Certainly very helpful for travelers getting oriented on unknown breaks… The data for me helps to dial in local breaks… Sometimes the long range forecasts can be inaccurate so i wouldn’t plan a trip around that info but when you surf one area regularly the near term forecasts are very accurate most of the time… Buoy data is also very helpful once you get figure out what minimum swells, periods, and directions will do for your break… If you have that understanding down… then you will know before the sun comes up exactly what the ocean is doing and can head out predawn with confidence in conditions and the right equipment… I love the rewind option on spots with cams… With dawn patrol app on the apple watch you get videos of all of your rides edited and waiting for you in your sessions section of the app… That feature alone is worth the price of a years subscription in one day as a photographer would cost as much or more for a session and you would have to wait days for the results… The last thing i love about the cams is that you can put on cams from across the globe and enjoy the views on the best waves happening on the planet… The content is also fun to read… it goes on and on… if you surf then the app is a great enhancer to the experience… Amazing app TY!!!
The new checks feature may not be everyone’s favorite, but it’s still free. If you’ve used the free version for years, it’s maybe a bummer in some ways now, but it wasn’t like Surfline stole money from you. A lot of people are quick to say nasty things, but Surfline has given everyone I know who surfs valuable information. They’re not always accurate, but neither is any other forecasting service. I love being able to see the tides, winds,& direction of swell so many days out. I’ve saved a lot of time and energy by being able to glance at cams. I’ve known what days were worth waking up early. Recommend doing some of your own research and buoy data gathering as well so that Surfline can help make decisions for you, and not be your sole source of information. It seems like a lot of discontent arises from people who expect Surfline to be a perfect crystal ball. That’s just not realistic. No one or model can do that yet. Isn’t Netflix about 100$ a year too? Isn’t surfing better than Netflix ?
Once the app updated to this new “surf check” model for free accounts, the app lost is worth for all the free users in Surfline. Before you had unlimited surf checks and could check any surf break you wanted multiple times a day. You could only see a 3 day forecast and couldn’t see premium cams but that was okay. Now you are only given 5 checks per week! But are given a 15 day forecast instead of 3, even though the forecast changes every day. You really need to check for the forecast on the given day you want to see the real forecast. This ruined my experience of the app. I can’t even check the see everyday of the week. I could only check one spot 5 days a week. Completely useless. All surfers know that you have to go “scout” the spots and find the best spot. This app used to be useful for that but now is irrelevant. This update was a huge marketing ploy to get free users to switch to premium by reducing the usefulness of the app to free users trying to coral them into buying the premium version so they could get back the functionality they had before as a free user. Money move by Surfline and not for the people. Give back the functionality for free users to check unlimited spots and remove the whole surf check feature. The app is useless with that feature. I will be using other surf forecasting apps so I can actually check the surf and no be limited to a weekly limit on my “surf checks”
Great Platform - Opportunities for Continuous Improvement
Surfline is the most comprehensive platform yet for surfaholics. The team seems like they are genuinely interested in putting out the best product possible. There are occasionally issues with cameras being down, and I think that especially for my local breaks in Central FL the camera angles could be better. I’m not a fan of cameras that pan because it seems like every time I have a good ride the camera is pointed away from me, but the app is easy to use and generally captures all my rides and even attempts on GPS. Sometimes it pulls random video where I didn’t even attempt to paddle for a wave, but I would rather go through the extra footage than miss a ride. One thing I would really like to see is an improved iPadOS interface. It seems like it is just a scaled version of the mobile interface and the way it is cropped is weird and can be kind of disorienting when navigating through the app. Overall it is a great experience, and I like the effort being put into cross-app connectivity because I think it is good for surfing as a whole, growing the community, increasing awareness of how our actions impact the ecosystems we rely on for recreation, and sharing the stoke. Looking forward to seeing where this platform goes in the future!
