GPS Watches With The Longest Battery Life

Last updated on October 3rd, 2022 at 01:43 pm

We're an Affiliate! We hope you love the products we recommend. Just so you know, we may earn commission off the purchase of items we mention in this GPS Watches With The Longest Battery Life post. Thank you if you use our links!

One of the most valuable tools for tracking movement and progress is the GPS watch. As outdoor enthusiasts push the limits for how far they can travel, understanding how long a GPS watches’ battery will last becomes more important.

In this post, we compare the battery life of 19 GPS watches to try and pinpoint which of those GPS watches have the best battery life.

The GPS Watch With The Best Battery Life is...

After evaluating 19 GPS watches to determine which ones had the best battery life there was one clear winner, two runner-ups, and a few others worth mentioning (including a budget option):

Best GPS Battery Life: Suunto Ambit3 Peak (200 hours)

Second Longest Battery Life: Suunto 9 (140 hours)

Third Longest Battery Life: Garmin Fenix 6 Pro (72 to 336 hours*)

Honorable Mention: Suunto Spartan (120 hours)

Best Budget Option: Coros Pace 2 (60 Hours)

Note that battery life hours listed above are based on each watch’s longest possible battery life while using some form of GPS capabilities.

Some watches on our list have solar functionality, but we focus more on the actual battery power since solar capability doesn’t expand a battery’s true capacity.

Solar might “buy you a little time” but the true power of a GPS watches longevity is within its official battery life… And the fact that many ultrarunners and thru-hikers will be using their watches at night, or in dark scenery, make it even more important to understand the true power of a given battery.

Below we go into more detail on each of the GPS Watches with the longest battery lives, and we also provide a comparison table of all 19 watches we compared.

Specs for Our Winner: The Suunto Ambit3 Peak

The Suunto Ambit3 Peak has the strongest battery life of all the GPS watches we researched for this post. That said, the battery life does vary depending on which of the different GPS tracking modes you decide to use.

Below are examples of two main modes the watch can run in, and how those modes may affect battery life:

With a 5-second GPS accuracy, the battery life is around 30 hours;

with a 1-minute accuracy, the battery can last up to 200 hours.

It should be noted that while other watches have similar techniques to lengthen battery lives, almost none of those watches beat the Suunto Ambit3 Peaks battery life in the 1 minute GPS accuracy mode. In short, even when other watches are in similar battery conservation modes, this watch dominates.

Since this watch is the one of our winners we are allowed to say it one more time that this watch has the capability to reach 200 hours on its battery. That is an incredible feat for a GPS watch.

To put the 200-hour battery life into context, our third-ranked watch on battery life is a great watch, but it gets a full 60 hours LESS than the Suunto Ambit 3 Peak.

In addition to the great battery life, this watch comes with multisport functions for a wide range of athletic and adventure activities, which makes this watch a great option even if ridiculous battery life isn’t your number one priority.

Suunto claims that its GPS accuracy, along with its measure of barometric altitude, will precisely record your elevation. Add this to the list of pros for our winning watch.

If battery life is your main interest in a GPS watch, we highly recommend checking out more of the specs and pictures on Amazon: Suunto Ambit3 Peak.

Second Longest Battery Life: The Suunto 9

Suunto states that the Suunto 9 is the “best ultrarunning watch in the Suunto collection”.

The watch provides 3 different battery modes based on the type of activity being performed: Performance, Endurance, and Ultra (described in more detail below).

Performance mode, it can get up to 25 hours of battery life.
Endurance mode, can provide up to 50 hours.
Ultra mode, the watch can last up to a whopping 120 hours.

In addition to first-class battery life, the wide interface of The Suunto 9 makes for easy readability.

The Suunto 9 Provides Live Feedback as to How Long Your Battery Life Will be in its Current Mode

Whenever you start recording activities with the Suunto 9, the watch clearly provides an estimate of remaining battery life, which is extremely helpful when trying to determine the best mode to operate your watch in for long-form endurance sports or multi-day backpacking trips.

