{"id":77918,"date":"2025-08-19T14:14:28","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/77918\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T14:14:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:14:28","slug":"coros-nomad-in-depth-review-copycat-or-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/77918\/","title":{"rendered":"COROS NOMAD In-Depth Review: Copycat or Champion?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755612848_604_hqdefault.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019d be easy to look at the new COROS NOMAD and mistake it for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/2025\/01\/garmin-instinct-3-in-depth-review-amoled-solar.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Garmin Instinct<\/a>. Because visually\u2026ummm\u2026it\u2019s darn near identical \u2013 down to the metal ring enforcement around the plastic bezel. But that\u2019d be overlooking the fact that the Garmin Instinct series itself leans heavily on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/tag\/casio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Casio design\/styling<\/a>, especially in its first iterations. These days it has a bit more unique styling of its own, but still, Garmin itself back then begrudgingly admitted inspiration from Casio.<\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s the thing: While the COROS NOMAD might look like a Garmin Instinct, it\u2019s a classic case of COROS going above and beyond. Priced at $349, it\u2019s $50-$150 cheaper than the newest Garmin Instinct 3 (depending on models). Except, unlike Garmin, this unit has full blown color maps (Instinct has none). And voice notes (with geotagging and display post-activity), and music playback. And a slate of new fishing modes complete with all assortment of fish tracking. Garmin has nothing approaching this on the Instinct.<\/p>\n<p>However, there\u2019s counterpoints to everything. At the hardware end, the Garmin Instinct series has a built-in LED flashlight, and different size options, and the solar panel for far longer battery life. And when it comes to software, Garmin has the vast Connect IQ 3rd party app ecosystem, as well as a lot more nuance to the sports and health metrics. Point being, as always, the devil\u2019s in the details. And that\u2019s what this review is all about \u2013 details.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s New\/Different:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164485\" title=\"IMG_8710.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_8710.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, while this watch is a new product line for COROS, in many ways it\u2019s best to compare it to the COROS Pace. Or, alternatively, you could think of it as a MIP-based counterpoint to the COROS Pace Pro (which is an AMOLED screen), after all, it\u2019s the same price as the COROS Pace Pro. Alternatively, you could think of it as a renamed and lower-priced COROS APEX 2, and that\u2019d be accurate too.<\/p>\n<p>But, to keep things simple, I\u2019m going to compare it to the COROS Pace (the company\u2019s least expensive watch at $229). The reason I\u2019m doing that is that the battery life for the COROS Pace is really good, and I think the starting point market overlap is pretty similar there. Also, it makes it easier to see how things differ:<\/p>\n<p>So, in relation to the COROS Pace, this watch has:<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Added mineral glass display (vs plastic)<br \/>\u2013 Added aluminum enforcement within plastic bezel<br \/>\u2013 Added new brighter\/more contrast 1.3\u201d MIP based touch display (260x260px)<br \/>\u2013 Added full offline maps (32GB storage)<br \/>\u2013 Added new \u2018Action\u2019 button (customizable extra button)<br \/>\u2013 Added dual-microphone with voice pins\/notes feature (first COROS watch with a microphone)<br \/>\u2013 Added new weather widget with saved locations<br \/>\u2013 Added street names with the offline maps<br \/>\u2013 Added POI database to offline maps<br \/>\u2013 Added separation of roads &amp; trails to offline maps<br \/>\u2013 Added \u2018Record a pin\u2019 geo-tagged voice notes feature<br \/>\u2013 Added slate of fishing modes: Fly, Lure, Boat, Shore, Offshore, Inshore, Kayak, Boat Fly Fishing, Shore Fly Fishing<br \/>\u2013 Added fishing log features: Catch log, best fishing time, POI marking, location lock, movement detection<br \/>\u2013 Added environmental data to fishing activity profiles: tides, sun\/moon, temp, forecasts<br \/>\u2013 Added some depth information to maps (super-duper limited though)<br \/>\u2013 [App] Added ability to save photos\/videos to completed activities<br \/>\u2013 [App] Added ability to see completed activities in 3D view<br \/>\u2013 [App] Added ability to share a private link to completed activities (with photos\/videos)<br \/>\u2013 Has WiFi, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth sensor support (no ANT+ sensor support)<br \/>\u2013 Water Resistance rating of 5ATM\/50 meters<br \/>\u2013 Battery life claim is 22 days of regular use, 50 hours all systems GPS, and 34 hours dual-frequency GPS<br \/>\u2013 Weight: 61g with silicone band, 49g with nylon band<br \/>\u2013 Price is $349USD, 369EUR, 319GBP (the rest of the currencies are just down below)<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to the color options, there are three color SKU\u2019s for the NOMAD:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164404\" title=\"NOMAD-COROS-Colors.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-COROS-Colors.png\" alt=\"NOMAD COROS Colors.\" width=\"719\" height=\"315\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>In this review, you\u2019ll mostly see the \u2018green\u2019 variant, though I also have a second unit that\u2019s a blend of the brown watch with the green bands. You\u2019ll see a handful of those shots from testing in July. But they ultimately decided to go with the single-color cohesion as the stock options.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to pricing, here are those details for all the other currencies:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164405\" title=\"COROS-Pricing.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/COROS-Pricing.png\" alt=\"COROS Pricing.\" width=\"719\" height=\"359\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>With that, let\u2019s get into the daily usage of the watch first.<\/p>\n<p>The Basics:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164449\" title=\"IMG_9561 2.