The Youth does not know when their was no Surfline. I do. 3 to 4 times a week I would drive from Montebello with my friends to surf. We check Anderson first than Bolsa Chica, than the Cliffs than 17th street than North and South Side of the pier. 80 of the time we would surf the Southside of the pier. Closed out big days at the Cliffs. All of it was guess and direct visual. Now Surfline gives you it all with few simple clicks on the iPad. I never had a picture of me surfing until i hooked up my Apple Watch to Surfline and saw myself on a wave. Not a kook, but definitely not a young ripper. Ha…It is not perfect, as I now surf and live close to Anderson and the report is not spot on, but the pics are. Plus knowing the area helps. The tides are not quite right and water temp is either to low or to high, I get that water temp from Hb lifeguards recorded call on the surf. But in my mind, this is one the best uses of modern technology. Keep the the good work and keep improving. Sunset Mike
From the days of dial up when PK gave us the local surf report the world of wave prediction has evolved along a technological path of perfection. Maybe it’s that embedded spirit that surfing imparts to you in that anything you do, you do for surf. It’s not just the spiritual journey of wave riding but also the incredible humans you meet along the way. What does all this ethereal dissertation have do with reviewing The Surfline App? Since you asked I will tell: it’s so obvious the people who have dedicated their lives to making this App are true Surfer’s at heart. No doubt they could easily have taken higher paying jobs with NOAA or other Federally funded weather, and/ or atmospheric condition data collection Agencies. It’s their love of all things surf that has kept them here, at Surfline. Because every true surfer knows Surfline is the Gold Standard of surf prediction. It’s how it’s always been and always will be. I guess the question is: Will you be going for the Gold? Do yourself a favor and make it so.
Yes I agree that the ads are a bore (but there aren't any though if you're a Premium member), but it's a minor nuisance to bear for access to accurate reports and a beautiful interface with the most cams available. It occasionally has crashed on me too but rarely recently. For my 80 or so bucks per year Premium subscription for extended web forecasts, having this companion App is a dream and i actually use it more than the website everyday. Well worth the cash and minor nuisances - when the App is down due to location reception issues, going directly to Surfline Mobile on the internet usually will work unless one's cell signal is close to nonexistent. I agree that controllable cameras would be ideal but with their subscribership it would probably be impossible (can you imagine playing camera tug of war with 5000 Chads and Kimos at your favorite spot). Let's stop whining - you pay more and it isn't perfect but it's pretty darn good. Disclaimer - I'm not on their payroll).
I am sorry, have been using surfline for years but this last update is just terrible. It is the classic marketing tactic of “hey look, I am giving you something for free!” We all get excited, and then we realize they have taken something out that we really needed and now you have to pay for it. Let’s be serious, there are tons of surf apps out there for forecasts. And it’s not like surfline gets it right all the times either. But the one thing that at least differentiated surfline for me is that I could just open the app and watch the cam, see the conditions for myself and go. Now, I can only do that 3 times a week with a free account. Not only. If I forgot to read something on a screen and open the app once again 1 minute after my surf check, that counts as another check! Seriously???!!! Sure, I can see 15 days of forecast for free now but is that really helpful? Let’s be serious, it’s already a miracle if the day after is forecasted correctly, let alone 15 days. The only difference with the new update is that the main reason for using surfline (watching the cams) is now gone and you have to pay for it. Cheap sneaky way to get more people to pay. One star for me.
Getting old presents it’s own set of complications. This application definitely makes the decision process easier and faster. Is it worth surfing River Jetties before work? Do I feel like dealing with the crowd at gravels after work? Is it a soft top, fam & friends Saturday at Doheny? For what it is, Surfline does a pretty solid job. Times change. Boards take forever and cost more than ever. Your favourite Local shapers become global phenomena. The sand just isn’t the same. “You should’ve seen it 15 years ago.” The cost of living never runs out of gas. Wetsuits take a little more effort to put on, and Oprah builds vacant, tax write off, vacation Estates atop the overgrown trailer park playground you loved, eroding away the sands and its refracting, summer wedges. So, I figured why not use every available vehicle towards my benefit? EVERYbody else is. The forecasts have been pretty good to me too. Hopefully, it continues... great job you guys
We had a pretty good run, you and I, my old darling Surfline, you even helped me score an epic post typhoon swell in Philippines once ! :) Our relationship had been strong, clean, and long period in the past but fell flat in recent years. Sloppy and textured conditions started to come between us. And lack of stories about underground rippers or anything really original, made you feel frigid, distant, and commercialized. Instead you continued to run stories about the same old names and became more and more short board centric. Other rips that started to drift us apart was your devotion to an over abundance of cams dotting all the good coast lines. Instead of getting out there and surfing a swell, I often just stared at my phone screen indecisive, about where the best waves were, watching cams until the conditions blew out. Instead of drawing me nearer to good surf you actually kept me away. But the final draining of our love was that your handlers wanted to charge me just to see you a few times a week or catch a peek at a simple chart. I look forward to time spent in the water to soothe any lingering pangs I have about our fall out. I’d rather get worked than hang out with you anymore.
