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Open water swimming is one of the world’s upcoming outdoor activities. It combines the adventurous spirit of being outdoors and the healthy full-body workout inherent in swimming. As with any active pursuit today, the open water swimming experience can be upgraded by using these watches.
Modern smartwatches each offer a tremendous number of features way beyond telling the time. Plenty of these features in watches are beneficial to open water swimming. Smartwatches today can provide real-time athletic data, monitor heart rate and other health statistics, give GPS coordinates, and sometimes even send emergency signals.
We have featured the best swimming watches in a previous article here, and decided a more specific set of watches for open water swimming should have its own feature. Our team at Spring Bar collated the 8 Best Watches for Open Water Swims for 2020 to help swimmers looking to get an edge when swimming in open water.
| Products | Prices | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 | $279 | Automatic workout tracking Powershare technology Lightweight aluminum |
| Apple Watch Series 5 | $499 | Powerful Apple OS OLED display Massive app options |
| Garmin Forerunner 945 | $549.99 | On-board maps Incident detection and assistance Long battery life |
| Suunto 9 Baro | $420.35 | 80 Sports modes to choose from 100M WR Intelligent battery modes |
| Polar Vantage V | $499.95 | Long battery life Recovery Pro Swimming Metrics |
| Garmin Swim 2 | $198 | 7 Day battery life Pool and Open water swim modes Monitors stroke count, distance and SWOLF |
| Fitbit Ionic Watch | $200 | Swim tracking Multiple other athletic features and modes Very low price |
1 Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
From the Korean tech giant, Samsung, comes the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. The Active 2 delivers on its promise of being a great activewear smartwatch: it’s tough, it’s feature-heavy, and it has the ability to download any app that could be useful in one’s chosen activity. What makes the Galaxy Watch Active 2 great for open water swims is the automatic workout tracking which is great for swimmers who are serious about the athletic aspects of their swim. Also, Samsung’s Wireless PowerShare technology allows one to charge the watch directly from a Galaxy smartphone making sure the watch has ample back-up power on extended trips.
+PROS
- Automatic workout tracking
- Powershare technology
- Very affordable for its features
-CONS
- Only 50M WR
The Basics:
Brand: Samsung
Model: Galaxy Watch Active 2
Price: $279
Reference Number: SM-R830NZKAXAR
Diameter: 40mm
Case Material: aluminum
Crystal Material: gorilla glass DX +
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: fluoroelastomer
Strap/Bracelet Width: 20mm
Watch Type: smart
The Movement/Specifications:
Movement: battery operated
Functions/Complications:
- Automatically Track Workouts
- Heart Rate Monitor with 8 Photodiodes
- Stress & Sleep Tracking
- GPS & GLONASS location technology
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n)
- Charge via Galaxy smartphones with Wireless PowerShare technology
- On-going icon displays currently running apps
- Military grade (MIL-STD-810G) shock protection
Thickness: 10.9mm
Weight: 25.52g
Key Features:
Brand: Samsung
Model: Galaxy Watch Active 2
Price: $279
Reference Number: SM-R830NZKAXAR
Diameter: 40mm
Case Material: aluminum
Crystal Material: gorilla glass DX +
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: fluoroelastomer
Strap/Bracelet Width: 20mm
Watch Type: smart
2 Apple Watch Series 5
The Apple Watch Series 5 is currently the best-selling smartwatch of all time and is often mentioned to be one of the best smartwatches for active lifestyles – for good reason. The smartwatch of the technology giant has always been on the cutting edge of wearable tech and offers a wide range of apps to help in outdoor swims. Apart from smartwatch necessities like GPS, WIFI capabilities, and heart rate sensors, one can download apps like MySwimPro that have features specifically catering to open water swimming like mapping the swimmer’s course and linking analytics to Strava.
