I want to use my watch 2 for kayaking. Which is the best app to use? I used rowing but it did not track my distance. Used walking outdoors and the mileage was really off. Any suggestions?
Hi
When recording specific fitness activities, using the Workout app (or a third-party app) and choosing the activity type that most closely matches your workout - including choosing Other for workouts that are neither included within nor sufficiently similar to those in the main list - enables Apple Watch to use the most appropriate sensors and data sources when tracking results.
There is currently no option for tracking kayaking / canoeing with distance recorded and a tailored calorie calculation.
One option is to record your activity as an Open Water Swim workout. Distance would be tracked using the built-in GPS on Apple Watch Series 2 models and a route map recorded, but active calories would be estimated based on the assumption that you are swimming continuously.
Another option is to record the workout under "Other". For "Other" workouts, one minute of Exercise is credited for each full minute of the workout and active calories are estimated at a rate equivalent to a brisk walk or based on data recorded by the heart rate sensor, whichever is higher. However, neither distance nor a route map are recorded under this workout activity type. Upon saving the workout, it could be labelled as "paddling", though this would not affect the basis on which calories are estimated.
More information:
Work out with your Apple Watch - Apple Support
If you would like to submit a feature request to Apple (in respect of adding kayaking as a main workout type), then you can do so here:
Hi
When recording specific fitness activities, using the Workout app (or a third-party app) and choosing the activity type that most closely matches your workout - including choosing Other for workouts that are neither included within nor sufficiently similar to those in the main list - enables Apple Watch to use the most appropriate sensors and data sources when tracking results.
There is currently no option for tracking kayaking / canoeing with distance recorded and a tailored calorie calculation.
One option is to record your activity as an Open Water Swim workout. Distance would be tracked using the built-in GPS on Apple Watch Series 2 models and a route map recorded, but active calories would be estimated based on the assumption that you are swimming continuously.
Another option is to record the workout under "Other". For "Other" workouts, one minute of Exercise is credited for each full minute of the workout and active calories are estimated at a rate equivalent to a brisk walk or based on data recorded by the heart rate sensor, whichever is higher. However, neither distance nor a route map are recorded under this workout activity type. Upon saving the workout, it could be labelled as "paddling", though this would not affect the basis on which calories are estimated.
More information:
Work out with your Apple Watch - Apple Support
If you would like to submit a feature request to Apple (in respect of adding kayaking as a main workout type), then you can do so here:
My son recommended Strava, who uses the app for biking and running. I found it works great for kayaking. I use it in the "ride" mode, rather than "run" mode. I think this better approximates what the Watch can record when you are kayaking as well as biking, namely, GPS-recorded distance over time. This may seem like choosing "Other" under the native Workout app, but the key difference is that Strava is also recording your route and heart rate. There are continuous displays of elapsed time, speed, and HR on the Watch. Once you save the kayaking session, it gets uploaded to your Strava account in the cloud, which you can now access via iPhone app or, better, on a MacBook (or probably iPad, too), for detailed displays of your route plus analytics on moment-to-moment speed and HR, linked dynamically to where you were on the route. This is also the time to rename the session and identify it as kayaking, as opposed to cycling. BTW: The Strava session will also be counted as a Workout by the Watch in Activity, with contributions to both Exercise time and Move calories. Unfortunately, Strava on the Watch does not give a dynamic display of your route on a map. I probably could use Gaia for this purpose, although I think it might put a drain on the Watch battery, whereas Strava running alone on the Watch makes a negligible dent on charge, and that's after 6 hr of kayaking. I also find that Gaia on the Watch struggles to keep up with my routes, with a big lag in updates. It is prone to being inadvertently paused as well. I do, however, open Gaia on my iPhone (just the non-recording Topo Maps version) to show me where I am at the moment. The two devices work quite well together in supporting my kayaking.
best iwatch 2 app for kayaking. I want to be able to track my miles and kcal burned
