The best outdoor watches of 2025 for navigation, durability and battery life: Tested and reviewed

I put the Suunto Race to the ultimate test: a non-stop 28-hour, 111-mile run along the Cleveland Way. Through moorland, hills, dense forest and coastal paths, it tracked every step with near-perfect accuracy.

Even after nearly 30 hours of non-stop use, 65% of the battery remained – a testament to its “Ultra” GPS mode and endurance-focused design.

The large 1.43in AMOLED screen impressed me throughout my ultra run – it's crisp and bright enough to read in all conditions, making route-following and stats-checking effortless. Navigation via GPX tracks was straightforward, with turn-by-turn notifications and a reliable 'find back' function, which returns to your start point.

Its stainless steel case and chunky 13.3mm depth mean the watch feels weighty on the wrist, and dynamic runners might notice a bit of bounce. There are two main omissions – you can’t download music directly to the Suunto Race and the watch doesn’t support contactless payments.

Overall, this watch shines for anyone chasing ultra-endurance or multi-day challenges, offering top-tier battery life and GPS precision at a surprisingly reasonable price.

Read our full Suunto Race review for more.

Launched in August 2025, the Coros Nomad is a versatile outdoor watch designed for adventure lovers, especially those who enjoy hiking, running and fishing.

It comes with a bright, 1.3in memory-in-pixel touchscreen that’s easy to read outdoors (it’s trumped by AMOLED screens, though) and helps deliver a very good battery life (albeit not class leading).
This equates to up to three weeks of daily use or 50hrs in all-systems GPS mode (34hrs with multi-band GPS).

Navigation is a highlight, with clear turn-by-turn colour maps, waypoint marking and a handy back-to-start function. However, the navigation prompts do block the zoom function when they pop up.

The Nomad also offers customisable activity profiles, accurate GPS and quick syncing with the decent Coros app for in-depth data analysis.

There’s a built-in microphone for recording and pinning voice notes during activities, letting you log memories and key locations along your journey. Though, how useful this is will depend on the individual.

It’s lightweight (61g), durable and water-resistant, with a robust build and handy physical buttons for sweaty workouts, though it doesn’t look the most premium compared to some competitors.

The Nomad tracks all the usual metrics, including heart rate, sleep, heart rate variability, training load and more.

At £319, it’s excellent value for those wanting a reliable, feature-rich adventure watch with journaling tools.

See our full Coros Nomad review for more.

The Garmin Fenix 7 Pro is a top-tier outdoor watch packed with features for serious runners and hikers. It comes with a rugged build, reliable GPS and excellent battery life, lasting up to 40hrs in all-systems GPS mode (23hrs with dual-band GPS), or even longer with solar charging.

It's tough enough for camping or scrambling (especially if you buy the Sapphire version) and it’s water-resistant to 100m, so it’s perfectly happy when you’re swimming or hiking in heavy rain.

Navigation is very good, with easy-to-use, pre-loaded colour maps and accurate GPS tracking using multiple satellite systems. It’s easy to import GPX files or routes from other apps, while you can also create a route in the Garmin Connect app.

The watch is loaded with performance metrics, from heart rate to VO2 max, and offers advanced tools like Hill Score, Endurance Score and PacePro for training. You’ll also find extras like Garmin Pay, music storage and even a built-in torch (which is actually handy).

However, the Fenix 7 Pro is a chunky option (75g) that may not suit every wrist. The screen, while clear and readable, isn’t as sharp or bright as AMOLED displays on some rivals.

With an original RRP of £749.99 it’s expensive (though it costs less now) and may be more watch than casual users need.

Still, if you want a durable, feature-rich GPS watch for big adventures, the Fenix 7 Pro is hard to beat.

Find out more in our full Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar review.

When we first strapped on the Garmin Enduro 3, its size made us raise an eyebrow – 51mm across, 15.7mm thick, and 63g on the wrist isn’t subtle. But once we started testing, its strengths quickly won us over.

The standout feature is, without doubt, battery life: even pushing multi-band GPS for long hikes, it clocks up to 60 hours between charges, easily stretchable with solar exposure. In smartwatch mode, it lasts over a month.

Navigation is another strong suit. Following GPX routes via Garmin Connect or Komoot felt intuitive, and the full-colour topo maps gave a clear picture of the trails, rivers and villages around us. The multi-band GNSS kept our tracks precise, even in challenging environments.

On the trail, the Enduro 3 is reassuringly rugged. The reinforced case handled knocks and scrapes with ease, and the LED flashlight came in surprisingly handy when setting up camp after dark. The nylon-velcro strap was soft, quick-drying and stayed secure through every run and swim test.

