If you’re an outdoor activity enthusiast, you might want to get yourself the best survival smartwatch with rugged construction. The most rugged smartwatch ensures you never worry that it might break down on you when you need it most. What’s more, a tough smartwatch can keep you connected when you face the most challenging environments. Even though the online marketplace seems to offer everything you might ever need, it’s quite challenging to find the best rugged smartwatch to buy.
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You need to be extra careful and research well to find the most durable smartwatch or the best tactical smartwatch for your needs. With a bit of research here and there, we could come up with the list below that covers the most rugged watches available. It’s a review that gives you a better chance of buying a reliable, challenging, and outdoor smart watch.
What makes a Smartwatch Tough?
A standard smartwatch can’t handle various outdoor aspects. It’s probably prone to scratches and more. If your smartwatch is military-grade, rugged, and waterproof, then you have a tough smartwatch. So what makes a smartwatch touch?
The best answer is the quality of construction and its rugged design. A military-grade smartwatch would be heavy-duty and also water, shock, and thermal resistant. That would mean you can use it in those harsh outdoor environments without any worries. What’s more, the watch would have a scratch and shatter-resistant glass that stays crystal-clear all the time.
List of The Best Rugged Smartwatches
1. Apple Watch Series 3 - The Most Rugged Fitness Tracker
Apple Watch Series 3 is one of the most popular smartwatches ever made with tones positive reviews and following. It’s a genuinely-made fitness tracker watch that you can use to track your everyday workout. The watch also comes with rugged construction that makes the watch splashproof, surf proof, and best of all, swim-proof. That allows you to enjoy your everyday activities without worrying about your watch getting messed up. You can run in the rain, surf with it, or take a refreshing swim while you need it most.
Its construction also allows you to use it while camping and use it if the weather gets bad. And as a rugged fitness tracker and a scratch-resistant smartwatch, this model performs exceptionally well outdoors. It’s something you’d appreciate having on your arm if you’re an outdoor enthusiast. It might not have an eye-catching military look, but its sleek look allows you to use it anywhere, even with your classy clothes. Another thing, since it’s a scratch-resistant smartwatch, it’s able to maintain its look for quite some time, making you look sharp every time you wear it.
Apart from having a quality construction, the watch is more than a simple smartwatch. It comes packed with features that make it an operational fitness watch designed to monitor and improve your health. You can use to track your sleep using the sleep app. Apart from that, this smartwatch can help you keep a close eye on your pulse and heart health via notifications. Besides this, some people use the watch for taking a breather thanks to its guided mindfulness.
Features
- Up to 50-meter water-resistant depth
- Rugged aluminum construction
- Up to 18-hours battery life
- Optical heart rate sensor
- Apple Pay
Pros
- Give you access to Apple Music, so you listen to your favorite songs.
- It’s Swimproof, Splashproof, and Surfproof, you name it.
- It comes with interchangeable bands.
- Provides reliable workout metrics
- Call emergency services available.
Cons
- Works with iPhone only
2. Samsung Galaxy LTE - Most Toughest Smartwatch
Another heavy-duty smartwatch with a rugged design is the Samsung Galaxy LTE Watch. It’s a uniquely designed model with impressive durability. It’s a military-grade smartwatch built with the most rigid materials available to offer it unbeatable durability. Besides this, it’s water-resistant, allowing it to take on unexpected rain, shower splashes, and swim workouts. It’s Corning Gorilla Glass DX+ makes this model a tough and scratch resistant smartwatch. All the above attributes make it an ideal Smartwatch for a construction worker, camper, outdoor enthusiast, and more.
And when moving outdoors, taking a jog or running, or even when swimming, you don’t need to carry your phone with you. The Samsung Galaxy LTE Watch has the freedom of running on its own. You can use it to call, text, get notifications, and stream music. What’s more, you can use the watch to shop or pay for services right from your wrist with the Samsung Pay. And thanks to its extended battery life, you can rely on its usefulness for days with a single charge.
This Samsung Galaxy LTE Watch is also a health and wellness smartwatch designed to make it simple to balance your body and mind. It helps in improving your rest quality by using its integrated cycle tracking system. What more, it can help you stay hydrated and give you reminders that will help you keep moving through the day. Another crucial thing the watch can do, is track consumed and burned calories for better health. If you’re into guided meditation or breathing exercises, you could also benefit from this watch as it will help with stressful reset.
Features
- Corning Gorilla Glass DX+
- Military-grade durability
- Interchangeable bands
- Design personalization
- Wireless charger
- Unlimited style
- Samsung Pay
Pros
- Boast freedom to call, text, and stream music via cellular
- It makes an ideal smartwatch for construction workers.
- Available in two sizes and three colors
- Stylish and realistic watch faces
Cons
- Poor Google integration
3. Amazfit T-Rex - Most Rugged Smartwatch
The list concludes with the Amazfit T-Rex Smartwatch, the most rugged smartwatch on the list. If you’re looking for the best survival smartwatch or a military-grade smartwatch, this is it. It’s a tough shell that makes it an indestructible smartwatch, and that’s why its customer rates it as the best tactical smartwatch. Besides this, it’s also a rugged smartwatch designed for outstanding outdoor performance. Its strength-enhanced design, body details, and internal structure give it a sense of strength and practicality. That ensures it remains tough inside out.
