The demand for military watches is rising day by day, hence, the production of such watches from different companies has also increased. However, you need to be very careful while choosing the best military watch for you.
This is because many military watches do the elemental duties of a GPS, but we suggest you buy a watch that has advanced qualities.
To make your task easier, here, we have listed out the best military watches with GPS and a built-in compass.
Here is an article on my website that you must read, its about the Best 10 Watches To Wear With NATO Straps In 2024.
Table of Contents
Top 5 Best Military Watch with GPS And A Compass – Rugged And Smart
Not all the military watches will give you an amazing experience of using GPS and compass features. Most importantly, only a few smartwatches come with these two apps. And among them, we are going to introduce you to some of the top-notch military watches with GPS and built-in compass.
1. Garmin Instinct
Garmin announced a new smartwatch at the end of 2018 called Instinct that emphasizes durability: The watch is built to military standards and is capable of surviving extreme temperatures, Shocks, and diving to depths of up to 100 meters.
It has an anti-scratch glass cover reinforced by chemical compounds, which allows full visibility even in direct sunlight, and the watch body is made of a fiber-reinforced polymer.
The watch contains features such as GPS and GALILEO support, which allow for sending waypoints ahead of time for future route planning, including a feature called TracBack which allows the user to trace back in case he got lost.
In addition, the watch features a 3-axis compass, a barometer for height measurement and a sensor that tracks your heartbeat and allows you to monitor sleep, stress levels and activities such as running, biking, swimming, mountain climbing, and skiing. In addition, it can display notifications received on the phone.
Its battery is also extremely durable – it lasts 14 days according to the company, 16 hours when the GPS option is turned on and 40 hours in battery saving mode.
2. Suunto Traverse Alpha
The manufactures at Suunto have evidently upped their game with their Traverse Alpha variation of survival gear.
Keeping in view the primal needs of an explorer, the watch fulfills all the basic functions of a durable survival watch, while being a major source of convenience and comfort on a journey of unforeseen adventures.
Appearance
The watch comes equipped with a total rugged feel, as it was manufactured keeping a military aesthetic in mind. The face of the watch displays all the key features, while you are required to use the dials at the side to access advanced features.
It offers color options like green, black, and grey, but no option to opt for a leather or steel wristband. If you’re someone who isn’t a fan of nylon textile or silicone or want to score major style points as well as functionality, this watch may not be for you.
GPS Functionality
Along with having key features that every other survival watch has, what really makes the Suunto Traverse Alpha stand out is the array of advanced GPS-related functions it offers.
Not only does it allow users to track their path while running, but it also allows the wearer to mark animals and the hunting locations where they have fired their weapon. This function comes in use during camping and hunting and allows you to stealthily hunt your prey without losing track.
Moreover, it can also help you generate heat maps for your convenience in planning hikes and runs, by connecting to Suunto’s Movescount smartphone app.
In addition to that, the connection of the GPS is fast enough to be merely a few seconds, making this watch a must-have for all explorers reliant on GPS connectivity.
Durability
With so many impressive features on the plate, the Traverse Alpha may not come off as durable as other survival watches, but that is not the case.
Equipped with scratch-resistant sapphire glass, and water-resistant levels of up to 10,000 meters in height, it surely sets benchmarks in terms of durability.
Seeing as how it was designed to keep military applications in mind, and caters to the needs of many extreme sports athletes as well, it can face pretty much any kind of extreme environment that comes in its way.
3. Amazfit T-Rex
Huami has decided to go against the stream and launch their most bombastic watch to date: Introducing the Amazfit T-Rex.
The new piece from Xiaomi’s partner who decided to separate forces and set out on her own independent road is built like a tank with waterproofness up to 50 meters / 5 atmospheres and compatibility with fresh or saltwater swimming operations – plus successfully completing 12 tests in the MIL-STD 810G military standard including extremely high and low temperatures and prolonged exposure to moisture and salinity.
The Amazfit T-Rex offers a 1.3-inch round Super AMOLED screen and a handsome 360 × 360-pixel resolution, a Gorilla Glass 3 protective coating including a fingerprint reduction coating, including a built-in GPS receiver, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, a built-in pulse gauge And a set of motion and position sensors to identify and track 14 different sporting activities.
A built-in 390mAh battery should allow about 20 days of operation in average outline (which includes a constant pulse check and daily running of positioning services for a short period of time), up to 66 basic watch operations and up to 20 hours of operation with a GPS receiver operating regularly.
The T-Rex comes with five masculine shades to choose from (khaki, black, dark blue, green and green in camouflage print and is expected to cost about 140 dollars.
If you are willing to give up the built-in GPS, then this watch will do an amazing job as a survival watch with a compass at less than half of the price of the Traverse Alpha.
4. Suunto Core, outdoor sports watch
This amazing watch is all you need while hiking, biking, or doing any other outdoor activity. The watch includes an altimeter, an intrinsic barometer, and a compass. The altimeter will let you know how many feet you have climbed or how much you have come down.
Also, it has a fresh start function which will make it easier for you to track the distance traveled. The barometer determines the air pressure of the surrounding, which will help you to anticipate weather conditions.
