If you’re into swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking, or any other aquatic activities, then these completely water-safe fitness trackers are well worth a look.
Here are the best water-resistant fitness trackers available today.
Q: Do You Need a Water-Resistant Fitness Tracker?
If you’re using a fitness tracker as a way to monitor daily activities and workouts, then a regular model is probably just fine. Many models offer some degree of water resistance, so you don’t have to worry about getting caught in the rain or sweating too much on them.
Distance, pace, and stroke count are measured automatically, and you can also monitor your swimming efficiency with the SWOLF score. Rest timers and drill log functions make your swim workouts even more seamless.
Water-resistant up to 50 meters, it is suitable for most swimming and snorkeling activities, as well as diving into the water. You can also keep it on during a shower, and it can operate in temperature ranges from sub-four to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
In everyday life, the watch tracks your resting heart rate, stress levels, and sleep. It can receive smartphone notifications for texts, alerts, and emails as well. For the most part, this fully-loaded swim watch is packed with useful features both in and out of the water.
GPS helps record outdoor walking, running, and cycling workouts, and all-day heart rate monitoring offers a baseline comparison for your aerobic activities. Movement reminders can nudge you to get up and walk for at least 250 steps every hour.
Thanks to a long battery life, this watch can seamlessly track your sleep patterns, daily step count, and workout sessions. With additional monitoring for your breathing rate, skin temperature changes, and the amount of oxygen present in your blood, it’s a powerful health tracker.
With mobile payment and smart notification options, it’s a helpful daily wearable as well. Lastly, personalize your Fitbit Charge 4 with the many woven and silicone bands available in a rainbow of colors.
The sports modes can keep track of your treadmill and outdoor runs, indoor and outdoor cycling, walking, and yoga sessions. Additional modes for the elliptical, a rowing machine, and even jump rope round out the fitness features.
Outfitted with a touchscreen, heart rate, and blood oxygen monitor, as well as sleep tracking capabilities, the Boean watch offers a great collection of health metrics. You can also view a breakdown of sleep quality on the app, including the amount of time spent in light or deep sleep.
With an IP68 waterproof rating, the watch is generally safe in up to 1.5 meters of water for a few minutes. With this in mind, it’s fine for brief swims, as well as other activities such as kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and any other activity where getting splashed with water is a possibility. If you want to measure longer, more frequent swimming activities, however, then a different watch may be a better choice.
When connected to a smartphone, the watch can control your music and camera, and smart notifications from Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn are also supported. The battery can last up to ten days, making the Boean SW06 a low-maintenance wearable.
Water-resistant up to 100 meters, it’s fine to take swimming or snorkeling. With a tracker for swimming laps and 30-lap memory recall, it’s a helpful companion for pool swims.
Several alarm functions and occasion reminders help you keep up with daily activities. Meanwhile, the replaceable battery lasts up to 10 years, so you don’t have to recharge the watch at any time.
Overall, the IRONMAN Classic 30 is a great sports watch with just the basics. If you’re an athlete who prefers to unplug from most technology for workouts—but still wants a little help with lap counting—then it serves that purpose well.
Preloaded activity apps track cycling, swimming, yoga, golf, running, strength workouts, and many more activities. You can add more features from the Connect IQ mobile app. On-screen exercise animations remind you how to perform yoga, strength, cardio, and Pilates workouts effectively.
If you’re interested in a fitness tracker specifically for swimming, it also includes stroke type detection, a rest timer, and a swim efficiency score. Water-resistant up to 50 meters, the watch also provides information about each swimming interval.
LiveTrack allows your friends and family to follow your progress during a race or other activity. In addition, the incident detection feature can send an automatic text with your location to emergency contacts, providing an added level of safety.
Lastly, mobile payment and smart notifications help it function as a smartwatch, too. You can even download playlists from music subscription services and listen directly from your watch with wireless headphones.
There’s even a flatwater mode for tracking stand-up paddleboarding or kayaking. Water-resistant up to 50 meters, the watch is also well suited for tracking both pool and open-water swims.
All-day monitoring records your heart rate, sleep habits, and step count. A night mode keeps your screen lit for the duration of your activities.
With 30 hours of full GPS battery life, it can monitor your longest races, runs, and rides on a single charge. An optional keychain watch charger accessory can extend this usage time even more.
Purchasing the watch also includes access to the EvoLab by COROS platform, which offers even more feedback and analysis of your workouts. It monitors your baseline fitness to help recommend an ideal training load for the week ahead, and it includes incredibly detailed metrics for running in particular.
For athletes who want tremendous health and workout data in a lightweight watch, the Coros PACE 2 is a great option.
On the other hand, if you plan to wear your watch while showering, paddleboarding, or swimming, for instance, then an immersible, water-resistant model is a better choice.
Q: What Is the Best Water-Resistant Fitness Tracker?
There are a lot of great options when it comes to wearables that monitor your health, so the best fitness tracker for you depends on your own needs for the device.
If you’re looking for an everyday wearable that can occasionally go for a dunk in the pool, then any water-resistant fitness tracker will work.
If you’re a swimmer who needs more in-depth data about your speed and form, then one of the dedicated sports watches with GPS and wrist-based heart monitoring may be a better choice.
Q: What Is the Water Resistance Rating?
Even devices marketed as waterproof are typically only safe to use in water up to certain depths. This is where the water resistance rating comes in, which measures the depth to which you can expect to operate the device without issue.