It wasn’t so long ago that you needed a degree in map-reading and general navigation to tackle the wilderness, but the best outdoor smartwatches have come along to act as your personal guide to the most extreme environments.

Granted, we don’t for a minute suggest you head to the North Pole armed with nothing but a smartwatch, but these intelligent, wrist-based devices are now capable of navigating remote areas, often providing turn-by-turn directions, provide altimeter readings and simultaneously monitor vital signs, such as heart rate, body temperature and hydration reminders.

We’ve collated some of the best outdoor smartwatches on the markets – each one selected for its ability to endure harsh environments, offer a lengthy battery life to avoid the need to constantly recharge and provide fast and reliable GPS readings with the accompanying navigational software to make life on the path less travelled that bit more convenient.

The best outdoor smartwatch: Our top picks

Where other options in the Garmin offer everything and the kitchen sink in terms of activity tracking and features, the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar pares everything back and only offers exactly what is needed, all wrapped up in an ultra robust plastic and rubber exterior.

The Instinct 2 Solar’s main selling point is its remarkable battery life, which is essentially unlimited providing there’s enough sunlight around. It offers up to 28 days of juice in smartwatch mode, and that’s without taking its solar capabilities into account. You also get 30 hours of power in GPS mode, which stretches to 48 hours when there are plenty of photons raining down from above.

Despite the stripped-back approach, Garmin still manages to cram an unfathomable amount of smartwatch features into its compact frame.

Garmin Pay, message notifications beamed from your phone, fitness data and tracking, real-time weather are just a small few. Plus, it covers nav comprehensively, with point-to-point way finding, a barometric altimeter, compass and a breadcrumb trail that allows you to retrace your steps.

The second generation Marq Adventurer takes everything the formidable Fenix 7 does and wraps it up in the most premium package possible. We are talking Grade-5 Titanium for the 360-degree compass bezel, a domed sapphire lensed premium leather strap. It looks just as good off the mountain as it does tackling a tricky ascent, while the crisp AMOLED display ensures you can see the data that counts in all conditions.

And if it’s data your primarily after, there essentially isn’t a metric the Marq Adventurer doesn’t track, from blood oxygen levels to acclimation programmes, and beyond. Round-trip routing makes it really easy to plot and quick and easy route across barren terrain, while multi-continent TopoActive maps are pre-loaded, so you can get the read on the terrain from your wrist. Arguably, this is the ultimate tracking Garmin if you can swallow the hefty price.

Apple took many by surprise when it announced the release of its Watch Ultra in 2022, taking on the likes of Garmin, Suunto and Polar at the brand’s own game. But here, Apple has approached an outdoors smartwatch in a distinctly Apple way.

Fitness tracking, navigating and route-planning is all incredibly simple thanks to Apple’s experience in UX, while the display and general operating system is about as slick as they come. In addition to it’s adventure-heavy feature-suite, the Ultra also does proper smartwatch things, such as being able to respond to messages or even make calls directly from the wrist.

Compared to a standard Apple Watch Series 8, the Ultra comes with plenty of features designed for adventure. There are oversized buttons for use with gloved hands, a brighter display, louder speakers and a microphone system enhanced for use in challenging, windy conditions. On top of all that, there’s its robust titanium case housing and an 86-decibel siren for attracting help in emergencies.

Alas, there is one major downside that outdoor types were quick to point out as soon as the watch launched: its battery life. Although better than many Apple Watches (and fellow smart watches, for that matter), we are looking at 36 hours at best. Use GPs tracking, the hearty rate monitor and other power hungry features, and you can expect much less.

If the Apple Watch Ultra doesn’t tick the battery life box, it is probably worth checking out the latest and greatest outdoors watch from adventurous brand Suunto.

The Finnish adventure specialist unleashed its most robust outdoor smartwatch early 2023, offering free of charge global outdoor offline maps, and an absurdly long battery life of up to 500 hours of continuous exercise tracking in tour mode and up to 60 hours in the most accurate dual band GNSS tracking mode.

This is boosted further by solar charging functionality, like that seen in many modern Garmin offerings, while weather forecast, compass and barometer-based altitude readings and storm alarms further help you to stay aware of your surroundings when exploring. Alternatively, you can use the Suunto Vertical to assist in training or racing with one of the 95+ default sport modes built-in to the device.

