Coros Nomad: The Ultimate Adventure Watch?

The Coros Nomad positions itself as the ultimate adventure watch for hikers, backpackers, and trail runners seeking robust GPS and offline maps without the premium price tag of competitors like Garmin. Marketed as a “go-anywhere, do-anything” device, it promises to track everything from yoga to bouldering while featuring an Adventure Journal to document every summit and step. After testing it extensively on the Tahoe Rim Trail, the watch reveals significant strengths alongside notable shortcomings for serious outdoor enthusiasts.

Outdoor recreation represents a rapidly expanding market, with a growing number of participants earning over $100,000 annually according to industry data. Hiking remains the most popular activity within this demographic. Backpackers and thru-hikers, known for their obsession with gear weight and performance, form a passionate community where word-of-mouth recommendations carry immense weight. This creates a substantial opportunity for a well-designed device to capture market share, especially one that undercuts the steep prices of high-end Garmin models. The Nomad enters this space at $349, a compelling price point for a feature-rich adventure watch.

During an eleven-day trek covering nearly 175 miles, the Nomad’s battery life proved exceptionally impressive, easily outlasting an Apple Watch Series 6. On a single charge, it provided over 40 hours of active GPS tracking before needing a brief recharge, after which it lasted the remainder of the journey. This stamina is a major advantage for multi-day excursions where charging opportunities are scarce.

However, the device’s software and feature set seem tailored more for weekend warriors and suburban distance runners than for dedicated backpackers. The Coros app defaults to prompts for creating personalized marathon plans, and many core functions prioritize road and track running. A running fitness test, for instance, only operates in “run” or “track run” modes, excluding trail running entirely. This is a significant oversight since trail running demands different metrics, focusing more on agility, balance, and strength over consistent pace. The outdoorsiest runners aren’t getting the same kinds of training insights as their road runner brethren, which feels like a missed opportunity for a watch marketed for adventure.

The auto-pause feature works for running but inexplicably fails for hiking and walking, a puzzling limitation. The training calendar allows users to log strength routines and trail runs but offers no option to add hikes. While the watch accurately tracked distance and elevation, the default hiking display presented five separate screens of data, including proprietary Coros metrics that took precedence over crucial information like current elevation and speed. Scrolling through so many screens on the trail is impractical, forcing a custom consolidation to just two useful screens. This customization came with a trade-off: the display and relatively small fonts made it difficult to read at a glance.

A more critical issue involves the watch’s reliance on an internet connection for its advertised safety features. The SOS function does not work without cellular data, rendering it useless in true wilderness areas where satellite connectivity is essential. The weather alerts, which pull data from Apple’s Weatherkit API, also require a phone signal. If your phone is in airplane mode to conserve battery or you simply lack service, you cannot receive storm warnings. A built-in barometer can provide storm alerts, but this feature was buried in a menu and defaulted to off, something a quick-start guide should have highlighted.

For specialized activities, the Nomad’s limitations become more apparent. Its training load metrics and recovery timer are based on heart rate and duration, making them unreliable for non-cardio activities like strength training or yoga. The recovery timer consistently indicated high fatigue levels throughout the entire trek, even on days when the hiker felt fresh and covered 15 miles. A major omission was the lack of a “rucking” mode for walking with weight, which is fundamental to backpacking. While Garmin has introduced this feature, the Nomad does not track pack weight, a key data point for training.

The promised personalized training programs do not accommodate thru-hike preparation, which typically involves trail runs and weighted rucks. An ideal backpacking watch would allow users to input their pack weight, track separate VO2 max improvements for weighted vs. unweighted hikes, and generate training plans tailored to specific goals like “hiking 20 miles with 35 pounds.” The Nomad’s VO2 max data is located in a “Running Fitness” menu and collects no data for walks, hikes, or trail runs, making it irrelevant for many outdoor athletes.

The Adventure Journal, the Nomad’s distinguishing feature, allows users to add photos and voice notes to their recorded activities. Unfortunately, this journal also requires an internet connection to function, limiting its on-trail utility. The voice note feature is tucked away in non-intuitive menus, and while the photo feature works well, it locks content within the Coros ecosystem. Exporting data included location pins but not the associated photos.

In summary, the Coros Nomad excels in battery life, durability, and offline navigation for its price. However, it falls short of its “go-anywhere” marketing promise. The software feels oriented toward road runners, with buried features and a lack of specialized modes for backpacking. Simple fixes like intuitive menus, better offline functionality, and a rucking mode would be significant improvements. The ultimate game-changer for any adventure watch would be integrated satellite connectivity for reliable SOS and messaging without cellular service, a feature that would provide genuine safety for solo hikers and expand the market. While the Nomad is a competent watch, the truly great backpacker watch has yet to be created.

(Source: The Verge)