Surf watches have become an increasingly important gear item for surfers and wave riders.
In the last ten years, the surf industry has been developing action sports watches that measure and forecast tides for thousands of surf spots worldwide.
The so-called tide watches indicate the low and high tide times for any particular surf break on the planet, allowing you to know when to go in America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Oceania.
After decades of oceanographic studies, the planet's tidal movements became somehow predictable, and therefore data was stored in modern surf wristwatches.
But surf watch manufacturers went the extra mile.
Surf-Related Features
They added a few additional and useful features like wave counters, dawn/sunset times, and moon phases, transforming watches into smart surf computers.
More recently, men's and women's surf watches have introduced GPS and WiFi systems that allow users to update and check the ocean conditions in any spot and in real time.
You get all the information you need to score big time - wave height, wave period, water temperature, wind speed, direction, etc. On top of that, several fitness apps and widgets help you get ready for all types of ocean conditions.
Here are the features you will find in a high-end surf watch:
- Tide times;
- Tide graph;
- Wave height;
- Wind speed and direction;
- Moon cycles;
- Sunrise/sunset times;
- Weather forecast;
- Training and workout programs;
- Multi-sports tracking and measuring;
- Heart rate measurement;
- Sleep tracking;
- GPS, navigation, and activity tracking;
- Oximeter;
- VO2 max measurement;
- Barometer;
- Altimeter;
- Compass;
- Solar charging;
- WiFi/Bluetooth connection;
Garmin, Apple, Casio, Rip Curl, Nixon, Timex, Vestal, and Freestyle are the most reliable tide watch manufacturers.
Take a look at the top surf watches for the 2023 season:
Garmin Instinct 2 Solar Surf Edition
Meet the world's best surf watch.
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar Surf Edition is a powerful smartwatch that allows you to check tide and weather data anywhere in the world, track and record your surf session, check sunrise/sunset times, and monitor your sleep, and heart rate, and oxygen saturation levels.
The brand teamed up with Surfline to deliver a swell forecast for your favorite surf spots and creates videos of every wave you ride in front of your local Surfline camera, so you can watch them later and see how you performed.
The Instinct 2 Solar Surf also has special features for windsurfers and kiteboarders.
This solar-powered wrist computer comes with dozens of additional innovative and handy features to help you stay fit and healthy.
Buy: Amazon.com
Apple Watch Series 8
If you own an iPhone or iPad, this is the right pick.
It features dozens of everyday apps, but it also allows you to install surf forecast and GPS tracking apps like Dawn Patrol.
Dawn Patrol allows you to see how far and fast you surfed on each wave, how many waves you caught, and the total wave time and distance.
It is swim-proof and has a water resistance rating of 50 meters.
Buy: Amazon.com
Casio GBX-100NS
The G-Shock GBX-100NS is the first surf watch from Casio featuring a Bluetooth connection to an app.
The user's smartphone can retrieve tide information, moon data, and sunrise and sunset times for 3,000 surf breaks worldwide.
The watch has a high-resolution MIP LCD that displays a graph with tide levels and a sturdy guard structure that protects the core against outside impacts.
Buy: Amazon.com
Casio GLX5600
Casio entered the market with a surf watch with tide and moon graphs and a moon age data chart that anchors the face of the timepiece, allowing for the most precise tide and surf swell recordings.
Buy: Amazon.com
Casio G-Shock Frogman GF1000
The best surf watch in the G-Shock series is the Frogman GF1000, an incredible solar-powered portable computer with direction, altitude/barometric pressure, temperature, tide graphs, and moon phases.
Buy: Amazon.com
Casio G-Shock G7900A
Casio G-Shock G7900A is a shock-resistant sports watch featuring tide and moon graphs, world time, a chronograph, and auto electro-luminescent backlight.
It is water-resistant to 200 meters.
Buy: Amazon.com
Rip Curl Search GPS 2
A watch that tracks your surf. It's Rip Curl's jewel of the crown.
It allows you to track your surf, register your top speed and distance and rack up your wave count in each session.
Later, you can share location maps, images, and graphic charts with your friends with the mobile app. It also features sunrise-sunset times and moon phases.
Buy: Amazon.com
Rip Curl Next Tide
Rip Curl Next Tide is a new-generation surf timepiece featuring 500 pre-programmed global tide locations.
The watch showcases a precise tide height graph, next tide time, and a future tide function.
Buy: Amazon.com
Rip Curl Rifles Tide
It comes with 500 pre-programmed tide locations in a graph or detailed display.
It is light and easy to use, and it was tested to 100-meter water resistance.
Buy: Amazon.com
Nixon High Tide
The Nixon High Tide is a sustainable surf watch made with recycled ocean plastic.
It features a bold high-resolution screen that can be customized with your favorite surf break.
The watch has pre-programmed tide, sun, and moon data for 550 locations, as well as a chronograph with an action time stamp and a countdown timer.
Buy: Amazon.com
Nixon Base Tide Pro
A simplified tide watch with pre-programmed tide information for 550 beaches worldwide and sunrise/sunset times.
Buy: Amazon.com
Nixon Rival
Nixon Rival is a surf watch pre-programmed tide information for 550 beaches around the world.
Check current, future, and past tide time with height coefficient, as well as sunrise/sunset data.
Buy: Amazon.com
Nixon Unit
Features a large graph showing current tide and 48 hours of past/future tides and 48 hours of past and future tide info for 270 beaches worldwide.
Buy: Amazon.com
Vestal Brig Tide & Train
It features a digital tide graph with current tide height and tracks the tide at over 200 beaches worldwide for the next 20 years.
Buy: Amazon.com
Freestyle Shark Classic Tide
It includes sunrise and sunset times to complement its 150 beaches of pre-programmed tide data. The brand calls it "the perfect surf watch."
Buy: Amazon.com
Timex Allied Tide Temp Compass
Timex Allied is a strap watch featuring a tide tracker, a digital air and water temperature sensor, an electronic compass, and a night-light function.
It is water-resistant to 100 meters.
Buy: Amazon.com
The surf watch review has been updated on January 2, 2023.