2019 Watches

[Laughingman]

Apple Watch users check out the Zef app. Very good Kite specific app with social sharing etc

[SENDIT!]

No app yet for wind, everyone please email IKitesurf and tell them to make an app for the apple watch, it would be incredible!

While a dedicated app would be nice to have (but I need it on android, thank you very much lol), you should be able to get wind alerts on your watch. In Ikitesurf, I have a windalert set up for my local spot. Anytime it hits my parameters, it pings my phone and my watch. It's pretty cool to be out riding and all of a sudden I get some insight into what the wind is actually doing RIGHT NOW. That seems to fulfill most of my needs, but I suppose the ability to check now instead of waiting on the update (or maybe see the forecast) would be nice. Maybe that's in the works?

[norcom]

No app yet for wind, everyone please email IKitesurf and tell them to make an app for the apple watch, it would be incredible!

While a dedicated app would be nice to have (but I need it on android, thank you very much lol), you should be able to get wind alerts on your watch. In Ikitesurf, I have a windalert set up for my local spot. Anytime it hits my parameters, it pings my phone and my watch. It's pretty cool to be out riding and all of a sudden I get some insight into what the wind is actually doing RIGHT NOW. That seems to fulfill most of my needs, but I suppose the ability to check now instead of waiting on the update (or maybe see the forecast) would be nice. Maybe that's in the works?

The best station for my spot is on Wunderground. I used the Wunderground API to write a small web page that grabs the data every two seconds and displays it on a compass grid with the weather radar underneath, as well as a tide graph below. I just open the link from an email or a text message, too lazy to actually write an app in Xcode. Love the LTE watch for that and calling someone when riding a wave.

The WindAlert app has been awful for years. I wouldn't hold my breath on them making anything worth a shit for the Apple watch. You can just email or text yourself a link to the Windalert station and open it on the watch. It's not perfect and wont work if the station is paid but it's an easy way to get current wind results and/or the weather radar.

[spritrig]

I use and collect Vostok Aмфибия (Amphibia) AKA SCUBA Dude: 200m water resistance, 31 jewels, auto wind. Designed for the Soviet navy in the 1960's. Still made today in Russia. Best value in waterproof watches. I can read mine without reading glasses. Cheap enough to have a backup watch. 10 year service cycle. No battery changes. I have a dozen Amphibias and 6 kites. Mine keep precise time while bicycle riding, walking, but when I do water sports, they gain 6 to 20 seconds in a session. I think that's kind of cool.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/VostokWatches/
https://meranom.com/en/amphibian-classic/?limit=100
https://komandirskie.com/catalog/amfibi ... _klassika/
http://chistopolcity.com/7-amphibian-classic


Vintage Vostok Amphibia made in the Soviet Union with CCCP on bottom of olive dial and orange strap.

[Leon van Bergen]

Jup, nice and robust but not practical at all.

[spritrig]

My drowned mobile devices, one of them expensive, aren't practical either after salt water enters them. The LifeProof case leaked on the first use. They were useless for telling time or anything else after taking them kiteboarding.
My Sony FDR X3000 camera has GPS tracking.
Telling time is practical for me. So I know when to get out of the water to return a rental, get on the bus, meet a friend, pick up a kid from daycare. $55 for makes them very practical.

[cwood]

I had an Ambit3 - but too much tech for me.... not a cheaper alternative, but I prefer my Seiko Prospex Darth Tuna any day

I'm a Seiko diver guy too but I don't take my turtles kiting....still like the Garmin for that. Love the Darth Tuna.

[Speedster]

I am looking at smartwatches but I want one that works truly standalone, with a physical sim card

From looking around it seems that the huawei watch 2 is the best available under this constraint, can be had below 200 euro which is not bad but reviews aren’t great
https://www.techradar.com/reviews/huawei-watch-2

Any experience with this watch for kiting?
And any better alternatives that use physical sim card?

[apollo4000]

Ambit 3 Peak to Apple 3. So fari so goodie.

[alexrider]

Hello Speedster,
I bought the Huawei GT2 just for the purpose of recording my sessions, expecting it would be possible to download/export tracks to a computer in any readable format (gpx, klm, tcx, whatever) since it's advertised as a GPS watch, but as far as I know it doesn't, so the nice watch is only good for time keeping and check your heartbeat. It's the first of the many watches I owned that doesn't offer the possibility to export your tracks in any way. The only think it does is give a screen grab of the track and performance. Quite ridiculous for a device from a brand such as Huawei.
I wonder if the American sanctions against China play a (dirty) role in this.
If anyone has an idea how to get around the issue, please let me know. There is one very complicated solution involving routing your phone and programming in Python with Strava as intermediary platform. Not bothering with that!

If I have a GPS watch to recommend above all the others, it would definitely the Locosys GW-60, which offers the following advantages over the major brands: Doppler GPS, 5 Hz fix rate (all the others do 1 fix/sec), doesn't need to be connected to internet to transfer your track to your computer for further analysis, which is rather nice when you're in a remote island or a Himalayan trek without internet connection.
Cheers

I am looking at smartwatches but I want one that works truly standalone, with a physical sim card

From looking around it seems that the huawei watch 2 is the best available under this constraint, can be had below 200 euro which is not bad but reviews aren’t great
https://www.techradar.com/reviews/huawei-watch-2

Any experience with this watch for kiting?
And any better alternatives that use physical sim card?