So I love Surfline, the only reason I gave it three stars is due to a bug that I keep coming across, the application itself is amazing when it comes to depicting swell and weather, their team is great!. How ever when I try to access the explore page to see which spots are good around me, it will not show the spots or cams on the tab at the bottom for the page, it will only show the option “view regional forecast” which won’t even work either. I would have to restart surfline to get the explore page working accordingly. I have ignored this problem over the past couple months ultimately think it was going to get fixed soon but I’m still having trouble with it to this day so I made the effort to reach out and see if anyone else was having this same problem or it has been noticed by the community ! Please let me know if it’s just me !
I have been surfing for 35 years and it’s been such a blessing when Surfline came along. I used to just jump in my car early morning in order to catch waves that weren’t crowded. It was a crap shoot or hit or miss for wave size and weather. Tech now allows us to view the night before and determine whether the drive will give us waves or not. Trying to be responsible as far as wasting gas to get to the beach and being disappointed that it is totally flat is no longer an uncertainty. Read the information supplied by Surfline and make logical decisions as to where the swell is going to hit. Learn weather patterns and know the spots that benefit from a certain swell. If there are no waves choose to either stay home and do something that makes sense for you. I like Surfline because it help me make proper decisions. Thank you.
The surfline app on my Apple watch worked great! I went to look at my clips and it was pulling the waikiki to ala wai cam. I figured out pretty quickly how to change spots and it reloaded my clips from bowls. The interface is great how you can watch it in landscape view and pick the next clip. And I like how it keeps the scroll zoom you are using. I also like how you can star favorite waves and sort them after. The app was also so easy to use, just press start and end. If the cams were higher resolution that would be amazing. It get's pretty grainy when you zoom in. Overall, I'm really stoked on the product and I plan to keep using it. It saves me so much time looking for clips and trying to remember what time I caught a wave. This is a breakthrough in technology for me.
I don’t surf but I’m fascinated by it (maybe someday!) and I like learning about the water and the wind and all the variables that make for good surfing. I also like to correlate that info by seeing the actual waves that are described by the data. However, 15 seconds of a picture telling me to upgrade to premium for 30 seconds of webcam viewing (where most of the webcams are already hosted by third parties and available for free elsewhere) seems excessive to me and does not exude that surfer friendly attitude one might expect. This could be a nice outreach vehicle for young and/or new surfers who want to get in the water a little more educated than they would be otherwise. The heavy handed push to premium is a drag though. Allowing uninterrupted web cam viewing (not even the HD - just regular cams) would encourage people to stay on the website longer, learn more and realize their need for premium. Just a thought - thanks!!
No doubt surfline is an absolute great surf app. it has everything and tells everything very clearly. A while ago they had it where if you didn’t have premium you could only check the waves three times a week. That’s ok i could deal with that. But now, after a recent update, they added premium cams, which means you must buy premium in order to look at them. Mind you these premium cams take up half the cams and all my favorite beaches. Still, no biggie though, right? I don’t really need cams. however you do need a forecast. Without premium you aren’t able to see what the tide will be doing, what the wind will be doing, or what the swell will be doing. the only thing you get is the size of the waves the next day. I don’t know, i guess it is a wonderful app, just now you kind of need to buy premium in order to get it. And i’m sure i’m not the only one who can afford that.
IPAD: Many of the cameras, have a problem with, pixelation, or contrast, like when a big wave breaks, it stops, then turns quite pixelated, then cleaned up. White, or foam, as the waves break (high contrast) seems to have an effect on the serial data, but then you miss best part of waves. second problem is watching in landscape, you keep having to turn to portrait to select the 20min range of time of day, then back to landscape…..i do know a sneaky way to look at entire day, but hard to make it work…why don’t you guys cache the cameras better, or something. Also after 4 or 5 days you can’t see the place that may having been breaking huge, because of of disk space or server BW, or whatever, we premium members can no longer see it…why can’t you make the data available for a month…, i bet you still have it!!! .etc…sorry you asked…
As we become more reliant on swell models and news to tell us what to expect and when to plan a trip we rely more and more on companies like Surfline, with there forecasting and historic information we can plan trips months in advance and have a much smaller chance of being skunked. That said there local forecasting could use a little boost in accuracy 3-4 and it’s solid 6ft that’s a nice surprise, but 6-7 occ. 8 and it’s 2-4ft? Now that’s a serious disappointment... unfortunately the later has been happening far too often lately and the swells are hitting 1-2 days before or after their predictions forecast. That said conditions change, models are not always accurate, it’s weather so you can’t expect perfection unless you are in a wave pool. That’s said it’s a valuable tool that I use daily. Thank you!