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9561-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>So, let\u2019s start with the basics here, mostly the daily usage bits, before we dive into the sports pieces (and separate sections for navigation). To begin, the watch has three physical buttons (one of which is the Digital Crown\/Dial). That\u2019s notable, as it now includes a so-called \u2018Action Button\u2019 on the left side (that\u2019s the same naming that Apple uses for their added left-side button). This button is customizable, albeit as I\u2019ll cover later, you have to do it on a per-sports profile basis. Long-term, that\u2019s great, but short-term it\u2019s pretty cumbersome.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164450\" title=\"IMG_9562.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9562.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164451\" title=\"IMG_9564.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9564.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>In addition, the screen is a 1.3\u201d touchscreen, which you can use for swiping through screens or confirming selections. The screen is a MIP-based display, which means that it tends to get longer battery life than AMOLED displays, though, as we\u2019ve seen with competitors like the Suunto Race, they can achieve near identical GPS battery life to MIP-based displays like the NOMAD. The key difference though is when you get into the always-on configuration of AMOLED, you quickly burn battery.<\/p>\n<p>In any event, for the COROS NOMAD, the screen is brighter and more contrasty than previous COROS MIP displays. Here it is side-by-side with the COROS APEX 2 Pro display:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164452\" title=\"IMG_9560.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9560.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, on the back we\u2019ve got the same optical heart rate sensor as seen in other COROS watches released over the last year or so. As I\u2019ll show you in the accuracy section, it\u2019s mostly fine, but not industry leading.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164453\" title=\"IMG_9565.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9565.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>So, flipping things back over, you\u2019ve got the watch face. Here\u2019s the stock\/default watch face, which you can alternate the data along the bottom by pressing the lower right button:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164454\" title=\"IMG_9567.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9567.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164455\" title=\"IMG_9568.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9568.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164456\" title=\"IMG_9570.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9570.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Of course, COROS also has a boatload more watch faces you can install via their app, all of which are free. You can further create your own via photos\/pictures. COROS definitely beats many of their competitors in the watch face variety department, and it\u2019s nice to see them constantly adding watch faces.<\/p>\n<p>Next up, from there you\u2019ll swipe down into the widgets. These widgets are customizable, and show snippets from a more detailed tappable\/clickable widget. So you can see for example my daily activity on this one, and then I can tap into it to see more details about the day\/week:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164457\" title=\"IMG_9461.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9461.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Same goes for other widgets as well:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164458\" title=\"IMG_9494.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9494.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164459\" title=\"IMG_9495.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9495.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164460\" title=\"IMG_9497.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9497.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>All of this data is of course backstopped with all your data syncing to the COROS app, where you can see the same data there, but with more details around reporting\/etc:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164461\" title=\"IMG_9506.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9506.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164462\" title=\"IMG_9507.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9507.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164463\" title=\"IMG_9508.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9508.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to areas like sleep, I\u2019ve had no issues with the accuracy of the sleep data in terms of the times I went to sleep and woke up matching reality.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164464\" title=\"IMG_9572.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9572.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164465\" title=\"IMG_9573 2.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9573-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>As I\u2019ve noted previously, I don\u2019t grade\/rate sleep stage\/phase accuracy, since the comparative technology to do so is only about 80% accurate, which is hardly a great comparison bar (it\u2019s actually pretty crap, in terms of using for accuracy comparison). But, for the pieces I care about, it\u2019s been spot-on.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164466\" title=\"IMG_9491.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9491.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164467\" title=\"IMG_9492.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9492.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Likewise, for HRV, those values have matched Whoop, Garmin, and Oura for all the nights.<\/p>\n<p>Generally speaking, HRV can be useful for looking at whether or not your body is handling the stressors placed upon it. This can include seeing HRV values plummet from training fatigue, sickness, travel-inducing jetlag, alcohol, and more. I find it a pretty good indicator of upcoming sickness, when my HRV values drop from their normal levels (everyone has their own baseline) to substantially lower levels (e.g. mid-50\u2019s to 30\u2019s).<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, though, most people (all people?) are buying a COROS watch for sports usage, so let\u2019s dig into that.<\/p>\n<p>Sports Usage &amp; Features:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164484\" title=\"IMG_8261.