GPS Watch

[Capo]

Hey guys, I will be doing to Kokoda track in June and am looking at getting a GPS Watch. Just interested in tracking my progress along the track.

What is everyone's suggestions for a watch and which one has the best receiver. If I can get a pro and con for the watch would be great too.

[madmacca]

In terms of backcountry watches with enough battery life to run GPS for 12 hours per day, Suunto's Ambit3 series are generally reckoned to have the best GPS receivers. Early versions of the firmware on Suunto's more recent Spartan series was widely panned by reviewers. Garmin's Fenix3 and (the soon to be released) Fenix5 certainly have more features than the Ambit3s, although many of these features are perhaps more relevant for the hard core running, cycling and triathlete crowd than for hikers. The Polar V800 would be another possibility, but generally not as good as the Suunto's or Fenix's.

There are a range of other GPS watches (eg. Fitbit Surge, vivoactive) that are cheaper, but offer less battery life.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/ is probably the best independent reviewer of sports tech devices.

[slparker]

I just got a suunto ambit 3 for running and cycling and to get a grid reference for navigation. The battery depletes fast for tracking unless you set it to ping the satellite every minute instead of every few seconds.
This decreases the accuracy and i found that it substantially under records the distance. The top model of suunto ambit has a better battery life though. There was a thread recently on this.

[madmacca]

I just got a suunto ambit 3 for running and cycling and to get a grid reference for navigation. The battery depletes fast for tracking unless you set it to ping the satellite every minute instead of every few seconds.
This decreases the accuracy and i found that it substantially under records the distance. The top model of suunto ambit has a better battery life though. There was a thread recently on this.

I have the Ambit3 Sport (not the top-of-the-range Peak model with the bigger battery), and I find that even at 2 y.o., I still get a bit over 10 hrs of battery life at 1s GPS pings. The intermediate 5s GPS option gives me over 15 hrs (I have never fully run the battery down in this mode). And of course, it can be recharged while still tracking. I find the battery depletes at about 10% per hour, but charges at about 1% per minute, so charging during a lunch stop gives me plenty of life even on a 300 km ride.

A few other suggestions for extending battery life:
* Use the latest firmware - some early versions were less energy efficient with the GPS chipset.
* Note that using the navigation functionality to follow a route (as against just recording a breadcrumb trail) forces the GPS back to 1s intervals (even if you set the watch at 5s or 60s pings). If you need to check your position, turn the navigation on, but then turn it off again rather than leaving it running
* Turn off the digital compass if you are not using it.
* Deactivate any sensors you aren't using - searching for sensors that aren't there increases energy use.
* Some apps that you can download can be really processor intensive. Delete them if you no longer use them.

[slparker]

Thanks macca. Thats good news for me. Looks like i was trying too hard to conserve battery life. Ihave the ambit 3 sport as well. Im very happy with it.

[keithy]

DC Rainmakers's blog as recommended previously is pretty good as he does in depth reviews on most of the GPS watches out there, although more with a fitness tracking focus.

Battery life is definitely an issue to be wary of especially on a longer trek. Most of the GPS watches recharge using some form of cradle and USB cable, making it difficult to charge while wearing. Suunto uses a clip on cable which I guess you could use to charge while wearing but doesn't appear to be the most comfortable option. The newer Garmin Fenix 5 series uses a redesigned plug in cable which appears to be easier to plug into without a cable, however the position of the charge port is still on the base of the watch, and the cable is a perpendicular connector that sticks straight out, so makes it hard to charge while wearing. An angled charging connector would might have made this do-able, but not sure why Garmin didn't design it that way. But at least it still works while being charged, so you could have the watch on your backpack strap while charging.

The battery life on the new Fenix 5 series varies from around 14 hours (for the 5S) to 24 hours on the 5 and 5X when recording tracks at 1S intervals. You can select UltraTrac mode, which records track points at less frequent intervals, but this can lead to poorer quality track logs, especially if your device loses GPS satellite signals under heavy canopy, it might record an erroneous waypoint throwing out your track log. But in Ultra track mode, they are saying up to 50-75 hours of track log recording.

[Bubbalouie]

Personally I have 2 (one I intend to sell).

The Garmin forerunner 235, this has seen me through a full day (maybe 9 hours of actual GPS tracking if memory serves well) of hiking and cycling with the heart rate monitor on and using a Tempe sensor. However, the battery was down pretty low at the end if such a day.

