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Using the Apple Watch for Hiking

One of the questions I become asked the nigh is, "is the Apple Watch good for hiking?" I review many hiking watches and GPS units, but not everyone wants to invest in another piece of gear, particularly if they have an Apple Watch already. Then to cut to the chase, the Apple Watch is suitable for hiking for most casual hikers, and in this guide, I'll tell you the who's and the why's. I'll also show you how to use it for hiking and become through some apps that are skillful for hiking with your Apple Watch.

I tested with the Apple Watch 6, 44m, no cellular, over three months of hiking about 20-xl miles a week.

Is the Apple Spotter Expert for Hiking?

While not purpose-built for hiking, the Apple Lookout man has plenty power to replicate the functions y'all'd get on an outdoors lookout man, such as mapping and following a track. FYI this is the WorkOutDoors app.

Kickoff off, it'south important to notation that unlike watches similar the Garmin Fenix or Instinct, the Apple tree Watch isn't a purpose-built sentinel for the outdoors. It certainly functions in the outdoors in many cases, only it's really built as a wrist-based companion for an iPhone. And so who volition information technology piece of work for?

• It's a good pick if you don't hike over near 7 hours.  If you desire to track your hike every bit an activeness, that's most the range you have for your conditioning. And for most hikers, that's fine. You lot tin get some more life out of the watch and use it on longer hikes, and I'll share those tips in the bombardment section that follows.
• It works well in adept conditions.  If you are not big on hiking in the pelting or with bulking gloves on, the touchscreen works fine. But if it rains, you will desire to put the watch in water mode, which means y'all can't utilize the screen. And with gloves on, the buttons on the small watch face tin be difficult to striking. The Garmin Fenix, a purpose-built fettle and outdoors watch, has buttons that you lot can hit without looking and doesn't depend on a touchscreen.
• You don't thrash your gear.  I haven't tested this past smashing my Apple Sentry, but if you are hard on equipment and will potentially rub the watch confronting a rock (like granite) when hiking or scrambling, it will scratch or perhaps break. The Apple Lookout is waterproof and fairly durable, but it is not built to be a backcountry instrument. That said, I did hike with it for a few months and no damage so far.
• Hiking is an occasional activity that you do.  If you are a casual hiker and want something to track and navigate a hike with, the Apple tree Watch is fantabulous. If y'all're a more serious hiker and want to customize the information yous meet when hiking and want metrics focused on the outdoors, the Apple tree Lookout will fall brusk.
• And it might become without saying, merely I'll mention information technology anyhow. The Apple Watch is only really useful if you accept an iPhone and live in the Apple ecosystem. There are a myriad of functions and integrations that make information technology a useful extension of your iPhone experience. If you have an Android, don't fifty-fifty call up about information technology.

A purpose-built spotter like a Garmin Fenix volition be loaded with navigation and grooming tools already. On the Apple tree Watch, you have to find apps to fit the bill, and nothing is perfect for everything, just there are a decent corporeality of apps that tin get the task washed for most hikers.

If you lot practice call back the Apple Watch is a good fit for yous, the big advantages are:

• The screen on the Apple Sentinel blows outdoors watches away. There'southward simply no comparing; the Apple tree Sentinel has a bright and colorful screen that makes maps and navigation look great.
• You have a adept amount of apps to choose from for navigating your hike. And apps are e'er evolving and competing, and new features show up all the time. Compare this with a defended outdoors watch dependent on the manufacturer updating the watch with new features.

If you want to explore the non-Apple Watch hiking picket options, check out my gear page for my latest recommendations.

Apple tree Sentinel for Hiking Video

Extending the Apple Sentinel Battery

If your Apple Watch battery runs out on a hike, you'll need a portable charger. Some apps let you lot continue to rail your hike while charging, and some apps will "auto-interruption" your workout when charging. Overall it'south a fleck of a pain, specially when compared to the battery on a Garmin Fenix which can last a calendar week or more with daily action tracking.

