Coros Pace 2 Review: Best All-Around Value
By Senior Contributor Nathan Brown
COROS has a wide continuum of watch selection that will suit athletes who are looking for their first ever GPS watch, a multi-sport watch, and premium adventure and ultra-distances watches. We've looked at the Apex and the Apex Pro so far as a team, and today we are looking at the COROS PACE 2, the more beginner friendly option of the bunch. Don't worry, it still has that battery life we've all come to love from COROS.
Specifications for the COROS PACE 2
Price: $199.95 at Running Warehouse
Display Size: 1.2 in. 240 x 240 (64 colors)Display Type: Always-on Memory LCDScreen Material: Corning GlassBezel Material: Fiber Reinforced PolymerStrap Material: Silicon/NylonPhysical Size: 42 x 42m x 11.7 mmWeight with Silicone Band: 35g
Weight with Nylon Band: 29gWaterproof up to 50m
Function SpecificationsBattery: 20 days regular use, 30 hours GPS, 60 hours UltraMaxWorking Temperatures: -4 deg F - 140 deg FSensors: Optical HR, Barometric Altimeter, Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope, Thermometer
Classification: Entry Level Multi-Sport Watch
The COROS PACE 2 is an accessible, lightweight, and versatile watch. It provides everything you need (and more) if you're looking to more closely track a bit more of your activities as you train. It specializes mostly in running with some great running features, but also has indoor/outdoor bike and indoor/outdoor swim. Therefore it provides everything you need as a Triathlete and has "Triathlon" mode. In addition to those base activities, it'll go into other activities like rowing, strength training, and other cardio workouts. It also connects to your phone to provide notifications, but does not have music capabilities. For Garmin users, the most direct comparison is the Forerunner 245, and we will draw some comparisons throughout the review.
FIT
The COROS PACE 2 is a smaller, very lightweight watch that comes with two band options. The first is a traditional silicon band and the second is a nylon band with velcro to secure it. Both watches provide variable notches/positioning to fit many sized wrists, but I found the Nylon band to be a more comfortable option. It is lighter, the velcro is effective and non-invasive and does not poke or scratch, and it has never loosened for me during a run (or during daily use). The silicon band works well and has a high number of slats to vary the fit depending on your preferences. The one drawback of the nylon band is that it does retain moisture for a bit after swimming, showering, or sweating hard...but thankfully with that water retention has not come any averse smells. In the end, you get a remarkably lightweight watch that disappears on your wrist due to how secure it is.
ON THE GO PERFORMANCE
The COROS PACE 2 comes in at $250, which brings it in at $50 cheaper than its most direct competitor, the Garmin Forerunner 245. At that price you get the same GPS functionality with more battery life, open water (and therefore triathlon) capabilities, and a lighter package. I have used the Garmin 245 exclusively for the last 3ish years, so I have a good idea of how the watches function in comparison to one another. As I just mentioned, there are a lot of little things that make the PACE 2 superior to the 245. However, one major consideration for some may be that the 245 can come with music capabilities (it just brings the price up to $350). The other major difference is the interface on your phone and if you utilize the Garmin Connect community at all. If you're like me and don't connect with people on the Garmin app, then that won't be an issue.
The screen during an activity is very customizable to get as much or as little data as you want on the screen, and you can customize the number of scrolling screens that you have and what each contains. You are able to upload workouts directly to the watch that you create within the COROS app. These workouts automatically roll during your training. Within this vein, here is another advantage that goes to Garmin. Garmin has more connection with various third party apps, which allows these apps to directly upload workouts to your Forerunner that you coach creates for you. I personally utilize VDOT with my run coach, and these workouts and the calendar sync directly to my Forerunner. Unfortunately the same isn't true for COROS. I have to manually "re-create" all my workouts from the VDOT app and put them into my watch. Not sure if COROS is going to build on their third party integration or not -- I reached out to their team and I was asked to fill out a feedback form. COROS has also started their own training app called COROS HUB, and I wonder if they are working to keep all workouts and coaching in house instead of partnering with more third party apps. Time will tell.
