Think of the SpeedCoach as your on board coach. It’s a real time performance monitor that will give you your speed, distance, distance per stroke (glide), stroke rate, heart rate* and SUP specific calorie burn. You'll be able to see instant feedback with every stroke you take. You can save energy by determining the effectiveness of each one of your strokes. It can even help you determine which paddle and board are right for you.
*In the Training Pack model you can program your workouts, measure heart rate using a Bluetooth Smart heart rate strap, and download your performance data for analysis and sharing.
What is special about it compared to other GPS units?
The SpeedCoach accelerometer and GPS technology have been designed and tested specifically for the Sports Performance markets. The accelerometer has been extensively tested and adjusted over the years to give the most accurate stroke rate possible. Settings can be modified to assist in detecting a novice stroke versus an Olympic caliber athlete’s stroke. Stroke rate is probably a new tool for a lot of paddlers. Think of your stroke rate as your cadence, and your dist/stroke measurement as your glide.
The fact that you can mount this unit to your board lets you get your data without slowing down to look at your watch. The SpeedCoach also uses a 5Hz GPS, which means it talks to satellites 5x/second, giving you a more accurate and responsive speed and distance reading. Most GPS watches only check in with satellites 1x/second, which explains that slight lag and measurement variability you often see.
The SUP2 units use NK’s proprietary calorie burn equation. It’s the only product on the market with a SUP-specific measurement. Most products use an equation that was created with running or cycling in mind, and not something that uses the precise motions of stand up paddleboarding.
You can either purchase a Bluetooth dongle (PN 0126) from our site and use that to update with Windows or MAC and our LiNK program.
Or, you can just connect your SpeedCoach to our NK LiNK for iOS or NK LiNK for Android and you should be prompted about a firmware update.
Finally, if you want, you can send it in to us and we can update the firmware for free.
We use Strokeside and Bowside instead of Port or Starboard, can you clarify how these relate to one another?
Will the heart rate belt that I purchase with my GPS 1 work with my GPS 2?
Yes. If you purchased a heart rate belt with your SpeedCoach GPS 1, it will work with your SpeedCoach GPS 2. Please note that the GPS 2 belt will NOT work with the GPS 1 unit however.