8 Best swimming watches 2024 UK; tested to track in pool and open water
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WHETHER you’re a serious swimmer or simply enjoy a few laps of the local pool and want to monitor your improvements over time, then a swimming watch should be your next fitness buy.
More than just a way to tell the time when you’re in the water, the best swimming watches have sensors that measure stroke rate, distance, number of laps completed and heart rate.
They are worn on your wrist and are easy to read, with many models also suitable for open-water swimming.
Some will even measure your SWOLF (swimming efficiency), which in the pool is measured by adding the number of strokes taken to do a length and the time taken to swim that length, so the lower the score the better.
Some watches double up as fitness trackers that can give feedback on a variety of other sports too, as well as monitor everyday well-being such as sleep and step count.
Choosing a swimming watch can feel quite daunting as there’s a huge variation when it comes to technicality and price. So, whether you’re a professional triathlete or someone who needs a waterproof smartwatch for your holiday, we’ve got something for every budget and ability.
Best swimming watches at a glance:
- Best swimming watch overall: Garmin Swim 2
- Best budget fitness tracker: Oppo Watch Free
- Best for heart rate data: Polar Vantage V2
- Best multisport watch: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Samsung Galaxy Watch5
Samsung Galaxy Watch5, £211.96
Pros: Doubles up as a great day-to-day smartwatch, goal-setting markers for improved health and mindset, looks good, can stream YouTube Music
Cons: It can be a little complicated to navigate at first but once you get the hang of the extensive settings, you can learn a lot.
Rating: 5/5
This latest iteration in the Samsung Galaxy watch line is all about health and fitness; it's got numerous features to support hitting your goals and understanding your well-being.
Like a lot of watches that can be used for swimming, it offers many other sports modes and can monitor up to 90 different activities including gym workouts and specific strength exercises such as rounds of push-ups, arm curls or squats.
When it comes to swimming, the Samsung Galaxy5 is waterproof up to 50 metres for about 30 minutes and comes with a swim lock feature for when it’s being used in the pool.
The water sports tracking is extensive and includes aqua aerobics, outdoor swims, canoeing, kitesurfing, waterskiing and various other watersports that all have their own setting on the watch.
Before your swim, you can add in the length of the pool to get an accurate lap and distance count, which you can check on the watch dashboard during and after your swim, along with your calorie count. You can target a number of laps or duration before heading into the pool too.
As well as swimming and sports, the watch can track varying degrees of heart health, monitor sleep and stress and also track your menstrual cycle.
Battery life: 24 - 30 hours, Compatible devices: Android phone, Special features: waterproof up to 50m, sleep monitor, heart rate monitor, fast charging, monitors body fat and muscle, monitors 90 different activities, streams music
Garmin Swim 2
Garmin Swim 2, £185
Pros: It’s swimming-specific so offers more swimming features than most of the other watches, great battery life that can last up to seven days in smartwatch mode, a little less when using sports modes every day
Cons: Not cheap
Rating: 5/5
This is one of the few upmarket sports watches that are specifically aimed at swimming. It's got settings that can monitor Pool Swim, Open Water Swim, Run, Bike, and Cardio (Indoor), making it a great option for swimmers, runners, cyclists and especially triathletes.
The run setting also works for walking and hiking and step count can be set up to show on the watch face itself or viewed on the Garmin Connect Mobile smartphone app.
The Garmin Swim 2 has built-in GPS and metric checkers to monitor heart rate, track distance, record pace, log drills, recognise stroke count and type, work out distance covered per stroke, register your SWOLF and a whole lot more.
The swimming smartwatch is waterproof up to 5ATM which means it’s water resistant up to 50m in depth for ten minutes and it works just as well in pools as it does in open water, with specific features for each, although GPS is better suited for the open water.
One of the most interesting elements of the watch to test was the workout mode, where you can structure your own session through the app and download it onto the watch. For example, you can programme the length of your warm-up, the first bit of your swim, a rest period, another swim, and cool down and the watch can send alerts as you pass through each stage.
The alert system is specifically useful when setting up pool drills, as the alert tells you when you should be completing each length/ turning.
Outside of the pool, it acts as a top-level smartwatch that can keep track of everything from step count, heart rate, sleep and even has a stress-tracking mode. But, for the hefty price, this is best suited to those who have a real interest in improving their swimming.
Battery life: up to seven days in smartwatch, 72 hours in pool mode, 13 hours in GPS, Compatible devices: Apple or android phone, Special features: waterproof up to 50m, monitors heart rate underwater, open-water mode, pool mode, fitness tracking, sleep monitoring
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Polar Vantage V2
Polar Vantage V2, £318.79
Pros: Excellent battery life of around 100 hours
Cons: It doesn’t have onboard music like some competitors, very pricey
Rating: 5/5
This slick multi-sport watch is a premium version of the older Polar Vantage option loved by triathletes. Like its predecessor, it can be used for swimming but also for monitoring a multitude of other sports and wellbeing vitals.
The watch can be operated from the five buttons around its face which makes it feel more ‘watch’ than a smartwatch, but you can control it with its touch screen if that’s your preference.