The downside? The MiP display, while energy-efficient, isn’t as sharp or vibrant as AMOLED alternatives, and the menus can feel overwhelming at first. It’s also a chunky watch for trail running, but for long off-grid adventures it’s hard to beat.

Read our full Garmin Enduro 3 review for more.

Our testers loved this watch so much that we just had to sneak it onto this list as a second Suunto offering. The Vertical smartwatch marks an impressive leap for the Finnish brand as they've refined their interface to a super intuitive and accessible level.

A responsive (and tough) touchscreen combines with three side buttons for a simple set-up. Move up and down and select with the buttons; drag maps around, adjust music volumes, and deal with text messages by tapping the screen. Easy as pie. Though it can take a while to scroll through the 97(!) pre-set sport modes with additional customisation options.

The construction of the Vertical is excellent and durable, though this does give it a little heft. Both versions come with sapphire glass, which can bang, scrape or crunch against dense gabbro and still look like it’s ready for Oscar night.

With military-grade testing and waterproofing down to 100m, this watch can accompany you on some seriously hardcore adventures.

Read our full Suunto Vertical Titanium Solar watch review.

At £599, the Coros Vertix 2 S may undercut comparable Garmin watches, yet it still offers a tough titanium bezel, sapphire glass, and a large 1.4in touchscreen.

The MIP display isn’t as bright or sharp as AMOLED screens so it can be hard to read in bright sunlight, but this helps the Vertix 2S deliver excellent battery life – up to 36 days in smartwatch mode, 73hrs in all-systems GPS mode or 43 hours with dual-frequency GPS.

GPS accuracy is very good, thanks to a new antenna design and support for all major satellite systems. The watch is rugged and water-resistant to 100m, but it’s heavy (88g with silicone strap) and chunky, which may not suit everyone.

You get plenty of features: reliable mapping and navigation, a wide range of activity modes, sleep and wellness tracking, and strong training tools, while the Coros app is easy to use.

Like many watches, the heart rate sensor is decent but doesn’t match up to a chest strap. There’s no contactless payment or music streaming, though you can store MP3s.

If you want a durable, feature-rich watch with very good battery life without paying Garmin prices, the Vertix 2S is a solid choice.

The Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED is seen as the crème de la crème of GPS outdoor watches, and we can see why.

What are the differences with the Fenix 7? Well, the 8 brings a crisp AMOLED display, a microphone and speaker for wrist-based calls and voice commands, a handy LED flashlight and increased display size on smaller models. Diving functions, including a depth gauge, are new too.

When we tested the smallest version in the Snowdonia National Park, we found that navigation was effortless. GPX tracks sync from hiking apps like Komoot or can be imported, and multi-band GNSS kept positioning precise across moorland, forest and urban terrain.

The battery life on this 43mm model is adequate for day trips, but shorter than the solar-powered Fenix 7 options, the larger Fenix 8 AMOLED options or the Fenix 8 Solar version, which uses a MIP display.

Even for a GPS watch, the price is very steep – it's only really worth it if you demand the best of the best technology and can justify the investment. It's worth noting that capable alternatives exist at half the price.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED 43mm review.

The Garmin Instinct 3 Solar builds on the foundation set by the Instinct 2 Solar, offering a robust, lightweight option for outdoor adventurers, priced at £349.99. It’s an ideal choice for anyone who needs a durable sports watch for outdoor activities, but its improvements set it apart from its predecessor in meaningful ways.

While the Instinct 2 Solar was already a solid all-rounder with good GPS accuracy and a rugged build, the Instinct 3 Solar brings several notable upgrades. First, the GPS performance has improved, now featuring multi-band GPS for better accuracy in challenging environments, compared to the more basic GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo setup on the Instinct 2.

This makes the Instinct 3 more reliable in dense forests or urban areas, addressing one of the key weaknesses of the Instinct 2

The design remains largely the same: the lightweight 52g frame is incredibly comfortable, and the 23mm monochrome screen is still basic, but more efficient.

However, the Instinct 3 Solar takes a significant step forward with solar charging, allowing for up to 50hrs of all-systems GPS use, which is a big leap from the 30hrs offered by the Instinct 2 in the same mode.

Despite these improvements, this version of the Instinct 3 still keeps things simple – there are no AMOLED displays (though an AMOLED version is available with a shorter battery life for £389.99) or high-end maps like those found on the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro or Polar Grit X2 Pro.

If you’re looking for premium navigation features or a more vivid display, those models may be a better fit.

However, for a rugged, lightweight and reliable GPS watch with decent battery life, the Instinct 3 Solar is a very good and more affordable choice, especially for users who loved the Instinct 2 but recognised its flaws.

Read our full Garmin Instinct 3 Solar review for more info.

