Best Altimeter Watches Reviews

This outdoor sportwatch has GPS, and other navigation features that make it ideal for multiple outdoor sports. The crystal is protected by a rugged stainless steel bezel (the top ring on the watch that surrounds the crystal) and the watch is tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock and water resistance.

There are satellite navigation and tracking functions, along with a 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter.

The GPS combines with GLONASS and Galileo to track your position more accurately than GPS alone, meaning you can hike or trail ride in more challenging environments.

Activity features include enhanced wrist heart rate, built-in activity profiles, Vo2 Max estimates and more. The built-in activity profiles are for trail running, swimming, running, biking, hiking, rowing, skiing, golfing and more.  There’s also performance metrics and training load balance readings, advanced sleep monitoring and the ability to read altitude acclimation at high elevations. Use the watch to track your training load balance, training status, and running and cycling dynamics.

A great feature is the customizable power manager, where you can monitor how various settings and sensors impact battery life, allowing you to adjust to extend your battery life. The battery has four modes with different performance life depending how you use it: up to 14 days in smartwatch mode, up to 36 hours in GPS mode, up to 28 days in expedition GPS activity mode, and up to 48 days in battery saver watch mode.

The display is readable in sunlight and is “always on,” meaning you can easily check it while climbing or cycling. When paired with a compatible smartphone, you can receive notifications and use Garmin Pay™ contactless payments. Also when paired with a smartphone, the watch will sense an incident and send your location to emergency contacts.

This unisex training watch has GPS capability with an integrated heart rate wrist monitor and an atmospheric pressure sensor. It features support for over 80 sports. It’s ideal for cycling or running, and since it’s waterproof to 100 meters, it’s also ideal for swimming. 

It also has new outdoor features for mountain and snow sports, along with navigation system improvements and storm warning. Hikers, skiers and trail runners will appreciate the exact altitude measurement provided by the combination of Barometric and GPS altimeter. That’s what enables exact altitude profiles and helps to identify meteorological changes, allowing you to cancel your trek if bad weather is coming. 

Suunto’s value proposition states that this watch will take you from “the highest mountains to the deepest oceans.”

It features an intelligent battery system that allows you to adjust the battery mode. Switch between the three modes to get from 25 hours up to 120 hours of use from the battery. You’ll get real-time notifications on how much battery life is remaining, so you can change modes to save the battery before it completely runs out of power.

The Suunto website provides regular software updates.

The Glonass technology can be used in addition to GPS for improved tracking, providing quick and exact recognition of your position. There are also  tracking and route navigation options, with waypoints and real-time breadcrumb navigation features. 

There’s a graphic heart rate wrist display that shows heart rate even while resting, a step display and calorie display, including showing the last 7 days. The activity monitoring is 24/7. A colour display has 3 action buttons for toggling among the features. If you want even more detailed heart rate data, you can purchase separately the compatible Suunto Smart Belt.

The watch is used in conjunction with the Suunto App, which offers training insights and social features to stay motivated. It helps you track daily activities and workouts, plan routes, show activity maps, and calculate overall speed and distance using the GPS connectivity. You can also monitor sleep patterns and overall fitness levels, and share milestones on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.

This is a lightweight yet durable watch, with a corrosion free titanium frame and bezel. The watch face is covered with Sapphire glass with a diamond-like coating for added protection.

It’s also perfect for long expeditions with an excellent battery life and the ability to change modes to extend life. The battery will last up to 45 days with regular use, 60 hours in full GPS mode and 150 hours when in UltraMax mode. 

It’s also exceptional for harsh expeditions, as it is tested to work to temperatures as low as -4°F/-20°C and in GPS mode to -22°F/-30°C in extreme testing. It’s waterproof to almost 500 feet (150 meters). It even has an enhanced knob allowing for easy operation even underwater or while wearing thick climbing gloves.

Athletes will appreciate its 24/7 blood oxygen monitoring and altitude acclimatization assistance. It provides analysis of your training load and performance, to evaluate your exertion level and provide recommendations on recovery, allowing you to perform at your peak.

This smartwatch has all the bells and whistles especially once it’s connected to a smartphone. You can then use the free Suunto Movescount App to adjust the watch on the go, sync your activities, and receive calls and notifications right on the watch. 

Movescount can also help you discover new routes and provide you with training programs.

Athletes can use it to monitor heart rate, even while swimming, and to provide an activity-based recovery time. It shows speed, pace and distance and you can track multiple sports in one log.