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_8261.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to the sports side of things, for existing COROS users, you won\u2019t find much different here (there is differences in navigation though, and of course fishing in later sections). Nonetheless, I\u2019ll dig into how things work, in case your new to COROS watches.<\/p>\n<p>To start a sport, you\u2019ll tap the upper right button. Here you can select the sport profile\/activity profile you want:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164468\" title=\"IMG_9578.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9578.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>COROS has a boatload of sports profiles, here\u2019s all the current ones in the COROS NOMAD (keeping in mind COROS tends to add more profiles over time with subsequent firmware updates):<\/p>\n<p>Run, Indoor Run, Trail Run, Track Run, Hike, Walk, Outdoor Climb, Man Climb, Indoor Climb, Bouldering, Road Bike, Mountain Bike, Gravel Bike, Indoor Bike, Pool Swim, Open Water, Speedsurfing, Windsurfing, Rowing, Indoor Rower, Whitewater, Flatware, Boat Fishing, Inshore Fishing, Offshore Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Boat Fly Fishing, Shore Fishing, Shore Fly Fishing, Triathlon, Strength, Jump Rope, Floor Climb, Elliptical, Yoga, Pilates, Boxing, Dairy Cow Tipping, GPS Cardio, Gym Cardio, Badminton, Table Tennis, Tennis, Basketball, Soccer, Ski, Snowboard, XC Ski, Ski Touring, Frisbee, Skateboard, Custom Activity<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve selected a sports profile, it\u2019ll begin searching for GPS (if an outside activity), and you can toggle a few basic settings here while also enabling navigation:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164469\" title=\"IMG_9580.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9580.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>However, the bulk of configuration will occur from the COROS smartphone app, in terms of changing data fields\/pages, and other settings. Here, you can add up to 8 data fields per page, and choose from a slew of different arrangements.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164486\" title=\"IMG_9676 2.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9676-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164487\" title=\"IMG_9677 2.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9677-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164488\" title=\"IMG_9678 2.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9678-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>In fact, you can also customize your button settings as well as activity alert settings in there too. Again, all of this is on a per-sport profile basis (e.g. one for running, one for trail running, etc\u2026)<\/p>\n<p>Now, before we start a workout, I\u2019ll mention that if doing a sport with sensors (e.g. cycling), you\u2019ll do sensor pairing within the sensors menu under system. The NOMAD supports Bluetooth sensors, including Bluetooth heart rate sensors, cycling power meters, cycling speed\/cadence sensors, running footpods, smart trainers, action cams like those from Insta360 &amp; DJI, and a number of other accessory types.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164473\" title=\"IMG_9581.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9581-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>It does not support ANT+ sensors, though most ANT+ sensors are also dual ANT+\/Bluetooth Smart these days, so it\u2019s not too much of an issue for most people\/scenarios.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, nearby this settings area, you can also enable heart rate broadcasting, which will broadcast your heart rate over Bluetooth to other apps\/devices. For example, if you\u2019ve got a Peloton bike or Zwift, or some other app where you want heart rate pulled in, you can do so here.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164471\" title=\"IMG_9582 2.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9582-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164472\" title=\"IMG_9583.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9583.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>With all that settled, back to the sport menu with GPS acquired, to start the activity;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164474\" title=\"IMG_9584.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9584.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>At this point you\u2019ll see your workout details based on how you\u2019ve configured the data pages. This part is pretty straightforward:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164475\" title=\"IMG_9586.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9586.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164476\" title=\"IMG_9587.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9587.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164477\" title=\"IMG_9588.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9588.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve wrapped up your workout, you can tap to end\/save it, and will get a summary gallery of details from the workout. Here\u2019s those:<\/p>\n<p>And then likewise, you\u2019ll see all of these details on the COROS app afterwards:<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve got the COROS app linked up to 3rd party platforms like Strava, TrainingPeaks, and more, it\u2019ll automatically sync over to those platforms, usually within a few seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Now, what\u2019s cool is that COROS has a new \u2018journaling\u2019 option, which lets you add photos and videos to these activities, and then share a public URL (you\u2019ll also notice there\u2019s new 3D maps option, including making a little downloadable video). Further, it\u2019ll automatically show you the photos\/videos from the time of your activity, and on the 3D Flyover video, you can add music automatically too. It\u2019s pretty cool.<\/p>\n<p>Now, when it comes to training load and recovery metrics, COROS does have a few here. While the company touted a change to the 7-day training load to finally show it in 7-day trailing (versus resetting every Monday), in reality, it still resets every Monday, as evidenced just yesterday. At left, Sunday evening\u2019s value, and at right, Monday morning\u2019s value.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164478\" title=\"IMG_9468.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9468.