PERFORMANCE

Whether you are training for a triathlon or like to switch up your workouts on the regular, the Coros Pace 2 Premium can help shape you into an overall better athlete.

This design has a fine-tuned heart-rate monitor that is incredibly accurate, and it also tracks things like steps, calories burned, and all of your workouts. Whether you are running, swimming, weight training, or engaging in cross-fit, this watch will track every move you make.

The large LCD screen is super easy to read at a glance, and even boasts a night mode that leaves the watch face on at a lower brightness to check in on your progress at a glance.

While this GPS watch has a fairly large watch face that is super easy to read even in the middle of a high-intensity set, it is also incredibly lightweight. The nylon band used in this updated design is 50 percent lighter than previous models, which feel like you aren’t wearing anything at all!

When you want to shave a few seconds off of your PR, the last thing you need is heavy and bulky gear holding you back.

Overall, I would recommend this watch to runners, hikers, swimmers, weight trainers, or anyone that wants to keep a keen eye on their overall health right from their wrist.

ADVANCED FEATURES

Most smartwatches out there on the market offer some degree of fitness training and features, but the Coros Pace 2 Premium is a little different.

The very first thing that I noticed about this watch is that it has something called Muscle Heatmap. When you are finished with your workout, this feature displays the muscle groups that were worked, how many sets were completed with each muscle group, and even displays the muscle groups that weren’t hit so that you can ensure that no muscle group was left behind.

To me, I felt that this feature was a little too good to be true, so I wanted to find out exactly how it worked. I did a little digging and discovered that this feature only works when you activate certain workouts. By selecting certain workouts, the app counts the reps for each muscle group as you progress through your workout.

If you cheated yourself out of a few reps, your watch will know! At the end of your workout, you can see just how many reps you racked up for each muscle group, and places where you need to improve.

This Muscle Heatmap isn’t just for strength training. Whether you're running, swimming, or simply walking, the activated muscle groups will glow red the harder you work out. This advanced feature is a great way to track where you shine, and places that you need to improve.

BATTERY LIFE

One of the very best features of this smartwatch is its impressive battery life. When compared to other smartwatches out there on the market, few can hold a candle to the Coros Pace 2 Premium. I found that many of the smartwatches that I have used in the past require charging each and every night.

For someone that barely manages to remember to charge my phone at the end of the day, nightly charging is a bit of a problem.

What I love most about this smartwatch is that the impressive battery life holds a charge for up to 20 days! When in GPS mode, the battery life is shortened to about only 30 hours, which is still pretty impressive.

WORKOUTS

If you are more than just a runner, this watch is a great choice. It has up to 200 unique workouts built right into the interface.

To use, simply select your desired workout from the menu on the screen. It includes basic workouts such as hiking, running, cycling, or swimming.

What I love about this watch is that it also includes strength-training workouts as well. These pre-programmed workouts provide users with a warm-up and indicate when you need to switch over to a different muscle group.

While working out, this watch tracks your steps, calories burned, heart rate, and muscle groups activated. It even has a built-in cooldown mode to ensure that you don’t forget to cool those muscles down at the end of your set.

It stores this information right on your watch, and also sends it to your smartphone to track all of your progress as you get stronger and faster.

SLEEP TRACKING

Overall all good health doesn’t just stop at the end of your workout. To ensure that you are performing at your very best, you need to get a good night's rest. I love that this watch boasts a killer sleep tracker that is incredibly accurate, and won’t drain the life out of your battery.

While many fitness trackers or smartwatches offer a sleep tracker, the battery life requires that you charge it at night, which leaves the sleep tracker rather obsolete. With a battery life that lasts up to 20 days, you can track your sleep without being left with a dead battery the following day.

This sleep tracker works by logging in any movement during the night. To activate your sleep tracker, simply log in at the time that you usually go to bed. If you go to bed at 10 PM, the sleep timer will start to track your movements. After you are awake, it compiles your sleep info in a bar graph.

Light blue indicates light sleep, and deeper shades of blue indicate deep and restful sleep. If your bar graph is only light blue, it means that you tossed and turned all night long.

Once you realize how little restful sleep you get every night, you can make adjustments to your sleeping arrangements to ensure that your batteries are fully recharged to take on the day!

PRICE

The price tag of the Coros Pace 2 Premium is far more affordable than other activity-tracking watches out there on the market.

Overall, the Coros Pace 2 Premium doesn’t have all of the advanced features found in other brands such as Garmin. While it’s built with a GPS feature, it doesn’t support navigational services or sharing features.

It also doesn’t actively play well with your smartphone. You are unable to adjust your music playlist or receive text notifications on this watch.

However, it still boasts all of the advanced activity-tracking features as some of the big brands, as well as a few features not found with brands such as Garmin.

For users that want a killer activity-tracker at an affordable price point, this watch is worth checking out!

What I love about Coros is that they are always working to make big improvements to their devices. The changes made to the Coros Pace 2 Premium are just as easy to use as previous versions, and they don’t bog down the user interface with extra features that make the watch more complicated.

Instead, they invest in features that extend the life of the battery, improve the accuracy of the HRM and fitness tracking, and the overall performance of the watch.

One of the biggest changes made to this watch is the overall weight. This design is listed to be 50 percent lighter than previous versions thanks to an update to the watch band. The updated version uses a nylon band, which makes this one of the lightest smartwatches to currently hit the market.

This updated model also boasts a faster processor, extended battery life, 4 times more onboard storage, and overall higher accuracy when compared to older models.

Some brands upgrade their devices with more features. Coros, on the other hand, strives to make each updated model more powerful than the last.

Make sure you also check out our review of the Coros Vertex 2 before making your decision.

For runners or athletes that want a killer fitness tracker, the Coros Pace 2 Premium is certainly worth checking out. It may not have the smartphone integration found on more high-end models from brands such as Garmin, but the lack of smartphone connectivity helps to drive down that overall price point.

This fitness tracker is insanely accurate and versatile and comes equipped with unique features such as a Muscle Heatmap. The strong battery lasts up to 20 days before it needs to be charged, and the powerful processor allows you to load up pre-programmed workouts in the blink of an eye.

When you are finished with your workout, this watch sends all of your workout data straight to your smartphone where you can easily keep tabs on your progress.

It may not be the smartest of all of the smartwatches, but it is certainly the most powerful and affordable option out there on the market!