7 Best Rugged Compass Watches

Outdoor Moran is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More

If you are searching for a heavy-duty compass watch good enough to withstand any harsh condition, read on as we go through the Best Rugged Compass Watches.

The watches are extremely durable and this makes them suitable for a number of outdoor activities. They are ideal for mountain climbers, trekkers, campers, athletes, and just everyone in between.

Choosing the Best Rugged Compass Watches

When searching for the best rugged compass watches, you should carefully look at certain key features and understand what benefits they deliver. With the many choices available, the selection process can be quite difficult.

Below are some of the major factors to consider:

  1. Accessories and Features

You need to be able to understand all the features that your rugged compass watch comes with. You should be familiar with how a compass or satellite tracking works in order to utilize the watch. Look for a compass watch with a thermometer, compass, altimeter, chronometer, and a backlight.

  1. Durability and Resistance

You want to ensure that your money is well spent when purchasing a compass watch. The best rugged compass watch should have the ability to withstand shock, water damage, pressure and one that can take depths of a number of hundred feet in the water without cracking.

  1. Weight

Look for a lightweight rugged compass watch since a heavy one will become tiresome to wear after long periods of time.

  1. Power source

There are many types of power sources. The best rugged compass watches power sources are either solar or kinetic powered watches.

 

Best Rugged Compass Watches -Our Top Picks

Suunto Core All Black Military Men’s Outdoor Sports watch

 

Suunto Core All Black Military Men's Outdoor Sports Watch - SS014279010

 

See Latest Price

 

The Suunto Core All Black Military Men’s Outdoor Sports Watch is an outdoor watch designed to be your reliable partner wherever you go. As one of the Best Rugged Compass Watches, this watch comes equipped with a compass, weather indicator, barometer, and an altimeter.

These features will bring out the explorer in you. The watch is also compatible with several different straps which are purchased separately making it one of the best survival watches

Features

  • All black finish, one size, weight-2.26 ounces, comes with a two-year warranty and it accurately measures depth up to 30 feet.
  • Tracks both the weather and the sun. Operating temperature: -20to +60/ -5 º F to +140
  • Various stylish designs.
  • It is a wrist-top computer watch that has an altimeter to track your vertical movement, a barometer tells the Trend in air pressure and a compass to show the direction.
  • Has a storm alarm feature, a weather trend graph and a preset sunrise/sunset times for at least 400 locations enabling you to stay safe and plan your outdoor activities with ease.
  • An intelligent storm alarm sensor.

 

Suunto 9 GPS Watch

Suunto 9 GPS Watch

 

See Latest Price

 

The Suunto 9 watch is a digital watch designed for any outdoor adventurer. It is a powerful sports watch whose power can last up to 120 hours making it one of the best survival watches for those adventures in the middle of the jungle.

It has GPS and a motion-tracking technology that accurately records tracks and paths covered. It also comes with a storm alert function, a digital compass, and host training features.

As one of the best rugged compass watches, this watch is resistant to shock and water-resistant up to 100m.

Features

  • Water-resistant up to 100m/ 300 feet. It is therefore ideal for swimming and snorkeling but not diving.
  • The precise GPS tracking and navigation with real real-time Bread Crumb navigation display, interest points and sunrise/sunset times.
  • Activity-specific heat maps of many popular routes worldwide with the Suunto app.
  • Long battery life that can last up to 120 hours
  • 3 button color display with touchscreens, and intelligent battery modes that remind you to recharge.
  • Encased in a polyamide and glass fiber composite glass that has a stainless steel bezel and a crystal sapphire window

 

Casio Men’s G-SHOCK GA100-1A1

Casio Men's G-SHOCK - The GA 100-1A1 Military Series Watch in Black

 

See Latest Price

 

The Casio Men’s G-SHOCK GA100-1A1 is the ideal diving or cave watch which has a water resistance of up to 650 feet. It comes with an LED light with afterglow and resists intrusion from other magnetic devices.

In addition, this watch comes with a stopwatch and a countdown timer.

Features

  • Designed to resist vibrations as well as mechanical shocks. Its full form is a gravitational shock.
  • Has a stopwatch, countdown timer, full auto-calendar, and a resin band with a metal buckle closure.
  • World time in 29 time zones, has both analog and digital movement, electroluminescent backlight, and a home city/world time swapping.
  • Made in the USA or imported.
  • Water-resistant up to approximately 200 meters.
  • Primarily designed for sports, military, and any out-door oriented activity.
  • 37mm case diameter and 14mm case thickness.

 

Casio PAG240-1CR Pathfinder Multi-Function

 

Casio Men's Pathfinder Triple Sensor Multi-Function Sport Watch

 

See Latest Price

 

The Casio PAG240-1CR Pathfinder Multi-Function is one of the best performing solar watches available in the market. It features a number of alarm clocks, stops watch, barometer, thermometer, and barometer.

It has a decent alarm that isn’t too loud, therefore it might not be the best watch to wake you up if you are a heavy sleeper.

Features

  • Water-resistant up to 330ft/100 therefore ideal for swimming and snorkeling, however not scuba diving.
  • It has a quartz movement with a digital display.
  • Resin band with buckle closure.
  • A battery life of about 6months on a full charge with no further exposure to light.
  • 51mm stainless steel case with a mineral dial window.
  • 51mm case diameter, 15mm case thickness, and a digital display type.
  • Black solar-powered sports watch comes with several features which include an altimeter, barometer, thermometer, digital compass, low-temperature resistance, five daily alarms( 1 snooze and 4 alarms), count down timer, world time in 31 time zones and 48 cities, power-saving function, 12/24 hour format and a battery power indicator.
  • Calendar; day-date-month-year.
  • Item weight- 8 ounces.

