Coros Dura in Review

Even after so many years in the tech industry, it’s still exciting for me when new devices land on my desk. Coros is a company based in Shenzhen and has been quite successful in Europe for several years now, especially with its sports watches.
With the Dura, the Chinese company introduced a product for the first time specifically tailored for cycling. The name is a promise of its long battery life, which, thanks to a small solar panel, is said to last up to 120 hours.
On one hand, this is quite a unique selling point, but on the other hand, it inevitably raises the question of the use cases where the realistic 15-20 hours of runtime of comparable devices would not suffice.

The competition in this segment is not only large with major players like Garmin or Wahoo. Integrated e-bike display units are also getting smarter, and for some applications, even a smartphone mounted on the handlebars can be a viable alternative.
I’ve tried to find out for you where the strengths and weaknesses of the Coros Dura lie, beyond just the battery, and who the potential target audience might be.

After unpacking and the first few kilometers on the city bike, the Coros Dura immediately ended up back in the drawer for me: the interface was too slow, errors in the software, all in all, an unsuccessful start. I was immediately reminded of the cozy years before my Commodore 64, when waiting in front of monitors was still part of the job.
Some time, software updates, and winter months later, I wanted to give the Coros Dura a second chance. And so we start the little journey into the Coros universe right after the tech specs, and this time without any baggage - as if I had just unpacked it.

The design of the Coros Dura is quite appealing. Although it is significantly larger than, for example, my Garmin Edge 840, the beveled edges make it appear sleek. The Garmin-compatible mount fits perfectly with the device but is not suitable for all bikes.
The first step after unboxing leads to the Coros app. Once the phone and device are paired, the first thing you should do is install the latest software update. A lot of positive developments have occurred in recent months, which shows that Coros currently has a fairly active update policy.

In the second step, I pair my two sensors (Garmin heart rate strap and power2max power meter) with the Coros Dura. This works flawlessly and is self-explanatory.
The menus are clear and logically arranged, and once you get used to operating it with the press, scroll wheel, and back button, you could almost forget that the screen is a touchscreen and that many functions can also be operated through it.
What unfortunately does not work is the direct modification of data fields via the touchscreen, which brings us directly to the next point.

Besides the usability, a major advantage of the Coros Dura is the display, which is not only very clear but also quite appealing graphically. The readability is on par with Garmin's Edge devices under various lighting conditions, and the backlight works well even at night.
While the pre-installed map is sparse on details, the data fields are very appealing and clearly designed. All performance-related values (watts/heart rate) are color-coded, depending on intensity, ranging from grass green for a leisurely Sunday ride to the bakery to violet during the final meters of a sprint finish. Overall, I find the data fields more readable than those of most competitors, and after the latest software updates, there are hardly any display errors like truncated words or letters.

The solar function resulted in minimal increases in runtime during my rides. It's certain that there’s more potential during direct sunlight in summer; however, this brings back the initial question of who uses a device for more than 20-30 hours straight without direct access to a charging option.
I see the use case more for city bikes or commuter bikes, where the Coros Dura could potentially be operated for weeks without recharging.

What works less well or is simply implemented in a rather rudimentary way is the routing and map display. While narrow single trails can also be found in the map display, they are not or hardly distinguishable from two-lane country roads. The usual yellow used to represent higher-ranking roads is reserved for highways and expressways.
This means that while navigating, you are not distracted by information outside of the clearly visible route, but all details such as street or place names, bodies of water, bridges, railway tracks, and much more are missing, which would occasionally make orientation easier.

As a routing destination, only the starting point is available on the device itself. For everything else, you need the Coros app or interfaces to Komoot and similar services.
Creating routes on the app and synchronization are self-explanatory, but routing in the Coros app is only recommended for navigation on road or touring bikes. For off-road terrain, creating routes via a third-party app is unavoidable.
In general, it seems that routing, at least in the current software version, does not have a high priority. While training data and training management are quite solidly implemented, the Coros app routes cyclists similarly to how Google would direct a car. There is a clear lack of differentiation between road bike, mountain bike, or touring bike, and thus main roads and bike paths are prioritized equally in routing, following the motto: asphalt is asphalt.

But there is also positive news to report regarding navigation. The display of the route is very clear due to the lack of many map details, and the turn-by-turn directions, including countdown bars and distance indications, are accurate and helpful.
If you happen to take an alternative path or miss a turn, the recalculation of the road route works within seconds. On the mountain bike, I only used the Coros navigation once. After numerous deviations from the route, the device beeps itself into what feels like techno-trance.

The long battery life of the Coros Dura might be a reason for some to purchase it. I see it more as a niche for those who find the average 20-hour runtime of competitors insufficient.
Where the Coros Dura can definitely score points: in its clear menu navigation and design, data presentation on various training pages, and its fairly straightforward and mostly self-explanatory operation.
Anyone expecting the feature set or map display of a Garmin Edge or the CPU speed of an Apple Watch will be disappointed. Even though the device has become significantly faster with the latest software update compared to the beginning of my test series, the delay when switching pages or zooming maps is still noticeably greater than, for example, Garmin or Wahoo devices.

All those who do not want to dive into the depths of hundreds of submenus and display modes, but are looking for a straightforward GPS device for training recording with basic routing functions that can be easily set up via an app, will enjoy the Coros.
Hardware-wise, it offers everything necessary to keep track of essential data, from display backlighting to ANT+ and Bluetooth, as well as sensors and many GPS standards.

The unique selling point of long battery life might be most relevant to long-distance riders, commuters, or city cyclists, where recharging at a parking spot is not always simple or convenient. A sunny spot is enough for the Coros Dura to recharge well in standby mode.
And: In terms of RRP, the Coros is significantly cheaper than the dominant GPS devices and could therefore also be interesting for budget-conscious buyers.