Coros Apex 2 GPS Outdoor Watch Review

An easy-to-use and reliable watch for almost any outdoor enthusiast

Apex  Shawnte Wearing Watch 4

September 24, 2024
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My earliest introduction to COROS came a few years back via a spate of Instagram posts by professional athletes, mostly runners, that I follow. One by one, they appeared on my feed enthusiastically touting the next-level biometrics shared by various COROS watches, an avalanche of stats that served as important data point in their training efforts.

As a decidedly non-professional athlete and someone still relatively new to the world of fitness watches, I dismissed COROS as a brand that catered to elites and not the everyday enthusiast. After almost nine months of testing their APEX 2 watch, however, I’ve changed my tune. 

What I discovered is that the COROS APEX 2 provides a wealth of data that helps me learn more about my body’s functionality, the importance of recovery, and my physical potential, especially as a runner. Add in some serious battery life, an excellent app, and an intuitive, highly customizable interface, and the APEX 2 has become my daily workhorse for tracking everything from Sierra hikes to sprint reps, strength sessions to sleep cycles.

The price is a bit steep, however, considering that the APEX 2 lacks dual frequency GPS capabilities (you’d have to bump up to the Pro model), the ability to stream music, and turn-by-turn navigation prompts. In addition, the watch’s battery can’t compete with my go-to choice for multi-day backpacking trips and thru-hikes, the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar. Still, the easy-to-use APEX 2 comes equipped with a better-than-most battery, the full ABC (altimeter, barometer, compass) suite, and a sturdy titanium and sapphire crystal build that make it a winner for most outdoor athletes.


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Our verdict

The COROS APEX 2 GPS watch is not just for elite athletes – anyone can benefit from the data and feedback, the excellent battery life and app, and the customizable interface. From backpacking trips to training runs to everyday walking, this watch has great features and ease-of-use that can serve about any need, as long as you’re willing to pay a bit more.

The APEX 2 does have some pitfalls, like limited wristband options, unrealistic default paces, and some issues with the charging cable. But most issues are small and may not bother or affect some folks. Ultimately, it’s an easy-to-use and reliable watch for almost any outdoor enthusiast.


Comparison table

HIKING WATCH MSRP DISPLAY DISPLAY TYPE DIMENSIONS WEIGHT WATER RESISTANCE WARRANTY
COROS Apex 2 $349 Sapphire Crystal Color LCD 43 x 42.8 x 12.8 mm 42-53 g 50 m 2 years
COROS Apex 2 Pro $449 Sapphire Crystal Color LCD 46.1 x 46.5 x 14 mm 53 - 66 g 50 m 2 years
Garmin Instinct 2 Solar $400+ Power Glass Monochrome 45 x 45 x 14.5 mm 53 g 100 m 1 year
Garmin fenix 8 Sapphire Solar $1,200 Sapphire Crystal Color transflective memory-in-pixel 51 x 51 x 15.4 mm 95 g 100 m 1 year
Garmin Enduro 3 $900 Power Sapphire Color transflective memory-in-pixel 51 x 51 x 15.7 mm 63 g 100 m 1 year
Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire $1,000+ Sapphire Crystal Color AMOLED 51 x 51 x 15 mm 88 g 100 m 1 year
Suunto Core $200+ Mineral Crystal Monochrome 49 x 49 x 14.5 mm 64 g 30 m 2 years
Casio Pro Trek PRW3500-1 $330 Mineral Glass Monochrome 57 x 53 x 14.5 mm 89 g 200 m 1 year
Garmin fenix 7X Sapphire Solar $900 Power Sapphire Color 51 x 51 x 14.9 mm 89 g 100 m 1 year
Coros Vertix 2 $700 Sapphire Crystal Color 50 x 50 x 15.7 mm 89 g 330 m 2 years
Garmin Forerunner 265 $450 Gorilla Glass 3 Color AMOLED 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm 47 g 50 m 1 year
Garmin Forerunner 55 $200 Chemically strengthened glass Color transflective memory-in-pixel 42 x 42 x 11.6 mm 37 g 50 m 1 year
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Specs

