10 Best Hiking GPS Units for You in 2021

No one likes to admit it, but sometimes we just get turned around and lost while out exploring. Almost every weekend throughout the summer and fall the staff at Online Outdoor Outlet can be found exploring and we are no exception to getting LOST! A couple of years ago we started testing GPS units and as soon as you start carrying one you don’t get lost near as often. Most of the time we use our GPS units to track total miles, elevation change, or even how long our strides are. After years of testing, we have finally put together a list of our favorite GPS Units. Check out the list of the Best Hiking GPS Units for 2021. Let us know what you think. Did your favorite Hiking GPS Unit make our list? Make sure to subscribe to our weekly blog posts!

1. Garmin GPSMAP 64sx, Handheld GPS with Altimeter and Compass

With all the great options out there we have settled with 100% agreeance on the Garmin GPS Map 64. Navigate your next adventure with this excellent handheld navigator series. Whether you’re hiking, cycling, geocaching, or climbing, you are free to explore more with Garmin handheld navigation in the palm of your hand. And the series now has multi-GNSS support and TopoActive mapping. Some of the top features include:

• Rugged and water-resistant design with button operation and a 2.6” sunlight-readable color display
• Preloaded with TopoActive maps (U.S. and Australia only) featuring routable roads and trails for cycling and hiking
• Know where you’re at with a high-sensitivity receiver with quad helix antenna and multi-GNSS support (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo) and 3-axis compass with a barometric altimeter
• Wireless connectivity via BLUETOOTH technology and ANT+ technology available on GPSMAP 64sx and GPSMAP 64csx models
• Battery life: up to 16 hours in GPS mode

2. POLAR Grit X

Coming in at a close second is the Polar Grit X. It offers a military standard 810G passed for extreme temperatures, drop, humidity, and water resistance.  Polar Grit X shows you current weather and a 2-day forecast. This multi-sport watch comes with a compass and altimeter, ultra-long battery life, and Polar’s unique training features. Equipped with automatic uphill and downhill detection stats tell you how you performed on the ascent and descent sections of your route by using your speed,  distance, and altitude data. The real-time turn-by-turn route guidance and route import from Komoot keep you on the right track and help you explore new areas safely. Plan multi-day routes, create personal collections, use worldwide offline maps, and much more.

3. Lowrance Endura Out&Back Waterproof Hiking GPS

Boasting a 2.7-inch intuitive color touchscreen, the Lowrance Endura Out&Back GPS Unit lets you easily view and navigate through detailed maps. This Lowrance GPS Navigator allows you to upgrade additional content via plug-and-play MicroSD cards, as well as by downloading from a large selection of maps. Supporting drag-and-drop operations, you can add content such as POIs, trails, routes, elevation data, and more from a shared community. This Lowrance GPS navigator comes preloaded with key land features that include primary roads, POIs, lakes, rivers, hill shades, and other topographic contours. You can store up to 2000 waypoints and nearly 600 reversible routes in this GPS receiver. With all these features it was a no-brainer to add to the Best GPS Units for Hiking List.

4. Garmin fenix 5 Plus

For athletes and outdoor adventurers, the fēnix 5 Plus Series watches are the high-performance way to beat yesterday and bring your maps and music along. These rugged, premium-crafted watches feature routable color mapping, wrist-based heart rate, and storage for up to 500 songs. Some of the features we really like are:

• Smaller-sized multisport GPS smartwatch that estimates heart rate at the wrist and includes color TOPO maps featuring Trendline popularity routing to help you find and follow the best paths.
• Fit for adventure with bold design that features a large 1.2” sunlight-readable display and stainless steel bezel, buttons and rear case
• Easily store and play up to 500 songs on your watch, and connect with Bluetooth headphones (sold separately) for phone-free listening
• Built-in navigation sensors include 3-axis compass, gyroscope and barometric altimeter as well as multiple satellite system network capability to track in more challenging environments than GPS alone
• Battery performance: up to 7 days in smartwatch mode and 4 hours in GPS mode with music

5. Garmin GPSMAP 66st

6. Bushnell GPS BackTrack Personal Locator

You will never get lost again with the easiest to use personal location finder. Just mark the location and BackTrack will help you get back. There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a good hike or snowshoe trip, but there’s nothing quite as terrifying as getting lost on the trail. Enter the Bushnell GPS BackTrack personal locator, which gets you back to your car or home base safely and easily. The BackTrack is a breeze to use, with an intuitive two-button design that employs GPS technology in its most basic format. All you have to do is mark the location and then forget it until it’s time to return. At the end of the day, just select the stored location and the BackTrack will display the direction and distance to travel.

7. SUUNTO 9 Suunto GPS Sports Watch

How about a little off-brand GPS watch making the list! We have used the SUUNTO 9 a ton on our weeknight hikes and been extremely impressed. When you have your mindset on a certain goal or adventure, you want to make sure your watch can also go the distance. With up to 120 hours of continuous exercise tracking, SUUNTO 9 is built to last. The smartwatch has improved wrist heart rate monitor more accurate GPS and enhanced long battery life. SUUNTO 9 is a sports watch designed for adventurer men and women with an active outdoor lifestyle with 80 sport modes for running, hiking, cycling, swimming, triathlon, trekking, fitness, and climbing.

8. Garmin InReach Explorer+

The fourth and final Garmin on our list is the InReach Explorer+. It offers worldwide coverage of the Iridium satellite network. These go-anywhere portable devices let you exchange text messages with any cell phone number or email address anywhere while using GPS to track and share your journey’s progress. In case of an at-risk situation, you can also use inReach to trigger an SOS to the 24/7 monitoring center, text back and forth about the nature of your emergency, and receive a confirmation when help is on the way. The price and features might be overkill for most trips, but in the case where you need to contact someone, they are priceless.

9. Magellan Meridian Gold Water Resistant Hiking GPS

The Magellan Meridian Gold Global Positioning System receiver gives you plenty of memory to store and access location information. Most people have never heard of this GPS unit and let us tell you it is really solid. This rugged handheld GPS unit coordinates data from up to 12 satellites to pinpoint your location anywhere on the globe. The Meridian Gold’s 16 MB base map gives you detailed information on U.S. cities, interstates, and waterways. Slide in a data card to get even more detail, or use a memory card to store waypoints and routes.

10. DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 Waterproof Hiking GPS

Finally, The Earthmate PN-40 is a real game-changer. It offers a high-sensitivity, high-performance, bright-color-screen anyone can read. It comes standard with a large selection of display options including up-to-date DeLorme Topo USA topographic maps, color aerial imagery, topographic quad maps, and NOAA nautical charts.

Hope you enjoyed our Gear Guide for the Best Hiking GPS Units. All of our weakly gear guides are based on total sales, reviews, and real-life experience. Did we miss your favorite Hiking GPS Units in this week’s edition?

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