GQ’s FavoriteGarmin Fenix 5> $599, buy now at Garmin

Technology has made fitness more quantifiable and precise. Gone are the days of running to the lamppost just past the bandshell in the park, turning back, and calling it “four miles.” Now, not only do you know you’ve actually been running 3.8 miles (slacker!) but precisely how fast you went each step of the way. For years Garmin, the Kansas-based GPS behemoth, has been the leader in GPS fitness watches. And that’s not changing anytime soon. Their newest multisport watch, the Fenix 5, is unquestionably the gold standard.

Sure, the price tag is a little steep. But we like the Fenix 5 because it is down for whatever. Running (outdoors or on the treadmill), swimming, cycling (on your commute or in spin class), hiking, climbing, snowboarding, stand-up paddleboarding, skiing, snowboarding, rowing, and golf (seriously). They weren’t lying when they said multisport. It’s also the first GPS watch I’ve tested over the last decade that my partner did not clown on me for wearing in public. “Wow, that looks like a normal watch,” she said. Progress!

But seriously: If you’re a fit dude looking for one watch to track your every move—it also has a built-in fitness tracker and wrist-based heart rate monitor—that you can wear to a meeting without looking like a character from Tron, the Fenix 5 is for you.

4 Reasons We Love the Garmin Fenix 5

1. The ridiculous capabilities. I’m training for a triathlon right now. And this watch has become my trusted companion. Running, swimming, biking—I never have to take the watch off. But the metrics it spits out are helpful not just for lunatic triathletes with no discernible social life, but half marathoners and weekend warriors alike. A former swimmer from high school getting back into the pool? The watch measures how many strokes you take on each lap, among other wonky-but-useful swim metrics. Trying to get in shape for your local Firecracker 4th of July 10k? There is a ton of performance data to obsess over, from heart rate (you’re going too fast my man!) to VO2max and Grade Adjusted Pace (your pace adjusted for flat land vs. climbing or descending). I really can’t express how much shit you can do with this watch. It has its own subreddit.

2. There are lots of options. It comes in all sorts of colors—black, silver, white, turquoise, highlighter yellow—but more importantly: three different sizes. One of the knocks on fitness watches, especially Garmin, is how hilariously big and clunky and outright hideous they are. Earlier versions of the Fenix made me feel like a Marine in the field. The Fenix 5 comes in sizes ranging from normal to Rambo. We like the Fenix 5s—the smallest version—which, at 42 mm wide, is smaller than your average Shinola.

3. It’s built to last and will never be obsolete. I bought a Garmin Forerunner watch when I trained for my first marathon in 2011. It’s still kicking. Garmin is good about constantly—almost annoyingly so—updating the software on their watches, so even if there is a new shiny watch on the market, the technology itself is never really out of date. There’s no denying that $600 is a lot of money for a watch, but it’s far superior to the Apple Watch and, at $200 more, far more capable and far more durable.

4. You can customize the hell out of it. It’s not just a watch for running nerds. You can get texts, keep track of your Uber, and drop a pin in the airport parking lot to find your car. And there are tons of fitness-specific apps, for everything from marathon training to prescriptiv

Four More GPS Watches We Like

The Bucket List Marathoner's PickNew Balance Run IQ.

The Run IQ doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the Fenix. But it has everything you need—heart rate, GPS, a fairly deep roster of customizable performance apps—which makes it perfect for someone training for their first big race, from 5k to the marathon. New Balance teamed up with the fitness tracking platform Strava, providing a simple and digestible way to track your progress (and compare it to your annoying friends from high school who inexplicably have all their runs linked on Facebook). Oh, and it has 4GB of storage, so you can load up your embarrassing pump-up playlist and jam out with your favorite Bluetooth headphones sans phone. It’s technically an Android Wear watch, but works with Apple iOS too.

> $299, buy now at New Balance

The Budget Runner’s PickPolar M200

If you’re looking for a watch that will tell you how far you’ve gone, at what pace, and whether or not your heart is going to burst out of your chest—look no further. The Polar M200 is accurate, reliable, and the optical heart rate was virtually the same when I wore it simultaneously on a run with the Fenix 5 and a heart rate strap. It didn’t miss a beat. If you don’t mind the Clifford the Big Red Dog vibes at work all day, it doubles as an activity tracker too.

$149, buy now at Polar

The Budget Multi-sport PickTomTom Spark 3

Running, swimming, biking, and bluetooth. The TomTom Spark does most of what the Fenix does at a lower price point and a boxier silhouette with 3GB storage for your playlists (or, dare we recommend, a podcast). It won’t help you find your car in the mall parking lot, but TomTom’s Route Exploration feature ensures you’ll get back to your starting point if you’re running in a foreign city or cycling an unfamiliar route.

> $249, buy now at Amazon

The Apple Acolyte's PickApple Watch Nike+

The Nike+ version of the Apple Watch is like a multisport watch for beginners—in a good way. The interface is user friendly, verging into Little Tikes territory levels of simplicity. It’s accurate, comfortable, and will tell you when to stand up (if you’re into that kind of thing).

> $399, buy now at Macy’sRelated Stories for GQBest StuffBest Stuff