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164479\" title=\"IMG_9590-2.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9590-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>COROS says that they changed the Training Status to now be 7-days trailing, but that only shows the total current load in the app, not the watch, and still resets the darn thing every Monday morning for Training Load. Sigh, c\u2019mon COROS. Suunto changed this last month to adopt the industry norm of a trailing 7-day load. There\u2019s zero scientific or logical reason to reset your 7-day load each Monday morning.<\/p>\n<p>[Update \u2013 a few hours before launch: COROS has just sent an e-mail saying they\u2019re going to make changes to match the proper 7-day rolling training load. It won\u2019t be there at launch, but will follow shortly. Good to hear!]<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll see metrics like Running Fitness &amp; Race Predictor, which attempts to estimate your race paces\/times.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164481\" title=\"IMG_9596.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9596.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164480\" title=\"IMG_9597.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9597.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Though I find it pretty consistently underestimates them. For example, let\u2019s look at the 5K estimation above (20:53). Yesterday, during my 10KM run, I did the back half 5KM in 21:45, at an easyish pace with an average HR of 159bpm.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164423\" title=\"IMG_9545.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9545.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"331\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>This sort of half-hearted estimation is consistent with all of my past COROS experiences, in that it doesn\u2019t seem to predict anything physio-wise well. Likely, because it\u2019s estimating far too low of a VO2Max, at a mere 51 (mine is closer to 57-58 right now).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164426\" title=\"IMG_9547.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9547-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"335\" height=\"728\" border=\"0\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"IMG_9547.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/2025\/08\/marsedit:\/\/pending\/A3BFB904-5427-45E6-90C1-232DFFB68DA1\/\" alt=\"\" width=\"335\" height=\"728\" border=\"0\"\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164424\" title=\"IMG_9546.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9546.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"335\" height=\"728\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Finally, it\u2019s got both Training Status &amp; Recovery metrics, which, are roughly inline with reality.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164482\" title=\"IMG_9592.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9592.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164483\" title=\"IMG_9594.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9594.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>With that, let\u2019s sidestep into the new voice pins feature, and then go a bit further into navigation\/mapping.<\/p>\n<p>The Voice Pins\/Notes:<\/p>\n<p>When I first read of this feature, I was mostly ready to crap on on it, due to uselessness, but in reality, it\u2019s actually implemented far better than I expected. Albeit, I\u2019m still not entirely sure how often people will use this. And furthermore, I feel like the entire microphone thing is kinda missing its counterpoint: A speaker (the watch has a beeper, but not a speaker). And there\u2019s plenty of quirky limitations besides that.<\/p>\n<p>With the COROS NOMAD, the company has added a dual-microphone setup, which will capture your voice notes. It doesn\u2019t perform any other typical microphone functions like using it for a phone call, voice assistants, etc\u2026 (which is how most other watches utilize it). Instead, the idea is that you can create little geo-tagged voice pins\/memos and then see them on a map of your activity later on.<\/p>\n<p>To access this feature you\u2019ll need to have GPS. Somehow oddly (unlike everyone else), you can\u2019t just create a voice note whenever you want. So, to do so, you\u2019ll want to either be in a GPS activity, or, you can go to the controls area (long-hold lower right &gt; Pin &gt; Add Current Location &gt; Voice Pin).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164500\" title=\"IMG_9598.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9598.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164501\" title=\"IMG_9599.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9599.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>When you do so, it\u2019ll find GPS (if not already in a GPS activity), and then start to record the voice note:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164502\" title=\"IMG_9600.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164503\" title=\"IMG_9602.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9602.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>At the completion of which, you can end the voice note. The same applies during a workout, where it just starts recording as soon as you dive into that menu. But again, it\u2019s pretty darn cumbersome to get into that menu.<\/p>\n<p>Now, that said, you can customize the \u2018Action Button\u2019 to trigger the \u2018Add a Pin\u2019 feature. Which, for better or worse, you\u2019ll do on a per sport\/activity profile basis (within app: NOMAD &gt; Activity Settings &gt; [Sport name] &gt; Button Settings &gt; Action Button &gt; Add a Pin).<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019ll then bring up that same menu on pin adding, more directly. I do appreciate the customization options of the Action Button here, but at the same time, I wish I could also configure it globally first, and then change that configuration on a per sport profile basis. In other words, I appreciate the extra customization, but they totally put the cart before the horse here on getting the basics right.<\/p>\n<p>In any event, once you\u2019ve got your geo-tagged voice pins, you can see them within the COROS app, on the map:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164504\" title=\"IMG_9679 2.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9679-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"772\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164505\" title=\"IMG_9680 3.