Best Triathlon Watches In 2022

Our number one choice for the best triathlon watch comes in the smart, sleek, and ever-so-efficient form of the Garmin Forerunner 935 Running GPS Unit, which we all know means something like an exercise tracking watch, but in a fancier way. This lightweight running watch is an ideal partner for athletes and is packed with useful features including cross-system compatibility and advanced dynamics, providing everything a budding triathlon trainer could ever need.

Unlike some watches, this Garmin watch can double perfectly as an everyday watch while still offering you the detail and performance you expect from a sports watch. The wrist-based heart monitor ensures accuracy, while the seemingly never-ending app possibilities will guarantee you always know where you’ve been and where you’re going. Also useful is the free Garmin Connect syncing function. This is the best place to store all your activity data and see how much you’ve improved since first strapping this baby to your wrist, making it an undisputed forerunner of a running unit, indeed.

If you’re interested in the premium, top of the range, gold medal triathlon watches, then feast your eyes at the top of the podium where the Garmin Fenix 5 Sapphire stands tall and proud. This watch goes a few steps further than the Forerunner and brings you all your key stats right to your fingertips. Included are the GPS and Elevate wrist-rate tracking, a compass, and multiple advanced performance metrics to keep you up to date on your triathlon preparation – or lack of it.

The multi-sport capabilities allow you to record information on running, cycling, swimming, along with a plethora of other activities so you’ll always be able to find a use for it, no matter how intense your workout. You can also download customizable watch faces and change the straps to suit you. Also available is the Performance or Cycling Bundle options, giving you the chance to make this watch does everything you’ll need it to, and a little more, as well. Be sure to also check out our list of the best golf GPS watches for more great items like this.

The Garmin Forerunner 735XT is a multi-sport watch that’s bound to offer you (almost) as much joy as the more expensive models, but not be as much of a burden on your bank account. Keeping with the classic and classy minimalist design, it’s an excellent everyday watch that doubles as a sports accessory like few others on the market. With it, you’ll get wrist heart rate technology, smart notifications, and automatic updates, and the chance to personalize it how you like it.

You’ll also be able to download a multitude of apps, giving you more control than you ever thought possible from a timepiece. Unlike other watches in this price range, it provides a wide variety of metrics to keep you informed about your performance and helps encourage you to smash your fitness targets. Both enthusiasts and casuals will find something to love in this watch, but if you don’t feel you need something with all the bells and whistles of its predecessors, then there aren’t many better watches for you than the 735XT.

Jumping straight back onto the Garmin Train, the vívoactive 3 GPS Smartwatch is an excellent value training watch that allows for contactless payment (for when you need to stock up on protein powder) and provides you with some useful built-in sports apps for some of the widest variety of capabilities we’ve identified. Immediately, you’ll be shocked at the ease of use, and the large watch face is simple to read without feeling overbearing on your wrist, which is something many watches – smart or not – suffer from.

While some smartwatches provide just one benefit while ignoring other needs, this is a watch that can do it all, and anyone training for a triathlon should think about this the next time they step out onto the track, start pedaling, or lace up their swimming trunks. There are also unlimited personalization options, so you can feel you’ve got a new watch as frequently as you want to. This may not sound too important, but it helps the vívoactive 3 graduates from a good to great triathlon option if you want to combine affordability with functionality. Make sure you also check our guide to the best Bulova watches for more great options.

The Garmin Approach S20 GPS Golf Watch isn’t strictly a triathlon watch, but it still offers enough features for it to double nicely as a great triathlon training companion for much cheaper than we’ve found already. The most important features are without a doubt the Bluetooth Smart and ANT+ connectivity options, which help record all kinds of data, and the large watch face is ideal for quick reading when you’re in the throes of your trial run.

On this watch face, you’ll also be able to check up on calories burned, the step counter, and your completed distance, giving you pretty much every metric you’ll need for sufficient training recording. The software will update automatically, meaning you’ll not need to upgrade products every year and, it comes with a fully hinged strap, which adds comfort no matter what you’re doing. As a golfing watch, you’ve also got everything you need for when you want to take some time off from triathlon training and blow off steam on your home course, which is what we all need sometimes. Love watches? Check out our review of the best tactical watches for our top picks.

Coming complete with a built-in heart rate monitor, the Suunto Ambit3 Peak is a more-than-formidable competitor to the Garmin Fenix. With smartphone connectivity, 100 meters of water resistance, and a reliable built-in compass, you’re provided a triathlon watch that will serve you well for many races to come. Our favorite feature is the ability to log multiple types of sports at once, making it an ideal triathlon accessory, and it also provides activity-based recovery times, so you’ll never over or under-do it once you’ve got your breath back.

Thanks to the Suunto apps, you can also increase these features which gives you excellent control over your activities you never thought possible. It is slightly larger than other options on the list watch-face-wise, but this doesn’t affect performance, and for many of you it might even be what you prefer. This doesn’t change that it is, by all accounts, a remarkable GPS watch, and what it may lack in grace it makes up for considerably in reliability. Find more great products like this by checking out our guide to the best solar powered watches.

If you’re still searching for cheap triathlon watches, the Timex T5E901 Ironman Classic 30 is the perfect choice for you. At less than $40, it’s an ideal running, swimming, and cycling partner that can be used straight away, with no learning curve or pouring over the instruction handbook. The 30 lap memory gives you ample data storage options, while the 100-meter water resistance is sufficient for your basic triathlon needs, and it may be more reliable than the more expensive options.

Sure, this Timex watch will not sync your apps, monitor heart rate, or upload track information, but for the price, you can’t expect it to. What you can expect, though, is a reliable entry-level watch that provides you with excellent basic requirements. You might need to put in a little extra work recording progress manually, but for cheap, easy-to-use functionality, there’s no watch better, especially for those just getting started.