Smartwatches?

[Ginocasanova]

Does anybody have any experience and/or opinions of using a smart watch (e.g. fitbit) on an extended backpacking trip. Thinking of purchasing one to track fitness activities.

[Venchka]

What kind of battery life do those things have? How will you recharge it?
There are a bazillion phone apps that do the same thing. I've used Argus on a 5s in airplane mode to track hikes. It is a battery hog.
Good luck.
Wayne


Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

[SilentBob]

I have a Garmin Fenix 3, It's a multi sport watch and has ABC features as well. I use it mostly for my workouts, cycling,rowing and jogging. It does keep track of your steps but it's like all other watches it's not accurate.The watch can receive text messages,emails and some other stuff I don't use. Garmin has a site where you can download different watch faces and apps.I have a weather app that works nicely but the catch is your phone has to be on. I do use it to track week long section hikes and I find it to be fairly accurate. The most I've seen the distance off was 2/10 of a mile. The altimeter is pretty accurate as well. I hike 15-20 miles a day and the battery goes down to about 45 percent. I do bring a battery charger with me and the watch is fully charged in less than 2 hours. After 6 days on trail my battery pack still has two bars left and that's with me charging my phone two times. Overall I'm happy with it and since I was carrying a charger already it really didn't add more weight.

[AfterParty]

How is the GPS screen is there a topo map? I was looking at the fenix

[SilentBob]

This watch doesn't replace a handheld gps. I wouldn't go bushwhacking with it. Gps mode has a few screens that you can customize. It tracks distance, mph, elevation, ascent, compass heading etc.. The map doesn't show topo. There is a track back feature but I never used it. I like looking at stats on app after hike. It gives you a map of hike in standard , satellite and hybrid mode. It breaks everything down, Your pace, speed,time moving, elevation gain and loss, calories which isn't accurate and temp. It also shows you graph with elevation and pace. If your just buying the watch to use when your hiking I wouldn't recommend it. I use mine for everyday workouts and it's just a plus to use on trail for me.

[Shutterbug]

Does anybody have any experience and/or opinions of using a smart watch (e.g. fitbit) on an extended backpacking trip. Thinking of purchasing one to track fitness activities.

I wouldn't call a fitbit a "smart watch." I carry one in my pocket and it is helpful to count how many steps I take each day. It isn't very good at estimating distrance traveled.

I also wear a Fenix watch. My only complaint is battery life. If I turn on the gps function, but battery won't last all day. It is great for as long as it lasts.

[ChuckT]

I had and wore a FitBit HR for about a year and a half, have recently moved up to a Surge. I would _NOT_ expect and certainly not depend on either for anything more than an overnight hike! For everyday use, to the office and back and exercises, I found the HR's battery good for 3 days.
I carry and depend on a Garmin GPSMAP 64S (it has replaceable batteries) and have added a Delorme Explorer on the off-chance of needing emergency communications.
I take my cell phone with as well but keep it off most times.
Garmin has bought out Delorme, that may delay your purchase, but I've yet to see any progeny from that union.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[Engine]

...My only complaint is battery life. If I turn on the gps function, but battery won't last all day...

I have owned and enjoyed using a few different Garmin GPS watches over the past 8-10 years, primarily for trail running. Battery life, or the lack of it, was the deciding factor in going back to a simple Timex Ironman. When brand new, my Garmin 405 lived up to the promised battery life, but VERY shortly after I began using it the battery life began degrading to the point where I could easily run longer than the watch...I don't feel it was a good return on the hefty investment.

[SilentBob]

I also wear a Fenix watch. My only complaint is battery life. If I turn on the gps function, but battery won't last all day. It is great for as long as it lasts.

My watch is a little over a year old and battery life hasn't been an issue. The few times my battery drained quicker it was because of an update to firmware. I forget to power off watch after update.

[Secondmouse]

I use a Suunto Ambit2. it can do so many things it was a bit confusing at first but I committed to learning it when I saw that's what Andrew Skurka uses. logging and tracking distance and elevation changes and can then download it to a program called Movescount for analysis. pretty neat...

[Wise Old Owl]

Hey can I quote Lone Wolf? Leave it at home.


Enjoy the experience. -Woo

[Venchka]

Sounds about right to me. If you can't tell how fast you are moving with an ordinary watch and a map shame on you.
Wayne


Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

[Traveler]

Simplify, simplify, simplify....

[Uncle Joe]

Most smartphones will track your steps. And step counting is not mileage counting per se'. You can easily hike 10mi on the AT and it show about 12-13mi of steps due to the climbing and descending.

[Traffic Jam]

Does anybody have any experience and/or opinions of using a smart watch (e.g. fitbit) on an extended backpacking trip. Thinking of purchasing one to track fitness activities.\

Yes. I use a Suunto Ambit Sport for swimming, running, cycling, and hiking. It's hands-down better than any Garmin I've owned. It displays the first few lines of text messages and email which I find useful for my job.

It has many features and has taken me months to explore and figure out it's capabilities. It can "learn" swim strokes, is the only watch on the market that monitors heart rate while swimming, has a multi-sport mode, is able to use navigation while in sport mode, and many more features. It doesn't count steps but I've never done that so it doesn't bother me. I'm able to use my watch for about a day and a half while hiking in sport mode (monitoring heart rate, speed, distance, recording GPS tracks) before needing to recharge.

My only complaint is that I wanted the Peak because it uses more accurate technology for navigating, has a longer battery life, and has an altimeter/barometer and temp sensor, but it was too large and heavy for my wrist.

DCRainmaker has comprehensive reviews and comparisons of most sport watches and is a great resource.

[Offshore]

I have a Garmin Fenix3 HR which has a GPS that works really well, even in the green tunnel. However, it is not a replacement for a map and compass, or a handheld GPS for that matter. I use it to record track logs and keep track of distances and fitness parameters. It doesn't have a map but will record a visible breadcrump track that you can follow back. You can load waypoints or mark a location and navigate to them. I preferred it over the Suuntos mostly due to the optical heart rate function, the ability to connect a chest strap HR transmitter, and because the Suunto Movescount software is pretty much a nightmare (just my opinion, calm down Suunto fans!).

Any watch that is calculating distance by counting steps is going to be off because your stride length will vary with terrain when hiking. The common weakness of any of the smartwatches is the battery life. The Fenix 3 HR is surprisingly good, but its still a battery. For more than an overnighter, I'll use my Casio ABC watch that that recharges using integrated solar cells. (I think I got it on Amazon for under $125 a couple of years ago.) If I need a GPS, I'll take along my Garmin GPSmap 60csx.