Best Fitness Watch For Men 2023

Stay motivated and track your progress like never before!

The best fitness watch for men all depends on what you're looking for. After all, the best options for iPhone users are going to differ from the best for a specific kind of activity, like swimming. While a lot of these watches can absolutely do pretty much everything, if you want to know you're getting the best watch for your needs, sometimes it's good to dig a little deeper.

We've gone out into the world, physical and digital, to find the best smartwatches and fitness trackers for men, no matter what you're looking for. Each of these watches offers a staggering number of features, tracks stats that'll probably have you worrying about some aspect of your physical being, and they look pretty good too. Sure, a fitness watch doesn't have to be about the aesthetic, but if you're training to look good anyway, you may as well be a little stylish.

We've also taken into account each watch's ability to track day-to-day health metrics. Take the Apple Watch Series 8, for example, which can track calories, sleep, and stress, and even check your blood oxygen levels and take an ECG reading at any time with the accompanying app. It's these kinds of features and more that make these devices, in our opinion, the best fitness watches for men. Let's get into our list...

Best fitness watch for men on iPhone

It comes as no surprise that Apple excels in crafting exceptional fitness watches, given its track record of creating impressive smartwatches with numerous fitness capabilities. So, it's only natural that our top pick for the best fitness watches for men goes to none other than the Apple Watch Series 8. This remarkable timepiece is a true testament to what a fitness watch can achieve.

Firstly, it looks amazing, which is always a good thing, but it's also water-resistant, making it useful for most workouts as sweat can build up naturally and quickly depending on the intensity. It also means you can wear it swimming, up to a depth of 50m mind you.

Read More: Best watches under 1500

It can also track your overall fitness in a lot of ways. For instance, it checks your blood oxygen and can take an ECG reading at any time with the accompanying app. It essentially has everything you could need to see how well your fitness journey is going, and to help you plan out more detailed goals later down the line.

So, with these factors in mind, we have to put the Apple Watch Series 8 up there as one of the best smartwatches for men.

Best fitness watch for men on Android

For non-iPhone users, the best fitness watch for men is probably the Google Pixel Watch. First of all, it comes in a nice mix of colours, which is always a good thing when you're looking for a watch that you can wear all the time. It also does an amazing job of being a highly functional smartwatch outside of the fitness side of things.

On the fitness side of things though, the Google Pixel Watch includes everything a top Fitbit does, thanks to a partnership between the two companies. What this means is that you've got a company dedicated to fitness devices implanting everything they do into one great smartwatch. As a result, you can see every kind of stat you want about your health, and you'll look good while doing so.

Read More: Best running watches

But what does this mean in practice? Well, the device is equipped with Fitbit's most accurate heart rate sensor, and it features 40 different sports modes to track a variety of different activities accurately.

What's more, it can deliver you information on your heart rate zones during a workout through Active Zone Minutes, it can assess your heart rhythm through the ECG app, it detects when you've had a fall and can contact emergency services, and, finally, can monitor your sleep performance. What's not to like?

Best budget fitness watch for men

The Amazfit Band 5 is an excellent budget option for men. Keeping an eye on your health doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, nor does it have to cost more than forty bucks in this case. We would say this particular model is that it's a little slimmer than others and some of its competitors, but this can be a good thing for running, for example, as you won't have anything too heavy or distracting slowing you down.

Outside of this, the watch is just a great choice for keeping an eye on things in general, like heart rate, how well you're sleeping, and even your stress levels. It also has Amazon Alexa built-in, which is good news if you're home is packed out with smart devices.

Read More: Best running watches under 100

It also features something Amazfit calls Personal Activity Intelligence, a personal health assessment system that provides a single score in relation to your overall physical health to make monitoring your body and any progress incredibly straightforward.

Of course, this is also expanded on, but is a good starting metric to assess your fitness. With 11 sports built-in for it to monitor as well, there's definitely plenty to like about this impressive and budget-friendly Amazfit device.

Best running fitness watch for men

The Garmin Forerunner 965 is undeniably one of the best Garmin watches you can find. Whether you're a long-distance runner, into short sprints, or even triathlons, this watch has got you covered.

With its vibrant, touchscreen AMOLED display, you can easily keep tabs on your pace, heart rate, and follow a fully-coloured map of your running route - a fantastic feature, especially in crowded city environments.

Read More: Best marathon watches

Furthermore, it comes equipped with numerous sports profiles to track various activities, a race widget that can estimate your finishing time based on your pace, and even suggests workouts tailored to your training readiness score, a statistic that estimates your energy levels based on factors like strain, stress, recovery, good sleep hygiene, and so on.

