Rugged Smartwatches for Outdoor Activities

Rugged smartwatches are designed for avid athletes who push themselves in extreme weather conditions. The design is typically larger and heavier than a standard smartwatch, often due to a bigger battery and space for additional sensors. This sturdier design is ideal for watersports with high speeds or mountain hiking where your watch needs to withstand impacts.

Key Features of Outdoor Smartwatches

There are several requirements an outdoor smartwatch must meet to be considered top-notch.

Design

The design of your outdoor watch is crucial because you want a device that can handle rough treatment during outdoor activities.

Smartwatches built for outdoor use are often robust. The screens are also larger, ensuring visibility in extreme weather conditions.

Additionally, the buttons are typically bigger and easier to press or turn, enhancing usability during intense outdoor workouts and harsh weather.

Navigation

Most outdoor watches offer navigation to track your routes directly on the device. This is a handy tool for measuring your performance if you opt for an outdoor smartwatch.

For instance, you can monitor how many kilometres you’ve walked using the navigation feature.

Route Importing

Importing routes with GPX files is one reason people choose outdoor smartwatches.

Depending on the model, you can upload routes to your smartwatch. Beyond that, you can create your own route and save it for future use.

Battery Life

Using navigation and route tracking consumes significant energy from your smartwatch. Battery life with GPS active is much shorter than normal use.

A stable battery life during GPS use is therefore essential for an outdoor smartwatch.

Top 6 Rugged Smartwatches for Outdoor Use

Struggling to find the perfect smartwatch for outdoor activities?

We’ve listed 6 rugged smartwatches for outdoor use. Read on!

1. Garmin Fenix 7X

A super-durable outdoor smartwatch with a robust design. The 7X lasts up to 28 days in smartwatch mode (or 37 days with solar power). With GPS on, it offers 89 hours of battery life (122 hours with solar power). It also survives 62 days in expedition GPS mode (139 days with solar power).

This watch lets you explore for extended periods without recharging. It also features Garmin’s advanced navigation system for precise continental tracking.

The design is simple and plain, but the straps are easily replaceable. Check out our Garmin 7X straps to give your watch a stylish boost.

The Garmin Fenix 7X is available from £749.88.

Features of the Garmin Fenix:

• Battery life up to 139 days
• Precise worldwide navigation
• Garmin Pay (contactless payment)
• Water-resistant up to 100m
• Provides detailed daily sports activity data
• Supports route importing

Drawbacks:

• Simple and plain design
• High price
• Inaccurate heart monitoring during high-intensity training

2. Suunto 9 Baro

The Suunto 9 Baro is ideal for outdoor adventurers, built to withstand extreme weather like heavy rain, ice, and humidity. It can also sense air pressure changes to predict storms.

With over 80 sports modes available in its operating system, the Suunto 9 Baro’s battery life ranges from 25 to 170 hours with its intelligent battery mode.

The Suunto 9 Baro is available from £349.00.

Features of the Suunto 9 Baro:

• Real-time navigation
• Route planning with heatmaps
• Water-resistant up to 100m
• 25 to 170 hours battery life in GPS mode
• Stylish design
• Easily replaceable Suunto 9 Baro straps

Drawbacks:

• Poor battery life when not optimised for sports use
• Difficult-to-use companion app

3. Amazfit T-Rex 2

The T-Rex 2 is a watch crafted for adventurers, with every aspect reflecting that vibe. You don’t want to keep pulling out your phone on an adventure, so the Amazfit T-Rex 2 is built to support accurate and intuitive real-time GPS positioning and movement tracking.

With over 150 sport modes, this watch is compatible with nearly every activity and boasts an excellent battery life of 24 days with normal use.

You can personalise the Amazfit T-Rex 2 with a custom Amazfit T-Rex 2 strap.

The Amazfit T-Rex 2 is available from £227.99.

Features of the Amazfit T-Rex 2:

• User-friendly controls
• Battery life of 24 to 60 hours with constant GPS use
• Water-resistant up to 100m
• Compatible with Android and Apple
• Accurate navigation
• Supports route uploading

Drawbacks:

• Can’t reply to incoming messages
• No NFC chip (required for contactless payment)
• Limited software and app ecosystem

4. Polar Grit X Pro

The Polar Grit X Pro sits at the intersection of outdoor functionality and style. This watch offers a fresh look, designed specifically for outdoor activities. With over 130 sport modes, you can select your favourite and even track your sleep. It also reminds you when to eat based on your activity.

It features a Hillsplitter function to track ascents and descents, suggesting if you’re losing time on hills. There’s also a trackback feature for navigation, plus the ability to view route and elevation profiles.

The Polar Grit X Pro is available from £418.00.

You can also upgrade your Grit X Pro with a stylish new band using our Polar Grit X Pro straps.

• Over 130 sport modes
• Water-resistant up to 100m
• Hillsplitter function
• Battery life: 7 days in watch mode, 40 hours in GPS mode, 100 hours in training mode
• Robust yet lightweight

Drawbacks:

• Touch screen is not very responsive
• Options and performance data can be overwhelming for new users

5. Amazfit T-Rex Pro

The T-Rex Pro, a sibling to the T-Rex 2, is also built for dedicated outdoor athletes. It boasts a rugged look with four screws in the case, a 47mm screen, and a total weight (including strap) of 60g. It also features built-in GPS for route tracking.

The T-Rex Pro is available from £149.00.

Features of the T-Rex Pro:

• Battery life of 18 hours with normal use
• Battery life of 40 hours with GPS on
• 100+ sport modes
• Water-resistant up to 100m
• User-friendly controls
• Easily replaceable Amazfit T-Rex Pro straps

Drawbacks:

• Slow touchscreen response
• Limited software and app ecosystem

6. Apple Watch Ultra

The Apple Watch Ultra focuses on sports and outdoor fitness, featuring a larger case made of strong titanium. Compared to the standard Apple Watch 8, the Ultra is bigger, tougher, and smarter.

The Apple Watch Ultra is available from £999.00.

Features of the Apple Watch Ultra:

• Large, durable titanium case
• L1 and L5 GPS (this combination ensures high accuracy)
• Battery life of 36 hours, 12 hours with GPS
• Digital crown and extra button designed for use with gloves
• Water-resistant up to 100m and suitable for diving
• Offers smartwatch features
• Easily replaceable Apple Watch Ultra straps

Drawbacks:

• High price
• Battery life
• No route importing option
• No back track navigation

Conclusion

The best rugged outdoor smartwatch is the Garmin Fenix 7X. It excels in all key aspects required of an outdoor smartwatch, earning a solid approval. However, the Garmin 7X comes with a steep price tag starting at £749.88.