Difference between the walk and hike profiles

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Walk and Hike profiles? I've uploaded both to Strava and both seem to sync ok. Is it just the default data screens that differentiate them, which can be customized anyway, or are there any inherent differences? For instance I know the difference between Run and Trail run is that the latter doesn't count towards VO2 max estimation.

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C.sco over 4 years ago +3

Ya it seems to me that the main difference is the default data screens, and the activity icon.

I customized my walk profile so that it has only a few data fields and screens, as I really don't need a ton…
claude512 over 3 years ago in reply to jsla7527 +1 suggested

Once you have a run activity it will stop looking for vo2max on walks... after a month of no running it reverts to walks giving vo2max (which makes sense, vo2max from walking is a lot less studied/reliable…

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0 C.sco over 4 years ago

Ya it seems to me that the main difference is the default data screens, and the activity icon.

I customized my walk profile so that it has only a few data fields and screens, as I really don't need a ton of information when I'm just taking a casual stroll in the city. Whereas, my hiking activity has a metric ton of datascreens and fields.

But there doesn't seem to be any inherent difference between the two profiles, I think they can both do exactly the same stuff. Which is how it should be, I think, since hiking is basically just walking, but with better scenery

0 scotthunter2 over 4 years ago in reply to C.sco

I notice that Strava also has independent profiles for walk and hike too, which transfer over upon sync.

0 nicolasbourry over 4 years ago in reply to scotthunter2

Hello. I've issues with the walking mode. GC don't sync walking activity but for hiking, it works ! Do you have any idea ?

0 gspinoza over 3 years ago

There is a big difference, for instance, in the autopause threshold. Walk is 60 min/km, while hike is 12.

0 Skyewalkr over 3 years ago

can you get vo2 max from the hiking profile like you can with the walking one (assuming your heart rate is sufficiently elevated)?

0 jsla7527 over 3 years ago in reply to Skyewalkr

Hiking definitely doesn't give you VO2 Max. I think it's the same thing as running vs trail running - you get VO2 max from running but not trail running, because trail running has generally too many elevation/pace changes to be usable. Running assumes you're running mostly flat. Walking does probably too.

That said, I never go VO2 Max from walking. I know some devices do it, but I am not even sure if F6 does. I probably just never walk fast enough.

+1 claude512 over 3 years ago in reply to jsla7527

Once you have a run activity it will stop looking for vo2max on walks... after a month of no running it reverts to walks giving vo2max (which makes sense, vo2max from walking is a lot less studied/reliable than from running)

0 AndreiDracul over 3 years ago

Difference is that walking gives you proper whr while hiking refuses to. Most of us stuck using walking profile for hiking, or strap with hiking profile (mitigating the whr issue in hiking)

0 fjelsten over 3 years ago in reply to jsla7527

Garmin now calculates VO2 Max from trail running as can be seen in Runalyze. Whether it counts towards training status is another matter.

0 - over 2 years ago in reply to jsla7527

And there is even more difference than vo2max.

Hike has a different datafield set. In Hike you can display Moving time, Stopped time and Avg moving speed.

While you cannot do that in Walk.

Which makes no sense, because the average speed of all users is maybe lower for hiking (see undulating terrain) than that for walking, so the argument of Fenixes’ potentially struggling detection of being stopped cannot be a valid one.

At least I think so.

I reported the above difference to Garmin support, but did not get a well-based answer, which is quite common, alas.