Navigation & Watches

Navigation watches, a position and a track worn on the wrist

The navigation & watches selection covers GPS units built into a rugged watch case: satellite positioning, a recorded track of where the day has gone, and a case designed to survive knocks, water and cold. These are outdoor instruments rather than dress watches, which shows in the case thickness and the size of the buttons. What separates them is how long a unit runs, how easily it reads and how it behaves when the weather turns.

What does GPS add that an ordinary watch cannot?

Three things. It gives a position as coordinates, which can be read out to someone else or plotted on a paper map. It records a track, so the route walked can be followed back in poor visibility or reviewed afterwards. And it measures distance and pace from movement across the ground rather than by counting steps, which is what makes the numbers usable on rough terrain. A model from the gps watch range does all of this on the wrist rather than from a pocket, which matters when hands are cold or gloved.

Does a watch replace a map and compass?

No, and treating it as a replacement is how people get caught out. A battery goes flat, a screen cracks, a cold night drains a cell faster than expected, and satellite reception drops in a steep valley or under dense tree cover. A map does not switch off. The sensible arrangement is a paper map and compass as the primary tools with the watch confirming position and holding the track, which is also how a hiking watch is normally used on a hill day.

Which features are worth paying attention to?

• Battery behaviour: continuous satellite recording drains a cell far faster than timekeeping alone, so look for a mode that samples less often on long days.
• Screen legibility: a display readable in direct sun without a backlight beats one that only looks good indoors.
• Physical buttons: they work with wet fingers, thick gloves and in the rain, where a touchscreen stops responding.
• Case and glass protection: a raised bezel around the face takes the impact that would otherwise land on the glass.
• Strap fitting: a strap that can be replaced without a workshop, since the strap fails long before the electronics do.

How rugged does it actually need to be?

Rugged enough for the two things that break watches outdoors: a wrist swung against rock while scrambling, and water. Shock resistance is mostly a matter of the case shape, with the glass set below the bezel rather than proud of it. Water resistance figures are quoted on the individual product page and are worth reading rather than assuming, since the rating that covers rain and hand washing is not the one that covers swimming.

How do you get through a long day on one charge?

Start full, and turn off what is not being used. Continuous heart rate monitoring, permanent backlight and a high satellite sampling rate are the three settings that empty a cell fastest. In winter, keeping the watch under a cuff rather than exposed on the outside of a sleeve keeps the battery closer to body temperature, which is enough to extend an afternoon.