One of the first things that struck us about the Coros Apex 2 Pro is how little you have to charge it. This impressive GPS outdoor sports watch boasts 41hrs of battery life in all-systems GPS mode. We can confirm that we went more than three weeks before recharging, despite using it on plenty of local walks and runs and spending countless hours fiddling with its features. 

Many outdoor enthusiasts look at Coros as a slightly more affordable alternative to Garmin. So while the Apex 2 Pro seems pricey, you get plenty for your money here.

Firstly it looks great with a lightweight and comfortable nylon strap, 1.3in sapphire glass screen, plus chunky buttons and a titanium dial you can operate using a pair of thin gloves.

In terms of functionality for hillwalking, the Coros 2’s redesigned dual GPS antenna feels reliable and the offline maps are decent (if not particularly detailed). It isn’t classed as fully waterproof but has been built to withstand water to 50m and temperatures ranging from -30°C to 50°C. So no worries there. 

In terms of nice extra touches, you also get a touchscreen, MP3 music player, night mode, blood oxygen sensors and heart rate monitor, plus much more we haven’t discovered yet.

If you want a stronger endorsement than ours, this is also the watch brand of choice for mountain-running superman Kilian Jornet, so it must be doing something right! 

Read our full Coros Apex 2 Pro review for more.

Thinking that the 9 Peak Pro is too dainty and pretty to hold a candle to the others here is a mistake. There are two versions of it: the standard and the Titanium. The latter has a titanium bezel, compared to stainless steel on the standard version.

We’ve been testing the standard version, dropping it on trails and ‘accidentally’ grazing it against hard surfaces. The sapphire glass face hasn’t suffered a scratch.  

Suunto has improved the interface of the 9 Peak Pro compared with the 9 Peak. Everything is much clearer in terms of display and menu organisation. We found that it still takes a few days of playing around with it to feel at home with the system, but it’s a big improvement.

Once you’re used to it, you can configure the interface as you please and your recently selected sports are always kept at the top of the sports menu. 

However, we did find it takes a bit longer to sync with its app and to locate our position than the Garmin watches. But it's extremely accurate and the Suunto app is very good.

It opens onto your activity archive instead of irrelevant stats. You can therefore instantly look at the activities you’ve done.

You can also easily toggle between decent topographical mapping and satellite imagery and watch walk-throughs of your route to see your pace, altitude and heart rate as you walk. 

Read our full Suunto 9 Peak Pro review for more.

The Polar Grit X2 Pro is designed to be an outdoor watch suitable to a wide range of activities, with its rugged build a key plus. It makes use of a military-grade build, sapphire glass and a 10ATM water resistance rating, so it’s ready for harsh conditions and swimming.

One of the watch’s standout features is the large, bright 1.39in AMOLED touchscreen, which makes maps and stats easy to read even in bright sunlight.

The mapping and navigation are very good, with pre-installed maps for North America and Europe and clear route tracking. However, turn-by-turn prompts are only available for routes imported via Komoot, which isn’t exactly ideal.

GPS accuracy is very good, using all major satellite systems and dual-frequency tracking. Battery life is solid (up to 43 hours in full GPS mode), but not class-leading, especially if you use the always-on display.

On the downside, the watch isn’t exactly lightweight (79g) and can feel bulky on smaller wrists or during fast runs. It’s also expensive (and we’d say overpriced) at £649 and lacks onboard music storage and contactless payments.

Ultimately, it’s a decent all-rounder for outdoor enthusiasts who want a clear screen, good mapping and a tough design – as long as you can swallow the price and a few flaws.

Read our full Polar Grit X2 Pro review for more.

This Casio G-Shock watch is a uniquely rugged sports watch. Fans of the G-Shock range will know that in terms of styling, they have the opposite approach to the Suunto 9 Peak Pro. The GG-B100 is beefy and chunky and proudly so.  

This watch doesn’t have a heart rate monitor or built-in sports apps like the others. Instead, it has a magnetic compass, altimeter, barometer, accelerometer, and gyrometer. It has a step counter and thermometer too. In terms of functionality then, it’s relatively straightforward. But you can still connect the GG-B100 to a smartphone via Bluetooth to record activity logs and adjust the watch. We find the app quite amusing. It has the appearance of a war strategy game and is easy to use but also quite basic. 

Toughness is important here. The case looks like carbon fibre, and it says ‘Carbon Core Guard’ on the underside. It’s actually a carbon fibre-reinforced resin but is still mighty tough. The mineral glass is scratch-resistant and protected by the protruding bezel. The Casio is water-resistant down to 200m. In short, it’s the most rugged watch here. 

This type of watch will suit some and not others. But what will appeal to all is the exquisite level to which it’s made and how incredibly comfortable it is to wear.  

Read our full Casio G-Shock Mudmaster GG-B100 review for more.