BRIDGER WATCH

The Solution

With no suitable platform available, we developed the hardware from the ground up. A purpose-built outdoor watch with offline topographic mapping, onX Hunt integration, waypoint navigation, and real-time terrain data, designed specifically for hunters who demand reliable navigation in serious backcountry.

From the start, the design intent was clear: a smartwatch the user would actually want to wear everywhere. Tough enough for a week in the backcountry, Sharp enough for a business meeting, and refined enough for a gala. Water- and dust-resistant, with 2+ weeks of battery life, it follows one simple rule: your watch should never be the reason you have to turn back.

The device was built for outdoor enthusiasts who spend real time in the field. Hunters, hikers, and backcountry adventurers get a rugged, capable companion with features chosen specifically for their use.

• Offline topographic and satellite maps load the moment you raise your wrist
• Color-coded waypoints and real-time tracking confident navigation in any terrain
• Large offline map downloads supported for areas without cell coverage
• Built-in dual-color LED flashlight for low-light conditions in the field
• VO2 max tracking, sleep monitoring, and daily goal-setting for year-round use

Industrial Design

The Bridger was designed for hunters who need gear they can trust. Every proportion, material, and surface detail was driven by what that user needs in the field. The result is a watch that works everywhere else too: at the range, at the table, on a training run, without looking out of place in any of them.

The brief demanded a design that reads as powerful from the first glance. Rugged enough for a week in the field, considered enough to wear anywhere else.

The form factor decision came early. We evaluated round, square, and rectangular layouts against one primary requirement: mapping. The rectangle won on every count. It maximizes screen real estate and allows topographic lines, waypoints, and route overlays to render edge to edge. That same geometry is what makes the Bridger readable in direct sunlight, with gloves on, at a glance.

The materials reinforce that intent. Titanium, sapphire crystal glass, exposed hardware, and a case profile substantial enough to signal precision without adding unnecessary bulk. Every surface detail was chosen to communicate the same thing: this is a tool built to perform.

Navigation & Mapping

Mapping was meant to be Bridger's standout feature and everything else was built around it. Detailed topographic maps rendered in full resolution, available whether you have signal or not. Bridger stores the maps directly on the device, so the level of detail doesn't drop when you lose connection deep in the backcountry. You get the same trail contours, elevation lines, and terrain features on the wrist whether you're standing in town or miles from the nearest tower.

The team built an offline mapping engine from the ground up. Maps download to the watch and render instantly. Waypoints, tracks, and route data sync directly from the companion app. And because hunters already live in onX Hunt, we built the integration in. Every point and track they have spent years building transfers directly to the watch.

The interface was designed around how hunters actually navigate in the field. Every core function is accessible without the touchscreen, operable with gloves on, in the dark, under pressure. Waypoints drop without digging through menus. The map responds the way a hunter already thinks about terrain.

The Bridger integrates directly with onX Hunt, the mapping platform hunters already rely on. Saved areas, waypoints, and markups transfer from the app to the watch in seconds, bringing years of accumulated field knowledge onto the wrist.

Mechanical Design

The case is built from titanium and fiber-reinforced polymer, with sapphire crystal glass and PVD coating. Titanium was chosen for a specific combination of properties: it is lighter than steel, harder than most alloys, and fully corrosion-resistant in the conditions Bridger is built for. A reinforced sealing architecture with precision-fitted gaskets delivers 10 ATM water resistance, engineered to hold under submersion and pressure changes at elevation.

Fitting a dual-band GNSS antenna, display module, battery, and full sensor array inside a wearable profile was a core structural challenge. The rectangular form factor introduced additional complexity around corner stress and drop resistance. Internal shock-absorption geometry was integrated directly into the chassis to protect critical components without compromising the clean exterior lines.

Design and mechanics went through dozens of prototyping iterations, using 3D printing and CNC machining to test and refine the geometry, then producing custom titanium samples to validate the final design for manufacturing.

Button placement and tactile response received dedicated attention throughout development. Every physical control had to be actionable with cold hands, in the dark, under stress. A built-in dual-color LED flashlight, switchable between white and red, was integrated directly into the case and accessible from the wrist without reaching for a phone or separate light source. Interchangeable 26mm quick-connect silicone straps complete the assembly, keeping the watch firmly in place regardless of conditions.

Electrical Engineering

At the core of the Bridger is a tightly integrated electronics stack built to deliver flagship-grade performance in a compact form factor. Fitting a multi-band GNSS module, a full sensor array, a 600+ mAh battery, and a 1.97" AMOLED display into a case slim enough for all-day wear was the central engineering challenge.

Development began with a full-size validation board: a larger PCB carrying all core components in an accessible layout, purpose-built for testing and debugging every major function before miniaturization began. Once the architecture was proven, the board was redesigned down to the final watch-scale form factor. 

Optical Sensor Module

Heart rate and SpO2 tracking called for a custom optical sensor module, since standard off-the-shelf options didn't meet the accuracy Bridger needed for outdoor use. We partnered with a top-tier optical sensor chip supplier and designed a custom module around their sensor, then shrank it down to fit the watch's compact form factor.

UI Development

We started with active research, spending hours on competitive teardown work: watching extensive video reviews of existing smartwatches, mapping common user flows, and studying content from athletes, hunters, and outdoor users describing how they actually use their watches in the field. This gave us a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of devices already on the market, and the foundation to build something unique, perfectly suited to Bridger's customers..

A core requirement was that every function remain accessible without the touchscreen. Field conditions such as rain, gloves, and cold hands make touch input unreliable, so every core action works through physical buttons.

One piece of the visual identity we're particularly proud of is the activity and workout icon set: a modular system of squared-headed figures rooted in Otl Aicher's pictogram work for the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The UI was kept intentionally restrained. A black-dominant color scheme reduces display power draw, which extends battery life in the field. Every screen was designed to carry only what the user needs in that moment.

Firmware Development

Custom RTOS

The Bridger runs on custom software built from scratch, alongside the hardware itself. The team designed the Operating System and the Printed Circuit Board together, side by side. The Bridger's software was built for its exact hardware, by the same team, at the same time. That is what allows the watch to manage GPS power intelligently, load maps instantly, and behave predictably in conditions where other devices fall short.

Battery life is Bridger's superpower. Most smartwatches, Android included, need a charge every day or two. Bridger runs for 2+ weeks, thanks to a software decision the team made early on: building a custom operating system on Zephyr instead of shipping whatever came off the shelf.

Prototyping

Iterative Development

Firmware development started on an evaluation kit. The display PCB connected with flex cable, giving the team direct access to all peripheral buses and debug interfaces without committing to a custom board layout early. Display drivers, UI rendering, and sensor communication protocols were all validated at this stage.

When the core firmware was stable, the electronics moved into a standalone external module. It ran as a self-contained system but stayed accessible for probing and firmware flashing. That configuration handled wrist-worn testing, long-duration battery profiling, and early UI feedback.

From there, the board was redesigned to fit inside the Bridger enclosure, with the full feature set, production housing geometry, physical button layout, and power management all working together.

Development kits

Proof of concept

Engineering prototype

Production-Grade Prototyping

The team moved to production-grade materials: polymer housing and titanium bezel. With the complete electronics package integrated into the enclosure, the watch could be evaluated as a whole unit: durability, thermal performance, assembly sequence, and structural integrity.

The validated prototype was then transferred to the factory to begin DFM review ahead of mass production.