Just an update for anyone who's been thinking of jumping in: I bikepacked the Northern Rail Trail (total of 70 miles or so) with my son's Scout trip this past weekend using solely my watch for navigation, and it worked perfectly.
Though we were mostly on the trail, we needed to navigate to the places we camped, so I created day one and two courses on Gaia (for free) and installed them on my watch, which gave turn-by-turn directions and captured complete ride data including distance, speed, average speed, elevation, heart rate, oxygen level, etc. along the way. *A special note that the nylon band discussed above allowed me to slide the watch up my arm a bit to clear my gloves, which was an unexpected benefit.
*A note on battery. Though Apple watches barely get singular days out of their batteries (while in use, especially), a whole day of riding—from 7AM to 3PM or so—used about 20% of my battery. So, I'd be able to ride/hike for around four days before needing to recharge (assuming standard draw the rest of the time).
Three "imperfections" I discovered:
1. Having the device on my wrist meant having to take a hand off the handlebars for a second, which, on a hike, rail trail, or road isn't really an issue, but while mountain biking could be. I believe there's a setting to vibrate or beep at turns, but I don't think there are different cues to indicate left/right.
2. There are multiple screens to scroll through when using this mode. One gives an elevation map, one is all the data, one is the map with highlighted route, and another is remaining mileage, etc. Scrolling through those with Always on Display off (my usual setting mostly for battery conversation) falls under the "hands off the handlebars" issue, but longer than just taking a peek.
3. The touchscreen loses a bit of sensitivity when soaked. In a light rain, there were no issues, but in continuous downpours, I reverted to using the buttons. Being able to do both, of course, is very handy.
Please do ask any questions if interested in this discussion!
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