Best and Most Popular Outdoor Watches of 2022

Fancy for the outdoor activities? Dedicated to your hiking or jogging through the woods? If that’s the case for you, you don’t need just the right sneakers for it or the perfect t-shirt, but also the best watch for outdoorsmen- since you’re one.

When trying to find a reliable outdoor watch, there are some things to keep in mind, as it’s not only the rugged build that a watch like this has to have.

You’d want your outdoor watch to be versatile and dependable in any outdoor activity, from hiking, mountaineering, to camping, fishing or trekking. An outdoor watch doesn’t just tell you time, but also display so many useful info: altitude, compass, barometric info, calendar or any other interesting things essential for the outdoors.

If we go through the basics, we notice how the best watches for outdoorsmen are the digital types as they are more versatile than the analog ones. A digital watch keeps you updated to barometric info, compass, altitude and not only displays time, which sure explains its popularity among outdoors people.

Your outdoor watch should come with some specific features: altitude, barometer, full auto calendar, digital compass, GPS & GLONASS for route, not to mention the POI navigation. It’s also able to give you specific metric info that help you when running.

Don’t settle for an outdoor watch that doesn’t come with training insights that help you load your training. It’s better if the watch is battery solar-powered as risks for running out of the battery is minor when spending time outdoors.

As for the material, you can’t go wrong with titanium, but stainless steel is also a great choice. You need to chip in if you go with titanium since it’s more expensive (and nicer looking, we should add). However, if anything goes west, you can always fix a stainless steel watch that gets scratched.

A good outdoor watch is also easy to use, despite its multiple functions and features. It should also be water resistant and able to take a drop.

Style isn’t essential on an outdoor watch but, why look bad even when hiking with all those options out there?

No matter which way you go, there are quite some nice choices to take a look at and it’s all related to your needs and… wallet, in the end. Have a look at out line-up of tested and popular outdoor watches, which will bring more clarity to your choosing.

TOP 10 Outdoor Watch Reviews

1). For those of you who take walking an outdoor activity, a dependable watch to try is the Men’s Digital Sports Watch LED Screen Large Face Military Watches. Easy to use and to read in the dark, the watch makes a nice impression, especially after you check its price tag.

The digital watch has a sporty appearance and leaves the feel it can take pretty well even the military jobs. Despite its low price, it has no cheap feel whatsoever. The large dial is easy to read, whereas the “Light” button lets you easily read it, no matter the time of the day. The LED backlights help you see time any time of the day.

The watch presents a rugged build and it’s shock resistant, no matter if you use it indoor or outdoor. You may confidently take it when fishing, hiking or climbing. It’s also waterproof, up to 164ft., which is ok for some swimming in a cold water. Play it safe and don’t press any buttons while swimming, though. The watch is also 5ATM water resistant.

The functions of the watch are various and reliable: auto date, alarm, stopwatch, back light and all the previous features we’ve talked about.

The resin mirror and the PU band fit the good build of the watch, easy and comfortable to wear all day long.

Lightweight and easy to read, the watch may satisfy many customers who don’t want all the sophisticated functions anyways.

Cheap, lightweight and handling the outdoors, the watch is worth to try when you’re not over your head with the functions of an outdoor watch.

2). If you’re going shopping on a fixed budget, you can still get a pretty dependable and rugged watch that is able to take the outdoor challenges. Sure, it doesn’t come with as many features or functions, but, for the money you pay you shouldn’t expect the highest performances out there. The Timex Men’s Expedition Field Chronograph Watch is built to withstand the outdoors, even though it’s not the most sophisticated watch for you to choose.

The watch has a nice, classic outdoor design and comes with a chronograph that measure up to 30 minutes. Its genuine leather strap is not only nice looking, but also tough enough to handle the outdoors.

The quartz movement with analog display is reliable and accurate. No worries about not being able to read the watch on a summer night as the watch comes Indiglo Light-Up dial.

Don’t worry either about the watch when it’s raining either, as it’s water resistant to 330 ft. you may safely take it when swimming, snorkeling, but you should play it safe and not take it when diving.

The watch is also shock resistant, which makes it strong enough for the outdoor experiences.

The looks are also something to notice on the watch. The dials have warm, nature colors that combine so well with some pops of bright hues. The date window is very easy to use and it’s placed at 4 o’clock. The watch has sub-dials for minutes, seconds and 1/20 of a second.

The watch has a tough build and has a durability feel to it. The battery holds up pretty well and the watch doesn’t disappoint, as long as you’re not expecting too much from an outdoor watch.

Despite the cons, for the rugged build and its water resistance, the watch isn’t such a bad option when going outdoor.