'Smart Suggestions' by the Suunto 9 When Battery is Low

An added benefit of the Suunto 9 watch is that it utilizes smart features that can provide suggestions based on your activity history to maximize battery life. Think of that for a minute…this watch has the ability to make suggestions on how to optimize its battery life specifically for your favorite activities. Now that is a true trail friend.

If during a run the battery is running low, the Suunto 9 will provide a reminder and suggest switching to a different battery mode in order to prolong its life. This feature makes this a smarter watch, and because of that, you are less likely to lose data from a run.

Who is the Suunto 9 for?

This watch is durable, accurate, and an all-around awesome tool for ultrarunners or long hikers. While the watch itself isn’t for budget seekers (can be a bit costly) there is no doubt the Suunto 9 has become a favorite for professional ultrarunners and multi-day adventure enthusiasts. If this describes you, check out more specifications, pictures, and current pricing on Amazon: Suunto 9.

Compared to the Ambit3 Peak, the Suunto 9 provides more hours of performance in its most energy-intensive modes but falls short in its longest-lasting mode. So, in a sense, the Suunto 9 is a battery life winner when you compare the more in-depth GPS settings.

Third Longest Battery Life: The Garmin fenix 6 Pro

The Garmin fenix 6 Pro is a continued improvement from previous fenix GPS models. With 72 hours of battery life in its a battery saving GPS mode and up to 28 days in Expedition GPS mode this watch deserved to be among our winners.

Like all high quality GPS watches, the fenix 6 Pro comes with the ability to shift between settings that impact battery power.

For the Garmin fenix 6 Pro there are 5 main battery modes that make the watch an amazing tool for ultrarunners, thru-hikers, or multi-day campers.

Below we break down its five battery life settings so you can get a true idea of its capabilities in various modes.

Garmin fenix 6 Pro Full Power GPS Mode

You can expect up to 36 hours of battery life in GPS Mode.

Since all GPS watch manufacturers have a different way of classifying their modes we could say that the Garmin GPS Mode is most similar to the Suunto 5-second GPS accuracy mode. With this in mind, the Garmin fenix 6 Pro actually beats out some of our other winners.

Max Battery GPS Mode for Garmin fenix 6 Pro

The Garmin fenix 6 Pro’s Max Battery GPS Mode provides up to 72 hours of life. This mode works to provide more battery life while still utilizing the most necessary technology for GPS accuracy.

While the Full GPS mode sends GPS data much more frequently, this mode can still be considered a highly functioning GPS setting, and 72 hours is actually on par with many other GPS watches in similar modes. Since 72 hours is much longer than most all ultramarathon events this mode is perfect for those types of activities.

Expedition GPS Activity Mode

Expedition GPS Mode can provide up to 28 days of power (336 hours). The widely spaced GPS tracking intervals for this mode is the only reason the Garmin fenix 6 Pro isn’t our top ranked when it comes to battery life.

In Expedition Mode users can set GPS intervals to ping somewhere between once every 15 minutes to once every 90 minutes. For example, the Suunto Ambit 3 Peak gets 200 hours of battery life when GPS tracking intervals are at just 1 minute.

The widely spaced intervals don’t make this mode the most accurate tracking method for fast paced activities, but it would be a perfect mode for those seeking to get GPS capabilities for the full duration of a thru-hiking expedition.

You can also press a button in this mode that will manually ping your location for GPS tracking. This allows you to supplement the widely spaced interval tracking in this mode. I found official information on the Garmin site difficult to locate for this mode, but this forum was very helpful: Forum on expedition mode.

Because this GPS Mode doesn’t ping all that often it wouldn’t be the ideal power mode for an ultramarathon.

Battery Saver Watch Mode (Non-GPS Mode)

The Battery Saver Watch Mode is just that… a mode for your GPS watch to work as a watch without drawing on its GPS capabilities. In this mode the Garmin fenix 6 Pro can last 48 days between charges.

Who is the Garmin fenix 6 Pro For?