This is a sturdy watch with a solid hardware face that is protected from scratching and the aluminium casing helps to increase GPS range and accuracy.
This watch is for those who are serious about data and cutting those seconds and milliseconds off their PBs: the watch detects your swimming style, distance travelled, pace, strokes and rest times in the pool and can also track distance and strokes in the open water swimming, too.
If you’re training for a particular race and practising on the actual race route, the GPS tracking can show you exactly where you could make tiny changes in the open water.
One thing I enjoyed about the Polar Vantage 2 is how it logs your energy used into macros, breaking down how much fat, carb and protein you burned on the workout. The watch also gives you an overall look at how much training you’ve done all week.
The heart rate monitor sits neatly on the back of the watch in an optimum place to pick up an accurate heart rate and informs you when to take a rest day and when it’s an optimum day to train because your body is well rested.
Battery life: Up to 40 hours in training mode, 100 hours power save and up to seven days in watch mode, Compatible devices: Android and apple phones, Special features: water resistant up to 100m, monitors heart rate, GPS tracking, tells you how much fat, carb and protein used during workouts, fitness tracking, sleep monitoring, training guide, phone notifications
Decathlon GPS 900 by Coros
Decathlon GPS 900 by Coros, £199
Pros: Long battery life, easy to use, extensive analysis, good for pools and open-water, great value for money
Cons: Low brightness, basic functions on-screen, GPS doesn't work underwater
Rating: 4.5/5
If you're into a variety of sports and want a watch that can do it all for less than £200, then the GPS 900 by Coros from Decathlon is the one for you.
While the watch has plenty of running modes, it has two activity modes for swimming; pool swims and open water, which is sufficient enough for the average swimmer.
The watch is straightforward to use, turn the dial and press the button to select functions and when I tested this in both pool swims and open-water swims and found that it worked well in tracking and never paused midway or malfunctioned.
The pool swim mode only has 25m built-in place, but it also has a custom function that can detect the distance if it's bigger and swimmer, and when I swam in a 12.5m pool, it detected that two laps were 25m in length.
I did find that the watch's screen was less bright than other watches, however, it has incredible battery life and can go up to 35 hours in GPS mode, which is pretty impressive given its affordable price.
However, the GPS mode doesn't work underwater if you're open-water swimming, so it does mean that if you're swimming in a vast area, it can be hard to track your movements.
In the app, you can see an even more in-depth analysis of your swims and it shows the average pace, lap pace, distance, stroke count, stroke count per minute, and SWOLF.
As a former competitive swimmer, I was very impressed that the app showed these metrics as they are great for improving your swims, whether you're looking to improve your overall endurance or sprint faster in the water. Plus, you can also connect it to Strava to log your activity.
I think this is a great watch for anyone who wants to be a bit more informed about their fitness and it can even help you prepare for a triathlon given its multi-sport mode.
Review by Natalie Chui.
Battery life: Up to 35hours in GPS mode, up to 80 hours in Ultramax mode and 30 days in watch mode, Compatible devices: Android and iPhone, Special features: Coaching, Parameter measurement, synced to Strava & Coros,
Wahoo ELEMNT Rival
Wahoo Elemnt Rival Sports Watch with GPS, from £125.98
Pros: Battery can last 14 days in watch mode or 24 hours in GPS mode.
Cons: No lifestyle extras, no music option, it’s another pricey one - so maybe better suited to those looking for something more technical
Rating: 4/5
Also available is a special edition of the watch in collaboration with, and named after, the American long-distance runner, the Molly Seidel Edition D, £249 from Jura watches - buy here
If you’re looking for something that sits in the middle of an everyday smartwatch that can track swimming and a more serious swimming watch that is used for racing or elite competitions, then this could be a good transition swimming watch.
Like many of the other swimming watches, it is aimed at triathletes, which means it has good open water settings as well as pool settings.
It can do the usual measuring of laps, distance, SWOLF and duration but it doesn’t have drill mode for the pool - which might be annoying if that’s something you like to practise to help increase overall speed.
It performs well in open water but isn’t quite as accurate as some of the watches that cost more, but for the price, it is probably good enough for those not looking to win races and smash PBs.
The watch does offer quite a few lifestyle extras such as step count and sleep analysis and even shows the muscles worked during training.
Battery life: Up to 14 days in smartwatch mode, up to 24 hours in GPS mode, Compatible devices: Android and iPhone, Special features: activity history, multisport, calories burned, distances, water resistant up to 50m, monitors heart rate, GPS tracking
Google Pixel Watch
Google Pixel Watch, £199
Pros: Good day-to-day smartwatch, connects with Google Pixel, Subtle round design, uses Fitbit technology
Cons: Hard to use if wet, Battery life runs out fast, not fully waterproof, new straps and accessories are expensive
Rating: 3/5
Google’s Pixel Watch first appealed to me as I have a Google Pixel phone, and the two work seamlessly together; a major selling point for me. The two can be controlled by the other and I can do everything from change music tracks, to reply to messages and receive notifications easily.
But can I see it working with other Android phones as well? Yes, the Google Pixel Watch is powered by Android, which uses the Fitbit interface to track sports activity. This means it’s easy to understand and all linked with your other data; so there’s no downloading extra apps.
