gps-guides

Watch Choice

COROS watches have been popular on gps-speedsurfing.com since their approval in 2020. It all began when the Locosys devices were becoming scarce / discontinued and a suitable alternative was desperately required.

At the time, COROS were the only brand willing to collaborate with the speedsurfing community and they developed a dedicated speedsurfing activity. The watches weren’t perfect and were a bit buggy, but seemed like a decent way forward.

Since the original APEX Pro / VERTIX, several new watches have been approved for use on gps-speedsurfing.com; APEX 2 / APEX 2 Pro / VERTIX 2 / VERTIX 2S. The newer devices are significantly better in terms of accuracy.

GNSS Chipset

The GNSS chipset is the primary limiting factor when it comes to the accuracy of GPS watches. Additional factors include the antenna design, GNSS firmware, watch firmware, user settings and activity mode / watch app.

The APEX Pro and VERTIX both use a Sony GNSS chipset which prioritizes low power usage over accuracy. This comes at the expense of trustworthy speeds, which isn’t ideal but back in 2020 there were limited options.

The Sony-based watches (COROS and Garmin) have a number of inherent issues:

• Identical speeds being repeated several seconds in a row, sometimes for more than 15 seconds!
• Big spikes after loss of lock, especially when the watch is submersed during a crash or launching / landing.
• Speeds that are too high (or low) even during normal usage, especially in the non-Doppler data.
• Low resolution / precision of speed; unique to the Sony chipset used by COROS.

The APEX 2, APEX 2 Pro, VERTIX 2 and VERTIX 2S use an Airoha chipset. These can record good quality speed data with the right firmware, watch settings, and activity mode. They can also be somewhat unreliable / inaccurate if you get any of these things wrong, hence this advice / guidance!

General Features

When choosing a COROS watch you should ensure that it includes the speedsurfing mode. You might assume the windsurfing mode would be much the same as speedsufing (aside from displaying different information), but that simply isn’t the case. More on this later!

Pertinent differences between the watch ranges:

• Price
  • VERTIX 2 > APEX 2 Pro > APEX 2
• Watch size
  • VERTIX 2 > APEX 2 Pro > APEX 2
• Battery life
  • VERTIX 2 > APEX 2 Pro > APEX 2
• Ruggedness
  • VERTIX 2 > APEX 2 Pro > APEX 2
• GNSS antenna design
  • VERTIX 2S better than VERTIX 2
• HR monitor
  • VERTIX 2S better than VERTIX 2

These differences might help your to choose the watch best suited to your own requirements and budget.

Recommendations

Nowadays, I can only recommend the APEX 2, APEX 2 Pro, VERTIX 2, and VERTIX 2S. Although the PACE 3 and PACE Pro use the Airoha GNSS chipset, they do not have the speedsurfing activity which is crucial for reliable / accurate data.

The earlier models such as the APEX Pro and VERTIX are too prone to inaccuracies, just like Garmin watches using the same family of Sony GNSS chipset. If you own an APEX Pro or VERTIX then it may be worth treating yourself to an upgrade!

Next Page

Watch setup

• Firmware and watch settings