COROS VERTIX 2S Smartwatch Review

I’ve been a GPS sports watch enthusiast for a few years now, having adopted the tech before a series of unconventional, navigation-heavy thru-hikes last year. They are a fantastic bit of kit if you can hack the price tags.

The VERTIX 2S is my first foray into the COROS ecosystem. As their flagship, endurance-focused model, I had high expectations. Does the COROS VERTIX 2S stack up to the competition?

COROS VERTIX 2S At-A-Glance

MSRP: $700

Weight: 

• Device only: 2.2 oz
• With included hook-and-loop wrist strap: 2.5 oz
• With included silicone wrist strap: 3.1 oz
• Included charging cable: 0.5 oz

Materials:

• Display Glass: Sapphire Glass
• Display Type: MIPS
• Bezel: Titanium
• Case: Polymer (high-strength plastic)

Dimensions:

• Case Size (space between the wrist strap bars): 2” (50mm)
• Thickness: 0.6” (16mm) without HR sensor / 0.7” with HR sensor
• Screen Size: 1.4” diameter
• Screen resolution: 280px x 280px (200 px/inch)

Advertised Battery life:

• GPS-only activity tracking: 118 hours
• multi-GNSS system activity tracking: 73 hours
• Dual frequency, multi-GNSS system activity tracking: 43 hours
• Smartwatch mode: 36 days

Intended Use

The VERTIX 2S is optimized for endurance athletes, whether they’re tackling ultramarathons or thru-hikes. It pairs an extremely long battery life with high-end tech features to make a premium model for outdoor enthusiasts. It also boasts the typical smartwatch and health-monitoring features you would expect in a top-of-the-line model.

Circumstances of Review

I got this watch two months before a planned attempt of the Super Sierra High Route (SuperSHR). It was a faithful companion for both gym- and outdoor-based training across the Rockies and the Colorado Plateau. 

COROS VERTIX 2S Features

Latest Gen Heart Rate Sensor

The major update from the last generation VERTIX 2 is the updated heart rate monitor. The wrist-based optical sensor is more accurate than previous generations, narrowing the performance gap with more specialized arm and chest strap-based monitors. I found it to be reasonably accurate, although it is still a bit behind on accurately tracking interval training (like most optical sensors).

Large MIP Digital Display

Packing 280 x 280 pixel resolution into 1.4” of screen size, the VERTIX 2S is certainly a large device. It features a MIP (memory in pixel) display. Functionally, this means the VERTIX has somewhat lower screen resolution compared to the AMOLED displays boasted by some smartwatches; on the other hand, the MIP display shows up better in sunlight and consumes less power.

The bigger-than-normal display and sunshine-friendly MIP (memory in pixel) display help with readability on the go. The resolution itself is very readable, although the pixel density lags behind that of AMOLED screen types.

Multiple Device and Wrist Strap Options

While this watch only comes in one size (to preserve internal space for the battery), it does come in three different colors. Each option has an included matching silicone and nylon band, with more color options available on their site. I went for the dark grey ‘space’ option personally and prefer the ‘velcro’ like nylon for the finer adjustability of tightness.

Wheel + Three-Button Navigation

COROS is famous for using a scroll wheel on its devices for navigation. In the case of the VERTIX, all the physical controls are on one side, with an extra-large wheel and button directly in the center.

The buttons are intended to be on the hand side of the device (if you wear the watch on your right wrist, there is a setting to turn the display upside down so the buttons are still facing in). I found this layout easy to operate, although the prominence of the wheel caused problems during activities with high wrist flexion, such as pushups and floor-core.

The preference between the wheel and buttons is personal. I found the wheel convenient for some things, while I missed the five-button layout of Garmin for others.

COROS VERTIX 2S Pros

Long Lasting Battery

The biggest distinguishing feature of the VERTIX 2S is its battery life. With up to 118 hours of activity tracking, it beats all of COROS’s other options by a fair margin and competes neck-in-neck with the Garmin Enduro 3 and the Suunto Vertical. For a thru-hiker, I think battery life is the number one most important feature, and the VERTIX 2S delivers as advertised.

During my testing period, I found the advertised battery life to be accurate. However, when the battery reaches 2%, it enters a “limp” mode, where it can only be turned on to indicate that it needs to be charged.

For a thru-hiker, the 73 hours of standard mode (single frequency, multi-GNSS) activity tracking will give 5 to 8 days of usable battery life. That should typically be long enough to make it between towns.

If you have a long resupply or long days and need to recharge in the field, it’s no problem. The watch has a relatively tiny 2.5Wh (680mAh) battery, meaning it can be charged about 11 times off a standard 10,000mAh battery bank.

Alerts and Alarms

During my testing period, I made frequent use of the automatic alerts and alarms during activities. 

The off-route alert is loud, has a strong vibration, and repeats until you return to course. From my testing the threshold for activation was about 200ft, far enough that it never errantly went off by GNSS inaccuracy but close enough I never wasted much time taking a wrong fork.

I also leave the auto-lap alert on and set to one-mile increments to help gauge pace and effort.