Coros Apex 2 GPS

Best for: Runners, but also hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts who value data, durability, and battery life
Battery life: Smartwatch mode: up to 13 days; GPS mode: up to 40 hours
GPS tracking: Yes
Smartwatch notifications: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
Fitness tracking: Yes
Waterproof: Water resistant to 50 meters
Altimeter: Yes
Maps: Must be downloaded


What we liked

Because the APEX 2 interface is so inviting, I find myself looking at the watch in the morning before starting workouts, runs, and hikes. A quick scroll of the dial allows me to access heart rate, elevation, recovery, sleep time, training load, and more – a quick data hit on my body’s recovery and readiness for more physical stress that gives me insight into what I might (or might not) do that day. But that’s not all I love about it:

  • Ease of setup: It was incredibly easy and quick to set up the APEX 2, connect it to WIFI and Bluetooth, and pair with the COROS app.

  • Intuitive use: The basic interface is quite simple: a touch-receptive face with three buttons on the right side. The top is a backlight, the middle is a combination dial / button (or “crown,” in watch-speak), and the bottom serves a “back” button. Learning to navigate through the watch menus was painless, although I sometimes forget where to find certain sub-menus because there are several levels to many of the menu items.

The COROS APEX 2 has an intuitive design and interface, which makes for happy hikers and runners.
  • Highly customizable: Whether using the app or working from the watch itself, it was easy to change up seemingly endless watch functions. I immediately changed the watch face, and have subsequently tweaked other items, including use of sensors, backlight activation, and more.

  • Battery life: COROS’ claims are fairly accurate to my experience. I can get nearly two weeks of what I consider “home” use (strength training at the gym, along with GPS-tracked runs and walks) or roughly two days of GPS tracking on backpacking trips before I need to charge. This isn’t quite as far as I can stretch my Garmin Instinct 2 Solar, simply because that watch gets juice whenever I’m in strong sun, but it’s leagues better than my Garmin Forerunner 55.

  • Companion app: The COROS app is sleek, informative, and easy to use and the user experience is a tier above the Garmin Connect app I use with my other watches. I especially appreciate the ability to not only download training plans and workouts from the COROS website, but also create your own highly detailed workouts through the app.

  • Fit: While I’m no fan of the aesthetics, the nylon wristband is comfortable, unobtrusive, and easy to adjust on the fly. Plus, it never gets sweaty like a silicone strap.


What could be better

  • The nylon watch band is hideous, with a hashtag printed in large lettering around its entirety. I prefer the feel to a silicone band, but wish they offered a version without the lettering.

  • While the watch and app setup were both quick and simple, I was asked to select my “gender assigned at birth,” no doubt in order to assist in gathering and assessing biometric data, race predictions, and the like. While this wasn’t an issue for me, this is a rather restrictive way of analyzing gender and physical capabilities, and this question could be upsetting for some. 

  • In addition, the watch didn’t come with an instruction booklet, just a quick setup guide; you have to go online to access a more robust manual. I had to search for the complete user guide before I could track a single activity so that I could learn how to use that (very important) aspect of the watch. While I understand that this is more common now with many electronics, I still find it cumbersome and limiting.

  • The APEX 2 charging cable connection is finicky; it frequently takes me a few tries, flipping the connector back and forth, before it clicks in and begins charging. This is a complaint echoed by other users online.

  • The default pace zones on the app are fairly ridiculous for the average runner, starting at 6’29” for the “anaerobic power” zone and going up to 9’56” for “recovery.” While you can obviously ignore those default zones, it still makes it feel as though this watch is meant for elite athletes, not everyday folks. 

  • Finally, the watch doesn’t do a great job tracking movements on strength building and weight lifting activities, despite offering a mode for such.


What’s new 

The second generation of APEX watches builds on the first with improvements to GPS functionality, battery life, and the heart rate sensor. In addition, they’ve beefed up the bezel materials to make the watch a bit more durable and scratch-resistant. And they’ve added a third button on top, which activates the backlight, helpful as the screen is naturally a bit dark and can be difficult to read.

