The best Garmin alternative for runners and hikers is $50 off (with a sneaky second deal)

A topographical map mode on the COROS PACE Pro, sitting on top of a wooden armrest. The map shows a 500ft. region of a nearby park.

(Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)

I've been covering some great Garmin Black Friday deals, which make expensive Forerunner, Instinct, and Fenix watches for runners and hikers more accessible. But even discounted, you still have to pay upward of $449 (Forerunner 965) or $649 (Forerunner 970) for the best software features, especially offline maps for trail running or hiking.

That's why, even though the COROS PACE Pro at $299 ($50 off) isn't the biggest Black Friday deal, it's a great alternative because it started off "cheap" for the value it offers: 20 days of battery life, a 1.3-inch AMOLED display, dual-band GPS that worked quite accurately in my PACE Pro review, and offline hiking and street maps that were updated to include street names and places of interest earlier this year.

The bigger Black Friday deal that'll tempt more people is the Garmin Forerunner 265 at $299 ($150 off), but if you compare them directly, the PACE Pro offers an extra week of battery life and about double the dual-band GPS tracking (31 vs. 14 hours), and its brighter display (1,500 vs. 1,000 nits) displays maps clearly while Garmin only gives the 265 breadcrumb navigation. They both offer essentials like training load, recovery recommendations, and personalized running regimens.

The COROS Heart Rate Monitor sitting on a table outside. The name and "water resistance 3ATM" are visible around the optical HR sensor. — You can get a discounted COROS Heart Rate Monitor with your PACE Pro purchase. (Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)

For serious hikers or ruckers, the Instinct 3 Solar is $299 ($100 off), or $349 for the AMOLED version, a much more rugged watch than the PACE Pro with all the Garmin perks you'd expect. But without offline maps, the Instinct series relies on breadcrumb navigation, which just isn't that helpful when you come to a confusing trailhead; the lighter PACE Pro lets you check which trail you're on and makes it easier to improvise if you decide to take a different route.

COROS dropped the PACE Pro price after launching the PACE 4, which is a cheaper alternative...but only if you don't need maps. And the new COROS NOMAD is an intriguing hiking alternative with maps, if you prefer an MIP display, but it's not discounted for Black Friday.

While most people will buy the PACE Pro from Amazon, if you buy from COROS directly, you'll get 25% off a COROS Heart Rate Monitor, a comfortable armband with accurate data for people who don't trust smartwatches for HR data but don't want to wear a constricting chest strap. Just put both devices in your cart, and you'll see the $20 discount.

Again, this sneaky second deal isn't especially large, but that's only because the $79 COROS HRM is already affordable. And I genuinely recommend it, having worn it during my recent Garmin marathon, synced to my Garmin watch to give me faster results when my heart rate climbs or drops.

More Black Friday deals - quick links