THE NIXON BASE TIDE PRO
The Base Tide Pro watch is Nixon’s top-level tide watch, and it packs a tonne of features to make it easy for you to stay on top of tides, the suns movement and not be late for that early.
Nixon says of the watch that:
“The Nixon Base Tide Pro delivers a double-overhead dose of durability and functionality. Featuring 550 pre-programmed tides and sunrise/sunset locations inside a tough-as-nails case, the Base Tide Pro is one of the toughest in the lineup.”
Multi-Function Digital
Custom digital module with pre-programmed tide information for 550 beaches around the world.
Surf Ready
42mm, 100 meter/10ATM custom TR90 case with hardened mineral crystal, 10 ATM water-resistant pushers, stainless caseback.
Locking Looper
24mm custom injection moulded silicone band with patented double-locking looper and solid stainless steel buckle.
WHAT IT'S GOOD FOR
Telling you the time, telling you when high/low is, telling you when the sun's coming up or doing down. It's also good at letting you set multiple alarms (if you don't use your phone for that already) and it's good at being beaten up.
This Nixon Base Tide Pro is wildly robust, which isn’t to say much given I'm an office nerd with dainty hands and sausage fingers. But I leant to a mate who’s terrible at keeping anything in shape, is always outdoors around the ocean and can give it a hiding. He came back with it still in shape, working and a good review on it.
THE IMPORTANT STUFF
FIT & COMFORT
Given that this is a watch you’re surfing in (or generally being ‘active’ in), it’s got a rugged type of fit happening. By that I mean, you do notice that the watch is there and there’s some adjusting through the day/surf, but it’s not over the top uncomfortable. The silicone band feels good against your skin, there are enough holes in the loop to get itself around the fattest wrists whilst not choking off blood to your hand, and it’s a sturdy fit on your wrist that doesn’t move around during surfing/activity
There was one issue where both myself and the other guy who tested it experienced some irritation around the area where the band connects to the watch. It wasn’t too bad on my end, but old mate copped something like an ingrown from the rubbing/irritation – having said that, he was wearing it 24/7 and probably needed to have a shower 😂
7 out of 10 here.
EASE OF USE
Straight forward and gets the job done. It shows both time and tide on the face, but you can tweak that via the front button to toggle the date instead if you’d like. The face is a decent size with good contrast to make it easy to see the info quickly.
Bottom left button runs you through all the functions – time, tide, sun, alarm, etc. The lower right button lets you cycle through options for each function and the timer has a neat wave animation happening on it. Not basic like your dad’s Casio digital, but not crazy like an Apply Watch, the Nixon Base Tide Pro strikes a balance between ease of use and delivering the required information.
9 out of 10.
PERFORMANCE
550 beaches of tide information for the next 15 years. That’s pretty big, but odds on you won’t still using this watch in 10, 5, years, so it’s not wildly relevant just a great marketing call.
Are the tides correct? Yes, very much so. Is your beach going to be on there? Maybe not your direct local, but it’ll be locked to the closest river mouth to your local and that’s just as good.
The sunrise/set thing is neat and will help with planning earlies, but overall if you’re going for an early I’m pretty sure you know what time first light is hitting.
Overall, the watch does everything it promises quite well and will meet your expectations. 9 out of 10 here.
WHERE TO BUY
Pretty much anywhere and everywhere. Nixon has solid distribution globally and you’d be hard pressed to not be able to get your hands on one of these either via a retailer, if so, just go online direct from Nixon. It’ll run you about $200 in Australia, or $125 in the US.
The original comes in a 42mm, but there’s a 38mm available for those with really dainty wrists. And Nixon offers a limited warranty of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two (2) years after original purchase from nixon.com or an authorised Nixon dealer.
Buy the Nixon Base Tide Pro in Australia
Buy the Nixon Base Tide Pro in the USA
Check Nixon’s Stockist list
VERDICT
If you're looking for a solid tide watch with a little bit more pizzazz then other options, but don't want to move into the world of tech and GPS and heart rates, then the Nixon Base Tide Pro is a great buy.
Overall Rating
- 550 beaches of tide info
- Ease of use
- Feels rugged and durable
- Not super comfortable
Submit your review | |
If you enjoyed this review you can visit our Product Reviews page for more, including a recent run of Surfboards. More watch reviews coming soon, including the Rip Curl Search GPS 2.0.
Again, if you’re interested in buying the Nixon Base Tide Pro hit the links below:
Buy from Nixon’s Online Store
Check Nixon’s Stockist list
Alternatively, if you need some inspiration to go travel and see the situations/scenarios of where the watch might be useful, hit the below clip of Chippa and Nate Fletcher wandering around getting some waves and testing the watch out – was content from Nixon when they launched the watch.