The master Achilles heel of the Apple Watch is the battery life. If you're hiking for over 7 hours, you lot'll have to recharge it, which ways carrying a bombardment charger with you. And if you want to utilise the sentinel afterward the hike in your everyday life, it also ways that y'all have to accuse the lookout man immediately subsequently hiking. I go on an extra charging cablevision in my motorcar, and so charge information technology when I start driving. The magnetic charger sometimes asunder from the watch when in the car, especially on sharp turns or bumpy roads.

If you hike with your phone and are okay with ditching your heart rate data (and associated calorie burn down), you can turn on "Power Saving Fashion" when using the Apple Workout app to track your hike. This will stop up using your phone's GPS instead of the GPS on the watch. When using Ability Salve and an iPhone, I'm getting about 25 hours of use on a full charge. To turn it on, go to the Watch app on your phone, then Conditioning, then Power Saving Fashion. Here'south a video of how to make it work, also as a hack to go center rate.

If y'all want to utilise some other app to track your hike, in that location are other battery saving techniques that y'all can apply based on your state of affairs. I tin can normally squeeze nearly 9-10 hours out of the battery with just these techniques.

Apple tree Watch Hiking Features

When the Apple Watch starting time got a magnetic compass, it was hyped up in their marketing materials a fleck. Information technology'southward dainty to have for the casual hiker. I'd guess that about hikers doing overland hikes probably have a more professional person direction-finding pick.

Here are the features of the Apple Lookout man that come in handy when hiking.

• The GPS is central when hiking. You tin can utilize the Apple tree Watch to plot your position on a map and/or on a GPX rails line to see if you are on the trail, off the trail, or which way to turn at a junction. You need to use a hiking app to leverage the trail mapping (more subsequently), but the GPS will rails your position regardless of how y'all record your hike. The GPS performs well (and really uses GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS to find your position). Unlike a Garmin smartwatch, you lot can't selection and choose which positioning systems that you can utilise. It's GPS on or off.
• The heart rate monitor is not bad for tracking your fitness burn down and endeavor level during a hike. I've constitute it to be within a few beats of my Garmin HRM and Wahoo TICKR middle charge per unit straps.
• The newer Apple Watches accept a barometric altimeter, allowing y'all to go an altitude without GPS (some other way to calculate altitude). As with nearly non-professional altimeters, you accept to take an altitude reading on the Apple Watch with a grain of salt. Use it equally a ballpark and not an absolute reading. You can brandish your elevation proceeds (total climbing) and your current elevation when tracking your hike.
• Apple tree Scout 5 and higher have a magnetic compass and compass app. Concord your wrist apartment, and the spotter will point in the direction you are facing. It's nice to take, and handy in an emergency, but non something most people would use ofttimes. Apps like Maps tin use it in the background to improve the plow-by-plow directions routing.
• The Apple tree Watch half-dozen has a blood oxygen sensor. As a hiker, it'south interesting to measure your claret oxygen when you at are a college peak, where the oxygen saturation in the air is lower and you will theoretically be getting less of it. Information technology can give you an idea of how much harder you are working when the air is thinner. The blood oxygen sensor gets a bad rap, just I've institute if you use it correctly, it's fairly accurate. The Apple Watch doesn't have a feature like the Garmin Fenix six that tells you what altitude you've acclimatized to.

GPS Test

Here you tin can see my Apple Scout half dozen GPS versus the Fenix 6x Pro Solar. This is a hike through some deep canyons. It's probably ane of the more challenging situations for a GPS. Scroll effectually the map and bank check it out.

• Scarlet – Apple Watch 6
• Blue – Garmin Fenix 6x Pro Solar

Best Hiking Apps For Apple Watch

The Apple Watch comes arranged with two apps that might be helpful for hiking right out of the box, the Workout App and Maps app. But they're not the best if you want to use your watch for hiking.

The born Workout app lets you track a hike as a workout. Y'all can display bones data nigh your hike, but not any type of maps or road information.

The built-in Maps app can give yous walking directions to a destination, but doesn't really let y'all follow a hiking route that is non getting from point A to point B. And there are express trails on the app, but its skillful for walking on sidewalks and pedestrian trails.