App works poorly on iPad, missing key forecast tools
One of my biggest complaints about the app is that it doesn’t work well on an iPad at all. Doesn’t support landscape mode except for cam feeds. You can’t search for spots without adding them to favorites, which is annoying when I’m looking at places I don’t frequent but just want to check, unless you go to the map view. But when I’m looking at spots in California or Florida from New England, I don’t necessary want to scroll on a map. Probably the most salient missing feature is the nearshore model tool, though. Living in New England, where a lot of spots are missing from the site, nearshore is often the only way I can get a sense of what individual spots will be like, and I have to use a browser or computer for that. The interface is useful for quick checks, but for those of us who are often on the go and rarely at a computer, those key tools are sorely missed.
[Update] Your upgrades keep making your app worse! Stop trying to sell us stuff from your shop at the expense of seeing the swell forecast — the actual reason we all use your app. You now need to click to favorites to see all your beaches and then click through your dumbed down graphs for the swell and wind information, then another for the forecast. Grr. I really don’t like that you took away your swell graph. It’s super annoying to click through each hour to see the predicted swells. Your wave size forecast is very inaccurate for some of the beaches I frequent, so looking at the wave size graph isn’t helpful. Instead, I would look at the swell graphs to easily check swell size and direction. It’s way more annoying to do that with your new interface. I also don’t like that you put the swell and wind information etc. on a different page. It was much better when you just scrolled down to see the information once you clicked on the beach.
I live inland, so I need to be able to plan my trips to the coast—in other words, I need the premium service. Surfline costs more than most streaming services, which seems a tad outrageous, to be honest. Magic Seaweed used to provide similarly reliable forecasting for 3 bucks—of course, they’re owned by Surfline now, so. . . For all my complaining about price, though, they do provide great surf reporting, even daily surf updates from reliable guides in certain locales. The star I took away certainly isn’t because the site/app isn’t good—it is. Very good. Lots of cams, accurate modeling (well, as accurate as 16-day modeling can be, def accurate within three days or so). It’s just too expensive, imo. I’ll have to cancel after summer, when my trips to the coast will be less frequent. Overall, it is really quite good.
No question Surfline is the best. They own magic seaweed, so they send false data on magic seaweed because they want Surfline to appear more accurate, which it is. Now that your forced basically to buy premium access, you still get ad’s on the app which is double dipping and beyond annoying. Would I suggest premium? Honestly I don’t really feel a benefit, it’s not like a whole new realm of insight opens up. Only reason I tired it was because of a student discount. I don’t really “feel” an extra benefit, more like it’s less irritating to use the app now. Suggestion: remove ads from premium users. Let’s hope they use their new found revenue from double dipping to increase the quality of the web cams. They are in need of a major upgrade at most breaks, if not all.
Surfline does it’s best to annoy you in to buying their $100 a year premium service. Most average surfers don’t travel around the world and surf 100’s of different surf breaks. Usually wherever you live are the spots you frequent and there’s no need to have the cams from anywhere else really. Why spend $100 for all that??? I wouldn’t even be upset if there was some kind of package that let you pay just for the breaks you want but money hungry Surfline can’t do that. The newest update only lets you check the surf report 4 times in a week, even if the break doesn’t have a cam and even if you had already checked the break 5 minutes before (maybe you had a text that switched the app). Pretty lame seeing how they use normal publicly available data to compile their surf reports. This app is garbage. I hope more people follow suit and give this app negative reviews. Go download MagicSeaweed. That’s actually worth the time spent using it and you get all the same information.
Don’t listen to the complainers, Surfline’s great.
Like many surfers, I am a bit of a weather nerd. I keep a close eye on the best wind & weather info I can get, and Surfline is often more accurate than those sources….. I’m talking about hourly wind switches here. If you’re one of the people that expects a perfect wave and weather forecast, then you don’t understand what a forecast is. Maybe Mom and Dad are still driving you to the beach, and you expect perfect sessions to be served to you on a platter, like your private chef’s chicken tendies (which are actually just processed frozen crap anyway). That’s fine, but in the adult world we know there are no guarantees- only well educated guesses. And that even a great deal always involves some legwork. Surfline is a great deal- if you don’t like the forecasts, than I challenge you to do better. Plus, cams. Duh. The only way Surfline could not be worth the monthly $12 (or whatever it is now), is if you are a broke jobless beach bum who can check the surf 24/7. If so, congrats to you sir. For the rest of us, this is a lifesaver. Special shout-out to forecaster Richie Reyes, who looks like he had his profile pic taken while his hair was still wet.
