Best outdoor GPS watches: Navigation, mapping and long battery life

People who love the great outdoors need a GPS sports watch in their life – which can offer top navigation and tracking features. Not only can it help you enjoy your off-piste adventures, but they can also be great safety tools too.
Whether you’re all about hiking, skiing, trail running or wild swimming, the latest multi-sport watches can measure the altitude and speed of your downhills, offer GPX guidance on walks and runs and track multi-day jaunts with long battery life.

If that perfectly describes the kind of watch companion you’re looking for, we’ve rounded up our pick of the watches for climbers, hikers, ocean-goers and outdoor dwellers.

Got any questions about our selections below? Let us know in the comments section below.
Learn this: How to add GPX routes to your Garmin watchGarmin InstinctThe Garmin Instinct packs in a lot of the same features found on the Fenix 6 for less, although the sacrifice of proper mapping may be too much. We’d also reckon on that being the basis of a Garmin Instinct 2, which we’re surely due now that the Instinct is getting in for two years old.
However, it’s not totally navigation free. You do get the likes of course navigation, GPX routes, elevation data, storm alerts and TrackBack (for following waypoints back to your starting location).
There’s a heart rate monitor on board that should be good enough for your big treks and while it lacks contactless payments and a built-in music player, it does let you view your smartphone notifications.
On the battery life front, you can expect up to 14 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, 16 hours in GPS mode and up to 40 hours in UltraTrac battery saver mode.There’s also a Garmin Instinct Tactical option that adds support for military black ops kit – such as night vision goggles and extra privacy features so military users can stop leaking their training locations, but still get data on workouts.
Price when reviewed: $299.99Wareable verdict: Garmin Instinct reviewGarmin Fenix 6 seriesThe Garmin Fenix 6 range is one of the best quality outdoor watches on the market – and offers mapping and GPX waypoint functionality, with absurdly long battery life and a tough build.
The Fenix is essentially the greatest hits of all Garmin’s top features. It tracks everything from trail running to XC skiing, and included a hiking mode.
For those that are really into fitness there’s heart rate, which feeds into VO2 Max stats for high intensity sports, with Training Effect and recovery data.
But let’s stick to why this watch is the best option for outdoors types. You can upload GPX routes using Garmin Basecamp – but you get so much more data than any other outdoor watch option.The Fenix 6 uses topographic maps, which adds a whole dimension to wrist-based navigation, and you can even find places of interest straight from the watch. They’re not the best maps around and navigating your surroundings using the watches five buttons (there’s no touchscreen here) is frustrating at best.And battery life is another huge plus. UltraTrac mode offers 42 hours of GPS tracking. That’s a weekend of hiking without charging, which is a big plus for multi-day runners or walkers.We’ve done a whole separate article on choosing the right Garmin Fenix 6 for you. The Fenix 6S is a smaller device more suitable for those who don’t like 47mm oversized watches, but has less battery life. But you’ll need to choose a Pro model to get the mapping features.
Price when reviewed: $699 (Fenix 6 Pro)Full reviews: Garmin Fenix 6 Pro review | Garmin Fenix 6S reviewAmazfit T-RexSomething from the other end of the price scale, Amazfit’s new T-Rex is an outdoor sports watch that does a decent imitation of a Garmin Fenix at a $140 price tag.
At 47mm it’s big, there’s no doubt of that – but no more of a monster than the Fenix 6 Pro and smaller than the Fenix 6X. It’s built to military grade toughness standards and is water resistant to 5ATM.
You get 14 tracked sports, including trekking – although there’s no mapping built-into the watch like the Garmin Instinct or Fenix.
However, you will get around 20 hours of GPS tracking, which is none too shabby.
Of course, Amazfit’s app experience is no-where near as detailed as Garmin. But actually, it’s a clean experience with loads of interesting fitness data. If you’re into running, the VO2 Max metrics come from Firstbeat, the same company that handles Garmin’s advanced analytics. And you’re getting all that goodness for a fraction on the price.
While the Garmin Instinct and Fenix series get our vote for the best outdoor watch, the T-Rex is a top way to spend less.Price when reviewed: $140Wareable verdict: Amazfit T-Rex reviewSuunto 9 Baro Black
With its range of rugged watches, Suunto is synonymous with sports of the outdoor variety. And with its Ambit GPS range and Spartan Sport collection, the company is all about offering that device that’s primed for the outdoors.
To add to that collection is the Suunto 9. The multisport GPS watch built for the outdoors is waterproof up to 100 metres and comes with GPS/GLONASS and an optical heart rate monitor on board. Suunto is also introducing its new FusedAlti technology that combines GPS and barometric data to improve the accuracy of altitude data.