3). When you like a lot the sports outdoor, but don’t care much about all the details that a sophisticated watch could give you, give it a go with the Casio Men’s G7900-1 G-Shock Rescue Digital Sport Black Resin Watch.

The round sport has a four-point design protection, which helps it take the challenging conditions. The buttons are large and easy to press, whereas the display is user-friendly. The tide and moon-phase data are easy to understand even the less skilled customers.

The watch presents a good build and the 50mm resin case comes with a mineral dial window. The resin band with buckle closure gives a nice, comfortable fit.

You may confidently take the watch in some surface water sports as it’s water resistant up to 660 ft. Don’t take it when scuba diving, for safety reasons.

G-shock G7900-1 is able to take a fall as it’s shock resistant and impresses with its rugged build. It’s lightweight and simple, yet so functional. Its functions may not be many, but they are accurate and dependable. The alarm is loud and the watch is well made.

As long as you’re aware of its limits, you should definitely put your money at stake with the watch, as there aren’t many anyways.

4). The Garmin Forerunner 235 GPS Running Watch is a GPS fitness watch that comes with many functions that help you be more efficient in your outdoor activities.

The watch features a high-sensitivity receiver that tracks distance, time, and pace so that you may improve your performances. You may also plan, review and even share with your friends the outdoors performances using the Garmin Connect function.

You may also set up exercise and break intervals using the interval training, but take advantage of all sorts of functions also: Auto Lap, history (1000laps), Heart rate-based calorie computation. Let’s not forget the foot pod functions that tracks and sends accurate data about your movements, distance and speed.

The watch gives you info about your weight, body fat and body water. The functions are accurate and the watch works well even in the woods.

The build of the watch is great for the outdoors and not only the watch is shock resistant, but also water resistant (IPX7).

We like the watch, as it’s also comfortable to wear. It has a sporty appearance and it has just the right size.

For the good build and multiple functions, the watch is still a good option to have in mind for your outdoor activities. The functions are dependable and it can be used in many situations.

5). The Suunto Core comes in many colors and material options, but it’s not only that that got our attention.

The watch comes with many functions that improve outdoor activities: compass, altimeter, barometer and sunset/sunrise functions. You get information about your tracks and about the weather changes, minimizing risks for getting lost or taken by surprise with a summer storm. The barometer keeps you posted on the air pressure and you may definitely rely on the altimeter as well.

The watch comes also with a Weather Trend graph and a storm alarm- no surprises whatsoever, remember? The temperature function is accurate and the sunrise/sunset feature lets you preset it for more than 400 locations.

The durability and build of the watch is another thing to talk about and the lock feature keeps it sealed, protecting it against the elements. The stainless steel and the sapphire crystal glass make it able to take the outdoor challenges. The aluminum case looks nice and matches the good build.

The watch is lightweight and cozy to wear. The battery is easy to replace and the watch is pretty user friendly. Let’s not forget it’s water resistant up to 100ft.

All in all, for all the reliable functions and good build, the watch is still worth to try when in need.

6). Tough and giving you so many functions to depend on when spending time outdoors, the Casio Men’s Pro Trek Tough Solar Digital Sport Watch is a great choice that you shouldn’t miss out on when in need.

The watch uses solar power that already tells you it doesn’t run out of battery. Its power saving functions works just fine though and the battery level indicator keeps you informed so you have no surprises when out there running.

If you like, outdoor sports or any outdoor related activities, there are many functions to use on the watch. The multi-band atomic timekeeping, the Tide Graph (tide level for specific date and time), moon data (moon phase graph but also the moon age of a certain date) are reliable in all sorts of outdoor experiences.

The altimeter, barometer, thermometer, altimeter memory and the digital compass give you essential info at all time, minimizing risk for getting lost or surprised by a storm, let’s say.

Along with these functions, the watch also come with a full-auto calendar, countdown timer, and 5 independent daily alarms. The world time, hourly time signal, and the 1/100 second stopwatch complete a big list of functions that make the watch a great asset for any dedicated outdoorsman.

The rechargeable solar battery increases the versatility of the watch. It should keep you for 5 months on full charge and almost 2 years on full charge with Power Saving Function.

The watch is easy to operate and its functions are accurate. It’s easy to read in the dark thanks to the full auto EL Backlight with Afterglow and water resistant up to 660ft.

No matter the minor flaws, for the accuracy, good and water resistant build, the watch is a fairly priced watch to pin when shopping.

7). The more you’re willing to pay for your outdoor watch, the more you can expect from it. The Suunto Traverse gives you plenty of info and is reliable for all sorts of outdoor activities.

You may upload routes and get advantage of the GPS and Glonass included. You may observe your performances with distance and altitude statistics, save your favorite spots and re-trace your steps using the breadcrumb trail function. It’s really difficult to get lost when using the watch.

