I hiked 7 miles with the Garmin Instinct 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 — and the winner is clear as day
I tested the tracking accuracy of the Garmin Instinct 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 during an epic seven-mile hike to an alpine lake.
In a direct comparison of the Garmin Instinct 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 for hiking, the Garmin Instinct 3 emerged as the clear winner. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 overcounted the distance by 0.21 miles and undercounted the elevation gain by 0.15 miles, while the Garmin Instinct 3 came close to the true values provided by AllTrails and Strava.
Furthermore, the Galaxy Watch 9 failed to count the hiker's steps, which is an essential metric for tracking hikes. The Samsung watch also did not display a separate moving pace metric, which is a common feature in modern smartwatches. On the other hand, the Garmin Instinct 3 accurately calculated both distance and elevation gain, provided two pace metrics, and logged the steps, making it the superior smartwatch for hiking endeavors.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Guide's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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