Get the latest tech news

These are the most important features hikers need on their smartwatch

Choosing the right watch for hikers is more complicated than you'd think because no brand has every feature for navigation and safety.

(Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Finding and downloading routes before each hike is a lot of work, and if you end up taking a different path, that GPX file won't help you get back to your starting point unless you intend to retrace your steps every time. (Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)On the traditional smartwatch side of things, Apple added topographic maps to watchOS 10 as part of its recent fitness push. Satellite assistance menu on the Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE (Image credit: Jeramy Johnson / Android Central)It goes without saying that regardless of the brand, you want a hiking watch with long battery life, accurate GPS tracking, a compass for turn-by-turn navigation, and an altimeter to measure elevation gain and loss.

Get the Android app