Coros Pace 3 GPS Watch Review

Bottom Line

The Coros Pace 3 is the perfect lightweight GPS watch for those who want premium performance without the premium price tag.

Weighing just 30 grams and featuring a sleek 11.7mm profile, it’s designed for all-day comfort and will not weigh you down during extended activities. Its attractive price and high performance make it a standout option on our list of top GPS watches.

The Pace 3 comes loaded with features, including heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and oxygen saturation measurements. It also offers a variety of activity modes and the option to create custom activity types. Navigation tools like breadcrumb routing and route syncing via the COROS app are great for hitting the trail and staying on route.

With its affordable price, the only concession in performance we found in the Pace 3 is the touchscreen watch face. With a bare hand, manipulating the face requires a heavy touch, and with touchscreen-enabled gloves, the screen responds about fifty percent of the time. When the watch face becomes wet from sweat or precipitation, it barely responds at all, requiring the use of the scroll wheel and select button. We eventually resorted to turning off touch screen capabilities and using the buttons exclusively.

Still, that was really the only bummer we had with this watch. It’s hard to find a higher-performing watch than the Pace 3, and one we recommend for entry-level hikers looking for a well-designed and excellently built watch.

How We Tested

We put the Coros Pace 3 GPS watch through its…well, paces! We tested in a range of real-world scenarios, from trail running and backcountry skiing to daily smartwatch use, to determine their strengths and weaknesses.

Over a two-month period, we repeatedly drained and recharged each watch to assess battery performance, wore them for extended periods to evaluate comfort and usability, and tested their GPS accuracy across diverse terrains. By using the Pace 3 in our daily routines, we ensure our reviews are thorough, practical, and grounded in firsthand experience.

Accuracy

For a budget-priced watch, the Coros Pace 3 tracks extremely well. It’s one of the cheapest watches on the market that is still dual-band GPS-enabled. This improves accuracy and provides some of the most reliable GPS data regardless of terrain.

While we did notice some straying in the track while in steep, hilly terrain and canyons, the actual difference in distance amounted to being less than a tenth of a mile on our known distance loop. This type of terrain challenges almost every watch, and the Pace 3 was no exception. We even used it on an indoor track and were amazed to see it almost identical to our known distance.

Overall, the Pace 3 has excellent accuracy and is reliable regardless of the conditions.

Battery Life

The Coros Pace 3 has the best battery life of any watch under three hundred dollars that we tested.

With a claimed GPS battery life of 38 hours, it packs an impressive punch. We used this watch for daily use and daily GPS exercise for 10 days before needing to recharge. While the GPS battery life may be slightly less than claimed, it’s still more than enough for repeated use and long outings without recharging.

The Coros Pace 3 does not come equipped with UltraMax mode, which higher-end Coros models have that almost doubles the battery life. Even without this function, the Pace 3 has more than enough batteries for all-day endurance events or daily training.

Comfort & Wearability

With an identical measured and stated weight of 39 grams, the Pace 3 is the second-lightest watch in our lineup. It barely feels there on the wrist and is comfortable to tighten down fully to get accurate heart rate and blood oxygen saturation readings.

The watch comes with a silicone band, but an aftermarket nylon band from Coros makes the watch both lighter and more comfortable when tightened. The silicone band is also heavily aerated, so our wrists never felt sweaty and sticky.

The Pace 3 is extremely thin, with a thickness of less than half an inch. Its 1.2-inch display size and 1.65-inch total width give it a good balance of a large screen but smaller overall dimensions. Those who prefer smaller watches or have slender wrists will feel right at home wearing the Pace 3.

Features

With a host of activity types, the Coros offers innovative ways to track and record activities no matter the sport. If the watch doesn’t have the sport you’re doing or doesn’t display the metric you need, create a custom activity type within the app, and then sync it to the phone. This is great for not only creating unique activity types but also for creating custom layouts and data displays.

While the Pace 3 cannot download offline maps, it can sync offline routes from the app. Breadcrumb navigation and the ability to add points are other great features for backcountry use.

However, the Pace 3 lacks many features of dedicated smartwatches for daily use. It makes for a great daily trainer and is good enough for light backcountry outings, but it is probably not our first choice for daily smartwatch use.

Ease of Use

The Pace 3 continues Coros’ proven history of streamlined user experience both on the watch and in the app. The companion app is one of our favorites for planning routes, creating custom activity types, and data analysis. All the menus and displays are easily accessed on the watch with the scroll wheel or back button.

However, the touch screen does leave some room to be desired. It requires a heavy touch and only works about fifty percent of the time while wearing touchscreen-enabled gloves. It becomes almost impossible to use when the watch face becomes wet, whether by perspiration or precipitation. We found ourselves more often than not choosing to turn off touch screen capabilities and using the scroll wheel for more precise selection.

We recommend using this watch with auto lock on, as it’s very easy to accidentally pause activities by bumping the scroll wheel with a glove or hand.

Should You Buy the Coros Pace 3 GPS Watch?

With its attainable price point, the Pace 3 is the perfect option for those new to GPS watches, while its high performance is sure to impress seasoned veterans alike.

While it lacks some features in dedicated smartwatches, it’s the perfect streamlined watch for daily training and use in long endurance events. Its impressive battery life defies its small size and is ideal for those heading out on day-long adventures needing to track every second. Its small size, low weight, and comfort on the wrist make the Pace 3 extremely comfortable. It fits slender wrists well and lacks the bulk of many other highly featured watches.

The Pace 3 is more than a budget-priced watch; it’s a high-value performer fit for the dedicated endurance athlete or weekender alike.

What Other Watches Should You Consider?

Below are more of the best GPS watches similar to the Pace 3 from our GPS watches gear guide.

Coros Apex 2 Pro Review: Another stand-out performer from Coros, the Apex 2 Pro has more features for backcountry adventures like offline maps and extended battery life.

Garmin Forerunner 165 Review: With the same screen size and similar weight, the Forerunner 165 is another trim watch whose performance punches above its weight.

Garmin Vivoactive 5 Review: If you loved the sleek profile and low weight of the Pace 3, the Vivoactive is even smaller and lighter for smaller wrists or those who prefer a lightweight watch.