Image: Coros ZDNET key takeaways
- 22 days of battery life with optimized outdoor tracking
- Adventure Journal syncs maps, routes, photos, and voice pins
- Lightweight 47-millimeter design starts at $349
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You can usually find a watch on each of my wrists, and most of the time they track my running, biking, and indoor rowing. However, I also use sports watches to capture movement when fly fishing, hiking, kayaking, and more, so when Coros revealed the new Nomad series I felt like the company made a watch just for me.
The new Coros Nomad is designed for people who enjoy spending time outdoors with activities such as hiking, fishing, mountain biking, and exploring nature while also being able to document those activities. For years, I have used Garmin sports watches with the fish function to track where and when I land trout in rivers so that I can return to the hot spots in the future. The Coros Nomad takes things to the next level with optimization for these types of activities, and I’ll soon be taking it out with my rod, reel, backpack, and eMTB.
Also: The best Garmin watches of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed
The Nomad joins the Vertix, Apex, and Pace series as Coros rounds out its lineup for a range of activities and focus areas. The Nomad has a new hardware element with a bottom left action button to turn on the backlight, switch between map and data screens, and serve as a shortcut for your most common activity. Unlike most modern watches, the Nomad remains focused on battery life with the use of a third-generation memory-in-pixel display that is visible outside and stays on all of the time.
Image: Coros
Coros advertises 22 days of battery life with daily use, 50 hours of tracking with all systems on, and 34 hours of tracking with dual-frequency mode enabled and all GNSS on. A typical weekend with two days of daily use, 2.5 hours of hiking, and five hours of fly fishing should result in only 20% battery consumption, so stay tuned for our real-life testing.
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Dual microphones are another new hardware feature designed to support recording voice pins and other key data to document your adventures. The 47mm diameter size is perfect for those who want a large display but who also don’t want a large, chunky watch. With a nylon band, the watch weighs in at just 49 grams, so you can focus on your activities without weighing down your wrist.
Adventure Journal
One distinguishing feature I cannot wait to test is the Adventure Journal. It works with your watch and phone. Before your outing, download maps and routes, create and edit routes, check the weather, navigate with your watch and extend that navigation to your phone, save key locations along the way, record pins with your voice, and capture photos that will then be saved with your route.
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After you safely return from your activity, you can view the summary, view the trek in 3D, and easily share your memories with family and friends.
Image: Coros
Coros didn’t just add some of these outdoor adventure features with names and basic tracking metrics, but it has optimized the Nomad for these activities. For example, fishing features include a catch log, fishing time predictor, weather status, and more. The number of your casts are captured, you can pin logs and structures in the water, and create a fish log unlike anything I have seen before.
Availability and price
The Nomad is available in Dark Grey, Green, and Brown, with a very reasonable price of $349. Unlike some other Coros watches, it doesn’t use sapphire glass on the display and incorporates lighter polymer materials, but the price is right. You can also still use it for running, biking, swimming, and much more. Add a LED flashlight on the Nomad 2, and the watch will be perfect for daily use.