What an amazing app! As a young grom I used to check Surfline on the web all the time (back in the days of dialup and flip phones) and it never steered me wrong. now that I’m back in the water after nearly two decades as a landlubber, I can’t believe how much the quality and abundance of data, human analysis, spots represented, and the number and resolution of live cams has grown and improved. Sometimes a few of my favorite cams and ideal conditions for certain spots won’t load, but overall the app is addicting to check out even if I’m stuck at work, and the forecasts are super accurate for the days I’m not, over a week in advance. I can’t speak to the quality of the free version since I know and trust Surfline and went premium off the bat, but it seems beyond worth the annual fee considering how much effort and expense goes into compiling this data and implementing the tech to keep it available wherever my phone has service. I’d recommend reading up on the basics of forecasting from compiled buoy data to take full advantage of the wealth of information the app provides. Not every spot gets it’s own pro analysis from their staff, but chances are your favorite spot (or one nearby) is.
I’m probably speaking for myself and maybe a few surfers that surf out at tennis courts at the beach park of Ala Moana. Surfline, you guys are by far the best surf report with of course video of wave conditions, wave heights and wind directions in the world and all over the world! Thank you for providing real time data every time I open Surfline. If I could request just one thing it’ll be for your cameras to provide more straight on views of the surf spot at courts. Thank you for listening. And thank you for allowing your viewers to rate and give a little feed back. This only goes to show that you care of what people think about your business. And I know all this begins from the very top Aloha, cal aka old man and the waves
I can’t really afford a year subscription at $99, and $12/mo is also too high for me…that’s $3 per week for a weekend warrior to check surf, and potentially find out the local surf is no bueno - that’s a waste of $3. If it was $8/mo, I think more people would subscribe. I fortunately just paid for a one-time offer from Surfline for a year subscription for $50 (really it was $49, but that one dollar less…I felt that 😆). Surfline has much more to offer than magic seaweed, Dawn patrol, lazy, surfer, etc. I just realistically have so many things in my life to pay for, and I have to make human choices about where to cut costs. Surfline has been one of them, and I’ve just made things work through local WebCams and other surf apps. I was willing to accept the one time deal for this year, though I will likely not continue beyond.
Excellent App, but would still suggest a number of updates
Most recent update is great (hence the 5/5 review). However, one thing that consistently bothers me is the fact that there’s no click-through optionality on the little map that shows wind direction for a given break. It feels like a natural thing to click through and then be able to pull up a map by the break so that the user can zoom out a bit and explore other local breaks. It can be annoying to go all the way back to the “Explore” tab and then navigate to said break, and take a look around, versus being able to just click through and explore. Good for thought. Otherwise epic app, guys!
I love this app, but I get frustrated when I can find things. It was perfect up until a few updates ago. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make things, fresh and new, and definitely don’t move things without explaining where you put them, I’m sure I’ll be able to find it later, but I can’t find water temps and other miscellaneous things. Everything used to be on the front page, now you have to jump through several hoops to view everything. I don’t like that, however, I do love this app, and I couldn’t do without it. If any creators are reading this, please consider streamlining all the important information right on the first page of the location you’re checking out
This app has taken over magic seaweed and now I can’t find the high tide this is just dumb I’m not paying for an app I can’t use… also why would anyone pay for an app to find out the flow charts like it’s not a smart move I’ve read some reviews and it makes sense to charge for camera footage and what not but as for just finding out the tide flow not dealing with adds or pay to play because I can literally run a search on a search engine and get my answers it’s a shame what your company did to magic seaweed as it was useful and necessary but this obviously has payed reviews to drown out the actual reviews of people using the app I immediately uninstalled when it required me to make an account just to look at things … personally waste of time to download and this is in hopes that other fishermen who used to use magic seaweed will be able to see it and realize to not download this app
Ok, first, As stated, I love this app. I don’t mind paying the price of a coffee monthly to be able to go online and see sunrises and sunsets. I love being able to project onto my living room tv as I listen to the sounds of surf. I wish I lived on the beach but this app, yes with its surf reports I don’t use much, is delightful. I wish more cameras were available, but it’s not like there aren’t plenty. If I can’t be at the each, this app still gives me some of the enjoyment of being there. Now my pet peeve. Nothing big, just interferes with my Zen on a morning because it repeatedly asks “are you still there”. Seems fairly frequent relative to what I recall. Did something change?
