For the first five years of running, I ran with Strava announcements in my headphones. “One mile, current pace…” the female voice would dictate every 8 or 9 minutes. This is the height of technology, I would think to myself. That is, until running with a friend, who casually glanced at his COROS Pace 2 every so often and would casually adjust pace ever so slightly against a preset workout – free of the Strava dictatorship. This was my introduction to a running watch as essential gear for any half or full marathon. Today, we were introduced to the newest version – the COROS Pace 3.
We were sent the COROS Pace 3 – but, if you look at any article we’ve published in the last year – and, as evidenced by the Marathon Foto at the end of my running the New York City Marathon with the COROS Pace 2, I have been a believer in this watch from its beginning.
Here’s a look at the COROS Pace 3 and what you can expect from this version.
The COROS Pace 3 Overview
Here’s some of the basics of the COROS Pace 3 for good housekeeping:
- Weight: 30 grams with the nylon band, 38 grams with the silicon band
- Watch Width: 13mm
- Strap: 22mm
- Display Dimension: 1.2 inches, touch screen, always on display, and night mode
- Casing: Nylon and fiberglass
- Battery: 38 hours of standard GPS
What’s New with the COROS Pace 3 vs. the COROS Pace 2
All in all, you can expect a lot of the same. The COROS Pace 3 is reliable, with a similar interface and customization options you could expect from the previous versions. But here are the few upgrades I got into that I think make this new version worth springing for:
- The Touch Screen – No longer restricted to the watch buttons, COROS Pace 3 has incorporated a touchscreen which, we feel, adds more versatility to the entire experience.
- Customization of Activities – I don’t know if you’ll see this much in the reviews, but switching between activities on the Pace 2 was kind of a pain if you went in the wrong direction. Get ready to scroll past “skateboarding” on your way from tracking your run to tracking your walk. During the onboarding, you’ll be asked to select the activities you’d like to select from most.
- A Seemingly Better GPS – The All Systems satellite chipset has higher GPS data accuracy. Historically, GPS watches are less accurate in cities and in deeply wooded areas as it inhibits the satellite signal. So far, I’m seeing less chaos and more accuracy in routes.
- Longer Battery Life – The watch boasts 38 hours of continuous GPS tracking or 24 days of continuous daily use. We’ve only had it for 24 hours so far. But, I suspect if you’re training for any multi-day 100 mile ultramarathons this year, this might be advantageous.
- Music & Headphone Connectivity – This is a feature I was not expecting. Pairing your wireless headphones is easy. You can now download music directly from your watch and listen on your runs without your phone nearby. Major upgrade especially if you find your phone loses battery mid-runs.
- Next-Gen Heart Rate Sensor – COROS just released their Heart Rate Monitor which, by all reviews, has pretty high accuracy. If their advancements there make it into the watch, I’d say we’re in for a treat.
- New Activities – Hiking, Trail Running, skiing, cross country skiing and snowboarding for you multi-faceted athletes.
COROS Pace 3 Photos
COROS Pace 3 Conclusion
We’ll be reporting more on the performance of the watch over more runs and comparing the accuracy of the GPS, heart rate, battery life, etc. but to start we’re excited for what the new watch has to offer.