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9680-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"772\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>From there you can play them back from your phone (you cannot play them back on the watch, because there\u2019s no speaker). Voice-quality-wise, it\u2019s so-so at best. Like most watch microphones. But, it gets the job done for recording a quick thing you want to remember.<\/p>\n<p>Even cooler is that it transcribes the voice notes, and was virtually spot-on. This is a super nice touch! And atop that, it seems to summarize the entire note for the title automatically, and these titles seem pretty good too.<\/p>\n<p>Now, as I said at the beginning, I was ready to crap on this feature, but they did get the geotagging part right. More specifically, a year later, and Garmin\u2019s Voice Notes feature still doesn\u2019t allow you to access\/playback those voice notes from anywhere within the Garmin Connect app. So they\u2019re just in a useless pile on your watch, without any real organization, or transcribing. Thus, at least COROS\u2019s are in a more useful pile on your phone that you can access more easily (though, I wish it would bubble them all into a single screen, regardless of workout).<\/p>\n<p>Still, I remain skeptical on how many people will leverage either solution from either company. In Garmin\u2019s case, it\u2019s too limited to be useful. And in COROS\u2019s case, it\u2019s limited in that you must have GPS (so isn\u2019t useful for non-GPS activities, or daily life). Maybe the two companies can just borrow the other half of each other\u2019s solutions, and it\u2019d be perfect.<\/p>\n<p>      Mapping &amp; Navigation:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164506\" title=\"IMG_9607.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9607.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The COROS NOMAD follows most of the existing mapping and navigation playbook that other recent COROS watches have, assuming they have offline maps. However, it also includes three newish mapping features: added Street names\/labels, added POI\u2019s, and added separation of roads\/trails. Both of these are being rolled out to other COROS watches as part of firmware updates this summer. But nonetheless, they are welcome additions.<\/p>\n<p>Now, before we get too far, note that there are basically a few levels of mapping &amp; navigation when it comes to watches. At a very basic\/distilled level, you\u2019ve got:<\/p>\n<p>Level 1: Watch can follow a route, but doesn\u2019t have any offline maps, thus breadcrumb style (this is the COROS Pace)<br \/>Level 2: Watch can follow a route, and has offline maps, and maybe has POI\/labels\/etc\u2026 (this is the COROS NOMAD, COROS Pace Pro, etc\u2026)<br \/>Level 3: Watch can follow a route, has offline maps, but can also re-route on the fly, fully offline (no watches except Garmin have this)<\/p>\n<p>That last category also encompasses things like full route creation offline, etc\u2026 In 99% of the cases, this won\u2019t matter much. The number of times I use on-device re-routing per year tends to number in the 0 to 1 times range. Level 2 is mostly where it\u2019s at, and more specifically, COROS adding in POI labels, street names\/labels, etc\u2026 is really the main thing that helps.<\/p>\n<p>In any event, when it comes to those topographic maps, you\u2019ll need WiFi to download them, and you simply tappity-tap the countries that you want within the COROS app. I do appreciate that COROS has nice small chunks to quickly download, especially over a cellphone WiFi hotspot. At the same time, I also kinda like the Suunto approach of letting me download larger country chunks. I wish there was more flexibility here.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164507\" title=\"IMG_9681.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9681.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"772\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164508\" title=\"IMG_9682.PNG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9682.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"772\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>In any case, once the maps are downloaded, you\u2019re good to go on that front.<\/p>\n<p>From there, it comes down to creating a route in the platform of your choice. That could be Strava, Komoot, or the COROS app itself. With Strava &amp; Komoot, there can be some slight delays on syncing it to the COROS app, you may need to refresh it a few times to get it downloaded to the app. Once that\u2019s done, then you can push it to your watch (manually).<\/p>\n<p>This is the singular area I really wish COROS (and Suunto) would improve. In the case of Garmin, any route that I flag as a favorite on Strava\/Komoot is automatically synced to the watch. I don\u2019t have to manually do anything again. But with COROS\/Suunto, you\u2019ve got to both manually do it, and keep the number of synced routes below a pretty small threshold of a dozen or so routes. It\u2019s just clunky (and unnecessarily clunky, given the 32GB of storage, and route files are stunningly tiny, at 20KB to 200KB usually).<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, with the route synced, over on your watch, you\u2019ll open up the activity type you want to do (e.g. Hiking), and then you\u2019ll see the navigation option. Simply select the route you want:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164509\" title=\"IMG_8211.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_8211.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"266\" border=\"0\"  \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164510\" title=\"IMG_8212.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_8212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"266\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>You can then see some details about it, and do the route in reverse if you want to. You can also toggle on\/off turn-by-turn alerts, as well as off-course warnings (Deviate Alerts).<\/p>\n<p>Once that\u2019s all set, off you go. You\u2019ll then see your route atop the offline map page, which you can zoom in\/out. The COROS map speed is really really good here, easily best in class when it comes to enumeration of the map page (of course, keep in mind they have far less data than Garmin on said map in terms of heatmap\/etc data, which of course contributes to that slowness). Still, the COROS render speed is great:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164511\" title=\"IMG_8401.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_8401.