Hiking is my biggest passion. It is an activity where I get to challenge myself, enjoy nature and meet awesome people. So I am constantly looking for products or anything really to make the experience even more enjoyable. Speaking of products, if you love watches and you’re looking for your next timepiece, just check out SpotTheWatch‘s site for guides and reviews. They provide informative articles and unbiased reviews on different watches that are offered in the market right now.

Because of that I am constantly training my body to be able to walk longer distances, faster and with the least amount of suffering. My track trainer is always saying that all suffering should happen during training t be able to enjoy the race. I started applying that to my hiking and loved it.

One night, talking about that with my younger brother (who loves competing in triathlons) he started mentioning a few watches that work as fitness trackers but that are specific for people who enjoy more specialized sports. The next day I sat on my computer and started reading about them. I swear there are tons out there that look extremely specialized and awesome.

However most seemed a bit too specialized for me, I found a couple for running (which I also love) some other for biking a few GPS ones that are great for tracking your hikes. The problem is that I am constantly going to the track, to the gym, to the mountains and on rare occasions, I also enjoy swimming and biking, but I don’t have the money to buy one for each sport I like.

Searching and reading about the benefits of using these sort of watches or trackers while training I decided that I really wanted one. That’s how I found the Tomtom Adventurer GPS Outdoor Watch.

Its design looked amazing in the photos and it was marketed as the perfect companion for all of those who enjoy hiking and mountaineering. But then I started reading more about it and found out that it has a multi-sport function where you can choose among twelve different activities (including all of my favorite ones).

Features of the Tomtom Adventurer GPS Outdoor Watch

Here is a breakdown of all of the features promoted by the company and how they worked for me.

• Real-time Information with GPS and Barometer – I took this watch for a hike almost as soon as I got it. I was able to see all of the stats as I walked. Stuff like distance, elevation, calories burnt, heart rate and even a small drawing of the route I was taking. Then when I synchronized the watch on my PC I was able to see the whole map with all of the details. It even allowed me to download the route back into my watch in case I want to do that route again on my own.
• Multiple Sports Modes including Outdoor Sports – As I said before, it has 12 options. At first, I loved the options but also felt like there were too many, but after using it for three weeks I can say it is extremely useful. So far I have used: Hiking, Gym, Treadmill, Freestyle, Stopwatch, and Indoor Biking.
• Built-in Heart Rate Monitor – This is one of my favorite features. It has allowed me to push myself a bit more without going overboard. It made me realize that I was training only to 70% of my potential.
• Integrated Music Player (3 GB) – Sprints are my thing so I rarely go out for long runs, but when I do I tend to get extremely bored so having good music is a must for me. However carrying a huge armband in the streets of Guatemala is far from being a smart idea. So it is a huge advantage to be able to have all of my favorite playlists discretely in watch.
• Bluetooth headphones included – I’m just going to say I like them, they are like any other set of bluetooth headphones. They have great sound and look pretty sturdy.
• Waterproof up to 50 meters – This feature works. I haven’t been to a pool to test this, but during the hike I went on to test it we had to paddle for four hours in a lagoon and did a bit of basic swimming from where we left the boats to the actual shore.
• Long lasting battery – If I don’t use it to tack any type of physical activity the battery lasts about four days. During my 3 day outdoor adventure hiking and swimming in the lagoon I used it to track a 6 hour hike and a two-hour paddle and it still lasted for about 48 hours.

A couple of other features that they don’t advertise so much but that I really love is the aspect of it working as a fitness tracker while you are not exercising.

As you may know not overtraining, not having a calorie deficit too large and getting enough sleep are extremely important factors when you are training any sport.

This watch tells you the number of calories burnt in one day and the number of hours you slept. This has allowed me to rearrange my night schedule and my diet so I can keep losing fat but gaining muscle.

Lastly I can always go to my PC or app on the phone to check on my progress. With time it starts creating images where you can easily see how you have been performing. That way you can plan your training a lot better.

There are only two things that I would improve about the Tomtom Adventurer. The first one is about its size. As you can see on the second photo it is quite bulky and looks huge on my wrist. As far as I know they only have a standard size.

And the second one is that I am suspicious about the accuracy of the calorie count on the days when I have to charge it. I mean, you end up taking it off for a couple of hours. How does it do the calculations during that time?

Other than that I love my Tomtom! I wanted it as a companion on my hikes and to be able to save routes but it has made my overall training much better. Now that I get all of the information I am able to do it in a smarter way.

Even my brother decided to get one, but he decided to get the Tomtom Spark 3 and is also extremely happy with it.