Top 8 Best GPS Watches for Hiking of 2023 [Buying Guide]

Whether you're a day hiker or a multi-day hiker, apart from an appropriate outfit and adapted hiking shoes, you should probably consider certain accessories to be on your checklist.

Among the essential accessories, we find the GPS watch which provides information on the position, altitude or even the routes of your hike.

If you practice walking, hiking, trekking or other mountain sports (climbing, mountaineering, ski touring) you'd want to look for a GPS watch adapted to your needs.

Why paying $800 for a hiking watch if you are only going to use 10% of the functionalities.

This ultimate guide should help you select among the latest and best GPS watches for hiking. Discover them with our reviews and opinions.

A similar guide for Handheld Hiking GPS can be found here.

First things first, how to choose a GPS watch for hiking?

There is a multitude of GPS cardio watches. From the cheap, low-priced hiking watch to the ultra-sophisticated, prices can range from $100 to over $800.

How to find your way around and which watch to buy for hiking?

Should you choose an altimeter watch, a GPS hiking watch or a multi-sport watch?

What features of a hiking watch should you focus on?

Not all GPS watches are created equal. To select the best model, the following criteria must be reviewed.

The outdoor multisport watch:

If, in addition to hiking, you practice other sports and you are looking for a GPS watch to accompany you in these activities, opt for a multisport or outdoor watch.

New models of multisport watches offer more and more a heart rate feature aimed at trail, running, cycling, mountain biking, hiking, triathlon, swimming, but also those who need to monitor their heart rate for medical reasons.

This type of watch has also an impressive number of other features, and different sports presets, including hiking, skiing, trail, running, swimming, biking, etc. 

However it will be more expensive and, in general, a little more complicated to use because of the many possibilities it offers.

The GPS watch or altimeter dedicated to the mountain:

If you are looking for a watch exclusively for hiking or any other mountain sport such as mountaineering, trekking, ski touring, climbing, or an adventure sport (exploration, bivouac, etc.), it is better to choose a model designed for this activity.

There is no need to pay more for a multi-sport watch if you do not need it.

It's a bit like buying a computer where a calculator would be enough.

The altimeter watch indicates the altitude and altitude difference as well as the weather trend thanks to its barometer (used for altitude measurement).

Newest watches also have GPS, which is used to indicate the position, follow a given route, or record a path and then display it on a map.

They also offer other useful functions for hiking activities.

Criteria for choosing the ideal watch for hiking

When selecting your GPS hiking watch, you must consider what functions are offered, the robustness of the watch, the reliability, the autonomy, the comfort of use, and the simplicity of use.

1- The functions: 

The best hiking watches are ABC watches, i. e. with Altimeter, Barometer, and Compass and possibly a thermometer.

These instruments allow you to find your way around and orient yourself from a map and predict changes in the weather.

Most current hiking watches also offer GPS, a very useful function.

The GPS indicates your:

• position,
• track recording,
• cartography,
  
• altitude,
• speed,
• distance covered,
• rate of climb,

and many other data that can be recorded for display (route completed, graphs, statistics, etc.) on a PC or Smartphone.

We recommend this type of watch because it allows you to program and follow a given route, record points of interest along the way and, if possible, indicate how to return to your starting point.

Some watches can even display topographic maps.

In addition to these functions, the hiking watch can inform you about sunrise and sunset times, weather trends and alert you in case of a thunderstorm.

2- Robustness: 

Opt for a solid watch (polymer or metal case, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal) and water-resistant (at least 3 ATM).

Some brands offer interchangeable bracelets in various materials (leather, metal, silicone) to best adapt your watch to the environment.

3- Reliability: 

A watch for hiking must be reliable.

The best hiking watches have GPS and more and more GLONASS (Russian satellite system), a barometric altimeter (more accurate than GPS) and well-designed software (favor a well-known brand).

4- Autonomy: 

GPS watches are energy-intensive, especially with the use of GPS.

Be sure to choose a watch with enough autonomy, especially if you plan a hike over several days (trekking, bivouac).