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll see your route outline on the map page, and then as you approach a turn, you\u2019ll see\/get notifications about that as well. If you go off the route, you\u2019ll get an alert about that. But as noted above, there\u2019s no re-routing onto other trails\/etc. It simply tells you which direction (compass-wise) to go to get back on-course.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if you\u2019re doing a climb, you\u2019ll see the elevation map, but you won\u2019t see any sort of ClimbPro-like pages (something COROS has on their COROS Dura bike computer, but surprisingly hasn\u2019t put on their wearables yet). If you do a lot of mountain routes with big climbs, this is a significant gap to their competitors (mainly Suunto at this price-point, though Garmin has it on older devices that are now at this price point).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164411\" title=\"IMG_8402.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_8402.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"266\" border=\"0\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164512\" title=\"IMG_8398.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_8398.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"266\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>(Due to the stupid-steepness of the climb these might look similar at first glance, but the COROS is telling me total elevation gain on my *entire route* left, whereas the Garmin at right is telling me I have 4.58km to the top of the climb, 1009m to the top of the climb, ascending at 1,050m\/hour, and an average gradient of 22%. Also, that it\u2019s the 1st of 6 climbs.)<\/p>\n<p>In any event, as for navigation, I had no issues with that on my hikes &amp; trail runs. This included a pile of routes in the Alps (including a 7-hour triangulaor route up to a glacier), and a few more. Ultimately, it got me where I wanted to go just fine.<\/p>\n<p>And that all gets back to the reality that while the COROS NOMAD has some quirks around syncing routes and such, it ultimately has offline topographic maps. Something that the more expensive Garmin Instinct 3 lacks. As I said when the Instinct 3 launched, it seemed bizarre to lack maps when all of their sub-$500 competitors had it, and the COROS NOMAD only doubles-down on that.<\/p>\n<p>Got Fish?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164489\" title=\"IMG_9611.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9611.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>COROS has a quirky little history of finding a sport niche, and leaning into it. And more specifically, leaning into a niche that they honestly have no history in being in. Take for example rock climbing \u2013 back a few years ago COROS decided they wanted to go deep on climbing features. That included both the watch software features, their marketing campaigns, even their CEO getting into rock climbing. Oh, and it included selling mugs with a severed finger imprinted on it.<\/p>\n<p>Now it\u2019s hard to tell whether or not COROS had made statistically significant market share inroads there, but, it appears their next segment is going to be fishing. They\u2019ve added a boatload of fishing related features here, including logging in the app too. Obviously, fishing is a huge sport, but COROS has zero history or brand name recognition in it (or adjacent realms like boating). So whether or not COROS can find market share remains to be seen. Nonetheless, let\u2019s talk about how it works.<\/p>\n<p>First up, you\u2019ll choose one of the specific fishing modes, which are:<\/p>\n<p>Fly, Lure, Boat, Shore, Offshore, Inshore, Kayak, Boat Fly Fishing, Shore Fly Fishing<\/p>\n<p>These are both part categorization, and part functionality. For example, in some modes it\u2019ll track your casts, whereas others, it won\u2019t. All modes allow customization though.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164490\" title=\"IMG_9616.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9616.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Once in a mode, such as Shore Fly Fishing, it\u2019ll start tracking your GPS position, similar to other activity types. However, you can tap the lower right button to log various items, including a catch:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164492\" title=\"IMG_9614.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9614.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164491\" title=\"IMG_9618.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9618.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164493\" title=\"IMG_9620.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>When you do so, you can also add a voice-note at the same time. There isn\u2019t a way to log details about the catch (e.g. size\/weight\/etc\u2026) from the watch, other than voice notes, so this is your best bet.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164495\" title=\"IMG_9619.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9619.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Afterwards, all of these will show up in the logbook, basically just like it does on the other sports. However, within a given fishing session, it\u2019ll also show the number of catches you have, and then the session time between each catch.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, it\u2019ll show new environmental data pages (which you can customize). These include temp &amp; precip, winds, tides &amp; moon phases, and barometric pressure.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164496\" title=\"IMG_9621.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9621.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164497\" title=\"IMG_9622.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9622.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164498\" title=\"IMG_9624.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9624.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>I had hoped to get out and test the fishing features this week, or rather, send my wife out to do it (fly fishing is her jam), but the scheduling hasn\u2019t quite worked out over the past few days, so maybe later this week she\u2019ll put some testing in on this feature.<\/p>\n<p>Accuracy Testing:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164499\" title=\"IMG_9648.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9648.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s start off on the GPS side of things first. And no better place to do that than the Alps (ok, maybe NYC, but we\u2019ll get to that in a few seconds). Here I did a few treks up against Mont Blanc, and right alongside towering cliffs, dense forests, and more. A great place to validate accuracy of the dual-frequency GPS against other units.