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Best GPS Smartwatches for Hikers and Adventurers

Best GPS Smartwatches for Hikers and Adventurers

, by Raj, 6 min reading time

Whether you enjoy trail running, skiing, trekking, wild swimming, hiking, the latest GPS watches and trackers from leading brands can keep pace with you. These Smartwatches and trackers help you measure altitude, speed, steps, calories burned and a host of other metrics. If you are looking for smart wearables that have endurance that matches yours, check out this guide that lists the top smart gear for outdoor dwellers and fitness enthusiasts.

Garmin Fenix 5 Plus

The perfect outdoorsy smartwatch for outdoor enthusiasts, the Garmin Fenix 5 Plus has a host of sports tracking features. It offers tracking for hiking, running, swimming, trailing, hiking, and paddle boarding. This 47 mm Garmin Smartwatch has a heart rate monitor that feeds data into VO2 Max stats for high-intensity sports.You can use the Garmin Basecamp to upload GPX routes, so you dont have to worry about connectivity when youre out in the wilderness. Plus, the Fenix 5 Plus uses topographic maps that make navigation more accurate and finding places of interest easy, no matter where you are. The biggest plus of this wearable is its battery that lasts for up to 42 hours even with continuous GPS usage. You can also check out the variants of the Fenix 5 Plus.The smaller 42mm smartwatch has the same features, but a lower capacity battery. The larger 52 mm Garmin 5X plus has blood oxygen readings. If you want a lower budget smartwatch, you can go for the Fenix 5 original, but it doesnt have blood oxygen readings, topographic maps and Garmin Pay.

Suunto 9 Baro black

Sunnoto is a brand that is well known for rugged watches built for outdoor activities. The Ambit GPS range and the Spartan Sport collection are its most popular collections. The Suunto 9 is another incredible addition to this collection. This smartwatch is waterproof up to 100 meters, which make it a great companion for water sports.As for the navigation features, this wearable comes with GPS/GLONASS and features route navigation features that will help you find the best route to reach your destination. The built-in FusedAlti technology combines barometric data with GPS to give you accurate altitude data. When theres a sudden drop in air pressure, it gives you a storm warning. The best part it displays sunset and sunrise times.On the health tracking front, this wearable has an optical heart rate monitor. When it comes to tracking, this Smart wearable tracks more than 80 sports of which cycling, swimming, and running are the core modes. Suunto's new intelligent battery mode keeps the battery running for up to 120 hours depending on the usage.

Garmin Instinct

If youre looking for a feature-rich smartwatch like the Fenix 5 Plus, but at a lower cost, go for the Garmin Instinct.This top end outdoor watch from Garmin offers maximum navigation support and has features such as elevation data, GPX routes, storm alerts and TrackBack (helps you get back to your starting location.) It also has a heart rate monitor. However, this smartwatch doesnt have Connect IQ support, music support, or Garmin Pay.In Smartwatch mode, the battery lasts for up to 14 days. When you use the GPS mode, the batter powers the device for up to 16 hours, which you can extend up to 40 hours using the UltraTrac battery saver mode.

Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F30

The WSD-F30 from the Pro Trek Smart Series of Casio is a good outdoor smartwatch. It has a slim profile and a dual display mode that lets you use more of the outdoor watch features without draining the battery.This smartwatch has in-built apps and sensors that measure air pressure, altitude and various other metrics. It also has a tie-up with View Ranger and other third party apps.If you plan to trek for just a day or two, then this wearable will be useful.

Suunto Traverse Alpha

Though it is one of the older models from Suunto, the Traverse Alpha is still the best outdoor watch for hikers. This rugged smartwatch is perfect for fishing, hiking, and hunting. The GPS/GLONASS navigation tracks altitude, speed and distance.You can also use the Suuntos Moovescount app to get topographic support to plan your routes and preview them on your wrist before you start hiking. The wearable updates the weather trends and alerts you of incoming storm. Another great feature of this watch, which makes it great for hiking and trekking, is that it has a flashlight mode.Use the backlight as a torch when the light gets low or when you need to step out of your tent for late night toilet calls. This backlight is also compatible with night vision goggles.

Garmin Quatix 5

The Garmin Quatix 5 takes to water like a duck. Water resistant up to 100 meters, its perfect for sailing, fishing, surfing, and other water sports. Plus, it gives you nautical data.Download the latest tide data on the device via your Smartphone. Its dedicated calculator will help you correctly drop the anchor by calculating the length of the line you need to use. The device also has an anchor alarm that alerts you about boat drift.Use the fish log and competition timer when you go fishing. Features such as tack assist, distance to start line, race countdown timer, and more help you stay ahead while sail racing.

Amazfit Stratos

The Amazfit Stratos is a budget smartwatch packed with outdoor activity tracking features, a heart rate monitor, and GPS/GLONASS that provides navigation support.Partnered with Firstbeat, it also offers advanced metrics such as Training Load and VO2 Max. This 46 mm Smartwatch features a rugged design and has 4GB of built-in music storage.The battery lasts for up to 20 hours on GPS mode and 5 days in Smartwatch mode.

TomTom Adventurer

The Adventurer from TomTom is a true outdoor watch with sport modes for trail running, snowboarding, skiing, track hiking and lots more. Upload GPX routes to your wearable to stay on trail and navigate easily. The extra pressure sensors built in the device track altitude, elevation, pace, and distance.This wearable has a new lift detection mode. So, if youre skiing or snowboarding, it will recognize when youre going on the lift and give you a summary of your previous session on the snow. When youre hiking or trekking, the route exploration feature will come useful.Use Strava or any other third party too to build a GPX route or you can download the route from the internet and display it on your watch to find the route in the wilderness. In GPS mode, the battery lasts for up to 20 hours, provided you turn the heart rate monitor off.This list of the best GPS Smartwatches for hikers and adventurers includes budget and high-end wearables. Explore the features of the smartwatch and choose the one that has the best metrics and trackers for your sport.

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