Best Hiking Watches: Trialed & Tested [2023 Update]

Best Watches For Hiking By Category

Budget: Casio Pathfinder PAG240-1, Suunto Core, Casio Pro Trek PRW-3500
Best GPS Hiking Watches: Garmin Instinct Solar, Garmin Fenix 6X Pro, Garmin Enduro, Suunto Spartan Sport HR Baro
Best Battery Life: Garmin Instinct Solar, Casio Pathfinder PAG240-1, Suunto Core, Garmin Enduro

Which is the Best Hiking Watch?

Hitting the trails over the last season we’ve tested many watches and have shortlisted the following favorites.

• Garmin Instinct Solar
• Suunto Traverse
• Garmin Fenix 6X Pro
• Garmin Fenix 5X Plus
• Casio Pathfinder PAG240-1
• Suunto Core
• Casio Pro Trek PRW-3500
• Suunto Spartan Sport HR Baro
• Suunto 9 Baro
• Garmin Enduro

What to look for in a GPS Hiking Watch?

When choosing the right hiking GPS watch for you, asking the questions listed below can assist in narrowing down your decision.

• What is the primary purpose you’ll use the watch for?
• Which watch features are a necessity?
• Which extra features are ‘nice-to-haves’?
• Does the style matter to you?
• What are you willing to pay for all the above?

If you aren’t sure which features and functions you require we’ve listed the most important below.

• Hiking Features/Enhanced Functionality
• Durability
• Comfort
• Battery Life

Hiking Features/Enhanced Functionality

The enhanced functionality of hiking or backpacking watches provides the user with a wider breadth of data to help make your backcountry trip safer and more enjoyable.

The following list has a rundown of the most common enhanced functions and what you use them for.

• Altimeter
• Barometer
• Compass
• GPS
• Thermometer
• Heart Rate Monitors

Altimeter

An altimeter measures altitude, derived from the Latin “altitudo” meaning “height,” which is a measure of your vertical position above sea level. Knowing your elevation in combination with a map is a useful way of determining or double-checking your position.

This is particularly valuable in areas where taking sightings with a compass for triangulation is tricky e.g. in dense forest or barren wilderness with few discernable landmarks/rock cairns or if navigating at night.

A watch with a hiking altimeter will determine this in one of two ways:

1. Barometric Pressure

An altimeter barometer watch uses atmospheric pressure to calculate your approximate location above sea level based on the premise that atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases. 

Barometric altimeter watches, however, will only give you an approximate elevation since temperature variations and local weather conditions also influence atmospheric pressure, resulting in some uncertainty on your precise altitude.

To ensure accurate readings, an altimeter barometric watch needs to be calibrated often, with some of the more advanced models doing this automatically. Although, we would caution that you should also learn to do this manually as technology can (and does) fail.

2. Hiking Watches with GPS

GPS-based altimeters use the same principles to identify your height as your lateral (x/y) position i.e. multiple satellites are used to pinpoint your location on the earth’s surface.

GPS altimeters suffer from the fact that you need to be in the line of sight of at least 4 geo-orbiting satellite systems to gain an accurate location, which can be problematic if you are in the mountains, canyons, or valleys of the backcountry.

As a result, for use in the backcountry, we would recommend picking a non-GPS barometric altimeter over a GPS altimeter due to their (typically) greater accuracy in locations in which we outdoors folk normally find ourselves. However, if you want something that doesn’t require calibration and you can live with the uncertainty, then don’t rule out a watch with a GPS altimeter.

Lastly, a cute feature of some watches is the ability to download the altitude data to your computer or web application and make a topographic profile of your hike.

Barometer

Your hiking watch’s barometer function measures atmospheric pressure and tracks air pressure changes over time to predict upcoming weather events.

Increasing atmospheric pressure means that weather conditions are improving and conversely decreasing atmospheric pressure suggests that less than stellar hiking conditions are on the way (think precipitation: rain, fog, snow). 

A sharp decrease in pressure usually indicates a storm is on its way, and many of the hiking smartwatches in this review will alert you with an alarm, giving you time to get your rain gear on, or to seek shelter.

Having some advanced warning of the likely weather forecast can be a massive help in staying dry(er) and more comfortable, and in extreme cases, staying safe by seeking shelter.

Compass

A compass is your principal means of navigation, showing the four cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West) along with your current bearing (the direction you are facing). It works by measuring the earth’s magnetic field to accurately determine which way is north. Any watch without a compass isn’t a watch for hiking in our opinion.

While a compass on your watch is useful for getting a sense of general direction, we would again caution that it should not entirely replace your traditional compass for two simple reasons. First, you’ll quickly find sighting and triangulation with a map much easier with your handheld compass, and secondly, and more importantly, technology can fail.

