GPS Watch Battery Life

[GB72]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced GPS watch with good battery life.

The battery life on my TomTom 2 was never great but now it dies not long after a round. Even at its best you would struggle to get 36 holes out of it.

Interested to see if this is the norm for watches due to the limited space for a battery or whether some last significantly longer

 

[Garush34]

I have a Garmin S1, it has lasted me years and still going strong. Can easily get 36 holes out of it. Would have thought its been superseded now but would think most Garmins the same in terms of battery life.

 

[r0wly86]

I have a SkyCaddie S1 as above I think it is a bit old now and superseded. But was £100 3 years a go so probably can get it cheap. I can get 2-3 rounds out of it no probs and only a few hours to charge to full

 

[Robster59]

I have a Bushnell Neo XS which I've had for years and still get 36+ holes of golf no problem.

 

[Jensen]

I too have a Bushnell Neon which I've had for 18 months. Cost new was £130, and easily get 36 holes in, however the norm seems to be 54 holes

 

[shane3003]

I’ve got the Garmin S2 and always manage at least 36 holes before needs charging. Just ordered the S60, excited!

 

[Shooter McPowick]

I’ve got the Garmin S2 and always manage at least 36 holes before needs charging. Just ordered the S60, excited!

S60 is awesome!

I can get 36 holes from my s60 👍🏻

 

[Slab]

I also easily get 36 hole from garmin watch, or about 14 days with no gps use (this might be low but as a smartwatch with HR its always doing something more than just telling the time)

 

[shane3003]

S60 is awesome!

I can get 36 holes from my s60 👍🏻

Can’t wait! Also, anyone want a blue Garmin S2? 😊

 

[casuk]

I had the Bushnell neo + I would get 3 rounds on it easily my golf buddy wtx however is very poor battery life I would struggle to get the 36 holes with it, the new w10 will get 13 hours in golf mode looks a nice piece if kit for £260

 

[tincup]

I would recommend the Garmin S20, reasonably priced, tracks your shots, keeps score and I did the longest day challenge last year and easily managed 72 holes.
Quite regular use it for 27 holes in a day and easily more than 50% battery left

 

[jonny1409]

I've had various GPS watches (Golf Buddy, Garmin, Skycaddie etc) and to be honest any you buy will likely do 36 holes from new, but once they got a bit older they tended to lose this ability and it became hit and miss as to whether they'd last 36 holes.
As it happens I only ever play 18 so it was fine for me, but if I regularly played 36 in a day I'd struggle once the watch got a bit older I think.

Now I use a Galaxy S3 watch paired with my phone, and whilst this won't do 36 holes on a single charge, if I were to play 36 I'd have it charging on my portable charger between rounds so I'd be fine.
It takes about an hour to get to 50% from empty and about 2 hours to charge empty to full.

I'm sure most of the newer watches will be fine though, but if you don't want a brand new one maybe look at those with the quickest charging time and get yourself a portable charger if you'e going to play 36 regularly?

 

[mister v]

Another vote for the S60, 2 rounds out of it before a recharge. superb bit of kit

 

[GB72]

It is more the case that if I play 18 and forget to charge it, it is dead by the following morning if I want to play. Guessing the GPS is permanently on whereas others switch to watch mode to save battery life.

 

[GB72]

Looking at the Bushnell Neo Excel as claims 3 rounds of battery life, a watch mode to save battery power and can do course updates from a phone rather than a PC (I do not have a computer at home).

The S60 looks great but £250 for what a use a GPS for (Mainly just distance to the flag) is a bit much.

anyone tried the bushnell.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Are lots of you playing 36 holes in one day? I have a Garmin S1, play my 18 holes, get home, charge it up to full, turn it off, put it on again next time I play. No problem at all getting 18 out of it, would probably do more but don't try to push it. The watch might do 36 in one day, not sure I would want to .

 

[GB72]

Are lots of you playing 36 holes in one day? I have a Garmin S1, play my 18 holes, get home, charge it up to full, turn it off, put it on again next time I play. No problem at all getting 18 out of it, would probably do more but don't try to push it. The watch might do 36 in one day, not sure I would want to .

Not really for 36 in a day, mine is pretty much dead after 18 holes so not ideal there but would like one that I can use 2 days running without charging. Often doing things after golf on a Saturday and have a habit of forgetting to charge mine when I get in so end up without one for the next day. Plus it is not ideal to leave things on charge and so have to charge it the night before rather than earlier in the week as it does not have a watch only mode.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Fair enough. I think the S1 uses very little battery life in watch only mode so I can easily play 18 and then use the watch for a week in watch only mode. I do that sometimes just to let the battery get down a bit, give it a better charge.

The S1 is very basic, fine for golf, fine for everyday if you so wish, but not really sexy. I would not compare it to later models.

 

[r0wly86]

jonny1409 make a very good point. I'm primarily using the GameGolf app on my phone now. Free for basic GPS and not a lot extra for the full analytics package. Then buy a powerbank, a £30 one can charge your phone 3 times.

That's probably the cheapest and easiest way to do things

 

[micklson66]

Really like the Garmin S20
Easily the best watch I've used and can comfortably get 2 rounds in with one charge of the battery