You can also add photos during activities, share your moves instantly with the app, and create a Suunto Movie with highlights of your adventure, including a 3D map, key metrics and images.

The GPS satellite data and time are up to date wherever you are, and you can use your phone as a second watch display. 

The watch also Suunto provides stable and accurate altitude and weather information, and full navigation capabilities. It features a built-in altimeter, barometer, compass and GPS, and is water resistant to 330 feet (100 meters). You can use it for route navigation and to track back along your route.

The battery life is also outstanding, lasting up to 200 hours with a 1-minute GPS accuracy, or 30 hours with a 5 second GPS accuracy. The case is made of durable polyamide.

As the name suggests, this timepiece is created for backpackers, hikers, and people who usually have an active outdoor lifestyle (whether it’s for work or for fun). 

Equipped with Tough Solar Power technology, the Pro Trek PRW2500T is a solar-powered, digital sports watch. This means that you can use sunlight to recharge the battery, which will hold about 5 months on a full charge with all the features available and without any further charging. In Power Saving mode the watch is supposed to last for about 23 months. 

Other features that make this watch stand out are Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping, Tide Graph, Moon Data, digital compass, altimeter (with the possibility to save data), barometer, thermometer, and more. In addition, its water-resistance and EL backlight with afterglow, make it a fantastic tool for divers and people who are usually around water.

As a timekeeper, the Pro Trek is equipped with a stopwatch, countdown timer, five alarms, full auto-calendar programmed until 2099, 12/24h formats, and more. 

In terms of design, this is a rather bulky watch with lots of buttons and plenty of information displayed at almost any time. Still, due to the titanium bracelet, it is not as heavy as you’d expect. It’s also complex, due to the multitude of features it has to offer, so it takes a bit of reading the instructions and playing with the settings to learn what it does.

Garmin calls the Epix a first-of-its-kind mapping watch. In fact, the rectangular touchscreen display and the GPS+ GLONASS feature makes it look like a portable GPS device that fits on your wrist. 

The watch comes with 8 GB built-in memory (to load up maps such as TOPO U.S. 24K and BirdsEye Satellite Imagery) and has great GPS reception due to the stainless steel EXO antenna. Furthermore, by using pan/swipe movements on the screen, you can zoom in/out of a map which is extremely useful on a screen that small (for a navigator).

Of course, no good mapping watch should be without an altimeter and a barometer! The watch has auto-calibrating ABC sensors that provide real-time information on elevation and weather changes. Even more, the Epix also has a 3-axis compass, which will come in handy when you’re hiking. We also like that the display is visible in sunlight and that there are lots of cool watch faces and other widgets users can download from the Connect IQ app. 

Furthermore, you can keep up to date with the data gathered by the watch as it connects with Garmin Connect, LiveTrack, and social media accounts. It is compatible with most mobile devices and receives notifications on texts, emails, and more.

Lastly, the Epix is not just a maps watch. It also has activity and sleep tracking, alarms and move reminders, several sports profiles, and more. Also, the life of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery is pretty good with up to 16 weeks in watch mode and up to 24h in GPS mode.

The 935 is the quintessential triathlon watch from Garmin. It is designed for durability and it focuses on delivering useful information for the active person. The slick design is easy to pair with a casual and/or sports outfit because it’s an all-black, lightweight build. 

The screen is not sensitive to touch, but you can use the side buttons to scroll through the apps. The menu is built around the active person who practices a wide range of sports such as running, swimming, cycling, and more. On the back of the case, there is a heart rate sensor and inside it, a GPS+GLONASS module. 

It also has features that are useful to athletes looking to measure their progress. For instance, there is an UltraTrack mode (reliable due to the built-in gyroscope), and the possibility to follow metrics such as ground contact time and stride length. 

All these features also help you measure your training status, to indicate if you’re undertraining or overdoing it. In addition, it has a built-in barometer, altimeter, and electronic compass which can be extremely useful while hiking or running long distances. 

Forerunner 935 also features smart notifications, music control, automatic uploads and connects to the Garmin app for custom Watch faces and apps. It is compatible with most mobile devices (iOS and Android) and it works with other Garmin devices designed for tracking sports or it can be paired with external sensors (for more accurate tracking).

Lastly, the Forerunner 935 has a better battery life than other similar models from Garmin (up to 24h in GPS mode and up to 2 weeks in watch mode) and it comes with built-in WiFi.