A new member of the cult

• Outdoor columnist Ben Smith says just because he’s joined the smartwatch cult doesn’t mean he’s gonna start using cell cameras and fish finders.

I’ve long been an advocate of minimal technology when it comes to hunting and fishing. Anyone that’s been reading this column for any period of time should already know that.  I spent three years sleeping on the ground during hunting season. Of course I had a pretty cozy tent, but still, how’s that for minimalism? When I had my last boat, I refused to put a depth finder on it. I didn’t want some piece of technology telling me how deep it was. I wanted to find out by myself. If I needed to know the difference between six feet and ten feet, I used a piece of cane. My cane was just as accurate as any machine on the market. It wasn’t as convenient, but it was accurate. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t beach my boat a few times, but that’s all part of the learning process. If you’ve never ran aground and almost killed yourself in a boat, are you even really a fisherman? However, I may be slowly changing my tune when it comes to technology. 

So, I recently joined the smartwatch cult. I’m not proud. I mean, I’m not ashamed of it either. It only seemed logical to have a watch that would send me alerts when my phone wasn’t in my hands or pocket while at work. It was just too convenient to not do. During the evening when I was setting my new toy up and pairing it with my phone, in between cussing all of the updates I had to go through to make it work, I started thinking of how it could be used for the outdoors. Not that I plan to use it for that, but it did pique my interest. I currently have a Luminox watch that I wear for all of my outdoor activities because it’s the most durable thing I can afford. And why wouldn’t I have the same watch the Navy Seals use? It makes sense with all of the scuba diving that I do. I digress. What all can this Apple Watch do to make someone a better outdoorsman?

Well, the first thing that I noticed is the weather function on the watch. A consistent weather report right there on your wrist. It will alert you when it’s about to rain. It tells you what the temperature is and gives a forecast of the upcoming days. Not bad to have right there when you’re curious. Or, you could just walk outside and get the exact same information, but who wants to do that? The next function that I noticed was the tide schedule. I’ll admit that this function is pretty neat. Not that you can’t look up the tide schedule on your phone, or computer, ahead of a saltwater fishing trip. Having it built into your watch is pretty good. Coinciding with the tide feature was another function that I thought was handy. This watch, in the event you submerge it, will flush the water right out of the watch with the touch of the screen.  No need for me to carry a Ziploc bag of rice around anymore. 

The next function that raised my eyebrows was the compass. If you’ve been reading these columns over the last several years you know all too well how easily I get turned around in the woods. The nickname “Whichaway” doesn’t come without developing a pattern for being lost. The compass function would have come in handy for me on several occasions, most recently helping a friend try and find a buck not too far from my house. I was turned around in the matter of minutes and found myself using OnX to get back out of the woods. And speaking of OnX, there’s a function for that too. Along with Apple Maps, should I ever decide to use this watch while hunting or fishing, I should be in good shape as far as not getting too lost. 

And then there’s the functions that kept my wife from griping at me for buying the watch. The fitness section. It will keep up with your steps. It will even tell you when you need to get up and move around. Ain’t that crazy? Like it wasn’t enough to have a fitness crazed wife making us eat roots and berries at home that I thought I needed a device to tell me when to get up and walk around. Now that I think about it, I’ve absolutely lost my mind. Along with telling you that you haven’t moved enough today, this thing will tell you your blood oxygen percentage, whatever that means. And it has a heart rate monitor to prove to you just how bad of shape you are in. I reckon when I’m dragging a deer out of the woods, and I can’t breathe, and my heart is beating out of my chest that it will alert me to take a break. At least that’s what I hope it will do. 

Now, just because I’ve joined the smartwatch cult doesn’t mean I’m gonna start using cell cameras and fish finders. And don’t even get me started on crossbows and saddles. That’s just taking things too far for me right now. I’ll stick to weather reports and compass features for the time being. Unless that is, that Apple creates an app for your watch that will tell you exactly where the fish are. In that case, it’s perfectly okay.