With this waterproof smartwatch having a 5ATM rating, you can use it while swimming in your pool or open water. It also means you can use it outdoor even when it’s raining or when lousy weather surprises you while outdoors. You should also know, this model comes with fourteen inbuilt professional exercise models. You can use it when running, mountain climbing, outdoor trekking, walking, indoor or outdoor cycling, pool swimming, and much more.
Another outstanding feature the Amazfit T-Rex has is the AMOLED color screen designed to support all-day usage. It’s something crucial as it relays information about how your eyes like it every time you raise your wrist. Inside the watch is an advanced low-power chip, something unique and new in the smartwatch world. It allows the model to perform quite reliably and preserve the battery life. Another thing well-accepted by the customers is the inbuilt high-precision dual-satellite positioning system. It will enable it to offer accurate positioning whenever there is a need for GPS pointing.
Features
- A high-precision dual-satellite positioning system
- In-depth optimization and power management
- Large AMOLED color screen
- High-quality Sony GPS chip
- Advanced low-power chip
- 5ATM waterproof rating
- Extended battery life
Pros
- It comes with multiple built-in professional exercise modes for versatility.
- Its strength-enhanced design makes it an indestructible smartwatch.
- Provides faster and accurate search and positioning
- Impressively long battery life
Cons
- Limited style
4. Garmin Instinct Watch - Best Tactical Smartwatch
Apart from being the most rugged smartwatch on the list, Garmin Instinct Watch is the best tactical smartwatch you can buy. Its durable, robust construction makes it a military-grade smartwatch to ensure it withstands those challenging environments. It’s constructed using US military standard 810G for water, thermal, and shock resistance. Customers rate it as an indestructible smart watch.
With this watch on your wrist, it’s never easy to get lost. It uses a 3-axis compass for direction guide and a global navigation satellite system for excellent outdoor performance. It’ll help track yourself better in those challenging environments than a phone that runs GPS only. You can also use the trackback feature on this watch to navigate your way back to the starting point. You can also use the Garmin Explore website and app for planning your next trips.
As a rugged fitness smartwatch, it has a heart rate monitor, stress, and activity tracker to ensure your health is in check every time you wear it on your wrist. Besides this, it allows you to stay connected with smart notifications when you pair the watch with a compatible smartphone. This smartwatch’s battery life can last for up to 14 days in normal operating mode, something quite impressive.
Features
- Global navigation satellite systems
- Preloaded Activity Profiles
- Rugged, waterproof design
- Silicone Strap Material
- Barometric altimeter
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Trackback feature
Pros
- GPS satellite systems You Can Count On
- Water, thermal, and shock resistance
- Automatic data uploads
Cons
- No LTE support
5. Willful Watch - Best Budget Rugged Smartwatch
Willful is a reputable brand that has taken its position in the smartwatch world by producing top-quality products, one of them being this smartwatch. It’s a rugged android watch model compatible with most Android 4.4 and iOS 8.0 and above smartphones. It does also come as a waterproof fitness watch designed with an IP68 smartwatch rating. That allows you to enjoy your favorite swim without worries. Its rugged construction and IP68 rating also make it ideal for diving if you need one.
However, the watch isn’t designed to capture any data while swimming. But that doesn’t affect its practicality. It does support up to nine sports. You can use it while running, cycling, hiking, walking, and five others. What’s more, its customers say it captures all-day activities like calories burned, active minutes, distance, and those needed physical status readings while you exercise. And to add to this, the model monitors real-time heart rate automatically with sleep quality comprehensive analysis.
That means, apart from being a tough smartwatch, it delivers more to offer health monitoring services needed, especially if you need an outdoor smartwatch. Since it’s a ruggedized smart-watch, it performs exceptionally well outdoors, and its waterproof design allows you to use it even in those rugged weather conditions. In short, this a perfect model for anyone in need of a tough fitness smartwatch. And with everything packed in this compact device, it gives you the most convenience you might need to stay connected.
Features
- Accurate Fitness Tracker
- Waterproof Fitness Watch
- Low power consumption design
- Accurately record all-day activities
- 24/7 Heart Rate Monitor
- IP68 waterproof rating
- Long-Lasting Battery
- 24/7 Sleep Tracker
Pros
- Provides a comprehensive analysis of your sleep quality
- Compatible with most iOS & Android smartphones
- Monitors real-time heart rate automatically.
- It has a rigid ruggedized construction.
- Features multiple practical tools
- Supports up to 9 sports
Cons
- On the expensive side
Final Verdict on Choosing The Best Rugged Smartwatch
And there you have, the best rugged smartwatches you can buy today. Each of the models has its benefits and shortcomings, so remember to check them out while making your decision. Remember to understand your needs and preference better while selecting the best for you. And lastly, consider your budget. Some rugged smartwatches can be quite expensive, and if you don’t check your budget, you might end up overspending. Once you get the best model for you, you can proceed with the purchase. Good luck!