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I'm looking to get an altimeter watch for the upcoming season and I'm wondering what people's experiences are with these gadgets... Suunto is coming out with a new model (suunto core) that seems really good, and the suunto vector seems like you can't go wrong... what about other brands/models? I've heard (somewhere, can't remember where) that highgear altimeters are consistently unreliable etc... any info you have would be most appreciated!

I have a hideous (yellow, big) polar axn 300, which was dirt cheap (like $70 on ebay).

I like it, it's reasonably accurate, and has a heart rate monitor too.

Rokstar- Wait and get the new Suunto Core. I was at the OR tradeshow and had a chance to speak to a rep for Sunnto and told them I needed to upgrade to something newer. I was shown the new Core models and was WAY impressed, plus they look cool. They are full of all the features you would want in an alti. watch... offering features for both acsent and desent activities. The buttons are able to be pressed while submurged under water (unlike earlier models) and a cool feature is it will switch to a depth-gage when you swim under water.

i bought a altitech summit watch around xmas of last year.
it nearly disintegrated by the end of this last season.
i got really tired of calibrating the watch on a regular basis, everytime i wanted to use the watch for anything.

i was really near to buying a polar pulse watch, but realised that i like to go hard to have fun not to go hard to train to have fun.

suunto seems to be the bomb, in terms of altimeters, although even my friends who have them seem to calibrate regularly.

finally thought i would buy a garmin forrunner watch. the new ones are sick and the gps function means you can walk out if in a storm. the altimeter is satelite based instead of barometrically based which means a far more acurate read and no calibrating. the big downer is the 15 hour life span of the battery which you have to charge at home.

i would say to think about what you are going to be using the watch for and then calm down and then think again. and then decide.

decisions decisions. IPA or Stout?

or Porter?

Hmmm.... usually I go with porter and never an IPA

yoda, thanks for the input about the suunto core - it seems like it might be the way to go, especially because it doesn't look *too* gimicky (if that's possible with a feature-packed watch.... ) It's not a problem for me to wait a few months since I won't be needing it until late november at the earliest.

I have a highgear altitech2. I like the carabiner attachment system, some of the wrist watches get pretty large.

I'm sure its not the most accurate altimeter out there, but as others have mentioned, altimeters need to be calibrated frequently. The most accurate altimeter in the world will be affected by changes in the weather (pressure). I don't expect it to be dead-on, I use it more as a coarse reference to look for terrain features, stashed beer, etc.

I scored a pretty good deal and it met my expectations. This was my first altimeter so take it for what it's worth.

as for the beer decision i had a lagunitas ipa tonight and I loved it.

I have that same one, and I dig the caribiner attachment system. When I'm in the bc or biking, I always have a pack on so there's always somewhere to put it. The watch face has kinda gotten beat to hell from mtb crashes etc, but it still works. I hate wearing watches, getting sweaty and having to move layers of clothing to see them. Plus with this one the temperature is actually pretty accurate since it's not right next to your body.

I don't actually use the altimeter function that much, but when I do it seems reasonably accurate as long as it's calibrated at the beginning of the day.

I bought the highgear alterra last year and have been pretty impressed w/ it. I always take the reading w/ a grain of salt though, usually about 100 ft. off from the gps which is completely suitable for what I use it for.

I would spend a little extra and get a gps. Not that I have a gps but my altimeter is so confusing and it would be nice to know how far as well as how much vert.

I bought a Nixon Delta a while back. Mainly cus my other Nixon dies and they didn't make it any more so they warrantied it with the Delta. Plus it was cool to have the altimiter. Would I buy one again? Hell no. Nor would I reccomend someone buying one. I don't even think they are made anymore but nontheless, I would not buy one. Nixon makes nice fashion watches but thats where it ends. The Altimiter was avg at best. Always needed calibrating and took forever to give readings. The "run tracking" worked even worse if at all. The barometer didn't work at all as well as the temperature. The pins in the band break every time its droped...which in 5-6 years it was twice with both times breaking a pin. The thing is so damn heavy too. Final thoughts, its a really expensive and heavy regular watch. Thats it. Buy a Sunnto. You won't regret it.