<\/p>\n<p>First up, <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/#\/public\/a77984e3-76f8-41ec-5fdf-42b3f3c49e50\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the wide view of the area<\/a> we\u2019re looking at:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164431\" title=\"NOMAD-GPS1-MTN-Wide.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-GPS1-MTN-Wide.png\" alt=\"NOMAD GPS1 MTN Wide.\" width=\"720\" height=\"377\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Starting off on this section climbing up against a well-blocked sky (by cliffs to both sides), the units are nearly identical, and on-point:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164432\" title=\"NOMAD-GPS1-MTN2.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-GPS1-MTN2.png\" alt=\"NOMAD GPS1 MTN2.\" width=\"719\" height=\"452\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Next, crossing back along a steep section, often blocked on one side by rocks\/cliffs, there\u2019s no issues here:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164433\" title=\"NOMAD-GPS1-MTN3.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-GPS1-MTN3.png\" alt=\"NOMAD GPS1 MTN3.\" width=\"719\" height=\"381\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The next day, in much denser trees down lower, we see again, no issues. Obviously, the four units have slightly different takes here, but we\u2019re talking about differences in the couple of meters range, nothing substantial.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164435\" title=\"NOMAD-Hike2-B.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-Hike2-B.png\" alt=\"NOMAD Hike2 B.\" width=\"718\" height=\"378\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Likewise, the altimeter data from all four units is nearly identical across the day \u2013 despite significantly shifting weather from the start of the hike (in rain) to the end of the hike (in sun).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164436\" title=\"NOMAD-Elevation1.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-Elevation1.png\" alt=\"NOMAD Elevation1.\" width=\"717\" height=\"225\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Switching to something even more complicated, <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/#\/public\/9ad940f9-1f53-4073-6ab1-ac865b06ae27\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the streets of New York City<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164437\" title=\"Nomad-NYC1.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Nomad-NYC1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"681\" height=\"455\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>What was super impressive was running under the viaduct, and having it perfectly track that section:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164439\" title=\"NOMAD-NYC2.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-NYC2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"718\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, all the units did blow through the sides of one building on this turn:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164440\" title=\"NYC-GPS3.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NYC-GPS3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"420\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>But the remainder was quite good. I thought it was notable that you can see the squiggles of waiting for the stoplight here, though, COROS smooths that out. The Venu X1 was properly in the road, versus the others in the building.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164441\" title=\"NYC-Run4.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NYC-Run4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"448\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>That said, the next day, it kinda flipped, and the others were properly in the road. None of these tracks were meaningfully different though, very solid job by all the units.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164442\" title=\"NYC-Day2.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NYC-Day2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"718\" height=\"338\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Next, we\u2019ve got an openwater swim. Let\u2019s just be clear \u2013 this is one of the best COROS swims I\u2019ve seen to date. One could quibble about a few sections being barely off, but on the whole this is very solid.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164447\" title=\"NOMAD-SwimHR.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-SwimHR.png\" alt=\"NOMAD SwimHR.\" width=\"704\" height=\"430\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, I could go through all my other workouts. That included 70KM road rides, wooded gravel\/mountain bike rides, more trail runs, more city runs, and just other random runs. All of which are spot-on perfect GPS-wise. Boringly perfect.<\/p>\n<p>So instead, let\u2019s quickly look at some heart rate data. Starting off with a relatively boring run, this one is pretty good, though a small dropout of sorts early on:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164443\" title=\"NOMADHR-NYC1.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMADHR-NYC1.png\" alt=\"NOMADHR NYC1.\" width=\"717\" height=\"230\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>This run, also sorta steady-state but slowly building, was also kinda good, but had some stumbles as well:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164445\" title=\"NOMAD-HR3.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-HR3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"225\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Next, we\u2019ve got this interval run here. 4\u00d7800, then 4\u00d7400. As you can see, it was mostly good, but did stumble a few times at the start of intervals, compared to the chest strap. Another data source I\u2019ll dive into in a later post backed up the chest source data.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164444\" title=\"NOMAD-HR2.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-HR2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"718\" height=\"226\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>And this 70KM ride was actually quite good across the board, with only some minor blips. I\u2019ve added a 3-second smoothing, just to make the data easier too see here:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164446\" title=\"NOMAD-HR4.