Making the Switch to Coros – One Year Later

Switching to COROS

I made the switch to a COROS APEX 2 Pro after 20+ years of using Suunto. The decision was tough because I knew the system and had all my data on their platform. I scoured blogs, Reddit, and social media trying to find other people’s stories about switching. Surprisingly, I didn’t find much. I found the feature benefits and some discussions, but not much from personal experiences.

Now, after one year of using COROS, am I glad I made the switch?

Here we go:

I started considering a move away from Suunto because the product’s innovation seemed to be at a stand still. They were focused on the cycling market while neglecting their core users — runners, hikers, climbers. Combine that with my Suunto 9 Pro repeatedly failing to connect to their own heart rate strap, and when it did connect gave heart rate numbers all over the place, and I was done.

Meanwhile, I kept hearing good things from COROS users. The time to pull the trigger had arrived. I ordered a watch.

Learning the COROS system was straightforward. Setting up and managing the watch in the app were both seamless. The watch’s control dial took a bit of time to get used to, but the menus and settings have a well thought out structure. I also got a COROS armband and the connection has never been an issue, my heart rate numbers are consistent, and having a rechargeable battery is a huge upgrade.

After a few weeks of use, I had more to learn with my first COROS system update in January 2024. This update tidied the watch interface and added an all new stress analysis including a Wellness Check to monitor recovery and how I was dealing with acclimatization—something I was thrilled about. The updates further sold me on the system, and now, a year later, the quarterly updates keep coming, offering new features and improvements. It can be like getting a new watch every few months.

I don’t know if any or all of my favorite features are available from the other watch brands, but here’s my list of the features where I feel COROS shines—and there are so many more.

Best COROS Features

Wellness Check

In the Wellness Check feature, touching your finger to the dial provides a quick summary of your heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), stress level, breaths per minute, and oxygen saturation. I use this extensively in the Himalaya while monitoring my acclimatization and health, and have found the oxygen reading to be consistent with finger oximeters. At home, it provides an indication of recovery and readiness to train.

Solid Connectivity

Before switching to COROS, part of my get-out-the-door routine was to get my Suunto and HRM strap to connect. They hated each other, refusing to speak, and often walking away from communication right in the middle of a conversation. You know what I mean. My COROS APEX 2 Pro and armband HRM are the best of friends, always excited to jump right into a good conversation.

Wriststrap

Seems like a small thing to get amorous about, but I love the velcro strap that came with the APEX 2 Pro. It’s light, soft and comfy, doesn’t grab the skin or clothes, dries quickly, and is easily adjustable to any size. Plus it doesn’t open up every time I pull a shirt sleeve over it.

Customization

If there is something I don’t especially like, there’s often a customization to change it. I kept accidentally pausing workouts by bending my wrist back because my watch was set to long hold the dial to unlock. No one wants to lose kilometers to that. A little digging into the menu options revealed that the dial can be changed from hold to unlock to scroll to unlock, et voilà, no more accidentally unlocking.

Structuring a Training Plan

This has been a game changer for my training. Anyone that’s worked with a coach has seen their weekly or monthly training program pop into their training calendar through apps like Training Peaks. With COROS, your coach can have access to your Training Hub where they will add your weekly workout schedule. You can also create your own in the COROS App or via the Training Hub in a desktop browser. Using the Training Hub, you drag workout tiles onto each day of the week depending on how you want to structure your training. These tiles are saved workouts in a list that you’ve created or acquired from COROS. As you arrange the tiles, COROS instantly calculates your Intensity Trend and how each activity will impact your Base Fitness. 

In the screenshot from my Training Hub, you can see a sample week I created for myself using workout tiles from my list of saved workouts to the right. 

If I complete each workout within the parameters I’ve set, my fitness should improve from 136 to 139. I’m in a slow build phase right now, and this satisfies where I want to be within my program. I won’t go into the details of training, just that COROS provides all the tools to build and monitor your progress.  

I’ve also found their Training Load to be the most reliable metric out there. Since coming to understand my Training Load numbers, I use Training Load combined with my own experience to determine where I am with my training, fatigue, and recovery.

No Need for 3rd Party Apps

COROS is providing all the data I need for visualizing my training program. I no longer have a need for 3rd party software like Training Peaks or Strava. Recent updates even added the ability to track mileage on shoes and bikes. 

GPS Tracking in Vertical Terrain

COROS keeps a connection even when on a big, vertical wall, or deep in a canyon with limited sky above. Climbers have the ability to track themselves on routes, even with the option of logging pitches with times and grades.

Battery Life

What COROS is really famous for is battery life. It’s so good that you forget all about charging the watch until it reminds you. And, charging is fast—about 45 minutes from below 10%.

How could COROS improve?

Offline Navigation in App

The COROS app includes good Outdoor and Satellite Maps (Explore Tab). There, you can easily create routes that instantly sync with your watch or save for future use. But, the map cannot be downloaded for offline use on the phone’s app, forcing me to still use another mapping app. I’d like to only use the COROS app while in the mountains, but am often out of service.

Maps can be downloaded for offline use in the watch, but I’d like to also have the app’s map available for offline use with the realtime location tracking, or just as reference and general mapping needs.  

With offline maps in the COROS App, their platform would have the potential to replace 3rd party training and mapping tools, keeping things nice and tidy with one service.

Overall

I could not be happier with COROS. It genuinely feels like a product made by mountain athletes for mountain athletes. COROS gets it.

By Dan Patitucci

Use code ALPSINSIGHT to get a free gift (watchband, bottle, accessory) when you buy a COROS watch or DURA bike computer.

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