+PROS
- Powerful Apple OS
- Very clear display
- Massive app options
-CONS
- Quite pricey compared to other options
The Basics:
Brand: Apple
Model: Apple watch series 5
Price: $499
Reference Number:
Diameter: 44mm
Case Material: aluminum
Crystal Material: Sapphire crystal
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: silicone
Strap/Bracelet Width:
Watch Type: smart
The Movement/Specifications:
Movement: battery operated
Functions/Complications:
- LTE and UMTS
- Built-in GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS
- S5 with 64-bit dual-core processor, W3 Apple wireless chip
- Barometric altimeter
- Capacity 32GB
- Optical heart sensor, Electrical heart sensor
- Improved gyroscope, Ambient light senso
- LTPO OLED Always-On Retina display with Force Touch (1000 nits)
- Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz), Bluetooth 5.0
- Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Up to 18 hours of battery life, watchOS 5
Thickness: 10.7mm
Weight: 47.91g
Key Features:
Brand: Apple
Model: Apple watch series 5
Price: $499
Reference Number:
Diameter: 44mm
Case Material: aluminum
Crystal Material: Sapphire crystal
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: silicone
Strap/Bracelet Width:
Watch Type: smart
3 Garmin Forerunner 945
Garmin is a perennial pick for athletic watches, and once again has to make an appearance on this list because its Forerunner 945 model has features that make open water swims much easier and safer. The Forerunner 945 has many of the useful features available in other smartwatches like GPS and data collection, but stands-out with its on-board maps and incident detection and assistance. These two features already on the Forerunner 945 make it worth the money as this watch makes open water swims in remote locations more accessible and less daunting. It also has different battery saving modes to endure longer trips.
+PROS
- On-board maps
- Incident detection and assistance
- Long battery life
-CONS
- Only 50M WR
The Basics:
Brand: Garmin
Model: Forerunner 945
Price: $549.99
Reference Number: 010-02063-00
Diameter: 47mm
Case Material: fiber reinforced polymer
Crystal Material: corning gorilla glass 3 + dx coating
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: silicone
Strap/Bracelet Width: 22mm
Watch Type: smart
The Movement/Specifications:
Movement: battery operated
Functions/Complications:
- Sync music
- VO2 max
- Training status with adjustments for heat, altitude acclimation status, training load focus, recovery time, and aerobic and anaerobic training effects
- Full-color
- On-board Maps
- Incident detection (during select activities) and assistance; both send your real-time location to emergency contacts³
- Battery life: up to 2 weeks in smartwatch mode, 10 hours in GPS mode with music or up to 60 hours in UltraTrac mode
Thickness: 13.7mm
Weight: 48.19g
Key Features:
Brand: Garmin
Model: Forerunner 945
Price: $549.99
Reference Number: 010-02063-00
Diameter: 47mm
Case Material: fiber reinforced polymer
Crystal Material: corning gorilla glass 3 + dx coating
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: silicone
Strap/Bracelet Width: 22mm
Watch Type: smart
4 Suunto 9 Baro
+PROS
- 80 Sports modes to choose from
- 100M WR
- Intelligent battery modes
-CONS
- Slightly heavier than other options
The Basics:
Brand: Suunto
Model: Suunto 9 Baro
Price: $420.35
Reference Number: SS050019000
Diameter: 50mm
Case Material: Glass fibre reinforced polyamide
Crystal Material: Sapphire
Water Resistance: 100m
Strap/Bracelet: Silicone
Watch Type: smart
The Movement/Specifications:
Movement: battery operated
Functions/Complications:
- Intelligent Battery Modes
- GPS navigation
- Over 80 Sport Modes
- Wrist HR
- 100M WR
- Barometer
- Weather resistance
Thickness: 16.8mm
Weight: 81g
Key Features:
Brand: Suunto
Model: Suunto 9 Baro
Price: $420.35
Reference Number: SS050019000
Diameter: 50mm
Case Material: Glass fibre reinforced polyamide
Crystal Material: Sapphire
Water Resistance: 100m
Strap/Bracelet: Silicone
Watch Type: smart
5 Polar Vantage V
The Polar Vantage V is also another analytics focused watch. Among its large number of features for data collection and analysis is a Swimming Metrics function designed especially for swimmers looking for specific data including swimming style, distance, pace, and even strokes. It also has a recovery feature which tracks rest and recovery periods to give feedback to the swimmer if he has given his body enough time to rest. The 40-hour battery life is also excellent for longer trips to open water.
+PROS
- Long battery life
- Recovery Pro
- Swimming Metrics
-CONS
- Slightly heavier than other options
The Basics:
Brand: Polar
Model: Vantage V
Price: $499.95
Reference Number: 90070737
Diameter: 46mm
Case Material: stainless steel
Crystal Material: gorilla glass
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: silicone
Strap/Bracelet Width: 22mm
Watch Type: smart
The Movement/Specifications:
Movement: battery operated
Functions/Complications:
- Ultra long battery life (40hrs)
- Polar precision prime heart rate
- Training Load Pro
- Recovery Pro
- Smart Calories
- Swimming Metrics
- GPS functions
Thickness: 13mm
Weight: 68g
Key Features:
Brand: Polar
Model: Vantage V
Price: $499.95
Reference Number: 90070737
Diameter: 46mm
Case Material: stainless steel
Crystal Material: gorilla glass
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: silicone
Strap/Bracelet Width: 22mm
Watch Type: smart
6 Garmin Swim 2
The Garmin Swim 2 is Garmin’s response to the swimming specialized smartwatches making its way to the market. Doing away with its incident detection and assistance feature, it produced a much more affordable watch that specifically caters to swimmers. The Swim 2 has Pool and Open Water Swim Modes and monitors stroke count, distance, and SWOLF (swimming efficiency metric). Even at the reduced cost, Garmin Swim 2 still has an excellent 7 day battery life.
