Is the Apple Watch a good surf tracker?

If you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to read the pros and cons: Yes, it is.

The Apple Watch is a good watch for using (and tracking) during surf (in my case SUP surf) and biking (in my case mostly gravel riding)

Since the Apple Watch 2 presentation I’ve been considering it for tracking my sports. I like to track almost everything. I like numbers and I like to crunch them. But a lack of reviews for that purpose and the appearance of a delicate and expensive product added to a lack of robust original bands held me back.

I searched for reviews of surfers using it, but didn’t find many.

I searched for review of mountain bikers using it, but didn’t find many.

So after the launch of the Watch Series 4 I decided to give it a go. And it works. I bought the Apple Watch Series 4 in 40mm with the sport band:

First thing I did is trying to understand the best way to secure the sport band to make sure not to lose the watch at my first session 😁. In the end it’s only about having the right length tucked around your wrist. The silicone (sorry Apple, fluoroelastomer) material friction would make it hard to untuck and thus unpin.

Second step was to look for the best surf tracking app and after reading reviews and asking a few people I…