Other outdoor-friendly features include the ability to see sunrise/sunset times on the watch display and receive storm alarms when there’s a sudden drop in air pressure. There’s also route navigation improvements to help you get to destination safely and with the best route.

Like other Suunto Spartan Sport watches, it’ll track over 80 sports with running, cycling and swimming being the core modes. Battery life is anywhere from 25 hours to 120 hours with Suunto’s new intelligent battery mode on board to make sure you have enough power for your next expedition.
Price when reviewed: $599Wareable verdict: Suunto 9 reviewCasio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F30The Casio WSD-F30 represents the company’s third roll at the Wear OS dice, to prove that a good outdoor smartwatch can exist.

The fresher sibling of the Casio Smart Outdoor WSD-F20 falls under the company’s Pro Trek Smart Series banner, and most notably slims down the design and adds new outdoor-centric features in its third iteration.

Other than that, it’s a pretty similar affair. This is still on the behemoth scale of smartwatches, and you’ll be able to take advantage of all the sensors for around a day of adventuring.
The dual display mode also unlocks the ability to use more of its outdoor watch features without hammering the battery life in the process.
Casio has built a host of sensors and baked-in apps, measuring everything from air pressure to altitude – and it also boasts tie-ins with Viewranger and other third party outdoor apps.
However, we’ve found the performance of these apps to be pretty flakey, and it’s not without issues. What’s more, battery life can’t complete with dedicated GPS watches if you’re planning to be out trekking for more than a day or two.
It makes our list for its mapping smarts.
The watch comes with two map options built into the software: Google Maps and Mapbox, and pops up instantly by pressing the top button on the watch.
To rectify this, you can actually download maps of up to 50km via your phone connection. This is obviously a major plus point as the majority of places hikers go to inevitably have very a minimal data signal. Also, Mapbox, as far as we’re concerned, has much nicer topographical detail.
Price when reviewed: $500Wareable verdict: Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F30 reviewSuunto Traverse Alpha
The Traverse may feel a little old next to the the Spartan Sport collection and the Suunto 9, but it’s still a great outdoor watch for hikers.

In the Alpha, you’re getting a rugged wearable that’s suitable for hiking, fishing and even hunting with GPS/GLONASS navigation on board to track distance, speed and altitude.

Thanks to topographic maps support via Suunto’s Movescount app, you can plan out routes and preview them right on the watch. There’s even weather trends and a storm alarm to make sure you’re not caught outside in terrible conditions.
If you’re feeling more adventurous and fancy braving the night, the watch has a flashlight mode that allows the backlight to be used as a torch and is compatible with night vision goggles. Very handy for those late night toilet calls.
Price when reviewed: $499Garmin Quatix 5
An aqua-lover’s delight, the Garmin Quatix 5 is built for the water. Firstly because it’s water resistant to 100 metres, and secondly because it’s connected to some nautical data.

The device lets you download up-to-date tide data via your smartphone, while also providing an anchor alarm that’ll warn you about boat drift. If you need help dropping anchor, a dedicated calculator will also let you know what the proper length of line you should use.

If you happen to be fishing, there’s a fish log and competition timer, and if you’re sail racing, there’s tack assist, race countdown timer, distance to start line and more.

It’s essentially a more attractive Fenix 5 with upgraded smarts for the seas, though surfers may want to cast their eyes to Nixon’s The Mission. The rugged Wear OS smartwatch delivers real-time surf conditions to help you catch those killer waves.
Price when reviewed: $549.99