As a windsurfer, you have the choice between clip-on measuring devices for smartphones and pure anemometers. We tested two models - the Weather Flow Wind Meter for just under €40 and the new Windboss wind meter for around €80.
"Weather Flea" would be more appropriate; at just eight centimetres long, the small measuring device fits in any trouser pocket. The free app is available for IOS and Android devices, uses just five MB of memory and is kept simple. The measurement data can be customised; in addition to the wind speed, the wind direction and optional data such as temperature and air pressure are also displayed.
If you surf the social media wave, you can share the measurement results directly with your friends via Facebook, Twitter & Co. In practice, however, the measuring device sometimes delivered unsatisfactory results. This is probably primarily due to the fact that the wind turbine has to be held exactly in the direction of the wind in order to produce reliable measurements - a weakness that the Weather Flow shares with other clip-on measuring devices. The Windboss with its open propeller ignores such operating errors, it simply measures current wind force, gusts, average wind and temperature stubbornly and reliably. Of course, you can't share your findings with it - but maybe then you'll have more time for surfing again.
Info under www.weatherflow.com/wind-meter and www.ascan-surf.de
Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