The COROS APEX 2 was updated to improve GPS functionality, battery life, and the heart rate sensor. COROS also increased durability and added a backlight button.

The COROS APEX 2 was updated to improve GPS functionality, battery life, and the heart rate sensor. COROS also increased durability and added a backlight button.


Coros Apex 2 vs. Coros Apex 2 Pro

For an extra hundred dollars, the COROS APEX 2 Pro comes with standard dual frequency GPS for improved accuracy, along with an even more impressive battery life (up to 21 days of everyday use and 66 hours of GPS use). The screen on the Pro is 0.1” larger, the internal memory is 32GB (four times that of the standard model), and unlike the regular Apex, it comes pre-loaded with a global basemap. Finally, rockhounds will appreciate that the Pro is calibrated to track multi-pitch climbs.


Features and Functionality

For a mid-level watch —  i.e., a watch in the mid-price range with many but not all the functions of a high-end watch — the COROS APEX 2 is fairly loaded, minus a few key details. It comes with a touch screen, the ABC suite (altimeter, barometer, and compass), optical heart rate sensor and pulse rate oximeter, thermometer, gyroscope, a plethora of built-in activity profiles, and connects with a multitude of third-party apps as well as five different satellite systems (although only at a single frequency rather than dual). It doesn’t, however, allow for music streaming, dual frequency GPS, or turn-by-turn notifications while used as a navigational tool.

The COROS APEX 2 is a mid-price watch that has many, but not all, of the features of a high-end GPS watch.

The COROS APEX 2 is a mid-price watch that has many, but not all, of the features of a high-end GPS watch.

Materials and design

At first glance, I thought that the nylon and velcro wristband looked and felt a bit cheap and honestly, that opinion hasn’t changed (although I’ve come to appreciate the light weight, comfort, and ease of making micro-adjustments with the strap). 

We wish the COROS APEX 2 offered nylon wristband options that didn’t include the hashtag. COROS does, however, offer a silicone band option.

We wish the COROS APEX 2 offered nylon wristband options that didn’t include the hashtag. COROS does, however, offer a silicone band option.

I also deeply dislike that “#EXPLOREPERFECTION” is printed on the nylon band in large font; I can’t think of a single adult, myself included, who is terribly excited to wear a hashtag on their wrist. That said, they do offer a silicone band option. As someone who dislikes how sweaty my wrist can get in one of those, however, I wish that COROS offered plain, hashtag-free nylon bands.

On a more positive note, the main watch component feels premium, made with sapphire crystal (screen) and titanium (bezel). There is a weight discrepancy between the watch body and strap that took a while to normalize, and now I hardly notice it.

A closeup of the COROS APEX 2 nylon, velcro wristband.

A closeup of the COROS APEX 2 nylon, velcro wristband.

Durability

I wore the COROS APEX 2 on a 250-mile thru-hike this summer, after six full months of testing prior, and besides a little dirt on the wristband (that I could easily wash off with soap and water if I wasn’t a dirtbag), you’d hardly tell that it isn’t brand-new. I’ve dropped it more than once, brushed against countless downed trees and sharp bushes, and banged it against a truly absurd number of rocks and there’s not so much as a snag on the band or ding on the bezel thanks to the high-quality construction and materials, including titanium and sapphire crystal. Meanwhile, I looked wrong at my new iPhone one day and it scratched within the first week of ownership. Score one point for COROS.

While the watch is touted as being only water resistant, not waterproof, it’s survived just fine in the shower, during multiple monsoonal rainstorms, while being submerged in lakes and creeks, and even in some summer snow. It’s also held up in a variety of temperatures, including below-freezing, which corresponds with the stated functional range of -4F to 122F.

Fit and comfort 

Thanks to its use of a velcro-like closure, the lightweight nylon wristband is highly adjustable. Unlike my watches with silicone bands, my wrist never gets sweaty with the nylon band, including on triple-digit scorcher days. The APEX 2 with the nylon band also feels rather unobtrusive on my wrist; I’ve never felt discomfort, including during sleep—more than I can say for any other watch, smart or otherwise, that I’ve worn in my entire life.

