Overtopping wave impact is a real threat for coastal urbanized areas. A better understanding of this physical process in real field conditions is critical to implement effective tools for both coastal risk assessment strategies and civil engineering design guidelines. However, field studies on this topic are sparse because of the difficulty of measuring impact forces generated by overtopping waves under real conditions with traditional instruments. This study aims to present an innovative autonomous device, the Wave overtopping ImPact station, designed to measure overtopping wave impact pressures on a vertical structure during energetic wave conditions. A prototype station is first tested in a laboratory facility in the framework of a dam break experiment to assess its ability to measure pressure signals typical of a bore front impacting a vertical wall. The station is then deployed in real conditions on top of the seawall at the Grande Plage of Biarritz during a moderately energetic event. The results of this campaign highlight the potential of this impact station to provide new insight into the relation between incident wave conditions and characteristics of assailing forces induced by overtopping waves.