If you want to pull a Cheryl Strayed (please tell me you’ve read Wild) and hit the trails solo? Consider making the Garmin ForeRunner 645 Music your trailmate.

In addition to logging your loop with the help of the downloadable GPS, this hiking watch has a safety feature that, when activated, automatically notifies your pre-loaded emergency contacts of your whereabouts.

It also has a training status measure that calculates whether your current activity level is enough for you to improve or maintain your fitness capacity—or whether it won’t do much for you at all.

Another major plus: You can also download over 600 songs directly to your watch. So, if you prefer to hit the trails with a podcast or favorite playlist humming in your ears, you can. 

Made of steel and titanium, this durable watch won’t break…even if you bang it up while carving through caves or shimmying through trees.

Plus, it’s equipped with an altimeter, 3-axis compass, barometer, thermometer, and weather app which ensures that you get literally every blip of data you could want while trudging or trekking.

Best part? Battery lasts up to nine days. So, go ahead and plan that week-long hike.

The Apple Watch Series 4 might be best known for its one-of-a-kind heart rate sensor, but its workout tracker has a hiking option that outdoors enthusiasts will love. All you have to do is sling on your daypack, press “go,” and enjoy the views. Then, when you return to the trail head, end your workout. 

While your hiking mate drives you back to civilization, you can dive into the data, which includes your active minutes, calories burned, average heart rate, distance traveled, and—the best part—elevation gained and lost.

The main drawback of the Apple Watch is its battery life. After six hours, the Series 4 tuckers out. While this is no biggie for casual day hikers, it’s not ideal for long-haulers. 

The trickiest thing about getting a new piece of fitness tech is learning what the heck all the buttons do (just me?). But with its intuitive touch-screen, that’s a non-issue for the Suunto 9 Baro. 

Don’t worry, though, winter hikers: Buttons on the side also help you navigate, so you don’t have to ditch your mittens to check in on your stats while trekking in the cold.

In addition to being equipped with a GPS, altimeter, barometer, thermometer, compass, and heart rate monitor, the 9 Baro also allows you to download routes right onto your watch using the Suunto Movescount app. This way, you can leave your maps at home and let your wrist lead you to the views (and all the way back to your car).

If you’re a Fitbit fanatic, this one is for YOU. The Versa 2 Smartwatch gets the job done just as well on hikes as it does during your day-to-day.

Sleek, big-screened, and stylish, the Versa 2 allows you to track your steps, distance traveled, calories burned, floors climbed, and sleep. 

Sure, the Versa 2 doesn’t have the built-in GPS that many other made-for-hiking watches offer. But, after your hike, you can sync your smartphone and watch to download an accurate map of your workout (NBD if you’re lugging your phone along with you anyway.)

The lightest-weight option on the list, the Polar Grit X-Rugged is the ideal option for minimalist hikers. Woot!

In addition to the standard altimeter, built-in GPS, and compass, this hiking watch gives you the ability to plan your route on the app Komoot for turn-by-turn guidance when you’re in the trail. (Pretty cool, huh?)

Another noteworthy functionality that trail runners and speed hikers will especially love: the Hill Splitter feature, which automatically logs the uphill and downhill sections of your routes so you learn more about how much faster (or slower) you move as the elevation changes.

Oh, and it’s also waterproof, which is clutch if there’s a swimming hole en route.

If you love everything about the Polar Grit-X besides its rugged look (hey, no shade!), the Ignite—which, IMO, is the sexiest watch on this list—may be more your speed. 

And with built-in heart-rate monitoring, sleep analysis, and a hiking workout mode, it’s got all of the things that make for a great day-hike watch.

Also worth noting: The Ignite is a lot cheaper than a lot of other watches that have a built-in GPSS. Plus, Polar’s Ignite-A GPS predicts where satellites are to ensure you never lose service. Translation: It’s accurate AF.

Another great option by Suunto, the Ambit3 Peak offers many of the same perks as the 9 Baro (altimeter, barometer, thermometer, compass, and heart rate monitoring). 

However, though the Ambit3 Peak is a little less slick, design-wise, and has a slightly shorter battery life, it’s also less expensive. 

So, for folks looking for a watch to wear only in the woods or ocean (yes, it’s water resistant) this bulkier babe is a good pick.