The Best Stopwatches
We looked at the top 10 Stopwatches and dug through the reviews from 24 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Stopwatches.
Our Review Process
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Our Picks For The Top Stopwatches
- 1. KingL Digital Interval-Timer Stopwatch
- 2. Travelwey Basic Digital Stopwatch
- 3. PULIVIA Digital Lap-Split Shockproof Sports Stopwatch
- 4. LuckyStone Digital Water-Resistant Professional Stopwatch
- 5. FINIS Waterproof Swim-Training Stopwatch
- 6. ACCUSPLIT A601X Pro Survivor Stopwatch
- 7. Pgzsy Multi-Functional Digital Sport Stopwatch, 2-Pack
- 8. Onwon Large-Display Waterproof Sports Stopwatch
- 9. Learning Resources 3-Button Simple Stopwatch
- 10. MARATHON Adanac 3000 Digital Stopwatch
KingL’s digital stopwatch is made for sports use, and officials, coaches and athletes count on it to provide high precision, 1/100 second split timing. It is lightweight, measures 2.5 inches high and 2.2 inches wide, and comes with a lanyard to hang it up or put it on your neck.
Super Easy to SeeThis stopwatch is simple to operate and can measure different events at the same time.
This handheld, battery-operated digital stopwatch does not have alarm, time or date features that you might not need. It operates with just a few key presses, weighs only 0.13 pounds and comes with three AAA batteries.
Classic Design, Fundamental PerformanceThis lightweight stopwatch is perfect when you don’t want to get involved with complicated features and serves its purpose strictly as intended.
Here’s a modern, good-looking stopwatch with a large, easy-to-read display, calendar and clock functions and single split and lap timing. It is laser tuned to 1/100th second accuracy, made from shockproof nylon and comes with a 47-inch lanyard.
High-Tech and FunctionalCoaches absolutely love this well-made, durable stopwatch, and you will, too!
Weighing just 0.1 pounds and measuring 6.7 inches by 4.2 inches x 0.9 inches, LuckyStone’s digital stopwatch measures time right down to the last millisecond. It also clearly shows you the date, time and calendar and has an alarm plus an adjustable wrist strap.
Lightweight and Perfect SizeThis tough stopwatch has many great features, is easy to operate and lasts for years.
Buying Guide
Stopwatches are handheld timers used at sporting events like track meets, triathlons and swim meets. They are manually started and stopped by pressing buttons and are much more reliable for this purpose than the stopwatches you usually find on cellphones. Sports officials, coaches and athletes also use them for practices and training, and these watches are invaluable for measuring time accurately.
Old-fashioned stopwatches were analog, and today’s digital watches can be low or high-tech. Some stopwatches are still pretty basic, while others have running time and lap or “split” time to let users keep track of laps, events and cumulative time. Certain stopwatches can also store information, and some have more space than others. A countdown timer feature lets the user set a certain amount of time and then count down to zero. You can also see stopwatch functions on mobile phones, cars, handheld devices, clocks and wristwatches.
Stopwatches can also have alarms, times, dates and calendar functions. You can find decent stopwatches priced at under $10, but the high-performance ones are priced well over $50. Most get their energy from button cell batteries, but others use standard AAAs; these may or may not be included with the purchase. Good features to look for are a low weight, an included lanyard and an easy-to-read display. Some are shockproof, and others are waterproof; both are especially important for swim training and events.
Why we recommend these stopwatches?
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Our experts reviewed the top 10 Stopwatches and also dug through the reviews from 24 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Stopwatches.
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What to Look For
- Swim stopwatches can have extra functions that are particular to the sport, like stroke rate calculators.
- A backlight display makes a stopwatch easier to read when the lighting is low.
- Some stopwatches can measure up to 1/1000th of a second but will cost more.
- Stopwatches come in different colors, and bright ones don’t get lost often.
- It’s always a good idea to have an extra stopwatch!
- If your stopwatch has a lot of functions, it should come with a manual; read it before using the product.
- Stopwatches aren’t only for sports. They are also used in research laboratories and classrooms.
More to Explore
Though the details are a bit fuzzy, the first stopwatch design may have been thought up and written down in 1776 by Jean-Moyes Pouzai. He added the features to a regular clock, but his results were somewhat mixed. George Graham is thought to have created an early stopwatch that started and stopped at 1/16th of a second, but his device was never patented.
About 50 years later, Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec’s “Chronograph” was invented because King Louis XVIII needed to find out how fast his horses were making their way around his racetrack. Digital stopwatches came into use in the early 1970s at official sporting events.
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