.

The superb AMOLED display is easy to read and looks stunning. The UI colours are a bit garish for our taste – we prefer the saturated yet palatable interface of the Apple Watch Series 8 – but we appreciate the saturated colours are easier to read quickly, which, yet again, is a desirable feature for a performance wearable.

If you need an accurate multisport watch and have enough money to buy one, the Garmin Forerunner 965 is your best option. We loved it during testing, and you'll love it, too. 100 per cent.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 965 review.

Best rugged

Garmin Fenix 7XT3 Awards 2022 Winner's Badge

(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Best rugged triathlon watch

Specifications

Weight: 73 g with silicone band (case only: 50 g)
Battery life: See description below
Water rating: 10 ATM (splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling, high-speed water sports)

Reasons to buy

+
Real-time stamina meter is great for monitoring energy levels during triathlons
+
Power Glass extends battery life
+
Touch controls
+
Fast and reliable GPS

Reasons to avoid

-
Quite bulky and heavy

With the Fenix 7, Garmin improved the formula that made the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro such a well-received rugged wearable. 

Adding the Power Glass was a stroke of genius; it combines the solar harvesting feature with the durable Sapphire glass lens, which means the Fenix 7 is tougher and has a longer battery life than its predecessor, which was evident when we tested the watch both in and outside the water.

The new Stamina feature is a great addition and measures short and long-term stamina during running and cycling activities. (This feature is not on by default; you must turn it on in the settings.) Knowing how much juice you have left in the tank can come in handy and even encourage you to push harder at the end of a session. We found this especially useful during long tri races.

For this and other features (such as Body Battery) to work correctly, you'll need to wear the watch 24/7, and it might be a bit of a challenge for some as the Fenix 7 is bulky. Thankfully, the watch's waterproof, so you don't have to take it off ever, even when you're in the shower/pool.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 7X review. (The Garmin Fenix 7X won the Best Multisport Watch category at the T3 Awards 2022)

Best budget

Detail shot of the Polar Pacer Pro on a laptopT3 Approved badge

(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Best budget triathlon watch

Specifications

Weight: 41 grams
Battery life: Up to 7 days (Smartwatch mode), up to 30 hours (GPS mode)
Water rating: 5 ATM, Swim (Withstands pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 metres)

Reasons to buy

+
Display is visible in broad daylight
+
GPS picks up comparatively fast
+
All the tests from the Vantage V2 are present (minus the Orthostatic and Leg Recovery tests)

Reasons to avoid

-
Design and UI feel dated
-
Battery life is not mind-blowing
-
Not the coolest looking watch

The Polar Pacer Pro is one of the best Polar watches you can get right now, especially if you aren't super keen on touchscreen operation.

We like the new display of the Pacer Pro – it's bright and easy to read in broad daylight. It's much, much faster in terms of processing power than the Vantage M2, its closest predecessor, which is evident in screen transitions and load times.

The Polar Pacer Pro has most of the tests the flagship Polar does and can even measure running power on the wrist.

We found the new Walking Test is a bit so-so; it's interesting but gives you a random VO2 max estimation, which isn't all that helpful. Hopefully, further firmware updates will improve this in the future.

The Pacer Pro is the best value-for-money triathlon watch right now, so if that's what you're after, you might as well get one right now.

(You might wonder why the 4-star Pacer Pro is ranked higher than the 5-star Forerunner 255S on this list; that's because they have similar functionality, but the Polar is A) cheaper (if only slightly), and B) can measure running power on the wrist without external sensors.)

Read our full Polar Pacer Pro review.