We found the COROS APEX 2 watch to feel comfortable on the wrist, and the nylon band is breathable to prevent sweat build-up during activities.

We found the COROS APEX 2 watch to feel comfortable on the wrist, and the nylon band is breathable to prevent sweat build-up during activities.

Size

The nylon band ranges from 5.3” to roughly 8” around, with the silicone offering a slightly more extended sizing at 5.1” to 8.2”, which means that people with larger wrists would have to source a longer band in order for the watch to fit comfortably. 

The display is 1.2” and while I haven’t had an issue reading data displays, some other reviewers have mentioned that they wished for a larger screen for better readability and a more pleasant touch screen experience.

Weight

The APEX 2 weighs about 1.4 ounces with the nylon band and 1.8 ounces with the silicone one. The body is heavier than the strap by a mile, but the discrepancy isn’t noticeable once it’s on your wrist. Overall, it’s heavier than my Garmin Forerunner 55, but only by 0.1 ounce, so it didn’t take long for me to adjust to the weight as a daily wearer. It’s almost 0.4 ounces lighter than my Instinct 2 Solar and far less bulky, with a slimmer profile.

Display quality

The 1.2” display boasts a 64-color spectrum and is easy to read, although a touch dark indoors. I turned off the automatic backlight motion sensor to save battery life, but a quick tap of the upper right button illuminates the screen. Although it only works for certain elements (navigation and during activity tracking), the face is also a touch screen that you can set to be always on, use just for map and activity data, or use just for mapping. You can toggle the activity background to be black or white, depending on which you feel is easier to read.

The COROS APEX 2 is easy to use and you can choose your preferred watchface (such as a cat!).

The COROS APEX 2 is easy to use and you can choose your preferred watchface (such as a cat!).

Ease of use 

One of my favorite aspects of the APEX 2 is the ease of use. Setup took just a few minutes, during which I answered a few questions, enabled Bluetooth connectivity, connected the watch to my home WIFI, paired with the COROS app, and chose my preferred watch face (a sleeping cat). I did have to look up the full product manual online to understand how to begin recording activities, since the watch only comes with a very simple starter guide, but even so, I mastered the process fairly quickly.

The three-button layout, all on the right side, was a quick study: the center (crown) dial and button are the ones you use for menu navigation, the upper button activates the backlight, and the bottom button serves as a “back” button. You do have to press the crown for three seconds to open the watch functions, but I appreciate that this prevents me from accidentally triggering activity tracking or other functions, which happens often with my Forerunner 55.

The watch interface of the COROS APEX 2 is intuitive, even with all the functions and submenu options.

The watch interface of the COROS APEX 2 is intuitive, even with all the functions and submenu options.

The main menu, accessed via the crown, is fairly intuitive, although it takes a moment to really explore all of the submenu options—and there are a lot. The main menu offers a customizable listing of your most common activities, along with options to engage with system settings (WIFI connectivity, watch face, language, various sensors, backlight functionality, touchscreen function, and more), scroll through your activity history, take various fitness tests, and access workouts and training plans.

If you hold down the bottom button, you can access an additional widget-style menu, with options that include accessing the compass, oximeter, stopwatch, timer, metronome, camera controls, battery usage, WIFI, stored music, watch face settings, and more. One small complaint: I do wish that COROS had simply included a line item called “Widgets” or something similar as part of the main menu to take you to these items, since I always forget that this separate menu exists.

Battery life

It’s no solar watch with nearly infinite energy access, but one of the biggest selling points of the APEX 2 is its impressive battery life. COROS boasts the Apex 2 is capable of up to 13 days of “smartwatch” mode and up to 40 days of use with GPS enabled. My field testing was very similar in both cases; I can go just under two weeks if I am tracking gym sessions and short hikes and runs, and can typically get two average (up to 15-mile) days of GPS-enabled tracking while backpacking before I need to top off the battery. 

