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The Best Backpacking Watches Reviewed
Backpacking requires a lot of planning, and choosing the right gear is important. Preparing well for your journey will allow for more time to enjoy your travels. Finding multi-functional gear that won’t weigh you down is key to a successful backpacking experience. We’re here to help you find the best backpacking watch for your adventure.
Last update on 2024-12-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Backpacking Watch Buyer’s Guide
There are many different types of watches on the market that have features useful for outdoor activities. However, if you are planning a backpacking trip, you need more than just your average hiking or fitness watch. Every good hiking watch should include a barometer, altimeter, and compass. Here are some more important features to look for when searching for the best backpacking watch.
Battery Life
Going backpacking is a multi-day activity. You are carrying everything you need with you, and you need to keep it light. Having a watch that can last several days on a single charge is essential…you don’t want to take up space in your pack for extra charging equipment.
A watch’s battery life specs can include a wide range. It is important to understand the different features that may need to be turned off to extend a watch’s battery. A constantly updating GPS will drain a battery quickly. This can often be adjusted to update less often, extending your watch’s battery life.
A few watches offer a solar charging option. This sounds like a great additional feature, but when examining the numbers more closely, the solar may not add as much battery life as you would expect. Solar power charging comes with a significant price increase, so for many people the additional battery time may not be worth the extra cost.
Comfort and Durability
Hiking watches are made to withstand the elements, so many of these watches are bulkier than your average smartwatch. It’s important to consider the weight and size of a watch, as well as band design, before buying. You will be wearing this watch for many long hours…make sure it will be comfortable.
Many watches offer a sapphire glass lens. A sapphire glass lens is more scratch resistant than your more common mineral crystal lens. This is definitely a feature worth paying for if you know you’ll be rough on your new device.
Something else to consider is whether the watch is waterproof or water-resistant. A water-resistant watch can withstand the occasional fall in a creek, but should not be submerged for any significant amount of time. If you know you’ll be spending a lot of time in the water, invest in a waterproof watch.
Additional Activity Tracking
Some of the watches on our list are designed to be great, all-around fitness trackers. If you need an excellent backpacking watch and a device that can track your heart rate while running or swimming, these features are worth the extra cost.
Many watches will also sync up your hiking and fitness stats to a web or mobile app. This allows you to review and compare time spent, distance travelled, average heart rate and more from your computer or mobile phone.
Our Picks for the Best Backpacking Watches
Last update on 2024-12-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Suunto is extremely well liked and well respected with outdoor enthusiasts. The Suunto 9 Baro has everything you could need for your backpacking adventure. Boasting an intelligent battery mode, the watch will suggest battery saving adjustments when it’s getting low on power. Adjusting your battery mode can result in up to 120 hours of battery life.
Knowing that continuous GPS updating can quickly drain a battery, Suunto has included Fusedtrack sensors in the 9 Baro. This feature allows for accurate tracking when the GPS is set to update less often, saving you battery life without compromising tracking.
When looking at the Suunto 9 be sure to select the Baro model. This model comes equipped with barometric altitude measurements, allowing for extra features such as storm alarms and weather trends.
This is one of the newest Suunto models, and therefore compatible with the company’s updated software. Some Suunto users have complained that their older watches are no longer supported. Others find the new software is still a bit incomplete and buggy, definitely something to keep in mind when considering this watch.
This watch does include a sapphire glass display and is water resistant up to 100 meters. It also offers 80+ sport modes with both wrist and chest strap heart rate monitoring. The Suunto 9 Baro is extremely durable with an excellent battery life and many extra features, making this a great watch for your backpacking trip.
Pros:
- Up to 120 hours of battery life
- GPS with Fusedtrack technology
- Barometric Altimeter
- Heart rate monitoring
- Sapphire glass lens
- Water resistant up to 100m
Cons:
- Software issues
Last update on 2024-12-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Garmin has long been trusted when it comes to GPS equipment, and their watches are no exception. With the Fenix 6 you get access to not only GPS but also GLONASS and Galileo, giving this watch more accurate tracking with less disruptions.
The Fenix 6 Pro has an impressive battery life depending on the mode. In the Expedition GPS mode the battery can last up to 28 days! However, in this mode the GPS may only ping once every 90 minutes. You can choose to manually ping, supplementing the tracking during your journey. If you are looking to take a shorter trip, this watch will last 36 hours in its full GPS mode.
There are several different models of the Fenix 6, so depending on your budget and your needs you can choose the more rugged sapphire models or even a solar charging face model. Even without these additional features this is a very durable watch, tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock and water resistance. It is truly designed to withstand the elements.
A unique feature of the Garmin Fenix 6 is Pulse Ox to support altitude acclimation at high elevations. Depending on your planned excursions, this may be a valuable feature. This watch also has wrist heart rate monitoring and a barometric altimeter. A great multi-sport watch, it will be a perfect fit for your backpacking trip, or just your daily run.
Pros:
- Up to 28 days of battery life
- GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo
- Pulse ox monitoring
- Barometric altimeter
- Heart rate monitoring
- Many different options to choose from at different price points
Cons:
- User complaints about band fit and comfort
Last update on 2024-12-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
If you are looking for a great backpacking watch on a tighter budget, the Coros APEX is an excellent option. At about half the price of the Garmin Fenix, this watch has all the important features, an excellent battery life, and many happy users.
Like the previous watches, the battery mode is adjustable, allowing you to extend the battery life of your watch. The APEX offers UltraMax GPS mode, giving the user up to 100 hours of battery life. Even in full GPS mode, this watch offers up to 35 hours of battery. With access to both GPS and GLONASS this watch will keep you connected with accurate tracking.
This watch has a durable sapphire glass lens and many different band options. Its design is much less bulky than many of the other outdoor watches, making it a great watch for everyday wear. It can follow you from the office onto the trails.
It has all the features you can expect from a good hiking watch: barometer, altimeter, and compass. It even has wrist heart rate monitoring, and can be connected to many popular 3rd party apps for keeping up with all of your activities. It is by far the best budget watch for backpacking.
Pros:
- Up to 100 hours of battery life
- GPS and GLONASS
- Barometric altimeter
- Heart rate monitoring
- Sapphire glass lens
- Price
Cons:
- Limited activity tracking options compared to other brands
Conclusion
There are many excellent fitness trackers and multi-sport watches on the market. However, if you are looking for the best backpacking watch, there are a few that really stand out. With exceptional battery life and durability, the watches on our list will carry you through all of your backpacking adventures.
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