Choose your ideal trail watch: our recommendations to not make a mistake!

91% of trail-running practitioners own a cardio GPS watch. A figure from La Grande Enquête du Trail Running 2025 conducted by Campus. This enthusiasm is understandable.

Indeed, a watch offers many benefits within the context of outdoor running. Somewhere, it's good to know how to forget about it and to rely on your sensations and perceived effort. But on the other hand, a GPS watch is a valuable tool when venturing on new trails.

Certain functions are very useful in managing effort and analyzing the training. Not to mention the sharing aspect with the trail running community on social networks and other runner apps. Manufacturers have understood this well and offer a wide variety of models.

We will help you identify and make the right choice based on your profile and usage. 

PS : for the 9% who still prefer to go without this accessory, Campus offers an activity tracker in its mobile application. You can thus monitor your workouts in real time, such as your interval sessions and your runs. The icing on the cake? It's free!

All cardio-GPS watches on the market necessarily include the basic functions: duration, distance covered, pace/speed, and heart rate with wrist measurement. These indicators are sufficient for training on the road. In trail, other features and specificities will matter more or less depending on your usage.  

Of course, you haven't missed that climbs and descents are an integral part of trail-running. Distance alone is rarely representative of the duration and difficulty of the effort to be exerted. In this, displaying elevation gain and slope degree is useful as it helps you calibrate your effort. For this, nothing beats the precision of a barometric altimeter, which measures altitude changes based on atmospheric pressure variations. 

Interest in trail: ⭐⭐⭐

Another appeal of trail-running is to trek on all types of terrain in all weather. Your trail watch must be ready to face all weather conditions and withstand impacts in case of a fall. By the way, make sure it's waterproof!

Regarding the case, titanium has the advantage of being as resistant as steel while being lighter. For the crystal, sapphire represents the top of the top because it is scratch-resistant. Of course, these features come at a cost.  

Interest in trail: ⭐⭐⭐

Today, all watches on the market reach at least fifteen or twenty hours of battery life. It's enough for the vast majority of uses. However, if you want peace of mind and don't want to have to recharge your watch too often, you are free to choose longer battery life.

This criterion is especially crucial in the context of ultra-trail, for effort durations exceeding 20 hours. In this case, it's better to be proactive and opt for a model with long battery life.  

Interest: ⭐⭐ / ⭐⭐⭐ (in ultra)

We are not all lucky enough to have a compass in the brain and a good sense of direction. In any case, navigation is a very useful tool both for following a trail and avoiding getting lost.

The principle is simple. All you need to do is download your route onto your watch before a run or outing. You just need to follow the directions.

If possible, ensure that your trail watch is equipped with a dual-frequency multi GNSS chip. This is the most precise technology. 

Interest in trail: ⭐⭐⭐

The must to navigate well in all circumstances is to have a watch with integrated mapping. This feature has become mainstream in mid-range watches. The brand Garmin is at the forefront in this area, with the routable mapping function that is capable of recalculating a route on the go. But other brands keep making progress on this point.  

Interest in trail: ⭐⭐

The size and weight of watches vary greatly depending on the model. Some watches are particularly bulky and clearly have a less versatile design. These are factors to consider if you have a thin wrist or if you intend to wear your watch daily. You can also add the comfort of the strap. 

Interest: ⭐ / ⭐⭐⭐ (thin wrists)

The quality of screens has evolved significantly in recent years. Amoled and touch screens have become mainstream. They offer excellent readability in all conditions. The downside: they consume a bit more energy.

Nevertheless, there are Amoled screen watches suitable for ultra-trail with over 50 hours of battery life.   

Interest in trail: ⭐ 

Some trail watches are packed with technology. It would be far too long to discuss all the training assistance functions, designed to better manage your training, such as the recommended recovery time between each intensity workout.

Coros, Garmin, and Suunto watches all have the pace adjusted to slope function. Some models offer assistance with running strategies. There are also alert functions in case of weather deterioration. Useful when venturing into the mountains. 

What's the added bonus of these three brands? They are compatible with the Campus application! You can directly transfer your workouts to your watch. No more excuse to skip the next interval workout!