While the “daily” use compares with my Forerunner 55, the GPS-enabled mode offers approximately double the battery life. Battery life is significantly reduced if you switch to “all satellite” mode for increased GPS accuracy.

The COROS APEX 2 boasts up to 13 days of “smartwatch” mode and up to 40 days of use with GPS enabled.

The COROS APEX 2 boasts up to 13 days of “smartwatch” mode and up to 40 days of use with GPS enabled.

COROS brags that the APEX 2 charges in less than two hours and I found that to be entirely accurate via both wall outlets and external battery packs; generally, I was able to fully charge the watch within an hour. My only complaint is that the magnetic charging cord, which comes standard with the watch, is incredibly finicky to connect to the charging port on the back of the watch body. I almost always have to fiddle with it to secure the connection and begin the charge, a complaint shared by other users online. Conversely, I’ve never had an issue connecting my Garmin watches, which use a similar, though not compatible, cable.

GPS performance

Let me begin by stating that as someone who has tracked thousands of miles for trail-based books and articles, I’ve never met a fully accurate GPS device. But generally, I’ve found the APEX 2 GPS tracks to be fairly accurate to my actual route, especially if I set the watch to use “all systems” and take a few minutes to let the GPS “soak”—that is, collect satellite data—before starting my track. 

In once instance, while starting the JMT / Nüümü Poyo from Happy Isles and heading up into the canyon that leads to Vernal and Nevada Falls, my Garmin Instinct 2 Solar jumped all over the place, drastically altering my mileage, while the APEX 2 traced my route exactly; extra impressive considering Garmin products have a much better reputation for GPS accuracy. Still, some reviewers haven’t had the same luck that I have with the GPS tracking on the APEX 2, complaining that the tracks sometimes cut corners or float above the route on the map.

Image of the COROS APEX 2 GPS tracking

The COROS APEX 2 GPS tracking (left) was far more accurate than the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar GPS tracking (right) of the same trail.

Image of the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar GPS tracking

When it comes to connecting to GPS, I’ve never had it take more than 5-10 seconds max, even deep in the backcountry and under thick tree cover—likely because the COROS APEX 2 has the capability to connect with all five major satellite systems and because its antenna was upgraded from the original model.

I generally don’t use watches for navigation, preferring either map and compass or an app like Gaia, but the APEX 2 does come with an internal compass and the ability to download maps and set a route to follow. While people who enjoy navigating via watch will find the APEX 2’s functionality a bit lacking (the face is a bit small to work well as a touch screen for mapping and there are no turn-by-turn notifications, for instance), it did a good enough job helping me stay on course, displaying an alert when I veered off track.

Heart rate monitoring

Similar to my skepticism about GPS-enabled watches, I’m not convinced that watches offer the most reliable and accurate heart rate data. That doesn’t mean the APEX 2 doesn’t try, with an upgraded optical sensor featuring 5 LED lights and programming that helps eliminate interference with readings. It’s not dissimilar to my other watches, and I didn’t notice much of a difference between their output when comparing my heart rate readings during activities.

Instead of taking the watch’s heart rate data—which also includes heart rate variation, or the spacing between beats—as gospel, I use it to identify patterns. When I got COVID about six months after my initial infection (which led to abnormalities in my heart function), I used my watch to monitor for any irregularities while awake, during activity, and after sleeping and have used that data to inform my activities for the day to come. I’ve also seen a trend in my resting and active heart rate decreasing over time, due to my body’s healing and my increase in fitness over the last nine months.

The COROS APEX 2 supplies uses with heart rate data, including heart rate variation, which the author used to identify patterns an abnormalities in her heart rate.

The COROS APEX 2 supplies uses with heart rate data, including heart rate variation, which the author used to identify patterns an abnormalities in her heart rate.

Other sensors

In addition to an optical pulse oximeter, thermometer, gyroscope, and accelerometer (the latter two help measure things like distance traveled and steps taken), the APEX 2 features what many refer to as the “ABC” sensors: altimeter, barometer, and compass. This is the holy trinity of adventure watch features, especially for those who spend time in mountainous areas. The watch can send out storm alerts when barometric pressure indicates one is on the horizon, and it can alert you to possible overexertion at high altitudes, based on the elevation and your personal biometric data.

