{"id":18947,"date":"2025-09-13T14:42:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T14:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/18947\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:42:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T14:42:14","slug":"i-biked-11-miles-with-the-coros-nomad-vs-amazfit-t-rex-3-pro-and-the-results-surprised-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/18947\/","title":{"rendered":"I biked 11 miles with the Coros Nomad vs Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro \u2014 and the results surprised me"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Coros Nomad and Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro are tough-built, long-lasting, adventure-oriented GPS smartwatches designed to compete with the popular Garmin Instinct <\/a>line. Launched just weeks apart, and with so much in common, I just had to know which is more accurate.<\/p>\n

To find out, I wore the Coros Nomad<\/a> on my left wrist and the Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro<\/a> on my right wrist before heading out on an eleven-mile bike ride through Seattle, Washington. Using Strava as my control, the results of this head-to-head between the Coros Nomad and Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro somewhat surprised me. Read on to find out why (and for the winner).<\/p>\n

Coros Nomad vs Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro: quick comparison<\/p>\n

First, how do the Coros Nomad and Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro compare in terms of price, design, and specs? The Nomad is $349<\/a>, $50 less than the cheapest Instinct 3 model<\/a>. The Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro matches the Garmin competition with a $399 launch price<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Design-wise, both sport an oversized case with a hefty bezel for screen protection. Users can navigate the settings on either device via physical buttons or the touchscreen.<\/p>\n

Coros and Amazfit took entirely different approaches to the display, though. The screen on the T-Rex 3 Pro is an impressive AMOLED affair with 3,000 nits of max brightness. The Nomad screen is a dimmer, less contrasty \/colorful Memory in Pixel (MiP) panel that’s easy enough to see in bright sunlight, but challenging to view in dimmer conditions.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Coros\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

Battery life is excellent on both devices, and each support sa huge variety of workout and activity types. They also offer similar fitness and holistic-tracking sensors.<\/p>\n

For this head-to-head between the Coros Nomad and Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro, one advantage the latter has is a more sophisticated GPS antenna that uses six satellites compared to two. Seattle’s a hilly, tree-covered city with no shortage of tall buildings, i.e., the type of location where lesser GPS may struggle.<\/p>\n

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.<\/p>\n

Finally, while durability is a big selling point of either model, the Amazfit offers 100 meters of water resistance<\/a>, enough for high-impact watersports and even scuba diving, while the Coros boasts just 50 meters of water resistance.<\/p>\n

Coros Nomad vs Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro: Bike test results<\/p>\n

Using Strava as my control (recording my ride from a handlebar-mount), here’s how the results of the Coros Nomad vs. Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro bike test played out:<\/p>\n

Swipe to scroll horizontallyCoros Nomad vs Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro: bike test resultsHeader Cell – Column 0 <\/p>\n

Coros Nomad<\/p>\n

Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro<\/p>\n

Strava<\/p>\n

Distance<\/p>\n

11.21 miles<\/p>\n

11.17 miles<\/p>\n

11.23 miles<\/p>\n

Elevation gain<\/p>\n

725 feet<\/p>\n

628 feet<\/p>\n

676 feet<\/p>\n

Average speed (moving)<\/p>\n

11.4 mph<\/p>\n

11.63 mph<\/p>\n

12.2 mph<\/p>\n

Max speed <\/p>\n

25.8 mph<\/p>\n

23.3 mph<\/p>\n

26.6 mph<\/p>\n

Average heart rate<\/p>\n

162 bpm<\/p>\n

164 bpm<\/p>\n

n\/a<\/p>\n

Max heart rate<\/p>\n

188 bpm<\/p>\n

180 bpm<\/p>\n

n\/a<\/p>\n

Calories burned<\/p>\n

665 calories<\/p>\n

775 calories<\/p>\n

n\/a<\/p>\n

Battery drain<\/p>\n

2%<\/p>\n

3%<\/p>\n

n\/a<\/p>\n

Over the course of roughly 55 minutes, I cruised just over 11 miles and up around 675 feet of elevation (I told you Seattle is hilly!). Both smartwatches pretty much nailed the distance measurement; however, the elevation data was far less accurate.<\/p>\n

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While the Amazfit undercounted by 48 feet, the Coros overcounted by 49 feet. Neither of these results is great, and given that both smartwatches have onboard altimeters, I’m a bit surprised that either is this far off.<\/p>\n

I recently tested the accuracy of the Coros Nomad vs. Garmin Instinct 3<\/a>, and even though Garmin won, the Nomad’s elevation data for that test was closer to the control, though it still overcounted.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Coros\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

Average moving speed data offers some peace of mind. Both watches recorded a slower pace than Strava, but not by a concerning amount (less than 1 mph). Max speed data also matches up nicely for the Coros. The Nomad is within 1 mph of Strava’s max speed, while the T-Rex 3 Pro is off by 3.3 mph.<\/p>\n

Average heart rate data from the watches is similar enough; however, the Nomad measured a notably higher maximum heart rate for my ride. While I definitely cranked the pedals, I wouldn’t say I pushed myself any harder for this ride than others I’ve recently tracked.<\/p>\n

Based on data from prior bike test comparisons along a similar route \u2014 including when I biked 11 miles with the Apple Watch 10 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 8,<\/a> and when I biked 13 miles with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 8<\/a> \u2014 my max heart rate rarely crosses the 180 bpm threshold, suggesting that the Coros likely inflated the metric.<\/p>\n

Despite the higher max heart rate, the Nomad calculated fewer calories burned than the T-Rex 3 Pro. Finally, neither smartwatch burned through that much battery, but the Amazfit used 1% more.<\/p>\n

Coros Nomad vs Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro: And the winner is…<\/p>\n

\n

\"Amazfit\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

With accurate distance data but equally inaccurate elevation data, it’s difficult to crown a winner in this battle of the Coros Nomad vs. Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro. As such, I’m calling this showdown a draw (something I rarely do).<\/p>\n

Surprised? I’m just as shocked as you. As noted above, given either device’s positioning as a hard-wearing, outdoor-adventure-ready wearable, I’d expect sterling elevation gain data. That wasn’t the case this time around, despite fancy GPS antennas and onboard altimeters.<\/p>\n

However, you know what smartwatch has proven time and time again to be reliable when it comes to not just distance, but elevation, too? The Garmin Instinct 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What smartwatches should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.<\/p>\n

Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News<\/a> and add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!<\/p>\n

More from Tom’s Guide:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Coros Nomad and Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro are tough-built, long-lasting, adventure-oriented GPS smartwatches designed to compete with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[203,61,60,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-18947","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-gadgets","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}