GPS

As mentioned, the GPS function uses orbiting satellites to pinpoint your location on earth, providing access to your current coordinates, speed, distance traveled from the previous waypoint, ascent/descent, and your position relative to various landmarks on the GPS map system. This feature is available on the more advanced hiking watches.

Probably most useful is that GPS watches can import your chosen route, allowing you to see your current position relative to where you should be. In addition, after making it safely home again, you can download all this GPS data to relive your trip in digital form.

The biggest downside to GPS watches for hiking is they all suffer from short battery lives – I’ve yet to see a watch that can survive more than a day or two with the GPS tracking turned on. 

Therefore, if you are going on a longer trip your options are likely restricted to only having the GPS signal turned on for limited periods and/or bringing along some form of charger, either a battery pack or solar charger.

Thermometer

Thermometers are a feature on some watch models and provide an idea of the air temperature.

We’ve yet to be convinced as to how useful such a feature is, as your own internal sense of the external temperature will let you know if it’s time to throw on your jacket or peel off a layer. Additionally, as the temperature sensor sits next to your wrist, temperature readings from watches tend to be skewed slightly by your body heat.

As far as we are concerned, a “nice to have”, but certainly not a must-have feature.

Heart Rate Monitors

Watches with a heart rate monitor (HRM) measure your body’s electrical pulses, either through a transmitter/receiver built into the watch (measured through the wrist) or by using a transmitter chest strap and receiver built into the watch.

As with the thermometer, this isn’t a particularly necessary feature but does allow you to keep an eye on how well you are pacing yourself and gives you an overview of your fitness levels.

This feature is most useful for those who are hiking to improve their fitness (as you’ll be able to monitor your improvement over time by referring to your heart rate) or those “metric geeks” (such as myself) who love nothing more than poring over data/trends.

A word of caution – even the most sophisticated wearable heart rate monitor isn’t particularly accurate.

Durability

Everyone who has hiked or backpacked knows that trips, slips, and falls can happen due to a wet rock or misplaced foot, and as such, your equipment needs to be sturdy and durable enough to survive such misadventures.

Many good hiking watches are protected with sapphire glass lenses which offer increased protection from scratches as compared to the traditional mineral crystal glasses you’ll find on regular watches. Expect to find a higher price tag for that protection though.

While getting wet is generally something to be avoided while out in the wilderness, staying dry is often something that isn’t feasible. To that end, all (good) hiking watches are water-resistant, often marked up to 100m (10 ATM), which seems like a little bit of overkill (even if you’re trekking through the Amazon and decide to go for a dip every evening). 

Suffice to say, anything above the roughly water-resistant 30m point should be sufficient to weather even extreme downpours and the occasional bit of skinny dipping along the route.

Comfort

Because your watch may be the only item you wear continuously for days on end (we hope you change your underwear occasionally), it should also be comfortable. When buying, look for softer materials in the wristband and read user reviews to understand how comfortable the watch is during all-day use.

Also, durable and rugged straps and added features may result in bulk that makes it awkward, particularly for those of us blessed with slender wrists. Does it fit snuggly, or does it chafe like hell after only 2km?

Don’t underestimate how important comfort is, and ultimately, if you forget you are wearing your watch, then comfort-wise, you have chosen well.

Battery Life

Depending on the duration of your typical trip into the backcountry, battery life may or may not be an important consideration in an outdoor watch. All the hiking watches reviewed here should last through a one or two-day outdoor adventure without the need to search for your nearest electrical socket.

However, for those of us who expect to be out for multiple days, weeks, or even months, then longevity from your mountain watches battery is something you may wish to prioritize. Certainly, hauling a spare battery pack is a possibility, but that’s extra weight on your back.

Generally, there are two broad-brush correlations here, 1) more features = shorter battery life and 2) higher price (for a similar number of features) = longer battery life. This is why we would typically recommend a simpler watch for those more advanced backpackers who expect to be out for weeks on end.

Best Watch for Hiking: The Verdict

If you’re looking for a high-end model that will do practically everything except cook your food upon reaching camp, we recommend the Garmin Instinct Solar or Garmin Fenix 6X Pro. Both are for serious outdoors enthusiasts who appreciate precise, detailed data, numerous bonus features, and top-notch mapping.

If you are on a budget or want to spend your money on other pieces of kit and/or don’t require enhanced functionality like GPS, then we recommend a simple ABC watch like the Casio Pathfinder or Protrek, or the Suunto Core watch.

If you’re keen on GPS or simply want more stylish, sleek designs with enhanced functionality – particularly other features such as thermometers, atomic time-keeping, and HRM – then you can spend a little more and get yourself the non-baro version of the Suunto 9 or Suunto Traverse.

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