One useful accessory for the surfer in your life is a tide watch, commonly referred to as a surf watch. While these watches do tell time, they are largely geared to measure the movement of water instead of minutes and typically come with other useful features as well. At first glance, it is immediately clear that a tide watch is no ordinary time piece and will probably take some instruction. Below, we explain some of the features of these waterproof wonders.

Most essentially, surf watches show the times for high and low tide for a specific beach, as well as the measurement of those tides (typically in feet). This is important because each break has an ideal tide for the best surfing conditions. Tide watches can help surfers know when the waves will be best, saving them from wasted trips to beaches with subpar surf conditions.

Some surf watches have a tidal graph on the face of the watch to illustrate how quickly the tide may be rising or falling throughout the day. To get started, either input the beach name or GPS location for the wave for which you are seeking tidal information, and the watch will display the times and heights of the tides for that day. The only thing you have to know is which tidal height is best for the wave you want to surf.

Generally, tide watches have additional features such as a stopwatch, a countdown timer or “heat timer” to mimic surfing competition heat times, backlighting, an alarm setting, and a very strong strap. Watches will vary in the makeup of components, water resistance depth, number of beach settings and other points of data for the water.

Hansen's is proud to offer a wide variety of tide watches ranging from basic set-ups to those with advanced predictive technology. Below are four surf watches we sell, representing a range in price points to illustrate the capabilities of each.

Rip Curl Rifles Tide Watch $125

- 500 pre-programmed tide locations in graph or detailed display
- An alarm, stopwatch, countdown timer and light
- 100M water-resistance
- Versatile Tide Display - Switch Between Graph View and Detailed View

Vestal Brig Tide and Train Watch $140

- 200 pre-programmed beaches worldwide 
- Tide forecasts for 20 years
- Digital tide graph that features current tide height
- Interval timer
- Heat Mode with countdown timer
- Band: OKTOGRIP raised pattern on the underside of the band for less rubber contact against your skin providing greater breathability, more flexibility, and a lighter feel on your wrist.

Nixon Supertide Watch $200

- Pre-programmed tide information for over 270 beaches
- Tidal forecasts through 2023
- 48 hour future tide, heat timer, and light functions
- Water resistant 100m/10 ATM
- Band: 30-25mm tapered custom injection molded silicone band with patented locking looper and stainless steel buckle.

Nixon The Ultratide Watch $300

 - Nixon’s smart watch featuring 10x more data than a traditional tide watch and data from thousands of beaches around the world
- Exclusive partnership with Surfline that taps the power of Ultratide directly into the Surfline network
- Equipped with wireless Bluetooth® technology
- Featuring Surfline Forecast data points: current Surfline rating, current surf height, current swell height(s), forecasted swell direction(s), current water temperature, current air temperature, current sky condition, and 48hrs of tide data with predicted time and height details in both imperial and metric values.
- Band: 30-25mm tapered custom injection molded silicone band with water flow texture on bottom side, patented locking looper, and stainless steel buckle with stainless steel screw bar.

We have many more surf watches to choose from as well. If you would like to know more about which tide watch would work best for you, come on down to the store or contact us at 1-800-480-4754. One of our team members would be happy to help!