A couple of weeks ago COROS surprised everyone by releasing a brand new watch model; focused on outdoor adventurers like hikers, anglers, mountain bikers and just general outdoor enthusiasts.  Well I have been testing the COROS NOMAD for a couple of weeks now, and in this full review we will dive into all the new features and accuracy to see how the NOMAD performs and hopefully help you decide if the NOMAD is the watch for you.  

Like I said in the intro this is a brand new model for COROS, and it fits in between the PACE and APEX series watches, but still offers all of the outdoor activity modes you would expect to find on the APEX series watches too.  

The NOMAD has a new button layout, with the digital dial at the top right, then at the bottom right is the back/lap button, and the new 3rd button on the lower left is called the action button, and we’ll get into what that is for shortly.  

The NOMAD has a dual layer bezel, with the top layer being a hardened polymer or plastic material, but under that there is an aluminum layer.  The rear case material is the same hardened plastic. I have been using the NOMAD daily in the gym lifting weights, hiking and running, as well as playing pickleball, and the watch still looks great! Even with the main materials being plastic, I think it is pretty durable. 

The NOMAD is also water resistant down to 5 ATM, which is great for this watch since it has lots of features for anglers, and its operating temperature is pretty standard for coros at -4º up to 120º fahrenheit (- 2 0 ℃ ~ 5 0 ° C).

The NOMAD is 47.8 x 47.8 x 16.4mm in size, and with the silicone band it weighs 61g according to COROS, but mine weighed in at 60g.  For reference, the PACE Pro weighs 49g, and the APEX 2 Pro weighs 53 grams with the nylon band.  As for the overall look of the NOMAD, it definitely has a more rugged or military look to it, and I quite like it!  The NOMAD will be available in three colors, the green like I have here, as well as a brown and dark grey.   For sizing comparison, here you can see the Pace 3, Pace Pro, Nomad, Apex 2, Apex 2 pro, Vertix 2 and Vertix 2s.

The watch band is a 24mm quick release silicone band, but it is very flexible and comfortable to wear.  The clasp has changed and is new for COROS, with a push-pin type clasp very similar to what SUUNTO uses.  I really like it and find it easier to use, and seems to be very secure so far.  For reference, here is what the NOMAD looks like on my 16cm circumference wrist.  Right now you can only get the NOMAD with a silicone band, but in the near future there will be a nylon band available too. 

The screen is 1.3 inches in size with 260 x 260 resolution. The screen is made of hardened mineral glass, which is the same as the PACE Pro, but this is COROS’ 3rd generation memory in pixel touch screen display, and it is very nice!  This 3rd gen MIP display is sharper, higher contrast, and easier to see in all situations than their prior MIP displays.  The reason COROS went with MIP is that it is easy to see in off-angle viewing, and for battery life savings.  I gotta say I really like this new MIP display.  IT really is very easy to see in very bright sunlight!  Here you can see this new 3rd gen MIP as compared to the Pace 3 and the VERTIX 2S. The text is much sharper and the blacks are more black, and overall the whole display is more crisp.  

Inside the NOMAD is the AMBIQ APOLLO 510 processor, which is their fastest processor.  The user experience is very fast and smooth!  There is no lag when using touchscreen or scrolling between screens, and where this processor really shines is navigating with the maps!  

The maps received a huge update that has been requested for years, and that is the maps now have street names and points of interest!  Now when you are out and about you can zoom in and see the street or trail names, and points of interest like parking or trail heads. Trails are dashed lines on the map and very easy to see.  You can zoom in, scroll around, and figure out where you need to go very easily!  The 3rd gen MIP display really makes the maps very easy to see with the high contrast display.  There is of course back to start navigation, you can create and follow GPX files with turn by turn navigation as well.  

One of the uses for the new Action Button is when you are in an activity like a trail run or hike, you can push the action button to change to the map. Previously with COROS watches you had to either long press the back button and go to the tool bar to select the maps, or if you had one of the buttons long press set for maps you would use that.  Now you can just tap the action button, or another way is to swipe either left or right on the touchscreen as well.  When on the trail I really like having the action button to get to the maps as sometimes with sweaty fingers touchscreens might not be as quick.  

To download maps for your region on the NOMAD, just use the COROS APP. Click the Profile tab, then click on the NOMAD, then scroll down to the Map Manager, and select the region you want to download and click Download.  The region will then download on the watch and you are good to go.  So if you have a trip planned somewhere, you can download the free offline global maps for that region and get to exploring!

