Coros Nomad review: No, it’s not a Garmin, but it might even be better

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One-minute review

No, it’s not a Garmin. The Coros Nomad may look ever so slightly like the Instinct 3, but in many ways it’s more exciting, since it boils that excellent smartwatch down to a less feature-packed but still compelling alternative that’s considerably cheaper.

It’s strictly in fitness tracker territory, with features like NFC payments not making the cut, but it does have the advantage of offering locally stored maps. Add to that more than three weeks of battery life on a single charge, a handy action button, and a really nice, lightweight design, and there’s an awful lot to like about this upstart.

Coros Nomad: Price and availability

Starts at $349 / £319 / around AU$640
Considerably cheaper than rivals
Available in three color options

The big pull for the Coros Nomad is how favorable it compares to the Garmin Instinct 3 price-wise. It starts at $349 / £319 / around AU$640, compared to the Garmin model’s $449 / £389 / AU$829, and it comes in Dark Grey, Green, and Brown finishes – I tested the green version.

Garmin Venu 4: Specifications

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Component	Coros Nomad
Price	$349 / £319
Dimensions	47.8 x 47.8 x 16.4mm
Weight	49g with band
Case/bezel	Polymer Case
Display	1.3 inch Memory-in-Pixel display (260×260 resolution)
GPS	Dual frequency GPS
Battery life	22 days of standard use, 34 hours in GPS mode
Connection	Bluetooth
Water resistant	50M

Coros Nomad: Design

Durable, but fairly lightweight
Action button

Given that this is billed as a rugged smartwatch, there’s a good chance the first thing you notice when picking up the Coros Nomad is that it’s not all that heavy at all.

The Polymer case feels strong (although you won’t catch me hurling my review unit at a concrete floor), but it’s also nice and light. That’s particularly helpful given that this is a device you can wear for up to three weeks without taking it off for a charge, and the strap is comfortable, too (albeit I’m not a big fan of the pin-based method of attaching them).

arm into something, although Coros says it’s a mineral glass display that should be tough to crack anyway.

Controls-wise, there are two buttons for interacting with the UI, as well as an action button that can be programmed to perform different functions such as the backlight, adding a voice pin along a route, or switch between activity data and map view. Charging is handled via a small proprietary port on the back.

Coros Nomad: Features

Offline maps
No smartwatch features

Where Garmin’s Instinct 3 doesn’t offer map functionality, the Coros Nomad does, making it an attractive choice for trail runners who may not know a route very well. This works with Coros’ companion app, allowing you to store routes and save them to quickly check conditions before you head out the door.

There’s dual-band GPS for tracking, too, and it proved exceptionally accurate in my testing, whether I was out for a wander in the countryside or standing amidst London’s largest buildings.

It’s really built for the great outdoors, as the name suggests. As well as all the usual maps and GPX routing functionality, you can drop voice pins using the onboard mic during walks and runs, which will replay thoughts that occur to you at specific points during routes, such as descriptions of landmarks. You can add photos in the app too, creating an adventure journal.

Fishing modes, which don’t normally get a lot of love, get a digital anchor, putting a pin in a spot so you can see if you’re drifting during the activity. Niche, but eminently useful to the right person. Health-wise, you get an ECG sensor, SpO2 monitor, and Safety Alerts allowing you to send your location to emergency contacts. However, this is more like Garmin’s LiveTrack than SOS messaging, as it’s done on your phone rather than satellite, and thus requires phone signal. Still, a nice-to-have.

The only real downside is that some smartwatch features are lacking. To be clear, Coros is marketing the Nomad as a fitness watch, but I’d have liked NFC payments and maybe some music options here for the days when I want to leave my phone at home.

Coros Nomad: Performance

MiP display
Up to 22 days of battery
Heart rate accuracy is up there with the best

The Coros Nomad’s performance is pretty fantastic across the board. A single charge can last you a whopping 22 days, while you’ll get around 50 hours if you’re using GPS mode for more intensive location tracking, or 34 hours for dual band. I found this was accurate during testing.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go fishing with the watch during my testing period, but I did use its headline feature: maps.

This is something many similarly-priced rivals don’t offer, and it’s great to have offline maps downloaded if you’re unsure of where you are and you’ve left your phone at home. It’s nice and easy to get them downloaded via the companion app, and the maps themselves are easy to read with color-coding for route types.

You can zoom in and out with the crown, too, making it easier to get context for your current route.

Another nifty feature, I’ve not seen anything like Voice Pin on a watch before. The idea is relatively simple, letting you leave an audio note on a run or hike tailored to a location. In theory, this could mean you could create curated audio cues for a route you’re sharing with a friend, or provide additional notes on how to get home.

Apple Watch Ultra series. Despite the Coros Nomad costing less than half the price, it pretty much matched Apple’s most rugged watch beat-for-beat. We’ve independently tested the Ultra against a Polar H10 heart rate monitor, finding it very accurate, so to have Coros match this is very encouraging.

Coros Nomad: Scorecard

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Attribute	Comments	Score
Value	Undercuts a Garmin while offering additional features.	5
Design	Easy to use, comfortable, and rugged.	5
Features	Plenty of health monitor features, but lacking in terms of NFC payments.	4.5
Performance	Offline maps and voice pins are great.	5

Also consider

Garmin Instinct 3 vs Coros Nomad — (Image credit: Future)

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Component	Coros Nomad	Garmin Instinct 3 (45mm) AMOLED	Apple Watch Ultra 3
Price	$349 / £319	$449 / £389 / AU$829	$799 / £749 / AU$1,399
Dimensions	47.8 x 47.8 x 16.4mm	45 x 45 x 14.9mm	49 x 44 x 12 (mm)
Weight	49g with band	53g	62g
Case/bezel	Polymer Case	Fiber-reinforced polymer / aluminum	Titanium
Display	1.3 inch Memory-in-Pixel display (260×260 resolution)	AMOLED, 390 x 390px	Liquid retina LTPO3 OLED
GPS	Dual frequency GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, SatIQ	L3 dual-band GPS
Battery life	22 days of standard use, 34 hours in GPS mode	Up to 18 days (smartwatch), up to 32 hours (GPS)	42 hours smartwatch mode
Connection	Bluetooth	Bluetooth, ANT+	Bluetooth, LTE
Water resistant	50M	10ATM	WR100

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