Multiday hike- which setting do I use?

1. I don't know why you wouldn't use the hike activty for a .... hike.

2. Use GPS alone, not GLONASS/Gallileo

3. Turn your backlight settings to the minimum.

4. Use a text-based screen as your main display. Scroll to the map screen whenever you need to do a navigation check, but do not leave the map screen running continually (continually re-rendering the map screen as you go along is processor and battery intensive).

5. Turn the phone connection off. By all means turn it on in places where you are likely to have reception (eg. a summit where you are likely to have line-of-sight to a cell tower), but leave it off for most of the rest of the time.

6. Use a stock Garmin watch face, rather than a custom one. The Garmin ones are designed to be low power.

7. Turn off Pulse Ox.

Thanks for your reply. I'm new to Garmin and wearable devices so i appreciate your advice. I note others install apps from Connect IQ for a hike or use run activity or Ultra trac etc so excuse the stupid question - just trying to get the best from the device!

Enable UltraTrac for the activity type you will use. Pause the activity when stopped and select "Resume later" if you want to continue tracking with the same activity after the break. Do some tests and see what happens and decide what you would like to do on the hike.

Bring a powerbank and charger cable. You can charge while the activity is on and it recharges really quickly.

Thanks for the advice. So you think use Ultra trac instead of just GPS? Does that save battery as the main advantage? 

I had heard some people had trouble pausing and then resuming later with losing data... it would be from one afternoon until the next morning - the watch saves that ok overnight even if you're charging overnight?

I will try on my next training hike and see what happens. Thanks.

Brilou said:

So you think use Ultra trac instead of just GPS? Does that save battery as the main advantage? 

This does save battery, but if you plan to charge the watch overnight then there is no reason to use ultratrac. Just use normal GPS.

Ultratac will save battery but at the expense of VERY crude tracking (so if you want to check your track afterwards I wouldn't use it). It basiscally uses the watch sensors instead of gps for general direction stuff

mcalista said:

4. Use a text-based screen as your main display.

I would add screen which has just the time.. It saves a lot of power, even compared to some screen with 6 values always updating :D 

Thanks everyone, That's all very helpful. Will try it out this weekend.