I tested the Apple Watch Ultra 2 against the Garmin Instinct 2 by hiking 1,500 feet the Columbia River Gorge

The Columbia River Gorge is an 80 miles long river canyon, which cuts through the Cascade Mountain Range of the US Pacific north and divides the states of Washington and Oregon before reaching the mighty Pacific.

I really had a natural miracle, especially with flowering spring flowers and had the opportunity to hike part of the gorge while I was wearing the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Garmin Instinct 3.

Timberland with outdoor cladding brand arranged the opportunity and invited me to test the new Timberland Motion Access hiking hiking tiles (to evaluate shortly) and to test other equipment.

(Photo credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

With a light blue sky and perfect temperatures, we started our hiker Washington Hundeberg, a correspondingly mentioned trail without a missing four -legged friends who greet us on the way.

With the Apple Watch Ultra 2 on the left wrist and the Garmin instinct 3 on my right side, I also displayed Strava as an additional data source for the duration of the hike. Scroll down to see how the results of the three methods compare together with five snack bars from the hike.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 against Garmin Instinct 3: Specifications compared

Close up of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (left) next to the Garmin Instinct 3 (right) on the wrist of a user

(Photo credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

But first, how specifically stacks these two popular wearables and in terms of function? Here you will find a complete breakdown of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 against Garmin Instinct 3 in six categories, including price (Garmin Wins), Build-Quality and Design (Draw), Battery Life (Garmin), Fitness Tracking (Garmin), Smart Features (Apple) and Security Tools (Draw).

Ultimately, the Garmin Instinct 3 is better for people who want to wear a committed fitness and wellness tracking, especially for one that will take a long time and survives hard knocks. In the meantime, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is more ideal for people who want a stubborn, do-it-all smartwatch with solid training tools and the best apps and intelligent functions.

Now to the hike!

Apple Watch Ultra 2 against Garmin Instinct 3: Hiking results

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Apple Watch Ultra 2 against Garmin Instinct 3 results
Headline – column 0	Apple Watch Ultra 2	Garmin instinct 3	Strava
distance	3.67 miles	3.48 miles	3.56 miles
Height profit	1.578 foot	1.518 foot	1,477 foot
Steps	No data	9,816 steps	9,280 steps
Average heart rate	124 BPM	115 BPM	n/a
Maximum heart rate	164 BPM	156 BPM	n/a
Calories burned	895 calories	694 calories	n/a

1. The promotion data from Apple appears inflated

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Garmin Instinct 3 have proven to be competent fitness trackers in my tests. However, the data generated on this hike are not quite as coherent as I expect, especially the metrics of the height profit.

This was a steep hike from the start, with a variety of switches and nothing but climb. In almost two miles we made our way from the canyon floor to high -flying mountain meadows that burst with yellow flowers. And given our efforts, I was more than a little curious how much increase we had conquered.

Looking at the Columbia River Gorge with water in the foreground and jagged mountains in the background with a light blue sky

(Photo credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

Unfortunately, my ascent data are everywhere, with the Apple Watch 60 feet more climbing than the Garmin and a whopping 101 meters as a strava. Which device should I trust?

While it is tempting to go with Apple, my stomach tells me that the Ultra 2 has probably inflated my efforts. Nevertheless, I will probably never know the Strava and Garmin with 41 feet whether I cracked the 1,500 foot mark or just got so close.

Thankfully, the distance data is a bit more consistent, with less than 0.2 miles distinguishing the results between Apple, Garmin and Strava.

2. Only Garmin and Strava reported on steps

Scenic Landscape Photo The Columbia River Gorge shows bright yellow flowers in the foreground and river with mountains and blue sky in the background

(Photo credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

At the present time, Apple does not provide any pedometer data for individual training sessions, just a total of the day, which I will be hopeful when Watchos 12 starts.

Garmin and Strava, meanwhile, Do Enter the sums of the pedometers for hikes and walks, but similar to my promotion data for this specific excursion, the Tallies are annoying inconsistent. In about 3.5 miles, Garmin 536 calculated more steps than Strava.

Which is more precise? It is almost impossible to say here too, but I am seriously surprised at how these measures are from these measures.

3. Apple noticed more burned calories and a higher heart rate

Scenic landscape photo of the Columbia River Gorge shows bright yellow flowers in the foreground, with hikers in the distance, the river and the mountains further outside

(Photo credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

In view of the larger distance and climbing data of the device, I am not surprised that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 201 was found that 201 more calories were burned than the Garmin instinct 3.

Apple also calculated my average and maximum heart rate of approximately 10 bpm faster than Garmin. As mentioned above, this was a pretty steeper way, and I had the blood pumped and the lungs worked more than once over time.

In this sense, I suspect that Apple's maximum heart rate of 164 BPM and average heart rate of 124 BPM reflect my actual cardiovascular efforts more precisely as Garmins 156 BPM Max and 115 BPM.

4. The instinct 3 attracted curious viewers

Close up of Apple Watch Ultra 2 (left) next to the Garmin Instinct 3 (right) in the hands of a user

(Photo credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

The fault of Apple Watch Fatigue – a square piece of glass on a strap at this time is old hat – or Garmin's sporty but playful design (and colorful cases), but instinct 3 has much more curious than Ultra 2 during this hike of spectators.

On about half a dozen occasions, I was asked by someone in our group of journalists and people outdoors about the chunky “Retro” Teal Smartwatch on my right wrist.

As soon as you have found that instinct 3 is an adventure beast outdoors that costs half as much as the Ultra 2 on my other wrist, five (or more) battery life, better durability and similar security features, you simply had to know more.

5. The Columbia River Gorge is a beautiful one

Scenic Landscape Photo The Columbia River Gorge shows bright yellow flowers in the foreground and river with mountains and blue sky in the background

(Photo credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

Smartwatch Nerdery and hiking metrics aside, Wanderhundberg in the Columbia River Gorge was nothing less than a magical experience. If you have the opportunity to take over the excursion yourself, I definitely recommend shooting in early May when the balsam root flowers are in full glorious flower, as can be seen here in the photos.

As for the Apple Watch Ultra 2 against the Garmin instinct, the metrics for this hike are less consistent than I expected, especially the promotion data. Instead of emphasizing it, I look forward to ending these two wearables in a future hiking test showdown on the Hundeberg or somewhere as a scenic on a dog mountain. Stay tuned.

I tested the Apple Watch Ultra 2 against the Garmin Instinct 2 by hiking 1,500 feet the Columbia River Gorge – here is what I learned

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