Leave a Review Surfline
Terrible update
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.Show lessPreston84
Developer Response
Thank you for the review. Would love to hear more detailed feedback if you want to email support@surfline.com so we can continue to improve. Our new free experience is designed to give full access to features that were previously Premium only - a Surf Check allows you to check live cams and forecasts without ads, including premium cams, extended forecasts and Cam Rewinds, as many times as you’d like within a single session. Our coverage includes 750+ ad-free, uninterrupted HD Surf Cams, 16-day forecasts, 7,000+ global spot reports, and expert analysis from our forecast team. As a free user, we hope that this actually improves your time in our product, as we're giving you the full experience on a limited basis. - Davidwe’ve all benefitted from Surfline
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 ?Show lessnoneedtofret
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!Show lessCria Labeouf
Life Well Lived
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.Show lessSnidesO
SURFLINE FIX THIS BUG
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 !Show lessLolzy5
Great app!
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.Show lessGdsxvjjggtuknvd
Official App for kooks
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 itShow lessExhaustedB00m
Loved it until recent update
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.Show lesssiillas
Not meant for the every day surfer
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.Show lessBábàc
Developer Response
Thank you for the review. This is helpful feedback. Our newest update is designed to hopefully give you more Premium features on a limited basis, but we are still working to dial it in and this is good for us to know. You can give more info here or email surfline@support.com. -DavidPretty Solid!
For Hawai’i I think Surfline is the best forecasting tool. Magic seaweed seems way more accurate for Europe but that’s where they’re based. Surfline is a high quality program that makes figuring out where and when to surf as easy as possible. Living where I do without it and scoring fun to epic waves regularly would not be so easy. It’s still a challenge and a hunt due to the rugged and diverse coastline and openness to so many swells. But, with Surfline I can narrow down where to check and find surf and it’s almost always pretty close to what’s actually going on in the water. The news and features are a nice bonus too!Show lessSoulprogression
