The best waterproof fitness trackers from all the top brands

Read our full review of the Garmin Vivoactive 4.

One place where other fitness trackers (even the Apple Watch) fall short is their ability to track heart rate underwater. You won't have that issue with the Garmin Vivoactive 4(opens in a new tab) — it measures your heart rate from your wrist even when fully submerged. 

It also has a whole range of other tracking abilities, including a unique "body battery" feature that combines your sleep, stress, and physical activity data to show you when you have the most and least energy throughout the day.

More from Mashable writer, Becky Firth:

"This is the type of person I envision getting the most bang for their buck with this watch: You’re a busy person who loves the idea of getting and staying in shape, but you need some help to stay on track. The ability to set and chase goals will keep you motivated to move, while the various health metrics will encourage you to make decisions with your overall health and longevity in mind."

Editor's note: Product information has been synthesised from a review previously published on Mashable.

The water resistance of the Apple Watch Series 8(opens in a new tab) — up to 50 metres — is the same as the still-available Apple Watch Series 7. So why do we still recommend the Series 8 as one of the top waterproof fitness trackers over the Series 7?

We have two reasons. Firstly, the Apple Watch Series 8 has some extra features that could be literally life-saving. And secondly, if you can find a new Series 7 on the market, rather than a refurb, chances are that the price is going to be pretty damn close to the Series 8, so you might as well stump up for the newer version.

As well as water-based fitness tracking, the Apple Watch Series 8 features all the great health and fitness metrics that you’d expect from a top-of-the-line smartwatch — including blood oxygen tracking and ECG report for heart health — it also has “crash detection”, which alerts emergency services if you’re involved in a car crash.

Note that Apple Watches shouldn't be used for any high-impact water sports, so this pick is best for people who get their cardio done via laps in the gym pool.

Read our full review of the Fitbit Charge 5.

If you don't need your entire phone on your wrist at all times, the Fitbit Charge 5(opens in a new tab) is a good option for a waterproof fitness tracker. It tracks workouts (including swimming) automatically, so you'll never have to stop and begin a workout beforehand. It's best when paired with a premium Fitbit membership for access to more health data, but even on its own, it'll be a solid bang for your buck. 

More from Mashable writer SaVanna Shoemaker: 

"The Fitbit Charge 5 is packed with health-tracking features for what is actually a fairly modest price. However, it’s more “wellness tracker” than “smart watch” — lacking certain useful, non-health related features like a weather app and music controls. [...] When it comes to health and wellness it delivers a truly comprehensive tracking experience — especially when paired with the ultra-detailed reports provided with a Fitbit Premium membership."

Editor's note: Product information has been synthesized from a review previously published on Mashable. 

Most of the popular fitness trackers and smart watches are only waterproof up to 50 metres, which pretty much limits you to doing laps in the pool or splashing around in the ocean. The Polar Grit X Pro(opens in a new tab) is a good choice for the more serious water sports enthusiast, with a strong water resistance rating of 100 metres. It's also built to handle extreme temperatures ranging from -20 to 50 degrees Celsius.

This fitness tracker is ideal for snowboarders, skiers, surfers, and pretty much every adventure athlete in between. It features lots of outdoor-focused smart features like an altimeter, coordinates, and compass, and gives you all the tracking tools you need to optimise your performance. You'll be able to take a look into your recovery, your sleep stages, take training tests, get detailed workout metrics, and more.

It's one of the few watches that supports underwater heart rate tracking, too.

If your kid is heading to swim lessons, pool parties, or the beach, the Fitbit Ace 3(opens in a new tab) can keep up with all of their splashing shenanigans. It's waterproof up to 50 metres like most other adult fitness trackers, so you won't need to worry about them taking it off before taking a dip in the water.

The Fitbit Ace 3 is a top pick for kid-friendly fitness trackers — and for good reason. With an eight day battery life, activity tracking, and motivational challenges and digital rewards, the Ace 3 is sure to keep your kid active (instead of glued to the iPad all day).

Yes, Garmin makes the list again. But you can’t argue with Garmin’s level of performance and features. Unsurprisingly, the Garmin Swim 2(opens in a new tab) is built for swimming training and water-based activities.

It tracks all the basics for a good, fitness-focused swim: distance covered, pace, stroke count, intervals, energy levels, and more. It even tracks your heart rate underwater, a feature reserved for the best waterproof fitness trackers.

The built-in GPS is highly rated, allowing you to keep tabs on distance and area covered in the sea, lakes, or rivers. All the key stats are in Garmin’s excellent app. Other features include custom workouts, pool and open water modes, and Critical Swim Speed, which advises on whether you need to speed up or slow down to hit the sweet spot of your anaerobic threshold.

The downside, as you might expect, is that this model is really for swimmers only. It has features for tracking running and cycling and setting activity goals, but that’s not comprehensive enough to make it a real out-of-water all-rounder.