Best for small wrists

Garmin Forerunner 255S review

(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)

4. Garmin Forerunner 255S

Best small triathlon watch

Specifications

Weight: 39 grams
Battery life: 14 days in smartwatch mode, up to 30 hours in GPS mode
Water rating: 5 ATM, Swim (Withstands pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 metres)

Reasons to buy

+
New heart rate sensor
+
New multi-band GNSS support
+
Tracks heart rate variability

Reasons to avoid

-
No solar charging
-
You need an external sensor to measure running power and advanced running metrics 

The Garmin Forerunner 255S is the smallest Forerunner to date, yet it offers more functionality than some larger triathlon watches. Primarily marketed as a running wearable, the mid-range Forerunner 255 and its smaller sibling, the Forerunner 255S, are indeed brilliant triathlon watches for people on a budget.

The standout new feature, compared to the capable Garmin Forerunner 245, is heart rate variability (HRV) tracking. HRV adds another layer to the extensive recovery and training features already included on the Forerunner 255S. You also get the Race Widget and the triathlon mode.

The best thing about the watch, though, is that it enables people with small wrists to have access to pro workout features without any compromises. You can train like a pro using a small watch and a heart rate monitor – and that's worth the hefty price tag.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 255S review.

Best mid-range

Garmin Forerunner 745 on white backgroundT3 Approved badge

(Image credit: Garmin)
Best mid-range triathlon watch

Specifications

Weight: 47 grams
Battery life: Up to a week (Smartwatch mode), up to 6 hours (GPS mode with music), up to 16 hours (GPS mode without music), up to 21 hours (UltraTrac mode)
Water rating: 5 ATM, Swim (Withstands pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 metres)

Reasons to buy

+
A triathlon-focused Forerunner!
+
Handsome display
+
Almost identical to Forerunner 945 but lighter and cheaper

Reasons to avoid

-
Comparatively short GPS battery life

The Garmin Forerunner 745 is a fantastic triathlon watch. In fact, it's Garmin's one and only dedicated multisport wearable, designed from the ground up to track triathlons.

It's somewhat cheaper than the Forerunner 945, trims some of its over-the-top features (e.g. archer widgets), and offers more precision and faster GPS connection than the cheaper Forerunner 245, especially if you are using your watch for triathlons, which we can safely assume you will.

We can go on forever dissecting the many features of the Forerunner 745, but there is no point. You have seen most of them in other Garmin watches already, and the main advantage of the Forerunner 745 is not that it brings a lot of innovation to the table but uses the right blend of previously tried-and-tested hardware and software.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 745 review.

Best lightweight

Coros Pace 3 reviewT3 Awards 2022 Winner's Badge

(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Best lightweight multisport watch

Specifications

Weight: 30g (without strap), 39g (with strap)
Battery life: Up to 24 days (smartwatch mode), 38 hours (GPS mode)
Water rating: 5 ATM (Suitable for surface water activities and not for diving)

Reasons to buy

+
Updated GPS and heart rate sensor
+
Longer battery life
+
Touchscreen display (might not be a positive in everyone's books)
+
New outdoor workout modes added

Reasons to avoid

-
Design and appearance feel dated
-
Touch interactions aren't as smooth as other smartwatches
-
Offline music only works if you have MP3s

The Coros Pace 3 is a terrific smartwatch for runners and triathletes that offers a host of upgraded sensors and features for not a lot of money. It's more than accurate enough for training at whichever level – we know sub-2:30 marathoners who use the watch for workouts – and easy enough to use.

It's not the sexiest of wearables, and the touchscreen operation isn't the smoothest. However, Coros' core audience won't care too much about it – they wouldn't buy the Pace 3 for its looks or smart features. If you're on a budget and need a reliable training partner to monitor progress and recovery, you can't go wrong with the Coros Pace 3.

Read our full Coros Pace 3 review.

