Taking A Watch

[Frosty]

you will become so atuned to your surroundings that by Va. you will be able to look at the sun and be within about 5 minutes of correct time.

Well, withing an hour or so, anyway, but if your surroundings include a watch hung on your sternum strap, you can tell the time to within 5 seconds. And you can do it at night and when it's raining, too.

[Footslogger]

[quote=Alligator;283517]Do you leave the watch strap attached such that the watch body is off your chest? Have you ever checked the temperature on and off to be sure? I wonder how far off the body it needs to be?
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There is a small webbing loop on either side of my sternum strap (near the shoulder straps) that I thread it through. It doesn't bobble around that way when I walk. The watch head sits a couple inches away from my body and seems to give me accurate readings ...at least much moreso than if I was wearing it on my wrist.

'Slogger

[Alligator]

[quote=Footslogger;283520]

Do you leave the watch strap attached such that the watch body is off your chest? Have you ever checked the temperature on and off to be sure? I wonder how far off the body it needs to be?
==================================

There is a small webbing loop on either side of my sternum strap (near the shoulder straps) that I thread it through. It doesn't bobble around that way when I walk. The watch head sits a couple inches away from my body and seems to give me accurate readings ...at least much moreso than if I was wearing it on my wrist.

'Slogger

I'll give that a try, see how it works.

[Almost There]

I just got the Highgear Altitech 2, actually got it in August but haven't used it yet. I hate wearing a watch. This way it clips to the pack and gives more accurate temp readings, I also read alot of reviews and this seemed like one of the altimeters that stayed accurate more often then many of the other watches out there.

I agree with Jack, I like to know what time it is when I wake up in the middle of the night which I do alot, and when it's getting late, how much further can I go and when do I need to start looking for a campsite.

I've seen them for sale between $60 and $75. Steep and Cheap puts it up it seems like once every coupla months.

[saimyoji]

My listening device has a radio built into it. Good to know the time, don't need to know much else. If I didn't already have them, I'd go for an analog watch with an alarm and thermometer. My maps tell me the altitude, so no real need there. Of course, if I had the money that HighGear doohickey sure does look fun!

[MrHappy]

Well I've asked for an altimeter watch for christmas. It's all in Santa's hands now. :-D

[ed bell]

However, being able to estimate speed over the last 750 climb (relative change) is very useful. The barometric changes likely to occur over this short time interval are usually very small. It's possible that a quick thunderstorm may have rolled in, but even then, the effect is usually small. You can check the barometric pressure too. If it's not fluctuating greatly, there's little concern for drift.

There is also a hold feature on many altimeter watches that allows the watch to interpret barometer readings as being a result of weather changes instead of altitude changes. Adjusting the watch to this setting when you make camp for the night keeps it much closer to accurate. I checked the 2 day history for barometric pressure at my local airport, and there would have been no single hour that I would have had to adjust my watch. Just to be sure, I checked Seattle's past 48 hours(been quite unsettled out there) and there would have been a couple times where the pressure changed enough to warrant recalabrating. Most readings still were inside of .2 inches. That's not gonna throw the altimeter off by much. Barametric pressure takes a long time to change enough to really throw an altimeter way off. Add the likelyhood that one can ID at least one altitude position per day (from maps or guidebooks) and calabration is really pretty easy. I agree with Alligator on the usefulness of estimating speed relative to climbs. I also like to push my pace on climbs, and my watch has a +/- ft per minute counter. Sometimes its fun to see how high up I can get it to read. Usually ends up with me needing a break.

[Frosty]

I agree with Alligator on the usefulness of estimating speed relative to climbs. I also like to push my pace on climbs, and my watch has a +/- ft per minute counter. Sometimes its fun to see how high up I can get it to read. Usually ends up with me needing a break.

Been there, done that, sucked wind...

[ed bell]

Been there, done that, sucked wind...

Needless to say, the novelty of trying that wore off real quick for me. I have never tried it going downhill for obvious reasons.

[Alligator]

I was just going to say, I have had some blistering negative rates...

I'll have to read my manual again to check for that setting.

[ed bell]

I was just going to say, I have had some blistering negative rates...

I'll have to read my manual again to check for that setting.

I've seen the negative rate get up there, but I've avoided trying harder cause it might end up with me getting a descent rate of 9.8 meters per second per second.. Ive got the Suunto Observer and it will keep the altitude fixed in BARO mode. Not sure how common this feature is on other altimeter watches. Very handy for helping to keep good calibration.

[n2k]

Take the watch and leave the email gadget at home. You will not believe how much you wont miss the internet - one of the joys of the trial - and it probably will not work on the trail anyway.

[Alligator]

I've seen the negative rate get up there, but I've avoided trying harder cause it might end up with me getting a descent rate of 9.8 meters per second per second.. Ive got the Suunto Observer and it will keep the altitude fixed in BARO mode. Not sure how common this feature is on other altimeter watches. Very handy for helping to keep good calibration.

Are you telling me to go jump off a cliff ?

[The Old Fhart]

I've been using Casio Altimeter watches for many years and have found them to be reliable and quite accurate. The present one (no longer made-replaced by newer models) is about 3 years old and has a quite a few scratches but is working fine. At a press of a button I can switch back and forth between altimeter and barometer. In the barometer mode it displays a small graph of the barometric trend over the last 12 hours and that can help you forecast the weather. In the photo you can see the pressure rising then leveling off.



When I hiked the JMT I used one of the Casio watches and found it very useful. It only displayed altitude up to 13,200ft but I figured it would actually work to a higher altitude so what I did on the last day when I would be going higher was, when I got to 12,000ft, set it to 2,000ft, and it read about 4,496ft when I was on top of Whitney which is 14,496ft.

The watch has temp, altitude alarms, and altitude memory locations to kind of store waypoints plus all the other watch functions in a 1.5oz. package. The battery lasts 1.5-2 years. The electro-luminescent back light can be set to come on by turning your wrist to read it or with a button push. It is about the size of a regular watch so it doesn't look huge on your wrist like some of the other brands. Price, new, on Ebay-$39.

[maxNcathy]

I bought a Highgear Altitech... watch, altimeter,compass, barometer, thermometer, alarm, stop watch,...on ebay for 82 dollars and like it. My model does not strap to your wrist but has a loop to attach to your belt or pack etc. It is about 9/16 inch thick by 2 1/4 in diameter.

Sandalwood

[JoeHiker]

i really like that one. any idea what it weighs?

The HighGear Altitech 2 weighs 2.5 ounces