Which is the better smartwatch for hikers, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 or the Garmin Instinct 3? The latter may be built for logging outdoor adventures, but both watches use similar tracking tech, offer a dedicated hiking mode, and also cost about the same.
To find out, I wore the Garmin Instinct 3 on my right wrist and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 on my left wrist, fired up a hiking workout on both, and started the ~1,700-foot climb to Snow Lake, a scenic high-altitude alpine lake located in the Cascade Mountains, an hour east of Seattle. I also logged the trek using the Strava app on my iPhone 16 as a control.
I hiked 7 miles with the Garmin Instinct 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
So, which smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 or the Garmin Instinct 3, proved to be the more reliable hiking companion? Find the results for each watch, along with Strava, below.
1. Samsung overcounted my climb and undercounted my distance
The Galaxy Watch 9 overcounted my uphill efforts by a whopping 180 feet
According to AllTrails, the Snow Lake Trail is 6.7 miles, which is exactly what Strava logged. The Instinct 3 came pretty close, depriving me of 0.15 miles of effort, while the Galaxy Watch 9 undercounted by 0.21 miles.
AllTrails additionally lists 1,686 feet of elevation gain for the hike, a tally that both Strava and Garmin came incredibly close to nailing; the former undercounted by just 12 feet and the latter overcounted by a mere 7 feet.
2. The Galaxy Watch 9 didn’t count my steps
While distance and elevation are the two metrics I care about most when tracking a hike, along with moving pace (more on that below), it’s always nice to get a sense of my step count. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Watch 9 neglected to count my steps, which is odd, given it has no trouble doing so when you track a normal walking workout.
3. Samsung doesn’t record a ‘moving pace’
Most smartwatches in 2026 are smart enough to notice that you’ve stopped moving and automatically pause your workout
My brother, who was visiting from the U.S. East Coast, joined me on this hike. Our plan was to make it to the lake, cool off, enjoy the tranquility (along with a cheeky beverage), and then head back down.
During our mid-hike break, I left all three workout sessions running. Most smartwatches in 2026 are smart enough to notice that you’ve stopped moving and automatically pause your workout until you’re in motion again.
Post-outdoor workout, the best smartwatches provide two pace metrics, one reflecting your average moving pace and the other showing your average elapsed pace with pauses included in the calculation. As you might guess, the former is more useful and reflective of your actual efforts.
Unfortunately, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 only provided one average pace metric without specifying which, but the answer seems obvious. For what it’s worth, Garmin and Strava both noted a similar average elapsed pace to Samsung’s: 34 mins 10 secs per mile for Garmin and 33 mins 06 secs per mile from Strava.
4. Heart rate and calorie data matches up nicely
Now for the good news. The Galaxy Watch 9’s heart rate data is a near match with Garmin’s, a result I love to see. Both smartwatches also calculated a similar number of calories burned during my 3.5-hour excursion.
Winner: Garmin Instinct 3
The Garmin Instinct 3 long ago established itself as my go-to smartwatch for logging outdoor adventures thanks to its reliability, ridiculously good battery performance, bright screen, and rugged design. And it once again excelled on all fronts in this hiking comparison versus the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9.
Not only did Garmin calculate more precise distance, climb, and pace data than Samsung, it also logged my steps, something the Galaxy Watch 9 failed to do, all while using way less battery. In other words, the Garmin Instinct 3 wins this comparison.
Which smartwatches or fitness trackers should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.
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