Best die-hard

Wahoo Elemnt Rival on white backgroundT3 Approved badge

(Image credit: Wahoo)
Best triathlon watch for die-hard athletes

Specifications

Weight: 53 grams
Battery life: up to 14 days (Smartwatch Mode), up to 24 hours (GPS or HR Mode)
Water rating: 5 ATM (water resistant up to 50 meters)

Reasons to buy

+
Extremely easy to set up and use
+
Clear data screens
+
Touchless Transition tech

Reasons to avoid

-
Less features-packed than rivals
-
No navigation feature, for instance
-
Sensitive to colour specification

Although not as rugged as Garmin's Fenix range (or anything from the Suunto catalogue, for that matter), nor as good as a general fitness watch as, say, a Fitbit, the Wahoo Elemnt Rival majors on its swim/bike/run focus. Wahoo's smartwatch delivers a bucketload of data that requires minimal interaction with the tech, allowing you to focus on performance with only a cursory glance at the watch's face.

"The Touchless Transition is an incredible innovation and works very well", we said in our review, "At the same time, the fact data is seamlessly handed over to other Wahoo bike computers will please anyone who is already invested in the ecosystem." The software has been updated since the launch, so the Elemnt Rival can now analyse sleep and has STYRD integration, among others.

Read our full Wahoo Elemnt Rival review.

Best for recovery

Polar Vantage V2 on white backgroundT3 Approved badge

(Image credit: Polar)
Best triathlon watch for recovery

Specifications

Weight: 76 grams
Battery life: 7 days (Smartwatch mode), 25 hours (GPS mode, up to 170 hours with battery saver on)
Water rating: 10 ATM (splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling, high-speed water sports)

Reasons to buy

+
'Always on' screen
+
New tests are a great add-on
+
Better build quality than Vantage V
+
One of the best watches to monitor recovery and training

Reasons to avoid

-
Button+touch navigation is still a bit confusing
-
Battery life is far from amazing

The Polar Vantage V2 might lack some of the more casual features you'd expect to see in a top-notch triathlon-cum-fitness watch, such as on-board music storage and maybe even NFC, but truth to be told, the Vantage V2 is for the hardcore crowd. They might not care all that much about these filthy casual frivolities anyway.

The Polar Vantage V2 is a watch of many qualities. Its built quality is excellent and a step up from the original Polar Vantage V. It has loads of practical tests and data for serious runners and cyclists to better their form and prepare more efficiently for races. Better still, most of the tests and data provided by the Vantage V2 can't be found elsewhere (apart from the Pacer Pro; see higher up the list), making it all the more appealing for the information-thirsty triathletes.

It would have been great to see some improvements to the user interface, especially the navigation. Touch controls are still a bit laggy, although the screen feels slightly more responsive than the one on the Vantage V. We recommend the Polar Vantage V2 to anyone who would like to take their athletic performance to the next level: there aren't many wrist-wearables that provide as much data as this one.

Read our full Polar Vantage V2 review.

Best premium

Suunto 9 Baro Titanium on white backgroundT3 Approved badge

(Image credit: Suunto)
Best outdoorsy triathlon watch

Specifications

Weight: 76 grams
Battery life: 7 days (Smartwatch mode), 25 hours (GPS mode, up to 170 hours with battery saver on)
Water rating: 10 ATM (splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling, high-speed water sports)

Reasons to buy

+
Sleek premium design
+
Large screen with amazing resolution
+
Ultra long battery life
+
Premium feel

Reasons to avoid

-
You'll need Suunto Smart Heart Rate Belt and Suunto Smart Sensor to track heart rate under water
-
No NFC or music storage

If you need long battery life, you'll need the Suunto 9 Baro Titanium: it can last up to 170 hours in Tour mode, the most aggressive battery-saver option on the watch. Granted, you probably won't use this mode all that often, considering the watch does not do much else apart from tracking your position with an 'OK' precision, so no wrist heart rate, Bluetooth or vibration.

The Titanium version of this endurance athlete's favourite watch might not be cheap, but it features a titanium bezel and sapphire crystal glass for added ruggedness. The case is also water-rated to 100 ATM, so you can easily swim in it. That said, it can't read heart rate on the wrist underwater without external sensors, but it can track loads of other metrics such as swim pace and distance, stroke rate, count and type, and even SWOLF.

