Every hiking journey is made possible with the best equipment. You can’t really explore the wilderness unprepared, right? Hiking essentials range from food and water supply, appropriate clothing and footwear, and a spacious backpack, but you’ll need navigational tools such as a decent GPS tracker and an accurate altimeter, as well. Modern wristwatches have now integrated altimeter functions, making it easy to navigate your way in the woods by just taking a peek at your watch.
Planning a hike over the weekends? Make yourself ready for the adventure and check out the best altimeter watches chosen by our experts!
01. SUUNTO Core Military Men’s Watch
SUUNTO Core All Black Military Men's Outdoor Sports Watch - SS014279010
Features
- Suunto Core: This classic outdoor sports watch is packed with intelligent features like a Storm Alarm, Altimeter, Barometer and compass to keep you informed of conditions while you hike, bike, or camp
- Essential for Adventure: This watch has dual times, date display, and alarm, plus predicted times for sunrise and sunset to help maximize your daylight hours and a depth meter accurate up to 30 feet
- Suunto Sports Watches: Versatile and durable, Suunto sports watches are great for running, swimming, cycling, gym workouts, hiking, and other outdoor sports; Whatever your needs, Suunto has a watch for you
- Adventure Starts Here: Combining Scandinavian design with ultra durable materials, our watches track your sports, daily activity, and sleep to help you keep life, training and recovery in balance
- Authentic Heritage: Founded in 1936, Suunto brings over 80 years of high quality heritage craftsmanship, relentless accuracy, and pioneering innovation to our watches, compasses, and dive products
The SUUNTO Core All Black Military Men’s Watch has the ABCs of an outdoor sports watch: altimeter, barometer, and compass.
This multifunctional wristwatch notifies you of any possible storm approaching the area so you can decide whether to push through with your activity or not ahead of time. Coupled with preloaded sunrise and sunset times for over 400 locations, you’ll always know what to expect for every adventure. The silicone band is durable and breathable, and the digital face comes with large numbers and backlight options that allows you to check the time or any other feature at a glance, no matter what you are doing. This watch is perfect for military personnel and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
02. Casio Twin Sensor Multi-Function Watch
In rainy situations, the Casio Twin Sensor Multi-Function Digital Sports Watch has a water resistance of 100 meters, making it impenetrable by rain. Its resin casing is tight enough to block any drops of water seeping into the interior, so you won’t have to worry about your watch malfunctioning in the middle of a hike.
You can set up to 5 alarms, as well as a countdown timer, barometer, altimeter, and thermometer. The watch comes with G-SHOCK technology, meaning it resists high impact forces and water pressure. This means it will be extremely durable and will last through bumps, scratches and drops that come as a normal part of backpacking and hiking.
03. Garmin Forerunner 935
Garmin Forerunner 935 Running GPS Unit (Black)
Features
- Premium GPS running/triathlon watch with wrist based heart rate; Strap material: Silicone; Smartphone compatibility: iPhone, Android, Windows.Control Method:Application.Special Feature:Smarter Connections.Water Resistant: Yes
- Offers advanced running and multisport Features in a comfortable watch you can wear all day, and it only weighs 49 grams
- Provides elevation changes with a built in barometer; altimeter and electronic compass help you keep your bearings
- Evaluates your training status to indicate if you’re undertraining or overdoing it and offers additional performance monitoring Features
- Provides advanced dynamics for running, cycling and swimming, including ground contact time balance, stride length and more. Bezel Material: Fiber reinforced polymer
The Garmin Forerunner 935 has specialized settings for different kinds of sports, including hiking. Simply choose which setting you prefer, and the watch will optimize its features suited for the sport. It also has added smartwatch features that notify you of any incoming calls or received messages when paired with a compatible mobile phone (the latest versions of Android, iPhone IOS, and Windows).
This watch will also notify you whenever you are over or underperforming in a physical activity, a handy detail that makes it easy to keep tabs on your body even while on a hike. For an outdoor watch, this is extremely lightweight and heavy-duty, definitely a perfect watch for those with an active lifestyle.
04. Garmin Fenix 6 Pro
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro, Premium Multisport GPS Watch, features Mapping, Music, Grade-Adjusted Pace Guidance and Pulse Ox Sensors, Black
Features
- Fit for performance with rugged, sophisticated design that features an always-on 1.3” (18% larger than previous Fenix models) sunlight-readable display with bezels in stainless steel, titanium or diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating.Special Feature:Bluetooth.
- Enhanced estimated wrist heart rate and Pulse Ox to support advanced sleep monitoring and altitude acclimation at high elevations (this is not a medical device and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition)
- Advanced training features include PacePro for grade-adjusted pace guidance throughout your activity plus environmentally adjusted VO2 max and training status estimates
- Navigate the outdoors with preloaded topo maps, ski maps for over 2,000 worldwide ski resorts, multiple global navigation satellite system (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) support and built-in sensors for 3-axis compass, gyroscope and barometric altimeter
- Support for Garmin Pay contactless payments (not all countries and payment networks are eligible), music storage with premium streaming service (may require subscription with third-party music provider) support, smart notifications and more
For the style-conscious, the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro has various selections of watch bands that you can choose from. Not only that, but it also has over 2,000 pre-programmed TOPO maps that you can easily access. This watch is also compatible with both IOS and Android, so pairing it with your mobile phone is made easy regardless of the operating system. The display comes with the always-on feature on a 1.3” sunlight-readable display.
Our favorite feature is the enhanced wrist heart rate that comes with Pulse Ox, a feature that provides advanced sleep monitoring. The battery life is also impressive with up to two weeks in smartwatch mode, and a whopping 28 days in GPS expedition mode.
05. Coros Apex Pro
Coros APEX Pro Premium Multisport GPS Watch with Heart Rate Monitor, 40h Full GPS Battery, 24/7 Blood Oxygen Monitoring, Sapphire Glass, Barometer, ANT+ &...
Features
- Designed for endurance athletes with route navigation and checkpoint features supported with 30 days of regular battery life and 40 hours in full GPS mode
- Built with a Grade 5 titanium alloy bezel and a sapphire glass touch screen, optical heart rate monitor, optical pulse ox monitor, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, thermometer, 24/7 heart rate monitoring with sleep, step and calorie tracking
- Now with offline mapping, and includes: Landscape, Topo and Hybrid modes.
- Built-in running power metrics from the wrist plus native and complete integration with Stryd power meters
- Now with offline mapping, and includes: Landscape, Topo and Hybrid modes.
The Coros Apex Pro comes in a highly durable titanium casing and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal screen. This wristwatch also has an impressive 30-day battery life without any charging! A long battery life is definitely a plus for smartwatches, especially if you want to bring it with you on your outdoor activities.
This model’s special feature is the improved digital knob with increased sensitivity that allows you to operate your watch even with thick gloves and underwater. Additionally, it’s the only watch that provides hourly updates on altitude acclimatization, letting you know when it’s safe to move forward or warning you to head back down to lower altitudes.
Not quite what you’re looking for? We have a range of other outdoorsy watches, check out our best tactical watches and survival watches.