Some watches offer a power-saving mode (more spaced GPS recordings) that increases the battery life tenfold.

5- Comfort of use: 

Watches for hiking can be more or less bulky and heavy.

With its latest Fenix 5, Garmin offers several case diameters to adapt to thin wrists and interchangeable bracelets.

Also check the screen and its ease of use (size, number of pixels, with or without color, anti-reflective, sunlight-readable, tactile or not).

6- Ease of use: 

Although very complete, a multisport watch can be a little more complex to use than a watch dedicated to mountain sports. Prefer the latter if your objective is to use it only for hiking.

GPS watches for hiking: important features

Comparison and reviews of the best GPS watches for hiking 2021

This 2021 comparison is based on an analysis of the best current GPS hiking watches, tests carried out by us or based on analysis of tests proposed by specialized sites, and of user opinions.

Our opinions and tests carried out on these hiking watches are indicative.

Consult the merchant sites for more information.

Garmin Forerunner 945

Multisports & Triathlon: the most complete sports watch, our recommendation

NEW MAY 2019: identical to the Fenix 5 Plus in terms of functions but with some new features (pulse oximeter, Vector, breathing rate, acclimatization to heat and altitude, SOS function, etc.), this watch is ultra-light (50 g), thin, less expensive and with a greater autonomy (ideal for ultra-marathon, ultra-trail, Ironman).

A significantly improved version of the Forerunner 935, it includes preloaded topographic maps, Garmin Pay (extra cost), an mp3 player, popular itineraries and trails generator (bike, running).

Specially designed for running and triathlon but also for hiking, it offers, with the optional accessory, advanced analysis functions (running dynamics, oscillation and vertical ratios, ground contact time, stride length, pace...), physiological measurements (VO2max, lactic threshold, breathing frequency), training programs, a race time predictor and many other analyses to optimize training.

As a multisport watch, it is suitable for other sports, it is perfect for running, cycling, swimming, hiking or triathlon.

For a wider range of activities, choose the Garmin Fenix 5 Plus.

The Garmin Forerunner 945 is a much better replacement for the already excellent Forerunner 935: probably the best triathlon, running, and bike watch.

The features:

Garmin Fenix 5 Plus

Ultra-complete and elegant, with maps

NEW Release June 2018: Designed for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, the Fenix 5 Plus (5S, 5 or 5X) is an ultra-comprehensive high-end watch. It is the Fenix 5 supplemented with color topographic maps, music (up to 500 songs) and a contactless payment system. 

Robust and elegant, it offers a multitude of tools and metrics for athletes and explorers.

It can generate routes for runners and cyclists, recalculate a route instantly, offer guidance through earpiece, manage climbs or (model 5X) evaluate the level of oxygen in the muscles to avoid accidents at high altitude. 

The perfect watch! If the budget allows it, look no further.

Features:

Models:

Fenix 5S Plus: for small wrists

Fenix 5 Plus: for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts

Fenix 5X Plus : wide wrists, more comfortable screen size, with oximeter.

Suunto 9 Baro

Record battery life and accuracy even without GPS signal

NEW Release June 2018: This outdoor multi-sport GPS watch will delight fans of ultra-trail, ultramarathon and long-distance running as well as triathletes. Replacing the Spartan Ultra, this model offers a record autonomy (120 hours in Ultra mode) but above all without significantly altering accuracy thanks to an innovative new algorithm FusedTrack™. 

FusedTrack™ combines GPS data with other sensors (accelerometer, compass, gyroscope) to reduce the number of GPS measurements and conserve battery power.

You can also increase the maximum autonomy at any time by changing the battery management mode on watch alerts. 

Also available in a cheaper version without barometer.

Features:

Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD F30

Favorite watch for adventurers

NEW Release 2019: this very complete GPS watch is ideal for mountaineers, skiers and snowboarders.

An improved version of the excellent Casio WSD-F20, it offers 3 days of autonomy instead of 2, has global topographic color maps that can be downloaded and used offline and allows you to use Google map! 

It is ideal for hiking, mountain and adventure sports where it competes with the Fenix 5X Plus. 

