Coros Apex 2 Professional GPS Watch Overview

Backside Line

A well-designed watch rapidly turns into a vital piece of apparatus while you’re out within the backcountry. When navigation, accuracy, and excessive battery life are wanted, we attain for the Coros Apex 2 Professional. After intensive testing in Alaska’s backcountry, it rapidly grew to become one among our favourite GPS watches.

The Apex 2 Professional delivers glorious accuracy with dual-frequency GPS, even in dense forests or deep valleys. We by no means discovered that it skipped or jumped, it doesn’t matter what type of terrain we have been in. The battery life is outstanding, providing as much as 21 days of smartwatch utilization or 66 hours of GPS monitoring. This makes it one of the dependable choices for multi-day journeys. We used this look ahead to weeks at a time between expenses whereas utilizing it in each smartwatch and GPS mode.

The distinctive nylon band is comfy on the physique and permits for a cosy match for correct coronary heart charge measurement. Nonetheless, in contrast to an ordinary silicone or plastic band, it absorbs sweat, so we needed to wash it periodically. Whereas the Coros Apex 2 Professional lacks some options of a devoted smartwatch, like contactless fee, it’s best suited to backcountry use and lengthy adventures between expenses.

How We Examined

From path runs to backcountry skis to on a regular basis smartwatch use, we check each GPS watch in quite a lot of situations and settings to search out the place they carry out finest. Over two months, we’ve absolutely exhausted each watch’s battery a number of instances to guage battery life, used them in numerous terrains to check GPS accuracy, and worn them for quite a few hours to check consolation and ease of use. We personal and use every part we check each day to convey probably the most complete and considerate opinions attainable.

Accuracy

Due to its dual-frequency satellite tv for pc monitoring, the Coros Apex 2 Professional delivers distinctive GPS accuracy. This improve considerably reduces sign interference present in fashions with out this function. We by no means observed any jaggedness or skipping in our tracks, even whereas utilizing the GPS in decrease pattern interval modes.

A lot to our shock, utilizing the watch in extremely mode (which reduces the variety of GPS pings to the watch) didn’t considerably change recorded mileage or elevation acquire. We even used the Apex 2 Professional on an indoor observe and have been happy to have a comparatively constant observe, about the identical as others examined in the identical indoor state of affairs.

After utilizing the Apex 2 Professional indoors, in dense forests, and deep mountain valleys, we’re impressed with its skill to accumulate satellites rapidly and keep correct measurements.

Battery Life

With a claimed GPS battery lifetime of 66 hours, the Coros Apex 2 Professional has the most effective batteries of any watch we examined.

We used this look ahead to a number of weeks at a time in each smartwatch and GPS mode with no need to cost. It’s the most dependable watch of any we examined and our go-to for multi-day journeys. In our testing, we discovered that it misplaced about two to a few p.c of battery life per hour.

In extremely mode, its battery life is sort of doubled making it excellent for turning the watch on and leaving it operating for lengthy adventures.

Consolation & Wearability

With its included nylon band, the Apex 2 Professional is without doubt one of the extra comfy watches we’ve reviewed. The marginally stretch band is comfy on the arm, and the velcro closure is safe and permits for micro changes not discovered on a standard watch band.

There’s no getting round that the Apex 2 Professional is a hefty watch. With a thickness of 14mm (.55 inches) and a width of 46mm (1.8 inches), it’s a big look ahead to anybody with slender wrists. Nonetheless, we measured its weight at 52 grams, a lot decrease than the acknowledged 66 grams.

Nonetheless, for a big watch, it feels extra slender than different watches with an similar show dimension. Due to the rounded edges, it simply suits underneath gloves and jacket hems, and the nylon band retains it comfy and safe with out leaving imprints on the pores and skin even after carrying all of it day.

Options

The Coros Apex 2 Professional’s options make it the proper look ahead to backcountry adventures.

This contains backcountry-inclined options like offline topo maps, 3D compass, barometric altimeter, checkpoints, back-to-start, and route deviation alerts. Particularly, we liked the offline topo maps and used them continuously on backcountry skis and traverses. The map is touchscreen enabled and can be in a position to be zoomed out and in rapidly with the scroll wheel.

On a regular basis options embody Discover My Telephone and Discover My Watch, offline music, digital camera management, coronary heart charge variability, and third-party app integration. It does lack a number of the options present in devoted smartwatches like contactless pay, however it nonetheless supplies sufficient options for nearly each want within the backcountry or round city.

Ease of Use

We favored that the buttons on the Apex 2 Professional are massive sufficient for use whereas carrying gloves. Even higher, they’re glossy sufficient to not protrude out uncomfortably. The scroll wheel, particularly, is properly designed to be used with gloves. Nonetheless, we discovered that the auto lock is critical if utilizing the Apex 2 Professional with gloves. The cuff of the gloves continuously hits the scroll wheel, pausing the exercise. That is rapidly mounted by turning on auto-pause.

It takes a while to get used to utilizing the nylon wristband, because it doesn’t come utterly undone like a standard band. As a substitute, the band has a plastic stopper on the top, requiring you to let go of something that you just could be holding to take away the watch.

The consumer interface and accompanying companion app are a number of the finest available on the market, and Coros does a masterful job of balancing efficiency and ease of use.

Ought to You Purchase the Coros Apex 2 Professional GPS Watch?

The Coros Apex 2 Professional is a premium-quality GPS watch that comes at a premium value level. Whereas its excessive value level could not make this the very best look ahead to freshmen, these prepared to spend the additional greenback will discover it properly value the additional {dollars}.

Loaded with options like offline maps and routes, the Apex 2 Professional is ideal as a backcountry navigation help. Its nylon band is comfy and helps ship extremely correct coronary heart charge readings. With its spectacular battery life, you’ll be able to file actions in full GPS mode for over 2 days. Use the UltraMax mode to squeeze much more battery life out of this hefty watch.

The Coros Apex 2 Professional is one among our all-time favourite watches for its excessive accuracy and unimaginable battery life, and is able to accompany you in your subsequent multi-day journey.

What Different Watches Ought to You Contemplate?

Take a look at our full GPS watches gear information to see our favorites.

Coros Tempo 3 Overview: A barely smaller and paired-down mannequin, the Tempo 3 is nice for these on a finances or on the lookout for a smaller look ahead to on a regular basis runs and train.

Garmin Intuition 2 Photo voltaic Overview: Whereas it has a barely shorter battery life, the power to photo voltaic cost by the watch face is a standout function of the Intuition 2 Photo voltaic.

Amazfit T-Rex 3 Overview: When you favored the big show dimension of the Apex 2 Professional, the Amazfit T-Rex boasts a powerful 1.5-inch show for even larger visibility.