This watch is truly a multi-sport watch. In fact, it is branded as a multi-sport watch, and comes with tons of functionality that applies to trail running, cycling, skiing, thru-hiking, golf, swimming and more.

With the above being said, its mass appeal is due to the mass number of features the watch comes with in addition to awesome battery life. We won’t cover them all here because this post is focused primarily on battery life, but the fenix 6 Pro is considered one of the best all around watches on the market…for any activity.

If you want a watch that can support nearly any activity you might do, can handle full water submersion, and multi-day treks, this watch is for you. You can check out more detailed specs, various pictures, and current pricing on Amazon here: Garmin fenix 6 Pro.

Specs For Honorable Mention: The Suunto Spartan Ultra

The Suunto Spartan Ultra was another excellent contender for the best battery life of the researched watches.

Touted for its durability, the watch can take on various challenges throughout your rigorous training regimen. Its durability makes the watch useful for ultra runners and cross-trainers alike.

The Spartan Ultra has over 80 pre-installed Sport Modes to cross-training activities that include running, swimming, hiking, biking, and more.

Battery life is strong in its 3 different GPS modes, at 18 hours, 35 hours, and 140 hours respectively.

Check out more specs, pictures, and the price on Amazon here: The Suunto Spartan Ultra

It can last 20 days in Time Mode only and can survive 10 days with 24/7 tracking and mobile notifications turned on. These additional battery life extenders make this watch nearly interchangeable with the two other Suunto brand watches that took the prize for having the top three battery lives for GPS watches.

19 GPS Watches Compared on Battery Life

We already highlighted our top three watches at the beginning of this post, but there are plenty of other watches we reviewed that might be more suited to your needs or budget

Below is a breakdown of all of the watches we evaluated. Key data points included in the chart are picture, brand name, model, battery life in various modes, and the Deeper Trails Score. Other product characteristics could have been included, but our main focus for the purpose of this post was on battery life.

Click on any of the pictures or watch names to view more specs, pictures, and pricing on Amazon:

Name / Link	Battery Life in Various Modes	Deeper Trails Rating
Suunto Ambit3 Peak	20 / 30 / 200 Hours	First Place
Suunto 9 Baro	25/ 50 / 200 Hours	Second Place
Garmin fenix 6 Pro	36 / 72 / 336* Hours	Third Place
Suunto Spartan Ultra HR	18 / 35 / 140 Hours	Honorable Mention
Coros Pace 2	30 / 60 Hours	Best Budget Option
Coros Pace	25 / 50 Hours	Second Best Budget
Coros Apex	35 / 100 Hours	Great
Garmin Forerunner 945	10 / 60 Hours	Great
Garmin Forerunner 935	24 / 60 Hours	Great
Suunto 3 Fitness	30 / 40 Hours	Good
Garmin Instinct	16 / 40 Hours	Good
Polar Vantage V	Up to 40 Hours	Good
Polar Vantage M	Up to 30 Hours	Okay
Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR	10 / 16 / 30 Hours	Okay
Suunto Spartan Trainer Wrist HR	10 / 16 / 30 Hours	Okay
Garmin fenix 5X Plus	4.5 / 11 / 25 Hours	Okay
Garmin Forerunner 735XT	14 / 14 Hours	Poor
Suunto 7 GPS Smart Watch	4 to 18 Hours	Poor
Garmin Forerunner 25	8 to 10 Hours	Poor

Best Budget GPS Watches with Good Battery

The watches we have discussed so far are some of the best available, but they aren’t necessarily cheap. If you are looking for a solid GPS watch on a budget that still has a good battery life, there are a few options out there worth considering. Here are three that we like:

The Best Budget GPS Watch with Great Battery: Coros Pace 2

As the second version in the Pace series, The Coros Pace 2, has made some battery life improvements worth mentioning.

With 30 to 60 hours of battery life while GPS functions are activated, enough battery will be provided for even the longest races.

Just like the other watches mentioned in this post, the Coros Pace 2 brings a ton of functionality in addition to its fantastic battery power.

With this watch, you can easily connect to Strava, ACCURATELY track your interval sessions, and wear the lightest GPS watch on the market (at time of its release).