One adjustment you may need to get used to (as I spoke about with the APEX PRO) is that COROS utilizes a bezel to unlock and scroll through screens during a run. In comparison to the APEX PRO, this bezel is tuned really well, and I didn't have any issues unlocking or scrolling. I do appreciate that the screen locks during a workout so that an accidental bump doesn't alter the workout in any way. I have found the GPS to be extremely similar between the PACE 2 and Forerunner 245 without any notable difference. However, as was the case with the APEX PRO, the HR monitor system in the PACE 2 is more accurate compared to a HR strap and there is sometimes a 10-15 bpm difference between the PACE 2 and Forerunner 245 (with the Garmin being higher).
Additional features that I appreciate are the track feature and the function of the treadmill workout selection. The track feature syncs your watch to track use and increases accuracy of the distance/pacing while doing track workouts. The treadmill workout allows you to either sync to a bluetooth ready treadmill or allows you to enter the pace that you will be running, which leaves no space for wiggle room in terms of distance. However, I do with that selection of pace was down to the 0.1mph instead of every 0.5...but beggars can't be choosers.
In the end, the PACE 2 delivers a versatile number of workout options, is probably the best value you can find for a triathlon watch, and has wonderful battery and accuracy for all your running training. If you're a mountaineer or adventurer, you might not get everything you want, but for most this gives everything you need and more.
USER INTERFACE
The PACE 2 utilizes the COROS app, which I've found to be user friendly and easy to navigate. It is easy to customize your watch, select notification settings, add workouts/a training calendar, and look at your history of exercise. The post-activity metrics are easy to read, and COROS gives info regarding each metric to help athletes understand what they are seeing. However, as I went into more detail in during my APEX PRO review, all these metrics on "fatigue", "recovery", and "training status" should be taken with an extreme grain of salt. A watch cannot factor in our stress levels, pain, strength, etc. and therefore cannot give comprehensive training advice. Please proceed with caution when using a watch's recommendations.
WHO THIS WATCH IS FOR
The COROS PACE 2 is a lightweight, versatile GPS watch that can function for newer runners/athletes as well as having enough features to serve veteran athletes as well. The COROS PACE 2 delivers a long battery life, easy functionality, and a secure fit. The PACE 2 comes in at a lower price point than its direct competitors and delivers even more than they have to offer. This probably holds the highest value of any watch from COROS.
GRADING
Fit: A (Having selection between two bands is great, and I had not bounce on the run, and it is very light)
Performance: A- (No issues or glitching on the run, track and treadmill features add some bonus accuracy, could be nice to have a music option here)
User Interface: A- (Easy to use, clean interface, useful data, but oversells it's data usability for training)
Personal: A- (The baby bear watch for me, gives me some versatility to be able to swim and do triathlons, but really specializes in running, doesn't connect to my coaching app -- which does require a lot more manual time on my end)
Overall: A- (Very high value and a secure and comfortable fit. So light that it disappears)
SHOP | SUPPORT DOR
Find the COROS Pace 2 at Running Warehouse here. Using the links to purchase the COROS helps support Doctors of Running. Thanks so much!
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Editor's Note: As always, the views presented on this website belong to myself or the selected few who contribute to these posts. This website should not and does not serve as a replacement for seeking medical care. If you are currently injured or concerned about an injury, please see your local running physical therapist. If you are in the Los Angeles area, I am currently taking clients for running evaluations.
***Disclaimer: This watch was provided for review by COROS. This in no way affected the honesty of this review. We systematically put each type of shoe through certain runs prior to review. For trainers and performance trainers, we take them on daily runs, workouts, recovery runs and a long run prior to review (often accumulating anywhere from 20-50 miles in the process). For racing flats we ensure that we have completed intervals, a tempo or steady state run run as well as a warm up and cool down in each pair prior to review. For this watch there is approximately 3 months worth of running (70miles/week). This systematic process is to ensure that we have experience with each shoe in a large variety of conditions to provide expansive and thorough reviews for the public and for companies. Our views are based on our extensive history in the footwear industry and years testing and developing footwear. If you are a footwear rep looking for footwear reviews or consultations on development, we are currently looking to partner with companies to assist, discuss and promote footwear models. Partnership will not affect the honesty of our reviews.
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