Apple iWatch 3 with Cell for kiteboarding/foiling?

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1840 Posts XTreme Poster

Any user feedback?

It would sit under my wetsuit sleeve. Interested in:

1. gps maps/apps for distance speed etc--fun toy I think

2. The ability to make an SOS in the unlikely event I need to without having a separate device.

3. I actually like to know what time it is....

Concerns:

1. Water intrusion
2. Battery life
3. Novelty wears off and I have an expensive watch with monthly connectivity fee to boot vs my $150 Citizen Diver's watch which is a total champ.

Thanks,
Eric

user124 · Since 02 Aug 2012 391 Posts Portland Obsessed

I use the apple watch 3 for kiting and lap swimming. I swim with it weekly and have kited many times with it, including in the ocean. So far so good. I know others that kite with it as well and I haven't heard of any problems or failures. I cover it with my wetsuit sleeve though when kiting. It's water proof for swimming and submersion but not rated for impacts, diving etc.

It's pretty cool to have on the water if people need to contact me for emergencies etc. Sometimes it's annoying though to get mundane texts and other notifications when I"m trying to get in some relaxing kite time. You could turn those off if you want though.

I've used the Woo sessions app and it works pretty well. It records jump height etc which is fun but I'm not sure how accurate that is. the GPS/mapping ability works well too and I find the apple watch to be a great tool for fitness training and exercise as well.

I also sometimes wear waterproof bluetooth headphones while I kite. I just got some inexpesnive $25 ones off amazon. You can put music on the watch for kiting tunes. You can even stream music from apple music if you have that service. The headphones also have a microphone if you had to make an emergency call. I haven't tried this though and I imagine wind noise might impair the sound quality. Also, bluetooth signals don't penetrate water at all. If you splash down a lot and your arm or head go underwater your music will cut out.

Battery life hasn't been an issue for me but I put it on the charger nightly.

It probably goes without saying but it's probably worth getting apple care and a heftier watch band if you are going to take your apple watch kiting.

Slappysan · Since 13 Jun 2012 309 Posts Obsessed

I would want a NATO strap for kiting. I lost my solar G-Shock when foiling with the stock strap. Now I only use NATO style straps that don't fall off if you lose a single pin.

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4909 Posts Portland Unstrapped

i can help you with this:

you are in a river bounded by two highways and two dams

if your watch reads "you made it to Stevenson" get out and have a beer

if your watch reads "you made it to the dalles" dont drink the water this week

day trading bitcoin?

MasPedos · Since 05 May 2017 94 Posts Kihei Hey Hey

So, if it spills poop in the D it ends up in The HR.

tgautier · Since 22 Oct 2016 49 Posts

I recently bought an Apple Watch 3 for tracking cycling sessions and kiting sessions.

Battery life is excellent - the watch can go almost 2 days on light use. Tracking sessions uses more juice but I’ve never ended a day on a dead watch. While a bit of a pain in the butt daily charging resolves any battery life issues.

I currently wear the watch under my wetsuit and I bought the Nike version which has the sport band with holes in it. At first I didn’t trust this band as it doesn’t securely fasten it relies on friction. But I used it anyway as I figured it was safe under my wetsuit. However I was right not to trust it. A few days ago I slammed hard into the water and my wetsuit cuff pulled up and the watch band partially unhooked. All that held was the little nub. That was close! I have a Velcro based sport loop on order. You say you’ll use it under your wetsuit but what about summer water? I recommend a more secure band.

For GPS tracking it’s fantastic. I use Strava. Strava is decent. It tracks all kinds of activities including kite surf sessions so it’s a good all around app.

I also have the Woo 3.0 and that does connect to the watch and give you real-time jump height. But Strava and Woo don’t both work at the same time so you have to pick one. Since the Woo Watch part is just notifications I go with Strava on the watch.

I didn’t get the cellular because the cost was just excessive. I already have an ATT family plan but adding the watch is $20 more. Even if I could afford it I didn’t want to simply on principle. It’s highway robbery for the latest and greatest.

