5 Features You Should Have In A Hiking Watch
If you're an avid hiker, and you're still wearing an old fashioned watch, you should probably upgrade. New watches have loads of features that make them perfect for when you're out on the trails. Here are 5 features to look for when choosing a new watch for your outdoor trail expeditions.
Sweat Proof Strap
You want a strap made of a synthetic material. Metal is terrible because your wrist will swell in the heat and the metal strap will get tight. Leather can expand a bit, but sweat breaks it down. You should look for either nylon or a rubber strap. Ideally, you should go with rubber. It has the most give of any material, so you will never feel it get too tight in the heat. The buckle should be metal, though, because it is stronger than a flimsy plastic buckle.
Bright Illumination
If you hike in the late afternoons, you might end up heading back down the trail during dusk. You need to have adequate light to check the time. It's better to have a button on the watch that provides instantaneous light than to have to take a flashlight from your pack to check the time.
Heartrate Monitor
If you hike for health, in addition to the sheer joy of being outdoors in nature, then you will want to keep track of your vitals, namely your heart rate. There are watches that integrate a device into the wrist strap that can measure your pulse. It's also a nice feature if the watch can track your heart rate over the course of the hike and let you see the graph later when analyzing your performance.
GPS Function
A GPS function is particularly helpful if you go hiking in very large national parks. The GPS function will help get you back on track if you happen to wander off the trail and lose the path. These watches utilize a satellite uplink and transmit the info to your watch when you need it. The screens on these watches tend to be larger than those on old-fashioned watches. They have large, LCD screens that allow for graphical representation.
Barometer
Finally, you should find a watch that has a barometer feature. This will measure atmospheric pressure. This is helpful in alerting you to incoming storms. It's better than relying on the weather forecast the night before. Suppose you are at the top of the trail, relaxing at a picnic area when an unforecast storm rolls in. That could be bothersome and even dangerous. The barometer feature of a watch will alert you in time to get down the mountain before the storm hits.
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