Best GPS Hiking Watches for Everyday Use, Tested
Best Smartwatch for an Optimized Life: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Watch Dimensions: 49 x 44 x 14.4 mm
Weight: 61 g
Display Material: flat sapphire crystal
Battery Life: Up to 36 hours normal use
Price: $799
Pros: Insanely versatile (for iOS users), added connectivity built great peace of mind for day hikes, seemingly unlimited number of features
Cons: Only works for iOS users, battery life wasn’t long enough for multi-day trips for testers wanting to use GPS
For testers who use iOS to organize their lives, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 proved to be an incredibly smart watch that did absolutely everything—it could sub in as a running watch, a dive watch, and had killer apps for tracking any kind of outdoor recreation.
Hiking specific, it was able to track heart rate impeccably, had myriad GPS mapping options to be used while hiking, and delivered real time weather conditions. Apple Health tracking allowed our tester to keep track of where her fitness was with remarkable accuracy, which helped her choose the difficulty of route choices based on her fitness. Our tester added it to her phone plan and could take calls on it and text, too, which was a huge bonus while hiking in-service (being able to leave her phone at home while still knowing she could get an emergency call or text if needed was really a huge benefit).
The battery life was 36 hours when using GPS sensors, which is not up to par with the solar ultra watches above but holy smokes did it give us access to hundreds of features within those hours. Also, that 36 hour lifes was still impressive though, especially since we thought of this member of the Apple Watch Series as more of a tiny Macbook than just a GPS hiking watch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a hiking watch for?
For many outdoor enthusiasts, a modern GPS-enabled hiking watch is essential not only for tracking trail progress, navigating trails, and tracking weather changes in real time, but also for monitoring your health and fitness. With features like heart rate tracking, sleep monitoring, and activity metrics, models from brands like Garmin, Suunto, and Apple help you optimize your performance and stay safe while enjoying the outdoors.
Source: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/best-gps-hiking-watch-guide