I considered long and hard between a Garmin and the Apple Watch. Given that I already have an iPhone the watch made sense. The Woo app pushed me over the edge and I’m glad I got the Apple over Garmin, even if I don’t use it for the Woo anymore.

tgautier · Since 22 Oct 2016 49 Posts

You may be interested in what a session on Strava looks like: here’s a recent one of mine https://www.strava.com/activities/1602656793

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1840 Posts XTreme Poster

Great info! Many thanks.

Eric

Bargeslayer · Since 08 Jul 2012 100 Posts Stoked

I picked up a Verizon Wear 24 for the purposes of having an emergency phone available should the need arise. Ended up using it for Strava, music etc. The watch itself isn't all that nice and the battery life is about 8 hours but I only paid 75$ for it. Deals in the 50-100 dollar range seem to pop up pretty frequently for this watch. Is it the best? Absolutely not but I figure if I break it or if water gets into it, it's no more of a loss than a regular watch. I've used it in the gorge a bunch and the coast too without any water related issues for the past year.

Hazard to Navigation · Since 12 Sep 2016 62 Posts Hood River

I'm using a Garmin Fenix 5x, which I bought due to its 100m rating and ability to display texts and emails received by my Android phone (which is in a GOBAG drybag). The GPS and battery life (4-7 days) are probably better than the Apple and Wear OS options, but I would actually have to pull my phone out to place a call or send a text (which can be done without pulling it out of the bag). The iKitesurf Wind Info app displays 10-minute updates and I can scroll through my favorites while I'm on the water. One thing that I don't think it can do, but would be nice, is to display the wind speed and record an activity at the same time.

bigjohn · Since 13 Mar 2012 663 Posts Addicted

I have been carrying phones and using bluetooth headsets for years on the water. In the past I always used a burner phone in case water got in (which has happend many times). This year I switched to using my main phone (android s8 ). I also picked up a new bluetooth headset which I really like.

First off I have 3 layers of waterproof protection on my phone:
1) S8 is supposedly waterproof
2) I place my phone in a waterproof hardshell I got off ebay.
3) I place my hardshell covered phone in waterproof soft phone case (ebay again)

I have probably used this config for about 10 sessions this year and all appears to be working well.

I am worried that I might break the strap in my waterproof bag that holds the phone around my neck so I place the phone inside my wet/drysuit such that if the strap does break at least I don't lose it. This should also help for impact resistance.

Items of note:
-I can play music my entire session (new headphones work great and last many hours). I use vlc as my player.
-I can toggle music on and off by a quick single tap of my headset button.
-My bluetooth disconnects as soon as I go in the water but auto reconnects as soon as I'm up on my board.
-My bluetooth occasionally skips in my music, however works better than previous bluetooth headsets I have purchased in the past.
-I can answer (or place) calls in winds gusting into low 30's (after that I need to go to shore because it is too windy to talk).
-I can access/download gps tracks of my kite sessions through google maps timeline (gps tracking history) for free.
-I can get the current time by asking google assistant. I hold down the button on my headset for 3 seconds, and then ask google "what time is it".
-I can also play a current text message by asking google assistant to "play text messages".

Headphones: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XDMVY5Y

ay · Since 11 Oct 2008 111 Posts HR - ME Stoked

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1840 Posts XTreme Poster

Those of you iwatch 3'ing, aluminum or stainless steel?

voy-tech · Mon Jun 04, 18 10:18 am

Also on the Apple Watch: which band do you find more secure "Sport Band" or "Sport Loop"? I've been thinking about getting the cheapest option myself to have the emergency call option available.

windjunkieFL · Since 17 Feb 2016 29 Posts

Update: Apple Watch 3 app Sessions support team got back to me and said that the location services were disabled on my last kite session. I will have to test again to get a better idea of how it works.

I can make a phone call and use siri while kiteboarding. I did test this and it worked fine.

--
I have the Apple Watch 3 with LTE coverage. So far I have only used the Woo Sessions app while kiteboarding, it's free.

The Woo Sessions app only worked once, on my very first session. Since then, the only thing the app tells me is my jump height, which I think is questionable.

ay · Since 11 Oct 2008 111 Posts HR - ME Stoked

user124 · Since 02 Aug 2012 391 Posts Portland Obsessed