That's not all though. The Forerunner 965 also boasts an impressive 23-day battery life (which can extend up to 31 hours in GPS-Only GNSS mode) and is water-resistant up to 50m. So, if you're serious about tracking your workouts, this Garmin device is an outstanding choice. Its features and capabilities make it a reliable companion for your fitness journey.

Best swimming fitness watch for men

The Garmin Swim 2 is, unsurprisingly, built for swimmers. The name is a dead giveaway, but the features are what make it so worthwhile. It has a variety of modes for different swimming environments. For indoor swimmers, it has a pool mode that records your distance, pace, stroke count, and your efficiency, presented as a SWOLF score.

Those who prefer swimming in the sea though, or just exploring, you'll be happy to know that it has an open-water swim mode that uses the built-in GPS for your safety, along with tracking all of your swimming stats. It also offers free online analysis, so you can see where you're flagging and where you're doing great. It even tracks your heart rate while underwater.

Read More: Best watches for swimming

It's also great to wear every day as it tracks your stress, sleep, heart rate, and it provides smart notifications from your phone. It will even give your "Body Battery" based on factors like sleep, stress, etc., so you know when is best to train and when you need to rest.

This watch is the real deal when it comes to swimming. But don't just wear it in the water, as its array of amazing tracking technologies makes it a great pick for everyday wear as well.

Best hiking fitness watch for men

Finally, we come to the Garmin fēnix 7 Pro Solar, perhaps the best fitness watch for men who like to go out into the world and walk up things. That's a pretty reductive way to describe hiking, but it is sort of true. Anyway, hiking is a blast to do and can often lead to seeing parts of the natural world other people just don't get to see, and the sights at the top of any route are nearly always worth it.

One of the reasons why this is one of the best hiking watches is that it has solar charging, which is a huge plus if you forget to fully charge it before a big hike. It also has a built-in LED flashlight, which will make it easier to navigate in the dark, especially with its GPS features too, which means you'll be safe even if you feel like straying from the beaten path.

Read More: Best Garmin watches for hiking

Adding to this is the fact it's incredibly rugged, boasting a 47mm fibre-reinforced polymer case with a steel bezel and rear cover. In fact, the watch has been tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock, and water resistance. So, if it's good enough for the military, it's good enough for your hikes.

Other notable features include its ability to provide real-time information on your current and upcoming climbs, and the fact it can auto-adjust your pace according to the grade of the hill you're climbing. All of this and more is why we believe it to be a great fitness watch for hiking.

Don't worry if you have questions about buying a new smartwatch or fitness tracker. We've got you covered with answers to some of the most frequently asked queries below.

The choice between a fitness tracker and a smartwatch depends on your specific needs and preferences. Therefore, it's essential to consider features that align with your fitness goals and lifestyle.

Generally speaking, however, there are some key features to look for. First and foremost, ensure it has comprehensive activity and health-tracking metrics. Look for a fitness watch that accurately monitors various activities like steps, calories burned, heart rate, and sleep quality. It should also offer a wide range of workout modes to cover all the sports you participate in.

Built-in GPS is another important aspect to consider, as it allows precise tracking of outdoor activities like running or cycling without relying on your phone.

A decent battery life is crucial to last through a typical day of activities and workouts without frequent charging. Solar charging can help here, as touched on above, as it means you won't necessarily have to worry about charging your device as often.

Additionally, being water resistant is a useful feature to look out for as it means your watch can avoid being damaged or breaking from moisture build-up during workouts, and provides the freedom to wear it in water-related activities.

Overall, we'd say these are the key features to keep in mind while choosing the right device for your fitness journey.

This can vary significantly based on factors like brand, model, features, display type, and usage patterns. Typically, most fitness watches on the market offer a battery life ranging from a few days to several weeks, but this isn't always the case...

Some watches are designed to last even longer, and many come equipped with different power-saving modes to adjust battery usage. For instance, Garmin offers a specific Battery Saver setting that minimises power consumption when you won't have access to charging for an extended period. Additionally, certain Garmin watches come with solar-charging lenses, providing virtually unlimited battery life when exposed to sufficient sunlight.

To make an informed decision, it's crucial to review the manufacturer's specifications for battery life and read user reviews to understand real-world performance. Besides, adopting smart charging habits and adjusting settings appropriately can also contribute to extending or conserving the battery life of the device.

For more articles like this, take a look at our RealKit and Affiliates page.