Apps get updated all the time with new features, which is i of the advantages of having an Apple Sentinel. If y'all've found that features on these apps has inverse, let me know and I'll update the guide for other users.

WorkOutDoors

Navigation on the Apple Watch is dead elementary with the WorkOutDoors app. Just follow the line. Alerts tell you if you've gone off the trail. In that location are tons of ways to customize the screens and data fields as well.

WorkOutDoors is the granddaddy hiking app, and is probably the most feature-rich. It'southward actually everything you'd expect from a hiking app. You can use it equally a standalone app without a phone, you can download maps and zoom with the crown, you can load GPX tracks onto information technology, you can view and record waypoints, and yous can view a ton of data, similar to a Garmin GPS. The large drawback is that it only uses Open Street Maps, which don't accept topographic profile lines. They do, however, take very practiced trail coverage.

Overall, WorkOutDoors is the best option for hiking if you want to come shut to a dedicated GPS similar a Garmin.

Gaia GPS

The Gaia GPS sentinel app had handy turn-past-plough directions like y'all would get on a not-hiking map app. You can likewise see here that information technology's telling me if I'grand on or off the route.

The Gaia GPS smartphone app and website has long been my favorite, simply I had some issues using the Apple Watch app. You tin can plan a hiking route on the Gaia GPS website, tablet, or phone app, and then send the route and maps to your lookout man. The main problem for me was that the iPhone app would have problems sending to the lookout. Maybe it's just a technical consequence based on my setup, so give it a attempt yourself. When I did get it to work, information technology was fine, but didn't offering the level of detail or customization that WorkOutDoors did. (Psst! Gaia GPS, buy the WorkOutDoors app guy out and hire him to develop your Watch app!)

HikingGuy readers become a discount on a Gaia GPS premium membership – details on my gear folio.

AllTrails

The AllTrails app was limited. Y'all tin only view a map like this if y'all're a pro subscriber, and even then, information technology's not interactive.

For AllTrails, the Apple Watch just works equally a remote control and must be used with the iPhone. You tin start and terminate your timer, run across limited stats, and if you are a pro subscriber, view your dot on a map (which is a clunky process). I didn't discover the AllTrails lookout man app helpful on the trail.

ViewRanger

Despite some good reviews for the ViewRanger app, I didn't detect it too useful. The map was limited, and you lot demand to have an account to follow hikes from this screen.

If yous are already a ViewRanger user, the Apple Watch app might come up in handy, only I wouldn't pay for the membership to utilise the app. I found the experience a flake buggy, and it tries to integrate trail info and highlights, merely information technology'southward not as useful as it sounds.

Wikiloc

Although Wikiloc has a map folio, it's no where near as smooth as WorkOutDoors. I recollect information technology would suffice if you live in the Wikiloc universe already.

Some folks use Wikiloc to find trails, and it'southward a similar experience to AllTrails. Unlike the AllTrails Watch app, can ship a route to the scout and utilise the sentinel without a telephone to navigate. I had some issues loading the maps onto the Apple Watch, which could have been a bug that has been resolved since. Overall I liked the WorkOutDoors app better. If you lot already use the WikiLoc website and app, information technology's a reasonable option.

Conclusions

I've got to admit, when I got my Apple tree Watch for this test, I didn't have high hopes of using it for hiking, but I've kinda fallen in love with it. I use it on my shorter hikes because it's only simple. I besides have an iPhone and love the various integrations like the turn alert vibration when driving with Apple Maps. I recall for most iPhone users who are casual hikers, the Apple Watch combined with the WorkOutDoors app or Gaia GPS is great.

If you are more of a hardcore outdoor athlete, want something that lasts longer and is geared to outdoor action, look into the Garmin Fenix or Instinct, which tin besides pair with your iPhone (or Android). The integrations with the iPhone won't be equally slick every bit the Apple Sentinel, but the tradeoff is that you lot have something that tin can handle annihilation that the trail throws at it.

Accept an idea on how to brand these guides meliorate? Leave me your thoughts here..

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