Garmin fēnix 7 offers more options while COROS VERTIX 2 keeps it simple.

The Garmin fēnix 7X belongs to a family of 16 fēnix 7 watches that includes 3 sizes and multiple colors along with Standard, Solar, and Sapphire Solar models.

There are 4 fēnix 7X GPS watches—one Solar edition and 3 Sapphire Solars that cost $899.99–$999.99.

The COROS VERTIX 2, on the other hand, is one model that comes in 2 colors—Lava and Obsidian. The VERTIX 2 price is a lot lower at $600.

See all the fēnix 7 Series models here.

Get more details on COROS watches here. 

Keep in mind, these are pretty chunky rugged multisport watches!

The COROS VERTIX 2 has a 1.4" display with a 50.3 mm case and weighs 72–89g, depending on the watch band. This outdoor sport watch has a bit more aggressive style with a flashy, more contoured and feature-etched bezel.

While it is built for extreme wear, the fēnix 7X Solar/Sapphire Solar is a bit more sublte in its design. The style is more minimalistic and less contoured, and in Dave's opinion, it doesn't sit as tall on his wrist. The Garmin fēnix 7X also features a 1.4" display with a 51 mm case and weighs 89–96g, depending on the model, which may have titanium parts that are lighter.

See the full product specs for the COROS VERTIX 2 here.

See the full product specs for the fēnix 7X here.

Both of these rugged adventure watches are built like absolute tanks!

Both the fēnix 7X Sapphire Solar and the VERTIX 2 have titanium bezels and rear case covers, DLC coating, and Sapphire glass over their displays. Plus, both of these GPS watches are water resistant to 10 ATM.

In the review, Dave says that he's worn his COROS VERTIX 2 through 2 ultra marathons and put it through a lot of abuse—and not a scratch on it. Through woods, rocks, and rain—it still looks brand new!

He also mentions that he's been using Sapphire glass on Garmin watches since the fēnix 3 and never had an issue. That's full confidence in both watches!

Both of the VERTIX 2 and the fēnix 7X watches feature a 1.4" transflective memory-in-pixel display—designed to be power-efficient and utilitarian.

(If you're looking for the ultimate in vibrance, you'll want to check out the AMOLED display on the Garmin epix 2 or the Venu 2 Series.)

The sapphire screen comes standard on the COROS VERTIX 2. But if you want it on the fēnix 7X, you'll have to upgrade from the fēnix 7X Solar to the Sapphire Solar.

What's different?

While in direct sunlight both are very readable, the backlight on the fēnix 7X is a bit brighter, and it lets you customize the brightness of the backlight.

For the first time, a fēnix watch has a touchscreen on the fēnix 7X!

COROS VERTIX 2 has a 3-button layout with a digital dial that is super easy to use with just one finger, and also has a touchscreen.

The fēnix 7X features Garmin's traditional 5-button layout plus a responsive touchscreen.

On the VERTIX 2, the touchscreen can only be used in certain parts of the watch. For example, it doesn't respond on the homescreen, but once you dive into a widget, you are able to scroll.

With the fēnix 7X, you can use the touchscreen with every aspect of the watch.

Both the Garmin fēnix 7X and the COROS VERTIX 2 have an optical heart rate sensor with a oxygen saturation sensor within in it.

The fēnix 7X features Garmin's latest Elevate 4 optical heart rate sensor. Dave has tested it extensively and finds it to be one of the best.

Dave describes the COROS VERTIX 2 heart rate sensor as good, but that it does drop and have spikes occasionally.

One thing the VERTIX 2 offers that the fēnix 7X does not is an ECG sensor. Currently, this sensor gives you an HRV index and stores it in the COROS app.

Two watches with all the sensors you need on your adventures.

Both the COROS VERTIX 2 and Garmin fēnix 7X ultimate GPS sport watches put these sensors on your wrist:

• Barometric Altimeter
• Compass
• Gyroscope
• Accelerometer
• Thermometer

Both of these extreme outdoor watches are smart too!

Receive notifications, accept or decline phone calls, and get sunrise/sunset times with both watches. Garmin goes a little further with more extensive calendar and weather widgets. And, there's the Connect IQ, which is basically an app store for your Garmin watch.

Unique to the VERTIX 2, you can pair it with a GoPro camera or Insta360 and control it from your watch, making it easy to record your adventures!

The fēnix 7X also features Garmin Pay for contactless payment from your wrist, and also features a very handy LED flashlight.