+PROS
- 7 Day battery life
- Pool and Open water swim modes
- Monitors stroke count, distance and SWOLF
-CONS
- Utility is mostly focused on swimming
The Basics:
Brand: Garmin
Model: Swim 2
Price: $198
Reference Number: 010-02247-00
Diameter: 42mm
Crystal Material: Chemically strengthened glass
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: silicone
Strap/Bracelet Width:
Watch Type: smart
The Movement/Specifications:
Movement: battery operated
Functions/Complications:
- Up to 7 Days of Battery Life
- Always-On Full-Color Chroma Display
- Pool & Open Water Swim Modes
- Monitor Heart Rate While Swimming
- Waterproof Up to 5 ATM
- Stroke Count, Distance, SWOLF & More
- Built-In GPS
- Stress & Sleep Monitoring
- Running & Cycling Tracking
- Receive Smartphone Notifications
Thickness: 14mm
Weight: 36g
Key Features:
Brand: Garmin
Model: Swim 2
Price: $198
Reference Number: 010-02247-00
Diameter: 42mm
Crystal Material: Chemically strengthened glass
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: silicone
Strap/Bracelet Width:
Watch Type: smart
7 Fitbit Ionic Watch
Fitbit is another brand famous for its activewear offerings – starting with its fitness bands that grew in popularity a few years ago. After ushering the era of wearable athletic technology, Fitbit now offers its own smartwatch line the best of which is the Fitbit Ionic which offers a slew of useful features perfect even for open water swimming. Like the last two watches, among the Ionic’s athletic functions is swim tracking which collates data from swims like swim strokes and distance. What makes the Fitbit Ionic an excellent watch is the number of athletic features available at a reasonable low price.
+PROS
- Swim tracking
- Multiple other athletic features and modes
- Very low price
-CONS
- Comparatively small
The Basics:
Brand: Fitbit
Model: Ionic watch
Price: $200
Reference Number: FB503GYBK
Diameter: 30mm
Case Material: Aluminum
Crystal Material: Corning Gorilla glass 3
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: elastomer
Strap/Bracelet Width:
Watch Type: smart
The Movement/Specifications:
Movement: battery operated
Functions/Complications:
- Dynamic Personal Coaching
- PurePulse® Heart Rate
- Popular Apps
- SmartTrack™
- Sleep Stages & Insights
- Store & Play Music
- Water Resistant up to 50M & Tracks Swims
- Payments
- All-Day Activity
- Accessory Bands
- Multi-Day Battery
- Multi-Sport Modes
- Smartphone Notifications
- Syncs Wirelessly
- Gps
Thickness: 21mm
Key Features:
Brand: Fitbit
Model: Ionic watch
Price: $200
Reference Number: FB503GYBK
Diameter: 30mm
Case Material: Aluminum
Crystal Material: Corning Gorilla glass 3
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: elastomer
Strap/Bracelet Width:
Watch Type: smart
In this guide, we compared the best options for open water swimming for watches in terms of functionality and durability:
- The first criteria considered for this is functionality which is a factor of what functions of the smartwatch are useful for open water swims, the battery life of the watch for use during extended periods outdoors, and map and GPS functions which are important for open water swims in more distant locations.
- Durability is also considered as open water swimming is an outdoor activity and exposes the smartwatch to rough conditions which includes water pressure while in the water and even shock just heading to the swim location. Case material, strap, and crystal were considered.
Is open water swimming dangerous?
Open water swimming can be about as dangerous as any outdoor activity like hiking and trekking considering the many unexpected things that can happen. It is important to know all the risks and do all necessary precautions for anything unforeseen. Some of the dangers include dangerous currents, wildlife, and temperature. It is recommended to come with other people rather than swimming alone as simple cramps, or as serious as seizures can endanger a swimmer’s life.
What equipment should I have on open water swims?
The essentials of open water swimming include open water goggles, an open water swimming buoy for safety, sun screen, and a swimming wetsuit. These are basic items and can be added to to decrease the risks involved in open water swimming.