I got a Fenix 3 HR for Christmas, feature wise (and size) it's a beast. Sadly with arrival of a new born Ive only had time for evening runs (happy to have Bubs though) and a few half day walks. That said the battery life is quite good so far, but I've not used Ultra Trac mode, Garmin claim 40 hours in this mode. The Fenix 3 has many hiking oriented features like sight and go, showing a map of your trail, an altimeter, barometer and compass, it also has a storm warning feature that actually worked last time a storm came in. Overall I quite like it, though it is no substitute for a dedicated hiking GPS.

The Fenix 5X us basically a 3 HR with built in topo maps, more battery, a marginally better screen, better battery life, updated software and an improved heart rate sensor. Given it's not yet released we'll have to wait and see how that all turns out in the real world.

[Capo]

Thanks guys. Will check out Dcrainer site. The armbit3 sounds good in the way of battery life. Bubbalouie I have a proper hiking GPS. Just not sure about weight. Though if I buy a watch I'll have to bring a power bank to charge it. As Kokoda is about a 8 day hike.

[madmacca]

Thanks guys. Will check out Dcrainer site. The armbit3 sounds good in the way of battery life. Bubbalouie I have a proper hiking GPS. Just not sure about weight. Though if I buy a watch I'll have to bring a power bank to charge it. As Kokoda is about a 8 day hike.

The batteries on watches are small - the Ambit3 Sport is 240 mAh, and the others won't be much larger. So you would not need a large power bank to charge it.

[johnrs]

Hi Capo
Will you be carrying your phone? It does not need to be inrange to check the GPS satellites.
Alternatively does your camera have a GPS inbuilt?
Do you want to track yourself or just check your position occasionally??
John

[Capo]

Madmacca Yea was thinking the same about the power bank, so just weighing up my options at the moment. I have a 11,000 mAh power bank. not sure on its weight but you can hold it in your hands. will be calculating my packs weight this weekend. which could rule out any luxury such as this.

Hi John.
I have found my Phone GPS to loose the satellite for no reason at all and seams to only find them again once it gets a bar of reception. So trying to stay clear of using my phone. I am wanting to track myself,so I can show my friends and family the gradient of the track.
Capo

[madmacca]

Madmacca Yea was thinking the same about the power bank, so just weighing up my options at the moment. I have a 11,000 mAh power bank. not sure on its weight but you can hold it in your hands. will be calculating my packs weight this weekend. which could rule out any luxury such as this.

Hi John.
I have found my Phone GPS to loose the satellite for no reason at all and seams to only find them again once it gets a bar of reception. So trying to stay clear of using my phone. I am wanting to track myself,so I can show my friends and family the gradient of the track.
Capo

11000 mAh is way overkill for keeping a GPS watch charged. But if that's what you've got, it's what you've got... Plus if you were wanting to keep a phone charged as well, it may make sense.

A cheap and light alternative would be the small power banks based on a single 18650 cell - about the size of your middle finger, and about 2400 mAh capacity - plenty for a GPS watch or a weekender, but not enough to keep a phone charged on an extended trip.

[Bubbalouie]

Madmacca Yea was thinking the same about the power bank, so just weighing up my options at the moment. I have a 11,000 mAh power bank. not sure on its weight but you can hold it in your hands. will be calculating my packs weight this weekend. which could rule out any luxury such as this.

Hi John.
I have found my Phone GPS to loose the satellite for no reason at all and seams to only find them again once it gets a bar of reception. So trying to stay clear of using my phone. I am wanting to track myself,so I can show my friends and family the gradient of the track.
Capo

11000 mAh is way overkill for keeping a GPS watch charged. But if that's what you've got, it's what you've got... Plus if you were wanting to keep a phone charged as well, it may make sense.

A cheap and light alternative would be the small power banks based on a single 18650 cell - about the size of your middle finger, and about 2400 mAh capacity - plenty for a GPS watch or a weekender, but not enough to keep a phone charged on an extended trip.

I use one of these for trips (not hiking trips, just when visiting family or car camping):

https://m.fasttech.com/products/1421/10 ... er-version

They weigh next to nothing, have a charge indicator (5 LEDs to indicate charge).

You just need a good 18650 battery to go in it (I use the 3400mah cells that I put in my headlamp). As a bonus kit makes a good battery charger for the headlamp too.