It is simple in its design, wit the neat mix of reactive touchscreen and physical buttons, while Suunto prides itself on the fact that all of its watches are made using 100 per cent renewable energy at its ultra-free factories.

Polar doesn’t pull any punches when it tests its watches for toughness: it is dropped, run over, squashed, covered in filth and exposed to temperatures ranging from -20°C and +50°C… and it is still required to function as normal.

The battery life here is also solid, with 40 hours of life when tracking an activity. In a less energy intensive mode, you can expect seven days of power, which struggles to rival the Suunto Vertical but is still impressive to say the least.

You can use that battery life to track over 130 activities and various fitness sessions, plus it is possible to control the music on your phone from your watch by having Polar’s Flow app running on your phone.

Navigation is detailed but simple to use, thanks to a neat collaboration with Komoot. Essentially, you can plot a route on your phone and beam it to your device, or plan straight from the wrist.

For the more adventurers types, there’s an altimeter, coordinate display and compass, as well as live weather. Its FuelWise feature is a real boon on longer expeditions, giving nutrition tips based on your exertion.

The best outdoor smartwatch: Bottom line

The lack of interactive touchscreen is both a blessing and a curse, as we’ve found these can be tricky to operate during adverse weather, but they also offer up a wealth of easy-to-consume data that the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar sometimes struggles with.

That said, it has a remarkable battery life, even in full GPs mode, while its point-to-point navigation is a boon to use. In our experience, it has been bomb-proof, and we feel it does much of what you need from a far more expensive and accomplished Garmin at a fraction of the price.

How we picked the best outdoor smartwatches

Getting these watches into a real-world environment was the only way to really pit the frontrunners against one another. With that in mind, we spent weeks and months testing all of the models in the wilds of Wales and on the mountains of Scotland, seeing how the numerous features stood up in harsh climates.

On top of this, we ensured each watch remained on the wrist throughout the day (and at night), to get the best idea of what they are like to live with, swell as their prowess as an everyday, convenient smartwatch.

What to look for in an outdoor smartwatch

Durability: Arguably one of the most important factors of any outdoor smartwatch is its durability. That doesn’t just mean its water-proof rating, but also its ability to fend off much, dust and potential scrapes. It’s also helpful to look for MIL-SPEC or MIL-STD ratings, which mean the devices have been to U.S Military standards, ensuring they can withstand arguably the most hostile conditions known to humankind.Additionally, be mindful of IP ratings, which is a standardises test for both a device’s ability to withstand liquid and solid particle ingress. This will give you a good idea of just how tough your outdoor smartwatch is.

Battery life: Again, this is such an important factor if you are planning on using your new outdoor smartwatch for multi-day adventures. A dead smartwatch is a completely useless smartwatch, and those travelling light won’t want to bring charging cables and power banks just to keep a watch charged up.

When looking at the stats, ensure you delve into the battery life when all systems are functioning. That means things like GPS, heart rate monitoring and activity tracking, as these are the most energy intensive and will give a true reflection of how long the watch will last in the wild when used.

Features: Understand the features you will absolutely need before committing to purchase and ensure your new watch can actually fulfill its duties. The need for turn-by-turn directions might top your shopping list, while others will want full topographical maps for navigating extreme environments. Above all else, it’s worth noting that the watches that come packed to the gunwales with features tend to bo the most expensive, so it’s also worth setting a strict budget before you start shopping.

What is the best outdoor smartwatch for surfing, diving and other water sports?

Every watch on this list is waterproof, so all will happily accompany you on a fun aquatic adventure. That said, the Apple Watch Ultra has a designated diving app, dubbed Oceanic+. This places a full-blown dive computer directly on your wrist, with the ability to plot and plan routes, as well as indulge on numerous stats once out of the water.

Garmin also offers an array of water sports activities, all of which are built into the ecosystem, so it’s just a case of selecting the right one and starting the activity to glean more info. It’s a similar story with Suunto and Polar, both of which take a fair amount of inspiration from Garmin’s Connect ecosystem.

Does the GPS feature on Apple Watch Ultra function without cellular?

In short, yes. The Apple Watch Ultra doesn’t require cellular to gain a GPS lock and will still provide co-ordinates and activity tracking without it enabled. The problem users may face when out of cellular or Wi-Fi reception is that the watch won’t be able to download new data, so will perhaps not be able to plot a new route on a map that hasn’t been previously downloaded.