The Coros VERTIX Adventure Watch will help you brave the harshest elements
The new Coros VERTIX is an extremely rugged GPS watch designed for explorers and adventurers. It comes with 45 days of battery life, low temperature performance and water-resistance down to depths of 150 meters.
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Smart bike helmet maker Coros is a newcomer to the world of GPS sports watches. Over the past year it launched PACE and APEX, devices meant for runners and triathletes.
The outfit is back now with VERTIX. This one has the likes of the Garmin Fenix 5X Plus and Suunto 9 in its sights. It, however, has a few advantages:
- Nearly twice the battery life – the watch can keep going 45 days in regular mode and more than 60 hours in full GPS mode. UltraMax GPS mode will ensure it runs for up to 150 hours. That’s more than any other watch in its category. Charging time is less than 2 hours!
- Altitude acclimation assistance that uses a pulse oximeter to measure blood oxygen levels in real-time. There’s also a built-in barometric altimeter for accurate altitude readings.
- The working temperature of the watch is -4 to 140 degrees F (-20 to 60 degrees Celsius). At extreme low temperatures, there’s less than a 30% depreciation in battery performance.
- The only GPS watch with a 15 ATM water-resistance rating (150 meters).
Extreme durability is ensured thanks to a corrosion free Titanium frame and a fiber-reinforced polymer body. The 1.2 inch 240×240 pixels resolution, 64 color display is protected with scratch-resistant sapphire glass. This features touch-screen functionality for wrist-based navigation.
The combination of materials makes it one of the lightest watches in its class (76 grams). It’s fairly big, though, so may not appeal to those with small wrists. The dimensions of the watch are 48.74 x 48.74 x 16.75 mm.
In terms of sensors, Coros VERTIX comes with an optical pulse oximeter, optical heart rate, barometer, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, and thermometer. The watch keeps tabs on running, cycling and swimming and there’s also a dedicated triathlon mode.
Navigation is via GPS and GLONASS with Galileo and Beidou to arrive via a future firmware update. As far as connectivity, the watch comes with BT4.2 BLE support for smartphones and ANT+ for accessories.
Check out the table comparing it with some of its rivals.
Coros VERTIX | Garmin FENIX 5X Plus | Garmin FENIX 5 Plus | Suunto 9 Baro | |
Build | Titanium | Steel | Steel | Titanium |
Regular use | 45 days | up to 20 days | up to 12 days | 7 days |
GPS battery | 60h Full/150h Ultra | Up to 32h Full/70h Ultra | Up to 18h Full/42h Ultra | 25h Full/120h Ultra |
Weight | 76 grams | 86 grams | 96 grams | 76 grams |
Water resistance | 150m | 100m | 100m | 100m |
Oximeter | Yes | Yes | No | No |
“As someone who is personally passionate about both climbing and trail running and who aspires to train for big mountain expeditions, I could not be more excited to bring VERTIX to those who share my love for the outdoors,” said Lewis Wu, CEO of COROS.
“VERTIX is the longest lasting, most powerful and incredible GPS watch ever built and will make adventures safer and more efficient for all explorers.”
For those that are ready to tackle the harshest elements, the watch will be available from June 4th. You’ll be able to choose from a few color options including the $599 Dark Rock, Fire Dragon, and Mountain Hunter models. An interesting iteration is the Ice Breaker model. Priced at $699, it comes with a clear see-through casing. This one will be available later in the month.
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