Bouldering Mode is designed specifically for tracking indoor and outdoor bouldering sessions. With dedicated climbing metrics, automatic climb detection, customizable grading systems, and workout support, Bouldering Mode helps you monitor performance, analyze progress, and structure your training more effectively.
Supported Watches
Bouldering Mode is available on: APEX Pro 1, APEX 2, APEX 2 Pro, APEX 4 (46mm and 42mm), NOMAD, VERTIX 1, VERTIX 2, and VERTIX 2S.
Key Features
Dedicated Bouldering Tracking
Bouldering Mode is built specifically around the demands of bouldering sessions, providing more precise tracking and analysis for shorter, high-intensity climbing efforts.
During an activity, your watch records metrics including:
- Activity Duration
- Heart Rate
- Elevation Gain
- Route Count
- Time Spent Climbing
- Training Load
After each attempt, you can record the difficulty and outcome of your climb to create a detailed session summary.
Grading Systems
Bouldering Mode supports several grading systems, allowing climbers around the world to log sessions using their preferred scale.
Supported grading systems include V-Scale and Font Scale. You can customize your preferred grading system in the COROS app from the Profile page → Settings → Climbing Grade.
Climb Detect
Climb Detect automatically tracks your bouldering attempts throughout your session, allowing you to focus on climbing instead of manually recording every problem. You can set this up from the Bouldering start screen. Before pressing Start, scroll down and select Climb Detect to toggle this on or off.
When Climb Detect is enabled, your watch uses movement patterns and sensor data to identify when you begin climbing. A climb is automatically started when you leave the ground and stopped once you return to the ground, creating a new attempt within your activity. After a climb is detected, you can review and categorize the attempt by selecting the appropriate outcome, such as:
- Onsight
- Flash
- Redpoint
- Attempt
Recording a Bouldering Activity
To start a bouldering activity:
- Press the Digital Dial to open the activity menu and select Bouldering.
- Wait for your watch to acquire heart rate and GPS signal (if outdoors).
- Press the dial to start and begin tracking your session.
When Climb Detect is enabled, your watch will automatically create a new climb when you begin climbing and end the climb when you return to the ground. After each climb, you can review the attempt and record the route grade and send style.
Send Style
After each climb, categorize the result of your attempt to build a more detailed training history.
- Onsight - Successfully complete a route on the first attempt without prior information or observation.
- Flash - Successfully complete a route on the first attempt after receiving information or observing another climber.
- Redpoint - Successfully complete a route after one or more previous attempts.
- Attempt - An unsuccessful attempt that did not result in completing the route.
- Not a Climb - Use when a detected climb should not be counted as a bouldering attempt, or when you accidentally start a climb.
Viewing Your Results
After completing a session, you can review your activity in the COROS app to analyze:
- Total climbing time
- Route count
- Grade distribution
- Heart rate trends
- Training Load
- Session duration
These insights help you monitor progression, evaluate workload, and identify performance trends over time.
Training Plans and Structured Workouts
Bouldering Mode supports structured workouts through both the COROS app and COROS Training Hub. This allows athletes and coaches to:
- Create climbing-specific workouts
- Prescribe target grades
- Organize climbing sessions
- Schedule training plans
- Sync workouts directly to compatible watches
To create a Bouldering workout in the COROS app, head to the Profile page → select Workout Library → create a new workout, and select Bouldering as the activity type. For detailed instructions on creating custom workouts, see our article Create Custom Workouts in Your COROS App.
Bouldering Statistics
Track your long-term climbing progress by viewing your Bouldering Statistics in the COROS app.
To access your statistics, open the COROS app to the Activity page, select Statistics in the top right corner, and filter by Bouldering.
Your Bouldering statistics provide a cumulative view of your climbing activity over time, helping you identify trends and monitor progression. You can view your performance across weekly, monthly, or yearly time periods. Statistics include:
- Total climbing duration
- Number of climbs completed
- Grade distribution
- Climbing style breakdown
- Training volume trends
- Activity frequency
Use these insights to understand how your climbing volume changes over time, track the grades you're consistently climbing, and monitor progress toward your training goals.
FAQs
Climb Detect automatically identifies when you begin climbing and when you return to the ground, creating a new climb within your activity without requiring manual input. You can set this up from the start screen of Bouldering mode.
Yes. If a climb is incorrectly detected, you can review the attempt and remove it by selecting Not a Climb.
Indoor Climb Mode is designed for lead climbing, top rope climbing, and bouldering within a single activity profile. Bouldering Mode is dedicated specifically to bouldering and provides automatic climb detection, route grading, climb outcomes, and structured bouldering workouts.
Yes. Bouldering workouts can be created in both the COROS app and COROS Training Hub and synced directly to compatible watches.
Yes. Grading preferences can be updated at any time through the COROS app under the Profile page → Settings → Climbing Grade.