GPS watch recommendations?

[dave54]

I have a many year old Tomtom sports watch, but they stopped supporting it years ago. The GPS function still works fine, but the company recently pushed an update to the companion phone app that disabled uploading data or connecting (the scoundrels!). So it basically is useless now.

So now it is time to replace it. I want it for hiking and bike riding. Anyone have any thoughts? Or should I just use the phone to record tracks?

[shawnterustic]

I've used Coros (Apex 2) and Garmin Forerunner and Instinct Solar (I test / review gear and have used all three to track for a guidebook I'm working on) and I've found all to do a good job tracking hiking / backpacking / trail running. The solar is great for long trips, since the sun extends the battery life. In testing, I found that of the other two, the Coros seems to have a much longer battery life than the Forerunner. GPS tracks are pretty similar for all - it just depends on how you adjust the settings to maximize efficiency. I like both the Coros and Garmin apps, if you're looking for data feedback from your activities.