Garmin’s latest sailing smartwatch includes improvements to strengthen integration with onboard electronics. Reasons to Avoid: Battery life not as good as the Quatix 6 | bright facia can be distracting | touchscreen is pointless without the additional kit it interfaces with Reasons to Buy: Large easy to read face | incredible versatility for an array of lifestyle activity | healthy wellbeing and boat interactivity | customisable to suit individual needs This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. But whatever you do, do not drop this sailing watch overboard, as it does not float! Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. The watch has a soft synthetic wristband, available in various colours.Ī single charge will last 14 days with normal use, or there is also a solar-powered version for continuous self-charging (available at twice the price). It is waterproof to 100 metres, sunlight readable and has a night light mode. The Quatix 6’s weight is 83g (3oz) with the plastic strap or 156g (5.5oz) with the stainless band, which is quite a bit heavier than a conventional watch. It’s overall diameter is 51mm (2” in) with a 36mm (1 5/8” in) viewable face, and it is 17mm (11/16”) thick. It’s simple to switch between ‘boat display’ and ‘stylish watch’ modes, as hundreds of different watch faces that can be downloaded to customise it to the wearer’s preference, including an antique style face and even a copy of Big Ben. The Quatix 6 can also be switched between analogue and digital. The Quatix 6 also offers more typical smartwatch functions including the ability to receive email and texts, can be used to control music on board, and monitors the user’s heart-rate. This allows all the features of a chartplotter to be displayed on the watch, including charts and even autopilot control to allow you to change heading or follow a GPS route – provided it is also connected through the chartplotter. Bluetooth functionality means you can connect it to a Garmin chartplotter using the free Garmin Connect app, and to other makes of plotter using the Garmin transceiver (a $150 extra). Garmin is well known for superior boating instruments and they have now managed to squeeze all the data of a ten-inch chartplotter into a 1.3” inch round sailing watch. It is a beautifully crafted and extraordinary wrist computer. This watch we tried out at length – it is a very comprehensive design, with functions for every type of pastime on the water, including diving. Reasons to avoid: High level of functionality is not for the technologically phobic Reasons to buy: Suits a multitude of water activity | Highly customisable | An incredible amount of data available on your wrist | A single charge lasts 14 days Garmin Quatix 6 Multisport Marine Smartwatch That doesn’t mean, however, that they float, so be sure to do the clasp up securely and be wary of pulling off jacket sleeves in a hurry and losing your prized timepiece overboard! Best sailing watch at a glanceīest sailing smart watch – Garmin Quatix 6īest feature-packed sailing watch – Garmin MARQ Captainīest value sailing watch – Casio Lithium Quartzīest racing sailing watch – Ronstan Clear Start Race Timer Best sailing watch for multifunction use In making our selection of the best sailing watches, we’ve chosen those with features specifically suitable for wearing aboard. Price is not always an indicator of functionality either even some of the least expensive sailing watches, like the Casio we showcase below, can be packed with features.Īt the other end of the scale, luxury horology brands – including Rolex, Panerai, and Omega among others – have long been closely associated with sailing, seeing it as the perfect sport to demonstrate their style, waterproof and ruggedised qualities, and accuracy. For racing an extremely simple and speedy to operate model may suit better. However, the cleverest watch is not always the best watch for sailing. While we’re now familiar with using our watches to give us directions, make calls and send messages, and act as a repeater screen on our wrists ashore, so the latest sailing watches also make navigation, data and comms technology wearable afloat. Just as tablets and even smartphones have revolutionised how sailors use multifunction displays and instruments, so the latest smart watch technology has now firmly filtered into sailing. And yet still there’s utter simplicity of a waterproof self winding timepiece. The best sailing watches can offer a multitude of functions, from MOB alerts to tidal calculations and large faced race count down timers.
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