Mountaineering vs hiking garmin reddit Most important tip: turn on auto lock!! Otherwise on a long outing, you might trip your pause Let me preface by saying that I dislike running. Other solutions are to use a navigation system that simply doesn't need batteries, a map and compass, or use something that is designed for the use case - an actual GPS navigation device. This is one of my best gadgets I’d purchased, definitely a worth while investment for hiking and tons of other sports. You will have phone signal in most places. The boots are obviously quite different from hiking boots. The main usage will be for mountaineering, hiking & cycling, and what I'm looking for is: Altimeter Barometer navigation & trackback recovery/sleep Vo2 max Acclimatization The other big consideration is the size and how it feels as a day-to-day watch. Another great option would be Forerunner 965. I run because I want to be in shape, but I don’t like it. Mountaineering encompasses the skills needed to climb mountains in all conditions. Alex Roddie tests some of the best devices with additional reviews from Kirsty Pallas. Coach David Roche calls this the "climber's paradox" where overdoing climbing, especially steep hiking climbs, with less running causes your legs to stay slow. Understanding these distinctions can help individuals choose the right activity for their preferences and abilities. For the What is a good first big mountain? I recently got interesting into hiking/mountaineering in the last couple of months. I use it swimming, mountaineering, hiking, running and mountain biking. Watch any trail ultras, and a certain amount is hiking up steep mountains. If you read Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills it describes mountaineering as a blend of several disciplines. I have just used the default sensor settings for the “hiking” app and it works fine. Is it really that much Hi! I'm a pretty big wilderness backpacker and getting started canyoning, and I'm looking to buy a sat comm. "Classic mountaineering" routes involve ridges, easy snow slopes and couloirs while more "modern" routes involve sustained technical climbing. Specific questions about Garmin InReach's SAR Insurance : r/hiking r/hiking Current search is within r/hiking Remove r/hiking filter and expand search to all of Reddit Depending on the intensity and percentage hiking vs running, I can easily make a hike into a trail run. I’m using a Fenix 6x Pro fwiw. 30 hours of hiking (3 days x 10 hours) and whatever remaining hours in those days + sleep. Jul 5, 2022 · We compare mountaineering vs hiking to explain how they differ, where they overlap and which method of ascending mountains is right for you It's super confusing, because it seems like Climb would mean rock climbing, but it does not. Having […] We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. I’ve had my Garmin Fenix 6pro for a year now. Garmin is not made for keeping contact with people, it's for emergency But it's good to have if you are hiking in a very remote place like in western US Reply reply More repliesMore replies No_Safety_6803 • The latter is much safer than the former. Should you choose Hike or Mountaineering mode on your Garmin watch? This video shows you the difference between Hike and Mountaineering modes, plus how to set up, navigate, and record A dedicated community for Garmin users to ask questions, provide answers, and share feedback. For multi-day trips I always bring my garmin GPS + paper map (I have my phone as well but don't rely on it and mostly use it for photos). If your tight on cash look at buying one second hand or the Im looking at buying the garmin instinct 2, but cant decide whether I should go solar or not since it is R2000/ $ 110 more expensive. I'm a little confused, however, about the proper workflow for planning and sending hiking trails to my watch and how I am supposed to use Garmin Explore vs Garmin Connect. could leave marks on a less durable watch Which Garmin Should I Get? Cannot decide! General Information (self. Looking to buy my first Garmin watch, wondering which model you recommend. Perfect on a long day in the mountains when you need a pick-me-up during a challenging adventure. Thank you all in advance for your help. hiking vs. The 5000m limit is pretty stupid. In addition to the features listed above, it also features color topographical maps and can store up to 500 songs. A subreddit dedicated to backpacking in the wild places on earth - where people are few, cell signal is nil, and Mother Nature still reigns. Better battery life, better display, more user friendly functions etc. Really, all mountaineering involves is hiking long distances over challenging terrain, with some more technical elements built in. Hell, some have gps tracking to help you navigate (roughly) Reply reply Garmin almost immediately cancelled the plan, charged a substantial early termination fee, and then charged another activation fee. Hiking Hiking can be considered the ‘base’ of mountaineering. Hi everyone, I am training to climb mount Rainier in August and am working on my aerobic fitness. On Reddit, the difference between mountaineering and alpinism is mostly gatekeeping. I recommend fenix or epix as they are most durable and thus better suited for hiking (taking backpack on/off, banging the watch on trees/rocks etc. What is your experience with both options? Any advice for both hiking and high alt climbs/off the grid areas? Aug 12, 2025 · We put in 230 hours of research and 620 days of trail testing to review the best GPS and ABC watches for hiking, backpacking, and multisport outdoor activities. Some calculators tell me my zone 2 is 141-153, and others say about 115-134. If you're looking to improve fitness, I would recommend doing more level running than hiking. Thank you! Example usually satellite devices would have a better antenna, though, I am not sure how much better it is. The high-contrast display is also easy to read in all conditions, including bright sunlight. Also, make sure you find some time to do downhill training