If you are looking for a high functioning GPS watch, but aren’t looking to spend a fortune, this is likely the watch for you. You can read up on more detailed specs, view more pictures, and see current pricing on Amazon here: Coros Pace 2.

The Second Best Budget GPS Watch with Solid Battery: Coros Pace

The Coros Pace has earned a reputation for being a newly emerging favorite GPS watch for ultra runners looking to save a few dollars. Even though this model is a predecessor to the Coros Pace 2, it is still worth mentioning as it stands alone in its value.

With 25 to 50 hours of battery life while using GPS capabilities this watch doesn’t lose much function with the lower price point.

Like the other major brands, Coros has provided a watch that delivers on battery life, but also provides some other perks.

The Coros Pace has a built-in Barometric Altimeter for more accurate elevation readings, it can sync with your phone so you can receive notifications, and its data is compatible with the popular running app, STRAVA.

If you are looking for a better than average battery life, and high functionality for the price, the Coros Pace should definitely be your go-to watch.

This watch costs about half as much as some of the other GPS Watches we researched for this post. Check out more pictures, specs, and current pricing on Amazon Here: Coros Pace GPS Watch

Our Third Favorite Budget GPS Watch With Long Battery Life: Polar M430

There are other great options besides Suunto and Garmin, especially for budget watches. The Polar M430 is a unique alternative for those looking for something different.

The Polar M430 comes with heart monitoring, sport modes for various training workouts with “smart coaching” features, and accurate GPS tracking.

The GPS tracking comes with multiple modes for up to 30 hours of training time. In other words, this watch is no slouch. Check out this link to view more specs and pictures on Amazon: Polar M430

GPS Watch with Poor Battery Life but Lowest Price: Garmin Forerunner 25

This watch is simple, reliable, and provides the basic features that most GPS watches provide like distance, pace, heart rate, and calories burned.

Above all else though, the Garmin Forerunner 25 is just really inexpensive…Like, under $100 inexpensive.

With GPS tracking on, the battery can last up to 8 hours for the small version and up to 10 hours for the large version.

While top watch options can run $400-$600 easily, the Forerunner 25 can be found for much less. While its battery life isn’t great, this watch is perfect for anyone wanting a highly rated GPS watch for shorter runs. Check out more pictures, specs, and current pricing on Amazon here: Forerunner 25.

Best GPS Watch Brand for Battery Life

There are a number of solid GPS watchmakers out there. Two of the companies that have risen to the top are Suunto (obviously a major reason they are prominently featured in this post), and Garmin.

Many top athletes would make legitimate arguments for either brand. Garmin’s Stance on Battery PowerGarmin gained its prominence through industry-leading GPS technology development. As the company has refined this technology, it has expanded from applications within cars to other markets including watches.

Suunto’s Stance on Battery Power

Suunto is a Finnish company known for developing sport and outdoor products that lead the way in terms of overall quality, longevity, and sport-specific practical applications.

In recent years the company’s watch products have gained popularity among trail runners and ultra runners alike. While you can’t really go wrong with either brand, Suunto has the edge in terms of battery technology. The longevity of their batteries has put them at the top of our list.

Why Suunto Watches Have Longest GPS Battery Life

Suunto watches have “intelligent” battery power management modes that maximize battery efficiency depending on your activity. Three built-in modes include Performance, Endurance, and Ultra. Below we delve into each to provide context.

Performance Mode

This is the default mode. This mode has the best GPS accuracy, normal brightness and vibration features, and operates in a Low Color setting. Wrist heart rate monitoring and Bluetooth is on. This mode should be used for normal activities that don’t take too long.

Endurance Mode

Endurance mode has good GPS accuracy, 20% brightness, normal vibrations, and low color display. Wrist heart rate monitoring and Bluetooth is on. This mode is good for longer activities that are somewhat intensive.

Ultra Mode

Ultra mode is the most efficient mode for the longest use. GPS accuracy is ok, the display is at low color and times out after 10 seconds, brightness is at 10%, and vibration is off. Wrist heart rate monitoring and Bluetooth is off. Ultra mode is for intense applications such as an ultramarathon race or a multi-day fastpacking journey.

