Altimeter anyone?

[Tudor]

I was curious as to how many use an altimeter when hiking the AT? I see the Highgear Aerial Altimeter is going for dirt cheap (37.50) and was wondering if this is one of those "get what you pay for" deals. As always, I am open to any suggestions by those who have come before.

Thanks.

[Deadeye]

It's a useful tool for bushwacking, an expensive novelty for the AT. Of course, if novelties are your thing, go for it, it's just not anywhere near a necessity.

[Alligator]

I have one on my Suunto. It's useful to me but not something you need. I use it to figure out my pace, where I might be, how far to the top. It's on my watch so there really isn't much weight difference.

I don't know anything about that model.

[Feral Bill]

Looks like a fun toy at a good price.

[Deadeye]

I suppose I should add that the watch I carry in a belt pocket when hiking has an altimeter:rolleyes:. It's fun to check out how accurate it is (or isn't). Sort of like carrying a thermometer to see how cold it actually is, regardless of how warm you feel.

[OldStormcrow]

I've found altimeters to be very useful in determining exactly where I am on the trail compared to the topo maps. You will have to recalibrate even good quality altimeters almost daily because of changes in temperature, humidity and barometric pressure. Before buying the Highgear altimeter I would suggest reading the customer reviews. One customer wrote that he left his outside his tent overnight and a little rain sprinkled on it.....thus ruining it. My gear needs to be a little tougher than that. Casio makes a good altimeter watch....Timex makes a lousy one.....Suunto makes a very expensive and excellent one.

[Jim Adams]

I've found altimeters to be very useful in determining exactly where I am on the trail compared to the topo maps. You will have to recalibrate even good quality altimeters almost daily because of changes in temperature, humidity and barometric pressure. Before buying the Highgear altimeter I would suggest reading the customer reviews. One customer wrote that he left his outside his tent overnight and a little rain sprinkled on it.....thus ruining it. My gear needs to be a little tougher than that. Casio makes a good altimeter watch....Timex makes a lousy one.....Suunto makes a very expensive and excellent one.
I bought the Highgear watch / altimeter on SNC in '07 prior to hiking the PCT. It was useful on the PCT but I would have never needed it on the AT. The price was right on SNC, $34.85 if I remember correctly and it was accurate but it took me 4 months of '08 to find a new battery (factory rep at trail days) and then one of the "ears" on the watch that holds the pin for the wrist strap broke off. It stll works fine but I have to carry it in a pocket...not as handy as on the wrist therefore I never use it anymore.:mad:

geek

[Freeze]

I took a Suunto Vector with altimeter in 04, wanting to use it to determine location based on known altitudes along the trail. I found it to be off most of the time, and had to recalibrate it more than once a day. So basically it was worthless. It determined altitude based on barometric pressure changes, so basically changes in weather were throwing it off. In my opinion, a GPS based altimeter will be more beneficial.

I don't bother with such things out there anymore. In my opinion, the simpler, the better.

[Tin Man]

Altimeters are depressing... 'i thought we were higher than that... pass the scotch'

[trippclark]

I have a Highgear Altimeter watch. It is much more accurate than the Casio Altimeter watch that I had formerly. Perhaps this is due to 5 year newer technology.

As others have stated, it is not a necessity at all, but since I am going to carry a watch anyway, I find it helpful in pinpointing more accurately where I am along the trail when compared against the elevation profile.

For me, it has been worth the investment (about $50).

[hikingshoes]

I have the La crosseXG-55 and i love it so for.i didnt like the band and chg. it out,but its a great toy to start out with.be safe,Charles

[Petr]

I just splurged on a new Olympus camera which is waterproof, crushproof, shockproof and I discovered after buying it, to my delight, that it has an altimeter built into it...though I don't know how good it is or how practical busting out your camera to check your altitude is. Still, multitasking right.

[KG4FAM]

I just splurged on a new Olympus camera which is waterproof, crushproof, shockproof and I discovered after buying it, to my delight, that it has an altimeter built into it...though I don't know how good it is or how practical busting out your camera to check your altitude is. Still, multitasking right.
This is the all in one gadget that I want
http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=111&encProdID=64C913CDBC183621AAA39980149EA8C6&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0
quad band transmit,wide scanning,dual receive, GPS, bluetooth, thermometer, barometer, altimeter, waterproof

[sasquatch2014]

I also have a Suunto and find that if you stay on top of adjusting it when you are at a point where you know the alt it is close enough for my needs. I like it because it helps me figure out if I am at the real summit or one of the many false summits that there seem to be on lots of the climbs. It helps me pace myself. As it is built into the watch I find it more useful than the temp feature that is thrown off by my body heat.

[Alligator]

I also have a Suunto and find that if you stay on top of adjusting it when you are at a point where you know the alt it is close enough for my needs. I like it because it helps me figure out if I am at the real summit or one of the many false summits that there seem to be on lots of the climbs. It helps me pace myself. As it is built into the watch I find it more useful than the temp feature that is thrown off by my body heat.Yeah, at least once a day you pass something that's got a decent elevation mark. Even if the exact elevation is off, I'm usually more interested in the change in elevation. So if I know I have a 600 foot climb and I just watch for the change not the exact height.

It can be depressing like Tin Man says on the up but on the down there is the great feeling of flying down the mountain:).

[garlic08]

I used to put one to good use in the Pacific Northwest, bushwhacking in cloudy rain forest. I haven't used it since I moved to the Rockies. I never even used my compass on the AT, so I agree with the majority here that it would be little more than an expensive, fragile novelty on the AT.

[Tin Man]

for pilots, a necessity

for boaters, not so much :eek:

for hikers, a toy... but toys are cool :cool:

[Tudor]

for pilots, a necessity

for boaters, not so much :eek:

for hikers, a toy... but toys are cool :cool:

Agreed. @ 37 bucks, a toy that seems to be all that much better. :D Thanks for all the replies everyone! As a watch & altimeter, great choice in a toy for my thru. hehehe

[Blissful]

my hubby has a highgear altimeter watch and it works very good for him. He loves it.

[IndianaBrad]

I use a Sunnto Core Watch with Altimeter. It is ausome. I use it to also as a compass and a medicine alarm. It is also Black my favorite color.

[Worldwide]

I also use a watch based Altimeter.

It is useful in extreme situations. You won't ever NEED to know exactly how high in elevation you are at any given time unless someone is hurt. Making it necessary to pinpoint exactly where you are using a map and compass too. Outside of that I can't think of a single situation where I had to have my altitude info other than for brain fodder.

[Alligator]

Once in a while you can do something useful like setting the altitude alarm to avoid missing a side trail. I hate flying past a turn on a downhill only to have to walk back up:datz.

[hnryclay]

I have an Origo, and its been a good watch/altimeter as stated above you have to calibrate daily.

[RockDoc]

I bought the Highgear altimeter watch but returned it after finding out it was designed for skiers, to tell how much elevation they dropped on their runs. Had a bunch of functions that were nice for skiers, but not much use for backpackers or ultrarunners (another thing I do).

I used an altimeter for many years mapping in the US Geological Survey. They can (rarely) be a lifesaver in terms of finding yourself when lost bushwacking, and lacking landmarks. But on the AT? I wouldn't bother with it. They are too fussy to keep calibrated.