I’ve used Surfline for the past couple years on and off, good app to check in. As a casual surfer I have never really had the need to pay for premium full time. Was planning on going this weekend and wanted to give the premium a trial as it’s about time to start surfing again. So I gave their “7 day FREE trial” a go. Not only does it charge you immediately, it also only gives you the month of which you pay for (not a month and 7 days). This is clearly false advertising that they hope you don’t notice. It may have been worth upgrading, but that isn’t the issue. It’s a clear effort to make you “accidentally” upgrade to premium. I definitely wasn’t ready to pay for that and I put a “service ticket” to hopefully get my money back, but I doubt that will ever happen if they are as clearly already doing some shady stuff with trying to make money off their users.
Overall pretty good job even though I like giving you guys a hard time online, the reports are pretty on with the occasional early or late call , but appreciate those when I’m on it 🤣🤙🏽 What I could say is putting a few cams that are specifically for people to download clips , people love themselves and I think that would be a lucrative move as far as gaining and keeping subscribers. Ex, if you put a cam on the surf Museum or the roof of the snack shack/bathrooms at the lane guys could get really good evening clips at the slot . Even cameras on the piers themselves, with higher definition so people can zoom in crop and still have good useable content. Evening and morning angles to avoid glare .. etc Anyway there’s my 14 cents .. (inflation) Hope it helps 🤙🏽
I use Surfline more than any other app. Working from home , the new features focused on providing more hour by hour forecasting are useful to help plan my surfs! I would like to see more accurate/ current /forecast water temps… Also the new energy feature seems like it has potential… but linking it to what is experienced and waves is tough. what is hard to understand is scale. 10 times the energy seems like a massive difference but.. Also is there a way to show bottom conditions? The last swell changed the southbay dramatically yet the forecasts seemed to be based on the old assumptions. Eg for an extended time last fall el Porto wasn’t even breaking but would forecast better than say south pier.
Reviewing the latest version, which prioritizes a pretty design over user needs. Surfline used to provide a way to check all the different spots, buoys, wind, and tides to get an idea of where I wanted to surf and when. With the latest update all the visuals have been turned into singular simplified icons of what’s going on right now, which is helpful if i want to surf now…but you can just look at the cam for “now” conditions. 90% of the utility was being able to synthesize the visuals of tide, swell, and wind over the next few hours and know what conditions it would lead to at your spots. That stuff is all fragmented around different parts of the app now and all that utility is gone for me. It’s painful and a lot of effort to get the information I used to get in a few seconds with a quick glance at my spots.
I’ve been a long time user of this app when I first started learning but never realized how much people hated on it. I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me what app I use to see the forecast and I tell them “Surfline,” while getting a disgusted looking face in return. Everyone I’ve talked to exclaims about how notorious this app is for having poor and inaccurate reports all the time (probably almost 20 people by now). I always relied on the surf cams for my spots I go to and had no issues watching a 15-30 second ad to see what the waves were doing that day. But now I have to pay $9.99 a month for features that used to be free? Seriously? I can’t even see a full report for the day and forecast for the oncoming days now anymore. You kooks can kiss it
The only real ideal way to know what the waves look like is to go down to the beach and look at them daily. I live 2 miles from the beach. However, what I like about Surfline is the longer term predictions that are good for planning trips elsewhere. Also, I like knowing exactly when predicted hi tide is. What the swell pattern is and what the wind direction and speed will be. There are several breaks near my house. They all have different exposures and when tides and winds are not right in one place then I can make the decision to go elsewhere without having to ride down to look. Surfline can save a person time. It’s a good service. Stay blessed all and keep on surfing!!
The app is worth having and paying for. I check it daily to find good windows for surfing. Sometimes it’s a bit off, but it’s the best solution that there is. The surf camera tracking is surprisingly cool. If you track your surf session with a Garmin watch and link your account to Surfline, you can get footage of waves that you caught when you’re surfing in front of a surf camera. The app will automatically break up the video feed by the waves that you caught. You can then download the videos and upload to IG stories. Although the footage is a bit far away, it’s passive and way easier than getting friends to take videos.