This also means it’s linked to Fitbit’s extensive range of activities; including gym workouts, running, pilates - there is everything. And of course, swimming.
But this is where I hit a snag.
Despite having used my watch countless times to track my progress and lengths, it turns out the Google Pixel Watch is not waterproof.
The Google Pixel 2 is, but the Google Pixel watch is not fully waterproof and is instead water resistant to 5ATM. This means it can withstand washing up, rain and shallow swimming but higher pressure and deeper diving is a no-go.
If you’re just looking to track lengths in a pool then this is ok, but if you’re spending over £200 on a smartwatch you’d probably want it to be waterproof.
The Fitbit-powered tracking monitors lengths and time, and will give you a rough estimate of calories; as well as pool length, average pace and zone minutes. It’s basic but there’s everything you need.
It’s a solid watch, and day-to-day does what I need it to do, making it great if you just want to track your workouts.
If you have a Google phone then it’s a great choice - if not, or you want more in-depth results, then this might not be the watch for you.
Review by Harriet Flook.
Battery life: Up to 24 hours, Compatible devices: Android phone, Special features: Water Resistance rating 5ATM (can be used in shallow water, but not completely waterproof), Always-on display, Fitbit health and fitness, Music, Google Assistant, Blood oxygen sensor, optical heart rate sensor
Oppo Watch Free
Oppo Watch Free, £89
Pros: Good budget smartwatch with swimming features, but better for shallower waters
Cons: It’s a bit basic and the metrics are better suited to recreational swimmers rather than competitive swimmers
Rating: 3/5
This is a good all-around smartwatch for the less regular swimmer who wants to include swimming in a wider fitness programme as it offers over 100 different sports modes.
This piece of wearable tech is more a jack of all trades than a specialist swimming watch, but that doesn’t mean it can’t tick a few boxes when it comes to getting in lengths.
Its 5ATM waterproofing means it’s at home in the pool where it can record laps, speed and duration. It can also be used in open water where it can record distance, log calories burnt and track the duration of a workout.
It probably isn’t suitable for deeper water activities such as snorkelling, and diving or high-pressure water sports such as surfing. It can also be sensitive to more extreme water temperatures, so you'll want to take it off when having a long hot shower or using a steam room or sauna.
The watch is fitted with general health trackers such as 24-hour heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking through its Osleep feature which works to improve sleep. The watch face will show incoming calls and notifications and it has music playback and ‘find my phone’.
Battery life: Up to 14 days, Compatible devices: Android and iPhone, Special features: fast charge, supports over 100 activities, heart rate and sleep monitoring, calories burned, water resistant up to 50m
Nabaiji
Nabaiji Swimming Pool Watch SL500, £29.99
Pros: Super cheap, still quite accurate
Cons: Doesn’t offer lots of in-depth data analysis
Rating: 3/5
This might be the cheapest swimming watch in the review but it still packs a punch when it comes to its offering, especially considering its low price.
It offers an impressive waterproofing of up to 30 metres and buttons that still work underwater, the watch can measure distance and log lengths in 25, 33 and 50-metre pools whether you’re doing breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke or front crawl.
The accuracy when counting lengths was off every now and again and Decathlon (that sells the watch) put accuracy at 95% which might be a tiny bit generous but I would say over 90% for sure.
Other than telling the time and taking it for a swim, this is not supposed to be an everyday smartwatch so would work best in addition to your usual watch if you don’t fancy risking that in the water.
Battery life: Up to one year when used for one session of one hour per week, Special features: water resistant up to 30m, tracks workout time, lengths and distance
How we tested
We tested the watches swimming in open water and pools.
We first assessed the waterproof rating and then tracked how well it was at measuring lengths and distances.
In addition, we tested how comfortable they were to wear and if they had any additional features like tracking swim strokes and heart rate.
The watches were tested in both hot and cold conditions, and we took into account the price of each item to assess its value for money.
Where can I buy swimming watches in the UK?
In the UK, swimming watches are available from sports and specialist swim retailers, as well as from large electronics stores like Currys and online retailers such as Amazon.
Take a look at outdoor and fitness stores, such as Mountain Warehouse and Go Outdoors, or look at individual brand websites – Garmin, Samsung, Polar – if you already know which watch you want to buy. Doing so can also reveal special offers and discounts not available elsewhere.
Department and chain stores such as John Lewis, Argos and Boots are also worth considering.
We found the watches reviewed in our feature at:
How much do swimming watches cost?
We tested a range of swimming watches in our review, and if you're looking to buy one, expect to spend about £50 - £300 on one.
The price will depend on the type of features you're looking for, typically ones with more in-depth analysis and functions tend to cost more.
Watches on the cheaper end will just give you basic information, making it better for those who aren't too serious about tracking their swims.
In our round-up, the priciest item tested was the Polar Vantage V2 at over £300, and is a favourite amongst triathletes for its high level of data.
However, the cheapest watch we tested was the Nabaiji Swimming Pool Watch at just under £30, and despite its low price tag, we found the watch decent in measuring swims.
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