as well. Mine on the highest gps setting tracks activity for 19hrs and 45hrs on battery saving mode. Nov 3, 2025 · There’s a GPS Garmin watch for every type of hiker or backpacker, whether you need activity tracking, reliable navigation or advanced maps. At its core, though, it shares a lot of similarities with hiking. I have been mountaineering for a few years now and just wanted to hear other peoples opinions on the multitudes of gear companies out there. I felt that stair climbers with a weighted backpack helped immensely more than running for climbing mountains. Im actually not to worried about the solar because I have never needed a watch on GPS for more dan 20hours. I think if you use a garmin (topo) map, which supports the active routing, you will get more special mountaineering routes, if yoy calculate the route on the 5x. Like $100 plus in fees and I don't have my emergency beacon anymore while out in the middle of nowhere. For years, the company has produced top-quality wearables for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. Do you take two sets of boots with you, wearing hiking boots until you get to the technical terrain, or just use the mountaineering boots for the whole thing? Thanks! Running uphill vs hiking with a heavy pack are both good options for training, and while a weighted pack is slightly better, it doesn’t help if you hate it and do it less. Its top-of-the-line watches have everything you need for your next backpacking trip: a solid GPS, long battery life, advanced maps, and powerful ABC sensors. To answer your question of "what's the boundary", I give that gray area the third category of high altitude scrambling or mountain scrambling. The 965 is a few hundred cheaper and has the Amoled screen for better resolution hiking maps. It just means hiking up a steep mountain. So this definition makes for a gray area that serves as the boundary between hiking and mountaineering (I have done some straight forward hiking that required traversing ice). That's really the point of the exercise right, to increase your endurance. Walk will generate a VO2max estimate. I recently started high altitude mountaineering and would like a smart watch that measures pulse-ox levels, altitude, steps… May 25, 2020 · Short question: If I adjust the mode for being out in the mountains, which should I take or is there a difference in maybe sensor / gps sensitivy ? Is there a difference in hiking, trail run, mountain climb ? Trail for faster sessions? Or are these just the names that allows me customize different activities with different names? (This is my personal thought) Will result be the same? Would I was looking at the Epix as a GPS watch for hiking in varied conditions, but wasn’t sure I could justify the price. I've been a happy user of the Suunto Ambit3 Peak for years but am looking to upgrade. Mountaineering often requires technical skills and equipment such as ropes, harnesses, and carabiners to ascend steep and often vertical rock formations or peaks. Jun 13, 2024 · When it comes to mountaineering vs. As for why hiking doesn't contribute to walking challenges when trail running contributes to running challenges and in all likelihood unicycling while juggling would contribute to cycling challenges, welcome to the dumb side of Garmin. the spot X, or any others you recommend, and why. They will cover the cost of rescue for you if you are climbing mount rainier, or mt Robson in British Columbia but won’t if you are on pico de orizaba, because the latter is “high risk” as compared to the former solely due to the elevation. That requires backpacking, rock climbing, ice travel, snow travel, navigation, and crossing waterways amongst other things. 2M subscribers in the hiking community. Personally I use a GPS (some hulking Garmin device I can't recall the name of but it works great) at work and map and compass at leisure. I run about 10-15 miles per week, but don’t want to increase it. The normal instinct can do 30hours i think. My garmin says it's more like 115-134. I am decently fit, and definitely think I could be in good physical condition by summer. The GPS on the Epix 2 has been fabulously accurate even in the middle of nowhere and it has two weeks of battery life. For day hiking, I only use my watch and then Gaia maps if I decide to run it for recording purposes. I'm asking primarily about the user experience of people who have Samsung phones and Garmin watches, especially if they are able to compare it with the Galaxy Watch alternative. In the UK, the difference between scrambling and hiking is similar: if you use your hands for stability, you’re hiking, if you use your hands for propulsion, you’re scrambling and if you use a rope, you’re climbing. So in my experience, Climb (or Mountaineering) is a little more accurate in terms of gps and elevation recording, when climbing steep grades very slowly. Apr 28, 2025 · We trail-tested dozens of GPS watches from a wide range of price points to bring you this list of the best GPS watches on the market. What I’m looking for: Hiking support (GPS tracking, long battery life), HR monitoring, Spotify (don’t want to carry the phone with me when running). The hikers' subreddit. Drop your opinions on different companies below. Now though they both enjoy the outdoors, I see them as very different pursuits with differing skill requirements, equipment need, physical demands and risk. Backpacking defined as: Multi-day trips into the wild, unpopulated, areas of the world. What is the difference of integration, connectivity, sensor precision, features and overall expirience. I 2nd this. Hiking is mostly walking on a trail in nice conditions. . For example, when you've got crampons and an ice axe, and you're moving at like a 2 hours per mile pace up the side of a steep mountain. This subreddit is an unofficial, non-affiliated community, run by the users, to embrace and have conversation about the products we love! Garmin - the American, Swiss-domiciled multinational technology company that specializes in GPS technology for automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor, and sports Hi recently switched from an old Vivoactive 3 to a Fenix 6X pro and I'm a bit confused on which activity to use for mountaineering. I’m not training for an event or anything but do like all the data. I've been using heart rate zone calculators, and I'm noticing some confusion on my zone 2 between the calculator results, and what my garmin watch is telling me is zone 2. Hike will not. The Epix Gen 2 steel (without dual-band GPS but with dual-GNSS) is $450 at Bike Closet and the Epix Gen 2 Sapphire with titanium is $650 on Amazon. Devices like the Garmin mini inreach is much more popular nowadays. Here in this guide, we have reviewed the top 5 best Aug 21, 2023 · Mountain climbing, often known as mountaineering, is regarded as more challenging than hiking. I'm wondering what are the pros and cons of the Garmin In Reach mini vs. A mountaineer, in my mind, is one who can safely and effectively transit an alpine area in any season. trekking, there are some key differences to take into consideration! Why do "technical" clothing brands focus on mountaineering or hiking? Sailors should know more about staying dry than anyone else. A lot of people want to go hiking to get away from society, and calling loved ones isnt a priority. Buy a Garmin instinct 2. You need some navigation and survival skills, but not a ton. Not familiar with Garmin watches and the 965 looks marketed more as a watch for running and the Epix more hiking focused. Garmin eTrex, Garmin Montana, Garmin Oregon, Magellan eXplorist and others We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Messengers allow you to give quick updates for cheap, and they have a gps sos incase you get hurt. I’ve also seen people who don’t even look like they are in great shape climb the bigger mountains. Jun 25, 2025 · While hiking, trekking, and mountaineering may seem similar, each has distinct characteristics that cater to different interests and skill levels. In mountaineering the difficulty of the route was always of importance and rock climbing evolved out of mountaineering because people were trying more and more difficult routes. Thanks in advance! Mountaineering vs. The only reason im looking at the solar is because of the better sensors apparently. Basically, running improves both running and climbing ability, but doing more climbing does less to improve running ability. Even pros power hike anything steeper than 30%, it's just that their power hiking is probably faster than your running pace on flats. Discussion I live in CO and record stuff (trail running, hiking, skiing) on an almost daily basis in the mountains. It’s excellent! Even has a paddle boarding and kayaking mode that maps out your moves, counts strokes along with calories and heart rate. And in that regard, it's not really functionally any different than the Hike activity. However, the only experience I have climbing mountains are less than 5000 ft. It includes hiking, but hiking is just a small fraction of the skills involved in mountaineering. I use hiking for normal walks but I also happen to do 1- or 2-day ascensions of ~1000-1500 mt on glaciers and alpine peaks. Lots of muscle injuries occur on the downhill side, partially because people don't properly train for it so the muscles and tendons in the downhill muscles don't form as Oct 20, 2024 · To the untrained ear, hiking and mountaineering might be interchangeable words for those that embrace the outdoors; however, both activities differ entirely in their physical and technical requirements of participants. r/Garmin is the community to discuss and share everything and anything related to Garmin. What is a good mountain to climb in the Pacific Northwest. Comments can be serious or absolutely biased and pure trolling. "Power hiking" encompasses a wide range of paces. 37 votes, 45 comments. May 5, 2025 · The Garmin Instinct has a smaller display than some mountaineering watches, but this makes it more unobtrusive and comfortable to wear. Jan 17, 2023 · When it comes to choosing a smartwatch for hiking, Garmin can offer you plenty of options. Our Recommended Garmin Watch for Hiking and Mountaineering Of the three Garmin watches our top pick is the Garmin Fenix 5X Plus. It's a great question, honestly. g. But I am usually in deep wilderness, so the GPS SOS subscription is a safety feature not just route mapping. Some use Garmin GPS devices, but many state that Gaia is excellent for both hiking and Mountaineering. My Ambit 3 Peak is starting to feel a bit big an We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. I also have a Garmin watch (Epix 2) that has the hiking map programmed in. I would probably target every other day and then work up to the higher endurance. GarminWatches) submitted 1 month ago by Acceptable-List-5498 I'm a novice and just learning about the gear required for mountaineering. What is the best personal gps device and watch for a solo female hiker? 3 days ago · Reviews of the best handheld GPS devices for hiking you need. You should be able to use Hike and Climb interchangeably. On the Western Sierra Garmin - the American, Swiss-domiciled multinational technology company that specializes in GPS technology for automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor, and sports activities. When I use as a smart watch it has 19days of battery to track steps, heart rate, and so much more. Garmin - the American, Swiss-domiciled multinational technology company that specializes in GPS technology for automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor, and sports activities. Nov 24, 2025 · Home / Gear Guides / We took the best GPS watches hiking – here’s the verdict We took the best GPS watches hiking – here’s the verdict GPS watches can add an extra perspective on mountain navigation – and help to keep you fit. Most fenix/epix watches should have enough battery life to track e. I've tested dozens upon dozens of smartwatches, and these five models are my current favorites for tracking outdoor adventures in 2025.