Interest: ⭐ (pleasure profile) / ⭐⭐ (performance profile)

You know the main functions and features of trail watches. Now, we will present you with a small selection of recommendable models, at different budgets. We have chosen the three brands compatible with the Campus, namely Coros, Garmin, and Suunto.

This allows you to easily transfer the workouts from your Campus training plan into your watch. Of course, there are other GPS watch brands such as Polar or Amazfit.  

The Coros Pace 3 is a model highly favored by road runners. It has an excellent quality-price ratio. It is perfect if you are a hybrid runner who alternates during the season between road races and trail.

What are its strengths? Its dual-frequency GNSS chip, its numerous sensors (barometer, compass, thermometer) very handy for trail use, its small size, and its great lightness (30 grams). The downsides? Its robustness and the absence of mapping.

If you have a little more budget to allocate to this purchase, the Coros Apex 2 Pro is an excellent choice. Apart from the lack of an Amoled screen, it has everything. And notably a comfortable battery life of 45 hours.

It is the watch worn by Vincent Bouillard, Ludovic Pommeret, and Thibaut Baronian during the UTMB 2024. What are its other strengths? Integrated mapping, its versatile format, and its very competitive price.  

At Garmin, the models Garmin Forerunner 255 and 265 (with Amoled screens) can be suitable for hybrid road-trail use. Both watches have a dual-frequency GNSS mode and a barometric altimeter. 

To access Garmin branded mapping on an outdoor watch, you need to upgrade to a higher tier. The Garmin Epix Pro 2 has an Amoled screen and offers a choice of several sizes (from 42 to 51 mm). Note that battery life greatly varies depending on the case size (between 28 hours and 82 hours).

The Fenix range presents a concentration of technology in ultra-solid cases. The price reflects this, exceeding 1,000 euros for the Garmin Fenix 8 released in 2024. 

Are you looking for a watch with mapping and Amoled screen without emptying your bank account? Then the Suunto Race S should meet your expectations. It is the cheapest watch on the market that has these two criteria.

Its quality-price ratio is unbeatable: 349 euros in steel version or 399 euros in titanium version. It is also suitable for thin wrists. A bit more expensive, the Suunto Race offers longer battery life (50 hours). Enough to tackle quite a few ultras. 

If you love long journeys and battery life is a major criterion for you, here is our selection of the most battery-efficient models on the market. Some watches have solar glasses and can be partially recharged to offer additional battery life. 

The Coros Vertix 2S is unbeatable in terms of battery life among the Chinese manufacturer. 43 hours in dual-frequency GNSS mode and 118 hours in GPS battery life. With it, you can enjoy the trails for nearly five non-stop days! 

The Fenix 8 Pro Solar offers impressive battery life with 95 hours (for the 51 mm version) and 51 additional hours thanks to solar charging. However, for 300 euros less, the Garmin Enduro 3 is a wise choice. It certainly has a few fewer functions than the Fenix 8 Pro and does not have an Amoled screen, but its battery life is gigantic: 120 hours and up to 200 hours with solar charging.  

With the Finnish manufacturer, the benchmark in terms of battery life is the Suunto Vertical Solar with its 60 hours in dual-frequency multi GNSS mode and up to 85 hours with solar charging. Its Ultra mode, the most energy-efficient, allows for up to 280 hours with solar charging.

Let's be honest. Buying a trail watch represents a certain investment and prices tend to skyrocket for high-end models.

That said, we see that the market leader, the American Garmin, is facing increasing competition. Suunto and Coros certainly offer better quality-price ratios in the 250 to 500 euros range. Chinese and Finnish manufacturers have also caught up with Garmin on another point, the quality of their applications, which are more intuitive and practical. This is an additional element to consider when making your choice.
In conclusion, finding the ideal trail watch among various sports watches hinges on key features tailored to your needs. While an AMOLED screen or AMOLED display offers superb readability, prioritize battery life, especially for long adventures. Look for watches that offer advanced band GPS capabilities for precise navigation and route tracking. Essential for performance, features like accurate heart rate monitoring and comprehensive tracking training metrics, including training load and recovery recommendations, will empower your progress. Ultimately, the best watch is one that balances these technological advancements with the durability and autonomy required to support your passion on the trails.