Both watches have music storage on watch for phone-free listening. However, the fēnix 7X rules in this category, letting you store up to 2,000 songs by downloading from a streaming service like Amazon or Spotify.

With the VERTIX 2, however, you can only download MP3s from your computer. No music service is integrated like with a Garmin watch. Still, it's a first for a COROS watch!

Both of these top-tier multisport GPS watches do basic activity tracking along with sleep and recovery cycles.

So, what's the difference?

COROS VERTIX 2 tracks your sleep stages, and that info is synced to the COROS app.

The Garmin fēnix 7X also offers sleep insights, but stores the info for you a bit more intelligently. It's tied into other aspects of the watch, like the Body Battery energy monitor.

See the full product specs for the COROS VERTIX 2 here.

See the full product specs for the fēnix 7X here.

Both the Garmin and COROS platforms are respectable if you are seriously training!

On the Garmin fēnix 7X you get Training Load, Training Status, Load Focus, Recovery Advisor, Estimated VO2 Max, and graphical Race Predictor—all offering valuable insight when you are training for a marathon, etc.

The Garmin training platform is hard to beat. However ...

COROS has introduced COROS EvoLab that is a platform with a similar set of training features like Training Load, Training Status, Recovery Advisor, Race Predictor, VO2 Max, Marathon Level, and more!

Both of these GPS watches offer dual-frequency tracking ... but the COROS VERTIX 2 was the first to do it!

Multi-band frequency allows your GPS watch to access more than one out of several satellites at a time—for greater accuracy when tracking your outdoor activity.

According to Dave's testing with both of these watches, in dual-frequency mode, they were nearly identical. However, when dialing back to save power, he found that Garmin's GPS-only mode is more accurate.

But that is splitting hairs. These are, hands down, two of the best GPS watches on the market!

Both of these watches offer bonkers battery life. And even though the Garmin fēnix 7X features solar-charging technology, the VERTIX 2 still offers more battery life! (Dave has tested it many times and confirmed it!)

Garmin fēnix 7X battery life looks like:

• Smartwatch: Up to 28 days/37 days with solar
• Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 90 days/1+ year with solar
• GPS Only: Up to 89 hours/122 hours with solar
• All Satellite Systems: Up to 63 hours/77 hours with solar
• All Satellite Systems and Multi-band: Up to 36 hours/41 hours with solar
• All Satellite Systems and Music: Up to 16 hours
• Max Battery GPS: Up to 213 hours/578 hours with solar
• Expedition GPS: Up to 62 days/ 139 days with solar

COROS VERTIX 2 battery life looks like:

Both of these mega multisport watches are loaded with activity profiles!

Customization on the profiles of the CORSO VERTIX 2 and Garmin fēnix 7X is very similar.

Both sport watches offer up to 8 data fields per page when you're in an activity. And these data fields can be swapped out and customized with more information.

One unique metric the VERTIX 2 has is Running Power. (In the future, the Garmin fēnix 7X could get a firmware update with Native Running Power now that it has been released on the Forerunner 955.)

If you're a triathlete, you want all the external sensors!

The Garmin fēnix 7X is compatible with Bluetooth and ANT+. This means you can load it with more external sensors and use more than one at a time.

But the COROS VERTIX 2 is only compatible with Bluetooth. This could be a deal breaker for triathletes.

Other COROS watches do have ANT+ however. Check out COROS product specs here.

The VERTIX 2 is the first COROS to put full mapping behind the breadcrumb trail. But Garmin still crushes it in this category!

While you can now see a color map filling the screen of the 1.4" VERTIX 2, it is limited to a base map that gives you a contextual idea of where you are. You can see trails, roads, waterways, etc.

The Garmin gēnix 7X is much more detailed with the names of trails, roads, rivers, etc. on the map, as well as points of interest. Plus, you get turn-by-turn navigation.

In this area, COROS is stepping up their game, but Garmin has set a high bar! It's for reasons like these that we understand the price point of each watch. For the cost, you are getting the best features, tech, and build-quality from both of these top brands!

Enhance your GPS watch experience with some very useful accessories from both COROS and Garmin.

You can purchase additional Quick Fit 27mm watch bands for both the VERTIX 2 and fēnix 7X.

Additionally, both of these brands have their own running POD that you can pair with your sport watch to get advanced running metrics.

Plus, shop chargers, heart rate monitors, and more!