From a build quality point of view, the Suunto 9 Baro Titanium feels closer to an outdoor watch than a tri watch. It is more robust and certainly heavier than the Garmin Forerunner 945, and people with smaller wrists might not appreciate the watch's size.

Read our full Suunto 9 Baro Titanium review.

How we test the best traithlon watches

Triathlon watches are feature-rich wearables and require at least a couple of weeks of testing so we can determine the effectiveness of these features. We wear the watches for swimming, cycling and running to check how accurate heart rate and GPS performance are under specific training circumstances. For more information on how we test at T3, click on the link now.

How to choose the best triathlon watch for you?

A good tri-watch has many extra features on top of the ones a regular running smartwatch has. For one, it needs to be waterproof; otherwise, it would be quite hard to wear it all the way through a triathlon race. The main criteria are as follows.

Battery life

A triathlon race can last for anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days, but you are looking at 3-4 hours of race time on average. The good tri watch should be able to last at least 6-8 hours in GPS mode to make sure it won't die on your wrist just before the end of the race, losing all the data and your bragging rights for later, having no proof that you completed the race. The Coros Apex, for example, can last up to 100 hours in GPS mode, and the Suunto 9 Baro, up to 120 hours.

Water rating

As mentioned above, it would be rather difficult to track swimming with a watch that is not water-rated to at least 50 metres. The best triathlon watches are not only swim-proof; they can also measure heart rate on the wrist underwater and track advanced swimming metrics, too, like stroke count, pace and SWOLF.

Multisport mode

It is also important to be able to switch between sports modes without excessive button pressing. You will be quite preoccupied with taking your wetsuit off and putting your cycling gear on after getting out of the water, let alone trying to find the right menu setting for switching from tracking swimming to tracking cycling. Most of the best smartwatches offer one-button multisport transitions and even have a dedicated triathlon mode for added convenience.

Fit and comfort

Races last for a few hours, and you don't want to feel uncomfortable, adjusting the watch on your wrist every two minutes because it's giving you all the wrong HR readings. To achieve a comfortable fit, you would need a flexible silicone strap and a smooth case material. Watches like the Polar Vantage V and the Suunto 9 Baro have a curved design that makes fitting the watch snugly around your wrist easier.

Ruggedness

You don't want your new tri watch to break after accidentally falling off your wrist or get scratched after bumping it into your bike's handlebar, do you? Many top tri watches come with Gorilla Glass or Sapphire crystal lenses and sturdy casing. The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Titanium has a titanium housing, comes with a Sapphire crystal lens on the top and weighs 49 grams (case only).

FAQ

What triathlon watch do pros wear?

According to an article on slowtwitch.com, the top 15 pro men finishers at Kona 2019 mainly used Garmin and Polar watches. Apart from the winner, Jan Frodeno, who now works with Wahoo and uses a Wahoo Rival, according to a press release from Wahoo: "RIVAL is already being used by some of the world’s best triathletes, including Ironman World Champion Jan Frodeno, American Ironman World Record holder Heather Jackson, and two-time Olympians Alistair and Jonny Brownlee."

Although not famous for his triathlon feats, Eliud Kipchoge uses a Coros Pace 2, an excellent watch that can also be used for triathlons as well (not to mention, it's featured on this best tri-watch list).

Matt Kollat
Section Editor | Active

Matt Kollat is a journalist and content creator who works for T3.com and its magazine counterpart as an Active Editor. His areas of expertise include wearables, drones, fitness equipment, nutrition and outdoor gear. He joined T3 in 2019. His byline appears in several publications, including Techradar and Fit&Well, and more. Matt also collaborated with other content creators (e.g. Garage Gym Reviews) and judged many awards, such as the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance's ESSNawards. When he isn't working out, running or cycling, you'll find him roaming the countryside and trying out new podcasting and content creation equipment.