Another new feature on the NOMAD is the dual mic with noise reduction, which you can use to create pins (which used to be waypoints) on the map during an activity.  You can even customize the action button to be a shortcut to add a pin during an activity.  This can be used to add things like water on the trail so you know where you can filter, or a shelter or hazard on the trail.  You can add voice pins and take a memo while on the trail straight on the NOMAD.  What's really neat is that these voice pins show up on the activity map in the app and are automatically transcribed.  You can see it does a pretty good job with the transcription, but it isn’t perfect.  If you click the star to favorite the pin on the activity, that pin will then show up in the app on the maps on the explore tab.  So if you are planning a route in the future, you can know there is a neat overlook, or a water location. 

As for the audio quality of the dual mic with the voice pins, I think it is actually quite good.  Given all the background noise, I could still hear myself very clearly.  Overall, it's quite good.  

Now that is all you can do with the new dual mic currently.  Hopefully at some point COROS will add the ability to maybe answer a phone call or send a text message when paired with your phone as that would be pretty awesome! 

One of the big focuses of the NOMAD is for anglers.  Now I am not a fisherman by any means. I mean it's probably been 25 years or more since I last went fishing, but the features for fishing do seem pretty great.  There are so many different fishing modes available, whether you are fishing from shore or a boat, or maybe a kayak.  You can do things like log your catch, size and type of fish caught, log the best fishing times, and even view real time environmental data like moon phase and tide data. 

You can track how many times you cast your rod, use the pins to save cover or structures or hazards in the water, then you can share the activity in one neat package after the trip.  

That’s one thing really neat about the NOMAD and the updated COROS app is the Adventure Journal.  The Adventure Journal has three phases, before, during and after.  Before the trip you can download the maps you need, plan your route and even save weather for 5 different locations for up to 96 hours before your trip.  During the adventure you navigate with street names directly on the NOMAD, or use the extender on your COROS APP, and save voice pins or data on the NOMAD.  Then after the activity you can view it in the COROS APP, upload photos from the activity and the app automatically puts them in the activity where you took them and creates a really neat fly-over type 3D video that you can download and share with friends.  Here is one I made in the app from a recent activity I did.  It's really pretty cool and is great for sharing on social media. 

As for GPS tracking, the NOMAD uses all-systems on or dual-frequency GPS.  There is no longer the Standard GPS Only mode. The reason for this is COROS found they could still get really great battery life in all-systems on mode, and most users did not use the Standard GPS Only mode. 

As far as GPS accuracy is concerned the NOMAD is quite good.  During this hike the NOMAD was in All-systems on, and my Apple Watch Ultra 2 was in its highest dual frequency setting. You can see both GPS tracks look really great and accurate.  

The optical heart rate sensor appears to be slightly different than on previous models, as the LED’s on the sensor appear to be larger in size.  I checked with COROS and they tell me its the same sensor as on the PACE Pro and PACE 3, but it looks very different in my opinion, so maybe just the housing is different. IDK.  The NOMAD does have a new blood oxygen sensor, which COROS says is more accurate due to some internal changes, and the NOMAD also has an ECG sensor.  More on that in just a moment.  As for the HR accuracy, it appears to be very accurate in my testing against my AWU2, and certainly quite accurate for a wrist based sensor.  

With the ECG sensor, the NOMAD can now get very accurate HRV readings, and the NOMAD does that in two different ways.  The first is during sleep when wearing the NOMAD, it uses the optical heart rate sensor by measuring blood flow through the wrist, and then uses an algorithm to measure the variability.  The other and more accurate way is by doing a Wellness Check in the morning. This utilized the ECG as you have to take your other hand and touch the digital dial and create a closed circuit.  The ECG then measures the electrical pulses from your heart, and should give a more accurate HRV reading. 

The battery life of the NOMAD is really pretty great!  In daily use COROS claims you can get up to 22 days of use from the watch, and that includes daily stress and HR measurements.  In all-systems on GPS you can get up to 50 hours of use in a single activity, which is pretty amazing actually, and then in dual-frequency GPS you can get up to 34 hours, which is still enough for most 100 mile race cutoffs.  So while this is marketed as an adventure watch, it certainly has the battery life needed for ultra marathons too.  Charging time is only about 1.5 hours with the USB-C A2 adapter, which does come with the NOMAD, but you will need your own charging block. 

If you like to listen to music while out and about adventuring, you can download and store music directly on the NOMAD, as it has 32gb of storage. Just pair your bluetooth headphones and you are ready to jam out.  

Well the COROS NOMAD retails for $349 USD’s, and you can see the price in other markets as well.  I think this really is an excellent price for what you get with the NOMAD.  So many amazing features, the new maps with street names and points of interest, plus the dual mic and voice pins, I think this really is a fantastic value at that price.  

I think the COROS NOMAD is a great addition to the COROS lineup and is a great option for any outdoor enthusiast, and even trail and ultra runners. 

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