Lastly, and a new one for me, were nutrition alerts. This category of alerts lets you set a timer as a reminder to eat. Ever get really cranky in the afternoon and can’t figure out why? Being poked to eat every hour has significantly reduced hunger-induced grouchiness for me.

Sapphire Glass Protection

Protecting the large digital display is a manufactured sapphire lens. Sapphire is considered a premium glass type for watches. It is highly impact- and scratch-resistant compared to mineral glass or plastic options.

Overall, I found the watch to be very durable and stable. I never managed to scratch the glass, even when wearing it climbing. I also never experienced any major bugs or instabilities, which I will credit in part to their locked-down software environment (more on this below).

Flexible Data Screens During Activities

During activity recording, a series of data screens is available. On the COROS ecosystem, you can choose what and how many data screens are available per screen. I like to configure my device to show a variety of useful stats: heart rate, distance, elevation, elevation gain/loss, time, activity duration, current speed, average speed, sunset time, and battery life. I also leave a map page available, even when I don’t have a “course” loaded to follow, as seeing forks in the trail is helpful.

COROS has fewer available data fields than some of the competition, but I don’t really miss anything. Everything I want as a thru-hiker is available, except perhaps a compass gauge. The device’s ABC page is still available on the widget menu during activities, making this only slightly less convenient to access.

COROS VERTIX 2S Cons

Calorie Obsessive

One of the first things that rubbed me the wrong way on the VERTIX 2S was the unrelenting, unchangeable focus on calories. During setup you have to choose a calorie “goal” for the day. There is no way to not set a goal, and if you achieve that goal, it will always notify you. (The workaround here is to set a nearly impossible goal, but the upper input range is 8,000 kcal).

Calories are also baked into the majority of COROS’s provided watch faces (see below) and are always in the post-activity summary screen.

Are there uses for calorie tracking? Sure, for some people in their day-to-day lives, in conjunction with medical advice. But when 9% of Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime, I don’t think this holdover of diet culture should be a forced one, but rather an “opt-in” setting like notifications.

Locked Down Software Environment

COROS’s software can do a lot of things and is pretty darn good at most of them. Unlike your phone or computer, though, there is no opportunity to add in programs or functions beyond what they give you. There is no app store to download programs developed by enthusiasts or third-party companies. If the ecosystem is missing any critical features, all you can do is beg COROS to work on it.

I found this most inconvenient in the watch face environment. I like a data-heavy but minimally decorated face with the stats hikers care about, like miles, vert, and sunset time. I instead found most of the watch face’s data focused on calories (see above), steps, and/or heart rate. The inability to truly customize the data shown on the default screen was always a bit of a bummer.

Phone App Is Limited Offline

For a device that boasts itself as a “GPS adventure watch,” the whole mapping ecosystem is pretty dependent on cell service. The official COROS app cannot download maps for offline use, calculate elevation profiles, or auto-route without the internet. While the device itself can have maps downloaded ahead of time, it cannot recalculate the elevation profiles of routes pulled in from the smartphone.

I found this to be a significant bummer during unplanned alternates on trail. During a last-minute reroute, I would typically draw a new centerline in a more developed mapping platform like Caltopo, push it to the COROS app, then sync to the watch. Not getting an elevation profile on board means I can’t actively monitor my progress on climbs or count down the vert to camp.

One potential way to circumvent this is to pre-load a lot of profiles onto your device while it still has access to the internet. This option is hampered by the arbitrary 30-route cap, however. This is another silly limitation for a device with 32 gigabytes of internal storage.

Map Graphics

A major disappointment for me using this watch on backpacking trips is the limited display functions of the onboard map. While it can display contours and very basic landscape features (major roads, bodies of water, some vegetation/alpine zones), it lacks quick wayfinding items like slope angle shading, line styles that differentiate roads from trails, or item labeling.

The most reliable way to use the map to navigate is to load in a high-quality route and use contours as your major context clues.

Music Misery

I don’t listen to music or podcasts on any but the longest of hikes. If that’s your jam, though, you’ll find some odd limitations reminiscent of the early 2000s on the VERTIX 2s. To load music, you have to physically connect the device to a computer and copy MP3s; no streaming allowed. In the days of shuffling algorithmic playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, this feels like regressive technology.

Short of buying and ripping physical CDs, there are few venues to get MP3s of modern music. I would recommend just downloading podcasts, many of which still provide free MP3s on their sites or podcast platforms. Getting new episodes or playlists mid-hike will be problematic, however, given the lack of wifi or bluetooth syncing.

Value

The VERTIX 2S is good at its core function: activity tracking, especially for endurance activities like thru-hiking and ultra-running. It’s the finer points and flexibility of the competition that leave me looking back at the other options.

If you have already gained confidence in the COROS ecosystem with another device, the VERTIX 2S will be a natural upgrade due to its better battery life and a handful of other exclusive features.

Shop the Coros Vertix 2S

Comparable Watches

Garmin Enduro 3

MSRP: $900
Weight: 63g

Suunto Vertical Titanium Solar

MSRP: $700
Weight: 74g

COROS NOMAD

MSRP: $350
Weight: 49 – 61g

The COROS VERTIX 2S was donated for the purpose of review