Why Longer GPS Battery Life Matters

As the marketplace for GPS watches is evermore diluted with varying quality, features, and price points, it can be hard to benchmark what is most important in a GPS watch.

For athletes taking on longer and more difficult routes, especially for serious workouts and competitions, one thing is universally agreed upon: battery life is crucial.

What if the battery quits during a 75 to 100-mile race? What if issues with your watch prevent you from performing your best during the Western States 100, a historic run that has been testing endurance runners longer than any other 100-miler?

Serious runners and hikers know a failing tool should not be the difference between under-performing and succeeding. Furthermore, having a reliable battery life for a GPS watch is just as important (or more important) during training than on race day.

Getting accurate results on extra long workouts is vital to the training process. For all of these reasons, it is extremely important to have a watch with a battery life that matches your battery needs.

What Drains GPS Watch Battery, Anyway?

There are varying degrees of intensity by which GPS watches are used, and in simple terms, these varying degrees of intensity are what ultimately drain battery power.

Most watches are packed with incredible features intended to aid your workout or race in order to improve overall performance.

More advanced athletes tend to monitor and manage more details about their athletic performance, so more sophisticated tools in the watch may be used. This draws battery power. More intensive use of features, requires more energy use, thus draining battery life more quickly.

Below we will look at some of the key factors that may be influencing GPS watch battery life.

GPS Recording Intervals

GPS recording intervals, also known as GPS tracking intervals, are quite simply the number of times the watch turns on to record its longitude and latitude via GPS. Most watches provide multiple frequencies at which the GPS recording takes place, such as 1-second, 5-second, and 60-second intervals.

The shorter the time between GPS recording intervals, the shorter the battery life. The longer the time between recording intervals, the longer the battery life. Watchmakers have given the option to users as to how accurate they want their continuous location recording to be with these various modes. Understanding the tradeoff of battery life, the “best” GPS mode will have the shortest time between recording intervals.

GPS conditions

In some locations, it may not be very easy for your watch to utilize GPS infrastructure. If there is a low number of GPS satellites or natural obstructions like mountains or trees, your watch is going to work harder and drain more battery in order to record your GPS location.

Backlight and Brightness Settings

If you can adjust the backlight in any way, such as its brightness or its on/off option, you can affect the overall battery life of the watch.

Try to use as little backlight as possible when on the move so that battery life can be used for more critical functions. Typically, turning the watch’s backlight to off or putting it in its default setting will improve battery efficiency.

Viewing Data During a Run or Hike

Toggling between data screens often during a run can drain battery life quicker than you’d like.

Each time you look at data or switch screens to see different information, the watch is performing different functions that take energy to execute with the backlight turned on. Try to find an efficient rhythm of checking your data in order to minimize battery drain.

Navigation mode

In many watches, such as the Suunto line, switching the watch into its Navigation display will actually change the GPS setting of the watch to be the most accurate, causing more frequent GPS recording intervals that use more battery.

Once the navigation display is left, the watch will automatically go back to the default battery/GPS recording setting. Making sure that the watch isn’t left in the navigation display will help to save battery life in the GPS recording mode of your choice.

Wrist Heart Rate Monitor

Many watches have built-in heart rate monitors that take measurements from your wrist.

Having the wrist heart rate monitor set to “On” can have a moderate impact on the overall battery life. Utilizing a chest heart rate monitor will take the pressure off the watch battery a bit.

Making GPS Watch Selection Based on Battery Life

Battery life is just one element of a great GPS running watch. There are a number of other factors that need to be evaluated in order to determine what is right for you. This includes how it feels on your wrist, interface preferences, training features, and more.

We will go into other features of good GPS watches in other posts, but if battery life is at the top of your list for must-have’s in a running watch, we think the options described above are a great place to start.

RELATED POSTS:

Image Credit: GrejGuide.dk |(source) | Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) — Reduced file size and cropped