The screen of the APEX 2 is easy to read as it provides training data.

The screen of the APEX 2 is easy to read as it provides training data.

Activity tracking

Like any outdoor-oriented fitness watch, the APEX 2 can track a broad suite of activities, including running, cycling, swimming, weight training, bouldering, skiing, and more. The watch takes it a step further for many of these activities, offering modes calibrated for indoor or outdoor use, and even parses down to the “subgenre” of that activity. For instance, you can specify the APEX 2 to track skiing, cross-country skiing, or ski touring.

Tracking activities is fairly easy: using the crown to navigate through the main menu, you simply select your activity, hit start, and wait for the GPS and heart rate (if enabled) to lock. You can also tap “navigation” before you begin, which allows you to access and follow routes saved to the COROS app. 

Finally, you can set alerts for your particular activity—say, the distance you want to hit or cadence you want to maintain—before hitting “start.” I love that you can do all of this while in one section of the menu, instead of having to go back to access the main menu or system settings to make changes.

Perhaps my favorite feature, because I’ve spent the summer and early fall on a thru-hike and parade of shorter backpacking trips, is the ability to “resume later,” which means that I’m able to stop tracking overnight.

We appreciate the “resume later” function on the COROS APEX 2, so we could stop tracking overnight on backpacking trips.

We appreciate the “resume later” function on the COROS APEX 2, so we could stop tracking overnight on backpacking trips.

The COROS APEX 2 can track many activities, like running, cycling, swimming, weight training, bouldering, skiing, and more. It also offers modes calibrated for indoor or outdoor use, and can even parse down to the “subgenre” of that activity.

The COROS APEX 2 can track many activities, like running, cycling, swimming, weight training, bouldering, skiing, and more. It also offers modes calibrated for indoor or outdoor use, and can even parse down to the “subgenre” of that activity.

Advanced features

COROS watches are known for their ability to produce useful data, and the APEX 2 is no different. The watch uses a variety of data points to assess your training load—that is, a measure of how your physical activity is impacting your body. The more activities you track, and the more you wear the watch when not tracking (say, 24 hours), the more accurate the assessment. 

The app allows you to take a deeper look at this metric, offering suggestions on when you should dial it back or when your body is primed to go a little harder. I’ve found their suggestions to be pretty spot on for my own body and this has actually helped me feel a bit more intuitive about when I should take a “recovery” week and lighten my load, or perhaps bump my mileage or weights up a bit to challenge myself. 

Similarly, the APEX 2 and COROS app offer suggested recovery times—and these always feel a little too long for me. But perhaps that’s just because my body (and specifically, my heart) does require a bit more down time in between physical stress.

The APEX 2 also measures VO2 max (the theoretic amount of oxygen you can intake while undertaking intense physical activity) via the optical pulse oximeter. As with heart rate monitoring, I take this with a grain of salt, but it’s still interesting to watch this number improve when I’m more active and decrease if I’ve been more sedentary.

While the watch serves as a little computer, aggregating your biometric data from day to day, activity to activity, you can also ask it to update your stats by scrolling through the main menu and selecting a “Fitness Test” to undergo. Additional purchased accessories allow you to test for running form and cycling fitness, but you can take the APEX 2’s running fitness test straight off of the watch. It was fun to see my fitness level increase afterward (at least, according to my watch) and to see my race predictor times update to what felt like very realistic numbers for me.

Everyday use

Yes, COROS calls the APEX 2 a “smartwatch,” but don’t expect an Apple Watch twin. You can set it to receive notifications of things like incoming calls, but you can’t actually use the watch to answer a call or text. You can listen to music by uploading mp3s to the watch, but you can’t stream from, say, Apple Music or Spotify. You also can’t make contactless payments from your watch. 

You can, however, control a few external devices (GoPro and Insta 360 cameras) and use the watch to find your phone. Ultimately, this watch is more of a fitness watch than a smartwatch, but that shouldn’t matter much if you are just using it to track activities and biometric data. 