Everything is there: altimeter, barometer, magnetic compass, GPS, gyroscope, accelerometer, sunrise/sunset time, tides, weather trend. 

It has a dual-layer touch screen of 320 x 300 pixels, one in color, the other in black and white for excellent daytime visibility and very low power consumption. 

Its GPS is very accurate and works with American, Japanese (QZSS "MICHIBIKI") and Russian (GLONASS) satellites. 

It is very robust (military standard MIL-STD-810G). 

A microphone is used to send voice commands to the watch. 

Our crush among hiking / adventure watches.

The advantages:

Garmin Instinct

True military watch, made to last.

NEW Release October 2018: This multisport GPS connected watch will thrill adventurers, exploration fans and hikers looking for a robust (certified to a military standard), reliable and complete watch at an affordable price. 

It offers many sensors and functions to orient yourself, find your way, program and follow a route, follow the weather or have data specific to the environment (altitude, route profile, etc.). 

It is resistant to almost everything: shock, water, pressure, dust, heat, vibrations, etc. This is a very complete watch for outdoor activities and an excellent value for money.

Features:

Suunto Traverse

A very complete hiking watch with a lot of features.

Clearly designed for hiking and outdoor enthusiasts, the Suunto Traverse is a very complete watch in terms of outdoor features, a little less from a sports training point of view.

Metal case, stainless steel bezel, slim bracelet: the design of the Traverse model is well crafted and well done. The watch has a robust appearance and weighs 80 grams.

The screen is black and white, with a resolution of 128 x 128 pixels, but the quality rendering is correct.

One of the watch's strong points is the ability to easily scroll through five different screens: the watch, the barometer screen, the compass, the stopwatch and the countdown. In addition, all these screens can be activated or deactivated directly from the watch menu and are customizable. Rather practical in wilderness outings!

The Movescount application, which tends to be replaced by Suunto in 2020, is functional and rather easy to use.

Activity profile by default, the hiking mode is very complete and well thought: shortcuts allow you to directly access certain functionalities that perfectly meet the hiker's needs.

Another practical feature is that one of the buttons activates the backlight, which is powerful enough to act as a flashlight. 

The activity recording is simply started and the data is accessible a posteriori directly on the watch. 

Finally, GPS is accurate, reliable and fast. Suunto Traverse is capable of storing 250 points of interest, 100 waypoints, 10,000 route points and about 50 routes: enough to prepare some nice hikes.

It is possible to create as many sports profiles as desired via the Movescount application and then configure up to four screens with the required data.

On the other hand, there is no multisport mode (triathlon for example), Suunto wanted a hiking watch!

However, little interest has been given to daily monitoring, the watch only counts the steps and records them on the watch, the data cannot be transferred to the application.

The connected functions are also reduced to a minimum: receiving notifications from the synchronized smartphone.

Finally, the autonomy in watch mode is 14 days per 100 hours of activity recording (using GPS at least).

Features:

Suunto Ambit 3 peak Sapphire HR

An exceptional connected GPS watch designed for explorers and athletes.

The Ambit 3 Peak Sapphire differs from the Ambit 2 Sapphire by its Bluetooth connectivity, its new integrated GPS chip, more economical and accurate, customization via smartphone (reception of sms, mail, etc.) and other impressive features. 

It is intended for lovers of extreme sports, long distances, ultra trail. 

Its many functions and sensors make it an exceptional watch.

Features:

Suunto Spartan Ultra

Autonomy and Precision for your performance.

Following the Traverse and Ambit3, this new design and robust model features a color touch screen and more than 80 sports mode. 

Ideal for triathlon. 

Optimize your training, sharing, custom coaching and adventure. 

It offers many tools: detailed navigation along a route, breadcrumb trail, altimeter, barometer, compass, weather, detailed screen (320x320px), up to 9 displayed data and a great autonomy. 

You'll appreciate real-time lap tables and other highly sophisticated features. 

A watch that has everything you need to seduce whether you are an amateur, a sportsman or an adventurer. 

Available with Heart Rate version or without.

Features: