Find Your Way with the Best GPS Watch You Can Get
1. Garmin fenix 6 Pro Solar - Editor’s Pick
Calling the Fenix 6 Pro Solar a watch is like calling your laptop a paperweight
This is the latest edition of the watch I originally used and it’s pretty snazzy. It has a 1.4 inch display and can do multiple things that you’d never expect in a “watch.” For a while now, those fitness tracker devices you wear on your wrist have been super popular for helping people get into shape. The Fenix does all of that, keeping track of your steps, but that’s easy stuff. This watch also tracks your heart rate and your oxygen levels, as well as your hydration levels. It even tracks your sleep habits and will tell you if you’re eating food that is bad for you. Okay, that last part isn’t true, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someday that was a function. This watch can make you a better you and help keep you healthier, and that’s a great thing.
The Fenix also has a fully functional GPS system, with topographic mapping, turn-by-turn navigation and different modes to fit your activity. So if you’re hiking into your hunting spot, the watch can get you there. It also works great with apps for skiing, surfing, mountain biking and more. It also tracks the barometric pressure, altitude and more.
Want some tunes? It stores and plays back music, so you can jam while doing whatever you’re doing. Worried about the battery life? This model has a built-in solar charger that extends the battery life to 14 days without a full recharge. You can use it to digitally pay for things like coffee and more with a tap, and it remembers your stores, making things easier, much like a smartwatch. Oh yeah, and it tells time. I almost forgot that last one. This is one amazing piece of technology that fits on your wrist.
2. Apple Watch Series 6 - Stress Saver
You can find all kinds of cool replacement bands for this watching, including camo
Most people don’t think of the Apple Watch when they think of GPS watches. I’ll admit, I usually think of my niece that always has the latest one because her daddy buys her everything. I’m not bitter, though. My kids? Maybe. In all seriousness, the latest version of the Apple Watch does everything you’d expect it to do – playing music, telling time, making calls, surfing the internet, etc. It also has GPS functionality that can help you navigate your way back to civilization. It also has all kinds of health monitoring apps and other fun things that make you question how you ever got by before now that you have the technology.
One of the GPS functions that I truly like best about the Apple Watch Series 6 is the family function of the GPS. I’m not one to run out and buy my kids fancy electronic gadgets, but I’m seriously looking at this watch. It GPS connects your family, so that you can navigate your way to find them. Let’s say you’re hiking in a big national park, or get stuck going to a big mall. You and the family get separated, but you tap the watch and it tells you exactly where they are and how to get there. Wen we’re shopping, my wife always asks me to run to the car to either get something, or drop off stuff, then I have to go back into the store to find her. She says she’ll stay in one spot, but does she ever? Nope! If I had a dollar for every time this happens, I’d have more than enough to buy the Apple Watch. It’s cool, stress-saving functions like this that make this a strong contender for the best GPS watch you can get.
3. Garmin Instinct Solar - Toughest Watch
Meets or exceeds military standards for toughness - That's very cool!
Another Garmin GPS watch that you should consider is the Instinct. This watch is seriously tough, meeting or exceeding the military requirements for thermal, shock and water protection. It’s rated to be waterproof to 100 meters or more, can handle the heat of the sun and will probably take a fall much better than the arm it is strapped to. Don’t ask – I’m not going to be the one to test that out.
On the GPS side, the Instinct can access multiple global navigation satellite systems – GPS, GLONASS and Galileo. This means you’re not going to get lost, no matter where you are. If you travel abroad to do outdoor pursuits of any kind, this is a great GPS watch for you. It has Garmin’s Tracback routing that lets you start a route and navigate right back on the same path, so you’ll always remember where you parked the truck.
The Instinct has a built-in altimeter for elevation data, a barometer to monitor weather and a three-axis electronic compass. It has several health monitors like heart rate and oxygen levels. Like the other Garmin watch on this list, it has a solar function to recharge itself, giving you longer battery life. It’s camo, too. Who doesn’t like camo?
How GPS works
According to the FAA, basic global positioning systems give you roughly 7.8 meter accuracy, 95% of the time, anywhere on or near the surface of the earth. How it works is to use 31 satellites that emit signals to receivers that determine location by computing the difference between the time that a signal is sent and the time it is received. This makes a GPS watch make more sense, and why you never have to set the time on a GPS watch.
The GPS satellites carry atomic clocks that provide extremely accurate time. The time information is broadcast by the satellite encoded so that a receiver can continuously determine the time the signal was broadcast. The receiver uses the time difference between the time of signal reception and the broadcast time to compute the distance, or range, from the receiver to the satellite. There are variances that the GPS watch adjusts for. With information about the ranges to three satellites and the location of the satellite when the signal was sent, the receiver can compute its own three-dimensional position. If your GPS watch only receives signal from three satellites, an atomic clock synchronized to GPS is required in order to compute ranges from these three signals. This is why receivers, like your GPS watch, try to acquire at minimum, a fourth satellite signal. By taking a measurement from a fourth satellite, the receiver avoids the need for an atomic clock. The receiver uses the four satellite signals to compute latitude, longitude, altitude, and time. This gives you your exact location and a way to navigate back to where you want to go.
What can I use a GPS watch for?
Besides the obvious thing of telling time, you can also track both your location and your health. Most GPS watches have many health monitoring functions that help you be a healthier you.
Is GPS safe?
GPS receivers are perfectly safe to use. The biggest danger with GPS and any other technology is total reliance on it. Technology can fail, but having proper survival skills to help you navigate on your own can help save your life.
We are committed to finding, researching, and recommending the best products. We earn commissions from purchases you make using the retail links in our product reviews. Learn more about how this works.