As a premium subscriber for as long as I can remember, this company has saved me a bunch in gas money as well as heartache when a swell never materializes as forecast - which happens. I love the articles, swell breakdowns, stories and features. And I’m 100% sure I’m not even using all the features available. I have learned a lot about swells, how they form, watching weather, looking for swell fetch, direction, which swells work best at my favorite spots and super interesting things like bathymetry and swell shadowing. Whether it’s incoming swells or the why’s of this and that, these guys are the best and definitely keep you informed. If you surf frequently (or use the ocean in any way), this service is worth every cent. 💯
I had no problem with watching a 30 second ad before live streaming from any location; that is the “price” to be paid for not purchasing premium. I’ve gotten into the habit of frequently checking both local live cams and other interesting locations throughout the day. With the recent update, you can only open the app two or three times a day, but once you exceed that, there is no way to access information for any location beyond wave height and quality (poor, good, etc.). I’ve deleted the app, as I see no use in this extremely limited access, and no reason to buy premium because of the already-poor coverage for my location, and the fact that I do not travel enough to need unlimited access. First-world problem, I know, just sharing my feelings on account of this sudden change.
I’ve had an iPhone since 2007 when they first came out. I even cracked the phone and loaded my own applications before applications were a thing. I probably have at least 100 apps on my phone. This app always seems to function properly, never has issues, and because the developers update it seldomly, it is very reliable. The latest version has taken me some time to get used to. As I was an early adopter to the original versions. However, this is probably my favorite and most used app. To all those involved in creating such a great experience, I say thank you. Keep up the good work.
I am reading through some of the recent developer responses to unhappy ratings and most of the time the developers say something like, “non-paying users still have unlimited access and the ability to view hundreds of free cams…” I have the app and from what I have seen this is a lie (maybe with a small amount of truth). Sure, you might have access to hundreds of free cams… hundreds of cams no surfer would use. I doubt any well known surf spot is free to view. As for the “unlimited access” that may be a flat out lie. I do not know what they mean by that because the app is extremely limited; only showing data from the day of viewing. Super disappointed. I suggest surfers download the app “Magicseaweed”. Unfortunately it too requires payment for webcams, however the app does provide a complete 6 day forecast (which is what I personally need in a surf app).
When looking at the app or more specifically a surf spot. The video lags every second making it very annoying to work around. Additionally, not only when looking at any surf spots but the lag is also occurring in the rewind. Nevertheless, I tried to managed through this issue hoping it was gonna be fixed because of a bug issue or something. However, it’s been almost a month now and I am still having this problem. I don’t if it was just me. So, to make a long story short. I was just hoping you guys now have at least have an idea of what’s going on via issues in the camera/app. Otherwise, I have been a subscriber for a long time and will continue to be one until the day I die. So in other words, I have nothing bad to say. Love the app and everything you guys do. Just have this one issue that happen just recently. ✌️
Been a premium subscriber for years now, love to see how much effort the team behind Surfline has put into consistently improving the iOS and web app as well as constantly pushing out new forecasting features and ironing out bugs w/ patch updates. Definitely the go-to for anything related to surf/weather conditions! The forecasted color coded charts are beautifully designed and feature a host of different metrics - swell height w/ vector arrows, period, energy, wind, rain etc. I use the charts for checking future weather conditions over other apps like Apple weather or the weather channel
I always loved this app before the most recent update. This app still has all the reports on it that’s necessary, but now it’s written for computer geeks and nerds. Why; because they made all the fonts small for all the computer geeks to read it. I’m an old guy and many of us old surfers have poor vision now and the app has everything written so small that I can barely make out the wind, waves, and swell heights. On top of that; they made the favorites list tiny fonts also for kids and computer nerds to read it. One good thing was they added in Live View the wind, waves, and tide forecasts. I get it, every few months or years they have to upgrade their look, but now the app dashboard looks like every other terribly small app.
I live a couple of hours from the closest break to me and Surfline is an invaluable tool that help me maximize my time in the water. In the past I relied on averaging out the predictions from several apps, but always found Surfline forecasts to be the best. On top of the great forecasts (going out 16 days), the views from the surf cams give me perspective of each break that I can’t get anywhere else. Unfortunately, most of the time it just shows me what I’m missing out on, but on days that I can carve out time to surf, the cams only validate Surfline forecasts. All in all a great app and I’m also a premium member, which is well worth the money.
Your site is Encouraging rude behavior in the water
This kind of copy, a quote from a San Clemente local and surfing champion, encourages rude behavior in the water. “Bring a gangbusters crew and raid wherever you’re at.” Such language encourages a warfare attitude in the surf: Griffin Colapinto was stoked to be home for the holiday, and had some solid advice: “Best thing to do in my opinion, is just to go down there with a gangbusters crew and kind of just raid wherever you’re at,” he said. “Just go full force, plop down, claim a territory and have a good time and just share waves with your friends. We went down to Lowers but ended up surfing right next to it where there was nobody, ’cause we didn’t feel like dealing with the crowd. And then we ended up surfing Lowers before dark with funboards — it felt good to just do that, just full switch off.”