Coros App

I can’t imagine using the APEX 2 without pairing it to the COROS app, which provides a wealth of information and options in a streamlined, easy-to-use, and visually pleasing interface. I’ve never had a problem syncing my watch to the app as long as I have cell service; conversely, I have frequent issues with the Garmin Connect app refusing to sync. You can also connect to third-party apps including Strava, Apple Health, Nike Run Club, and adidas Running.

The main Progress screen displays basic data (steps, kcal burned, minutes spent working out), your training calendar (if you’ve programmed workouts or a training schedule), your weekly training load, your training status (an informational tool that shows if you’re overtraining, undertraining, or just right) and trend over time, your recovery level (which looks at your overall fitness, training load, and theoretic energy output), heart rate and potential stress level, sleep data, and more, depending on what activities you’ve engaged in.

Beyond this, the Activities screen displays your tracked activities and year-to-date stats; the Explore screen allows you to search for and create your own routes on a map; the Profile screen displays your watch information, training plan, workout library, and personal records.

The COROS website also has a suite of materials available under the Training tab, including training plans for such things as a 5k, half marathon, 50k, cycling base building, and cross-training, across skill levels. The Training Hub portion of this section of the site offers a snapshot of your watch data.

For people who enjoy training with a plan, one of the more exciting aspects of the COROS app is that you can customize your own plan, pulling from an impressive assortment of target areas and exercises, both in-app and via the website, to create your dream workout. My only beef with this is that the APEX 2 did a poor job tracking strength and weight training exercises; it never correctly logged the number of reps I did of any exercise, including things like bicep curls that would allow for distinct movement of the watch.

The COROS APEX 2 is aa great watch for runners or outdoor enthusiasts who want to track their activities with an easy-to-use, functional watch with good battery life.

The COROS APEX 2 is aa great watch for runners or outdoor enthusiasts who want to track their activities with an easy-to-use, functional watch with good battery life.


Should you buy the Coros Apex 2? 

Yes, if you’re a runner or other outdoor enthusiast looking for a simple, easy to use, but highly functional piece of equipment with good battery life that will not just track your activities, but also evaluate the data you receive from them.


How we tested

I tested this watch over the span of nine months while running, strength training, hiking, walking, and backpacking in Oregon, Wisconsin, and California, including a three-week, 250-mile stint along the John Muir Trail / Nüümuü Poyo. I often wore an additional watch—a Garmin Forerunner 55 or Garmin Instinct 2 Solar—on my opposite wrist to create an additional data set for comparison.

The author tested the COROS APEX 2 on runs, hikes, walks, backpacking trips, and during strength training over the span of 9 months.

The author tested the COROS APEX 2 on runs, hikes, walks, backpacking trips, and during strength training over the span of 9 months.


Other watches to consider

We have a complete comparative review of hiking and GPS watches here. Here are some similar watches to consider.

Garmin Forerunner 265

Garmin Forerunner 255

Battery life: up to 13 days (smartwatch mode); 20 hours (GPS-only mode)
GPS tracking: Yes
Smartwatch notifications: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
Fitness tracking: Yes
Waterproof: 5 ATM (water resistant up to 50 meters)
Altimeter: Yes, pressure-based

The Garmin Forerunner 265 is a similar—and slightly cheaper—option that includes a few more smartwatch functions, but a shorter battery life in GPS mode.

Garmin Forerunner 265


About the author / Why you should trust us

Shawnté Salabert is a California-based freelance writer interested in the connections between humans and the natural world. Her work has appeared in Adventure Journal, AFAR, Alpinist, Backpacker, The California Sunday Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Land+People, Outside, and SIERRA, among other outlets. She is an avid trail runner, hiker, backpacker, and outdoor educator, and has logged thousands of miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, Colorado Trail, John Muir Trail / Nüümü Poyo, and points beyond in the United States and overseas.

She is the author of Hiking The Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California (Amazon | Bookshop.org). For more information, visit shawntesalabert.com.

You can read all of Shawnté’s Treeline Review stories on her author page.