Note: due to global economy fluctuating, the price of the watch may now be higher than the title. I made this article in good faith and attempted to shoot guys a nifty device at a good price.
The Nixon Rival watch is part of a segment of the fashion watch brand that makes functional watches for surfers, fishers, people that like being out on the water. Nixon is more of a fashion brand than a watch brand. The majority of their watches are quartz movements – battery powered watches that have a high sophistication and price tag of luxury automatic watches. They bridge a gap between more “disposable” watches at a more affordable price tag.
The Nixon rival watch design reminds me of the Seiko Timetron watch. It was a digital launched in May 1999. It was inspired by 80s dot matrix monitors like the Apple II (which later inspired the Oregon Trail Handheld game) . Both watches are black high contrast, easy to read, lean, with 80s nostalgia. They have a boxy rugged build similar to the G-shock. It’s lean in its presentation as it has a slew of features.
Enter the “functional” watches like the Nixon Rival watch that has features beyond telling time and a chronograph. This watch provides sunrise/sunset times and tide information from 550 beaches from around the country. What is a tide? I used to mix it up with waves so don’t feel bad if you don’t know: it’s the rising and lowering of sea levels in an area with factors including the moon, sun, and earth’s gravitational pull.
How Tide Monitoring Works
Modern monitoring systems are electric and use acoustic sensors to send a sound signal to the water and back to determine the level. That information is relayed via satellite to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) where it is relayed about every six minutes. The real-time information of tides level all over the country is available and free to play with on this clickable map.
Visual Tide Function and Additional Features
- Pre-programmed tide data from 550 beaches (though creeks and harbors not included). You select your beach in the menu and all the information comes up (I thought you needed the watch to connect to wifi but it doesn’t). Data in watch gives a graphic representation of the tide throughout the day right on the main face so you can always glance right at it. A plus is not having to rely on a phone or GPS to relay the information to your watch when you’re on the water.
- You can click over the menu for more specificity about the times of high/low tide and their relative heights
- Sunrise and sunset times are just a menu click away.
- Note, The Rip Curl GPS 2 is a watch that provides real-time GPS tide location. The tide info for the preset beaches seems to work just fine for most fishermen out there. But for more remote locations and absolute specificity is needed, this watch is a viable option. But it’s over $300.
Why Monitoring is Tides is Useful for Recreation
- Fishing – there are so many particulars for this (I’m not going to even pretend to be a fishing expert). But generally, in most fishing situations, the best time to fish is 1-2 before high or low tide is about to occur. This creates movement with fish and an optimal opportunity to catch them
- Surfing – high or low tides preferences depends on the particular beach you’re surfing. If you’re at a beach with lots of big rocks and coral reef then low can be dangerous. Some beaches with high tides tend to create dangerous shore breaks – when a sharp incline and brakes hard on a shore potentially causing surfers and patrons serious harm. Similar to fishing, the best time for surfing is an hour after low tide to an hour before high tide.
[Full disclosure: do not take anything I write in this article seriously as sound advice. I’m just some guy on the internet writing about a watch I think is cool. If you want to read about/discuss fun things about electronics, their features, and how they may be POTENTIALLY used – I’m here for that. Please consult with a professional before doing any activities mentioned in this article or this site.]
There are plenty of pricey options for watches with GPS capabilities, moon-phases, temp info, etc. to use when out on the water. You can download apps to do all this. If you want a quick, graphic reference strapped to wrist so you can leave your phone and charts behind, the Nixon Rival Watch may be the move.