I am truly greatful for one of if not thee best surf forecast worldwide your entire staff at Surfline provides. With all the technological resources that are available today, in my opinion, your team manages to provide the most accurate as well as thorough reports and the best coverage of beach cams on any given website all in one. When I am planning to take a trip to various surf destinations, the information and forecast that you guys provide is absolutely more than adequate. I really do appreciate all the hard work every single one of you do everyday so that the entire surf community can benefit. Keep up the awesome job! Mahalo!!!
I like how it now lets you go to the next saved spot in order. (Before you used to have to scroll all the way back and forth to find the next one in the list). I wish they would fix Doheny state beaches camera. It now shows the river mouth instead of the main beach. It’s also great how you can zoom in as well. The “sessions” feature is cool too, but it could use some tweaking so that it only “records” when you actually catch a wave, instead of every wave out there, so you don’t have to delete most of them. If that is even possible. It’s not the end of the world if it can’t be done.
I have loved Surfline since Sean Collins started it back in the early 80s, I’m guessing? They could go out 2 to 3 weeks and predict right to the hour when a swell would arrive making it easy to make my schedule as an RN and beach lifeguard so that I was able surf great wave on my days off. It’s still the gold standard and I love that the live cams allow you to go anywhere that the waves are great and watch a beautiful world class surfbreak with the WebCams. They keep it fresh with wonderful stories and big wave footage every day. The weekly surf movies have been a blast. Worth every penny. Aloha 🍍 Mark Agnello
First of all this app is amazing, i love everything about it besides a couple of the new features. I love how the app gives me tides, wave height, forcast, water temp it has everything. The free account treated me well until they added a feature only allowing you to view info 3 times and then you have to wait 2 days for another 3 surf checks. I use this app everyday considering it is the summer time and also the fact that i am a lifeguard at my beach. so the surf check feature, kinda ruins the app for me. if they were to maybe make it so some info is block and can only be seen when you purchase the subscription, it would make the app so much better, instead of the surf check feature.
Surfline has been the surf world’s go-to for wave forecasting and surf reports since 1985, helping millions of surfers score better waves, more often. Use the Surfline app to know before you go anytime, anywhere. Keep track of current surf conditions. - View live surf cams at 950+ breaks around the world. - Get daily surf reports from our team of experts. - View wave height, live wind, weather, water temperature, and tide. - Choose to get notified when the conditions are perfect at your favorite spots with Surf Alerts. - View detailed buoy charts and nearshore models. Plan future surf adventures. - Use 16-day long-range forecasts to plan ahead. - Read swell analysis from our in-house forecasting team. Relive your sessions and watch your waves. - Use Cam Rewind to watch and download your best waves (and wipeouts). - Sync your Apple Watch to log Surfline Sessions and get your waves sent straight to your phone.* - View detailed analysis of waves ridden, length of ride, and speed. - Share your rides with friends and on social media. Stay connected to all things surf. - Watch the world’s best waves with live coverage of major Swell Events. - Read up on the latest surf news, travel, training, and gear content. Take it from the pros: “Surfline is my go-to every day to know where to go. I’ve used it from day one and will be a lifetime Premium Member.” – Rob Machado “Surfline is my go-to for swell forecasts and surf conditions. I also love having access to all the HD cams so I can check multiple spots before ever getting in my car. I don’t even think about going for a surf without checking Surfline first!” – Keala Kennelly “I've relied on Surfline's forecasts on tour for years, and now I count on Surfline Premium to score good waves here at home." – Owen Wright Surfline has been named App of the Day twice by the App Store. *This feature uses HealthKit to monitor and record your calories and heart rate while you surf. -- Surfline Premium plan payments will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Membership plans will automatically renew at US $12.99/month or US $99.99/year (exclusive of taxes) depending on membership plan selection, unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. By using Surfline’s product you certify that you understand and agree to Surfline’s Terms of Service (https://www.surfline.com/terms-of-use) and Privacy Policy (https://www.surfline.com/privacy-policy). Auto-renewal may be turned off in your Account Settings in iTunes after purchase. You may cancel your current subscription at any time but no refund of your remaining subscription is allowed during an active subscription period. A monthly user that cancels during a subscription month will not be charged for the following month.
