This post is part ofFind Your Fit Tech, Lifehacker’s fitness wearables buying guide.
To be clear, you dontneeda watch just to hike and camp and kayak.
What to look for in an outdoors watch
Does it come with maps?
Some GPS watches come with fully-featured maps, preloaded onto the watch.
Others have GPS functionality, minus the maps.
How good is the GPS?
GPS isnt the only game in town anymore.
Theres also GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, and QZSS.
GPS itself will usually be in the mix, but note that single-band GPS isnt as accurate as dual-band.
In general, the more services a watch can use, the more accurate it will be.
What is the battery life?
Smartwatches need to last all day; running watches need to get you through a run.
I’m also awarding extra points here to watches that can do solar charging.
The Pro comes with global maps pre-loaded.
The Apex 2 Pro gets 24 days of use in smartwatch mode, and 66 hours with full GPS.
Its also got a sapphire screen and can give you training plans if you like.
Coros Apex 2 Pro($449)
TheCoros Apex 2(not pro) is $349.
The GPS isnt multi-band and it doesnt come with maps, but you might upload the ones you need.
Garmin also brags that its built to military standard 810 for heat, shock, and water resistance.
The Instinct Solar has a long battery life, allowing for 24 days (not hours, days!)
in smartwatch mode, or 30 hours while recording GPS and heart rate.
At the other end of its spectrum, the watch can go a whopping 56 days in battery-saving mode.
Want the best and newest?
TheGarmin Instinct 2 Solaris $399.99, but the upgrades are pretty minimal when compared to the original version.
My pick:Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Solar Sapphire($899.99)
Want to save a few bucks?
Heres aFenix 7S Solar(not Pro, not Sapphire) for $579.99.
Battery life is 11 to 14 days depending on how much sun it gets.
This watch has 80 different sport modes.
It also has free global maps.