 

Casio Men’s GW9400 Rangeman G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch

 

Casio Men's GW9400Rangeman G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch

 

See Latest Price

 

The Casio Men’s GW9400 Rangeman G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch is designed and built tough and rugged to withstand any harsh environment.

It has a shock-resistant triple sensor that keeps track of altitude, temperature, air pressure, and direction readings at your fingertips. Its cylindrical buttons enhance resistance to impact and provide excellent operation.

The often-used sensor button has a metal cover that shields it against lateral impact and locks out foreign matter. Most law enforcement officers, military personnel, surfers, and outdoor fanatics prefer the G-SHOCK watches because they are the most durable watches in the industry.

Features and details

  • Water-resistant up to approximately 660 ft. /200 m. in general it is ideal for swimming, snorkeling, and recreational scuba diving.
  • It has a quartz movement with an analog display.
  • Stainless steel Solar-powered digital watch with a number of displays, red contrasts, and textured pushers.
  • Shielding mineral crystal dial window.
  • Features the following: digital compass, altimeter, thermometer, barometer, timestamp, sunrise and sunset date, 5 daily alarms( 1 snooze and 4 one-time alarms) 0.1s stopwatch, buckle closure, count downtime, day-date-month calendar, auto LED and an Mb6 atomic timekeeping
  • Shipping weight: 10.6 ounces
  • Size: one size

 

Luminox Men’s 3051 EVO Navy SEAL Color mark Watch

 

Luminox Men's 3051 EVO Navy SEAL Colormark Watch

 

See Latest Price

 

The Luminox Men’s 3051 EVO Navy SEAL Color mark Watch is the best watch for low light or no light situations. It glows 100 times brighter than any other luminous watch which allows for better visibility.

This timepiece is highly versatile and is built with a 4.29cm polyurethane case and a similar polyurethane band with buckle closure. Striking white Arabic numerals differ from the quality black dial, while the small white numerals show the 24 hr. clock.

This watch is powered by analog-quartz movement and shielded by a sturdy mineral dial window. It has a handy date calendar that rests at the three o’clock position and the unidirectional textured bezel features popping white minute indexes for simple readability.

Features

  • Resistant to water up to a depth of 200m/660ft. generally, it is ideal for professional marine activity and serious surface water sports, however not scuba diving.
  • Band description: length adjusts by having links removed.
  • Polyurethane band with stamped logo and buckle closure.
  • Swiss quartz movement with analog display.
  • A luminous black watch with a notched unidirectional bezel, different white markers and a date display at 3 o’clock position.
  • 44mm polyurethane case with mineral dial window.
  • Shipping weight: 12 ounces
  • Analog display type.
  • 44 mm case diameter and 13 mm case thickness.

 

Suunto Traverse Alpha

 

Suunto Traverse Alpha

 

See Latest Price

 

This military watch is all about navigation. It is ideal for hiking and trekking enthusiasts as it has a GPS as well as the GLONASS. Its simplicity in design makes it the ideal wristwear for hiking and trekking fanatics who love to explore new terrains.

This military watch is water-resistant and has the ability to predict upcoming weather, track your steps and daily routine and follow your route, pace, elevation, and distance.

Features

  • The Suunto Traverse Alpha military watch comes in a rough, gnarled stainless steel bezel, a scratch-proof sapphire crystal glass, and a strong waterproof nylon strap
  • This military watch has an automated shot detection technology that keeps a record of the place and time you shoot, mapping your GPS location coordinates for later viewing.
  • It has an automatic breadcrumb trail that is compatible with Suunto Moves count App available for both iOS and Android which tracks all your paths, assisting you to find your way back.
  • The military watch has a location-based moon phase calendar with moonrise and set times which assist you in knowing the ideal hunting and fishing times.
  • The operating temperatures of this watch are -20 degrees to +60 degrees Celsius. It has a lithium-ion battery whose battery life is approximately 14 days in time mode and 10 to 15, 100 h in training mode with GPS.

 

FAQs

  1. Do compass watches work in cities?

Compasses face an issue called magnetic deviation, which is when your neighboring environment meddle with proper and precise compass readings.  A compass is used to define “True North” and when that is interfered with, you encounter false readings. Therefore compasses may work in the cities, however, you may not be getting the correct reading.

  1. How do I care for my compass watch?

Taking care of your compass watch is essential for it to function properly. Clean it often and repair it as required in a certified retailer. Most if not all rugged compass watches have different degrees of water resistance, however, keep in mind that every tactical watch has its level of water resistance.

  1. Who should buy a rugged compass watch?

While anybody can buy a rugged compass watch, they are best suited to be worn by outdoor enthusiasts, military personnel, firefighter, and law enforcement officers among others.

  1. What can rugged compass watches do that others can’t?

All watches tell time, however not all watches feature compasses, backlights, GPS, atomic timekeeping, triple sensor technology found in compass watches. These watches are survival tools like any solid pair of boots.

Conclusion

From the list, we hope that you will be able to narrow down the best rugged compass watches to suit your needs. The watches are not only important in times of outdoor activities, but they are also essential on a normal and typical day. Though they might be quite expensive, investing in this type of watch is the right thing to do.

See Also