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NOMAD-HR4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"291\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>If I look at the data overall, I\u2019d say that the COROS GPS accuracy on this unit is very strong across all of my workouts, with the altimeter data matching that. Solid job here.<\/p>\n<p>On the heart rate side, it\u2019s good, but not great. I continue to see little quirks here and there that I\u2019m not typically seeing on industry-leading devices that have better HR sensors (regardless of price). Still, this does seem like the best implementation of the COROS HR algorithms to date, so kudos there as well.<\/p>\n<p>(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy sections were created using the DCR Analyzer tool. It allows you to compare power meters\/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed\/pace, GPS tracks, and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/analyzer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">more details here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Wrap-Up:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-164513\" title=\"IMG_9521.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9521.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d argue that COROS is on a bit of a winning streak here. Last fall, they released the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/2024\/10\/coros-review-amoled.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">COROS Pace Pro<\/a>, their first AMOLED watch, and one that delivered on countless features (including offline maps) at the $349 price point. Now, they\u2019ve followed that up with what is effectively a MIP-based sibling to that watch, at the same price point, but with more features (and a touch bit more battery life). This, despite the current tariff environment, and everything else that goes along with it. I\u2019d also argue this pretty much kills almost any product-spec reason to buy the COROS APEX 2 or APEX 2 Pro. But I think the writing was on the wall for those watches a long time ago.<\/p>\n<p>In any event, COROS has steadily improved its GPS accuracy with each successive watch, and this is unquestionably the most accurate GPS watch they\u2019ve ever made. Atop that, its battery handled long treks super well, and beat their specs even in the highest configuration of navigation-following, and full dual-frequency GPS. While I\u2019m not entirely sold on how many people will actually use the new voice pins feature, their implementation is one of the best ones out there.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, as always, there\u2019s room for improvement. I\u2019m glad to see the last-second change of heart on 7-day training load, but I\u2019d still like to see a bit more focus on the navigation side of the house. Likewise, cleaning up some of the customization around the new Action Button and Voice Pins would be helpful. Plus of course, heart rate accuracy isn\u2019t quite to the same level as their GPS accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, this is a fantastic watch. And it lets them compete well against not just Suunto and the Suunto Race S and related series, but also head-on versus the Garmin Instinct 3 product line. For many people, there\u2019s probably little reason to spend an extra $50-$150 for the Garmin Instinct 3, especially if you want offline mapping. But of course, there are other reasons you might want the Instinct, like the LED flashlight or longer solar battery life. As always, to each their own.<\/p>\n<p>With that \u2013 thanks for reading!<\/p>\n<p>Found This Post Useful? Support The Site!<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully you found this review\/post useful.  At the end of the day, I\u2019m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase \u2013 so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device.  The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it\u2019s a fair bit of work (and labor of love).  As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments \u2013 and there\u2019s quite a bit of detail in there as well.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re shopping for the COROS NOMAD or any other accessory items, please consider using the affiliate links below! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn\u2019t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/COROS-W942-GPS-Watch-Brown\/dp\/B0FG6XLYXS?SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcr07-20\" data-href-amz-co_uk=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B0FG6XLYXS?SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcraicom-21\" data-price-co_uk=\"\u00a3319\" data-href-amz-de=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.de\/dp\/B0FG6XLYXS?SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcraicom04-21\" data-price-de=\"369 \u20ac\" data-href-amz-es=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.es\/dp\/B0FG6XLYXS?SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcr08-21\" data-price-es=\"369 \u20ac\" data-href-amz-fr=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.fr\/dp\/B0FG6XLYXS?SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcr07-21\" data-price-fr=\"369 \u20ac\" data-href-amz-it=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.it\/dp\/B0FG6XLYXS?SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcr088-21\" data-price-it=\"369 \u20ac\" data-amz-localizations=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"924\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/COROSNomad-Background-Removed-720x924.png\" class=\"fv-product-ad-thumb wp-post-image\" alt=\"\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And of course \u2013 you can always <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/support\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sign-up to be a DCR Supporter<\/a>!  That gets you an ad-free DCR, access to the DCR Quarantine Corner video series packed with behind the scenes tidbits&#8230;and it also makes you awesome. And being awesome is what it\u2019s all about!<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I\u2019ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful \u2013 I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019d be easy to look at the new COROS NOMAD and mistake it for a Garmin Instinct. Because&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[39734,39735,59,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-77918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-coros","tag-coros-nomad","tag-gb","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}