TomTom Adventurer hands-on review
TomTom’s snow-friendly smartwatch is ready to hit the piste
Spend more time in Whistler than you do in Woking? Got a permanent tan line from a pair of ski goggles? TomTom’s latest fitness watch is just for you.
The Adventurer takes the already excellent Spark and gives it a winter sports twist. Think recording your mountain runs while you’re bombing downhill, then automatically sticking a summary on your wrist while you’re on the ski lift back up to the top.
A bright new colour scheme, tweaked design and a few extra bits of internal cleverness make it a pretty tasty upgrade on TomTom’s more vanilla range of workout gear.
I tried one on this week, and even without heading for colder climbs I can tell it’s got potential.
STRAP IT ON
In fact, if you’ve used any TomTom fitness watch before, you’re in safe hands here. It’s got the same simple UI, same easy-to-read monochrome display (yep, even in bright sunlight) and plenty of built-in sensors to track your workouts.
Beyond the heart rate sensor, accelerometer and step counter, the Adventurer packs in a barometer and compass. That’ll let it track skiing and snowboarding, along with trail running and hiking too.
Route tracking from the latest Spark generation makes it across too, so you shouldn’t get lost on your treks. An extended battery life mode will keep the watch going for 24 hours when you’re on a major excursion, so you won’t have to worry about running out of juice.
You don’t have to be a ski bunny, either. The Adventurer plays nicely with every other activity and sport the Spark can handle, and it’ll store music ready for listening with a pair of Bluetooth cans, too.
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TAKING THE PISTE
In fact, if you’ve used any TomTom fitness watch before, you’re in safe hands here. It’s got the same simple UI, same easy-to-read monochrome display (yep, even in bright sunlight) and plenty of built-in sensors to track your workouts.
Beyond the heart rate sensor, accelerometer and step counter, the Adventurer packs in a barometer and compass. That’ll let it track skiing and snowboarding, along with trail running and hiking too.
Route tracking from the latest Spark generation makes it across too, so you shouldn’t get lost on your treks. An extended battery life mode will keep the watch going for 24 hours when you’re on a major excursion, so you won’t have to worry about running out of juice.
You don’t have to be a ski bunny, either. The Adventurer plays nicely with every other activity and sport the Spark can handle, and it’ll store music ready for listening with a pair of Bluetooth cans, too.
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TOMTOM ADVENTURER INITIAL VERDICT
Skiing and snowboarding – not something you’re going to do every day, sure, but there’s probably more chance of hitting the slopes than going BASE jumping or skydiving. TomTom reckons adding seriously niche features like these just confuse customers, and bump up the price too.
The Adventurer is all the better for it, focusing on a few extras without stepping too far out of TomTom’s wearable comfort zone. There’s clearly shared DNA with the Spark and Runner watches, but it’s ready for an even more active lifestyle.
That colour scheme is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing, but if you can get over the orange, there’s plenty here to like. You’ll be able to pick one up in October for £249, and I can’t wait to get one on my wrist for a full review a little closer to launch.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