For a very good, you actually get a smart watch that keeps you updated with incoming calls, push notifications and texts from your Smartphone. You may even keep an eye on your friends’ activities using the Through the Activity Feed on Movescount and On the Movescount app, but also let your friends take a peek at your tracks.

The list of functions isn’t over and also includes Sunrise/sunset times, weather trend and storm alarm. The compass is accurate and the backlight in flashlight mode helps you better read the watch. The vibration alarm is reliable and the watch keeps activity records daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.

Despite the multiple functions, the watch is easy to operate and gives you fast access to key features. A fast cycle gives you the essentials as you go.

The watch has a tough build and is water-resistant up to 330ft. Its composite case is durable and lightweight, whereas the stainless steel bezel protects the screen.

Even though it’s made for the outdoors, the Suunto Traverse looks nice and versatile.

For all the sophisticated functions and accuracy, the Suunto Traverse still stands as a great choice for the outdoors.

8). When outdoors means for you especially scuba diving, you can definitely put your trust and faith in a watch like the Citizen Men’s BN5035-02F “Altichron” Titanium Eco-Drive Watch.

The titanium watch brings to the table not only reliable functions and rugged build, but also a nice appearance. Its red and yellow details are great, combining very well with the textured rubber band. The dual pushers are well places on left-hand side.

The Japanese quartz movement of the watch is accurate and the analog display is easy to read. Powered by light, the eco-drive watch never needs a battery so it’s quite cheap on the long run. The power reserve indicator is helpful so you don’t have any bad surprises when out in the field. The rotating inner ring is also efficient for all sorts of situations and runs smooth.

The list of features is long, including a date window, slide-rule bezel, screw-down crown, buckle closure and a mineral crystal dial window that protects the watch. The anti-reflective crystal fits the durability build of the watch.

It also comes with compass that is accurate and dependable.

As it’s water resistant to 660ft, the watch is a great choice when scuba diving as well. It altimeter has a good range, from -1000 to 32,000 feet.

Large, comfortable to wear and really glowing in the dark, the watch is a great tool for any scuba diver.

Regardless the downsides, for all the great features and durable build, the watch remains a nice looking option for the avid scuba divers, to say the least.

9). Even though it may not take you underwater as deep as you’d want, the Casio Pro Trek Touchscreen Outdoor Smart Watch (Model: WSD-F30-BK) compensates on many levels, which makes it a great choice for anyone who likes the outdoors and to stay in touch at the same time.

The watch comes with a GPA, but it’s also 5 bar water-resistant and 164 ft. water resistant. It offers you many functions for more accuracy on your outdoor activities and sports as well.

The activity tracker is functional and you basically can’t get lost when using the digital compass or the altimeter. The barometer keeps you informed on weather changes and the build-in quad sensors give you real time notification on all the previous functions. You may easily connect the watch to your smartphone (Android version 4.3 and later, iPhone 5 and beyond, running iOS 8.2 or above).

As it comes also with a microphone, the watch is great for so many apps. Its full color map display is nice and you may use when offline the downloaded map data. You may use the Location Memory and make some notes on the map as you go.

The LCD structure, the Casio moment setter and the watch face are also important features.

The watch comes with quartz movements and new era features.

Well-made, waterproof and with a comfortable weight, the watch is a great tool for the avid outdoorsmen.

Despite the minor cons, for all the good things it brings to the table we’d say the watch is a sure buy anytime.

10). Build for all kinds of sports and outdoor challenges, the Garmin Fenix 5 Sapphire – Black with Black Band is a smart watch and a dependable watch altogether.

The list of functions and features is impressive and the watch doesn’t disappoint on many levels. It comes with outdoor sensors, which makes the GPS, Glonass satellite reception and 3-axis compass accurate and dependable. The barometric altimeter and gyroscope are also efficient functions for all sorts of situations.

The Elevate wrist heart rate technology is also on the list, informing you on the effects and progress of your sports activities.

Since you’re able to connect it to the online fitness community through the Garmin Connect function, the watch is always ready for the automatic uploads or for sending/receiving useful info.

The build of the watch sure matches its performances and the stainless steel bezel, or the buttons and rear case are high quality and durable. The looks are also to notice and you may actually customize the watch downloading a favorite face evert once in a while.

The watch is also waterproof (up to 328 ft.) and the battery life doesn’t wear out fast.

The display is easy to read thanks to its full-color Garmin Chroma Display with high-resolution. The LED backlighting increases visibility and the trans-reflective technology sends and reflects light at the same time, for better visualization.

Lightweight and comfortable to wear, the watch doesn’t disappoint.

For all the good and reliable functions though, the watch is a sure buy anytime.