There is also a storm alarm that will inform you about forthcoming storms. Also, the built-in compass logs your direction when you go hiking, biking, etc.
All of these features make it a good military watch. In addition, this watch offers a replaceable battery and is water resistant up to 30 meters.
The Suunto Core Field Watch Has The Following Features:
- Altimeter: Altimeter that tracks altitude differences, up-to-date altitude, activity log to view activity performed.
- Barometer: with a storm warning, forecasting/weather forecast, current barometric pressure and weather graph.
- Compass: An accurate digital compass that characterizes SUUNTO as the first compass manufacturer – rotating ring, general direction, azimuth, deliberate deviation, Calibration is easy.
- Depth meter: for diving use of up to 10 m, current depth display, and maximum depth.
- Clock functions: Alarm clock, clock, extra clock, timer, sunrise and sunset hours.
- Additional functions: button lock, built-in menu in 4 different languages.
Additional Features Of The Suunto Core:
- Backlight + night mode setup
- Backlight type: Electroluminescent display
- Matrix view
- User-friendly menu
- Glass: Mineral Crystal
- Operating temperatures -20 ° C – + 60 ° C / -5 ° F – + 140 ° F
- Switch units meters, Celsius / Pete, Fahrenheit
- Storage Temperature -30 ° C – + 60 ° C / -22 ° F – + 140 ° F
- Water resistance 30m / 100ft with waterproof buttons
The Suunto CORE is available in a variety of styles and materials besides the version that I showed here.
5. Multisport GPS Hiking Military Watches with Compass
It is a multitasking GPS watch that is suitable for both men and women. This watch offers all the functions of a compass, thermometer, barometer, and altimeter. All these functions together turn this watch into a perfect military watch.
This watch also features six sports modes which include walking, running, climbing, hiking, cycling, and also ball sports. Once the sports mode is switched on, it automatically tracks all the related data.
Besides, it is also durable and has a good battery life.
Top 5 Best Military/Field Watches For Small Wrists
It is a little bit tough to get a perfect military watch when you have a small wrist. But still, there are a number of good options. For your convenience, here are some military/field watches that will perfectly fit your small wrist.
1. Timex Unisex TW4B13900 Expedition Scout 36mm green/black nylon strap watch
It is a field watch that has a flexible green 18mm textile strap and is suitable for people with the highest 7.5-inch wrist perimeter.
It is built with rough tools and is water resistant up to 165 feet. It can help you to take military time recordings for twenty-four hours.
2. MARATHON 36mm medium quartz swiss made military issue milspec watch
This watch is a specialized watch for diving. The brand Marathon produced this watch as the smaller model of their diver’s watch so that it fits perfectly in small wrists.
It is water resistant to up to 300 meters of water. Also, it is durable and dependable. And hence, can be used for military-related diving.
3. Hamilton men’s hml-h70455533 khaki field black dial watch
This watch is a field watch designed for small wrists. It is designed such that manual winding is not required.
It is scratch-resistant and also water-resistant to 100 meters of water, which means it can be used while swimming. It has an Arabic-figured hour pointer and minute pointer, and also it shows the date on the right side of the case.
4. Seiko men’s snk8095 automatic stainless steel watch
This field watch for small wrists is perfect for daily use. It is water resistant up to 100 meters underwater. It features Arabic numeral hour and minute pointers.
Also, it displays the date and day in the case. However, to initiate the watch, you need to rotate the watch side by side horizontally for 30 seconds.
5. Citizen ECO-drive Garrison men’s watch
The production of this watch is inspired by military watches. It appears to be rough but comfortably fits into small wrists. It is water resistant to up to 100 meters of water.
It has an analog display and has 3 hands to represent time. Also, the watch features the day and date.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
At this stage of the article, let’s see some FAQs, that people frequently ask about Military watch with GPS.
What Is Better: A Compass Or A GPS?
Answer: I think GPS is better as it gives much more thorough navigational details than a compass. However, a compass with a map can provide a wider geographical context.
Can A Watch Act As A Compass?
Answer: Yes, a watch can act as a compass. You can search on Google or YouTube to learn about how to use your analog watch as a compass.
Should I Set My GPS To True North Or Magnetic North?
Answer: You should set your GPS to true north. The upper part of the map on the GPS device shows the true north. Nevertheless, only compass bearings get affected by magnetic north.
Read More : Multisport GPS Watch Comparison – The Big Sports Watches Test In 2023.
Conclusion
We know that all the above-mentioned military watches with GPS and a built-in compass are very expensive. But rather than buying different gadgets for your different needs, it is surely better to buy such a multitasking watch.
And in this article, you have learned about the best multitasking military watches available in the market. All of them have different specialties revolving around the key feature of being a survival watch.
We hope that among these best options, you can choose the best military watch suitable for you!
Another post that will interest you is about the Best 11 Activity Trackers With Built-In GPS Of 2023.
As a professional trainer and a gadget lover, I’ve spent a lot of money and time buying wearable activity trackers, smartwatches, and gadgets, and checking them out. My site is focused on helping you with your activity tracking and smart technology journey. I try to provide the most helpful updated content on this subject. Hopefully, you will love my blogs and be a regular around here.
