Watches

[DaleW]

I'm ok on High Gear quality, but digital compasses don't do much for me. They need calibration and seem fussy. You can't tell when the thing is off and the degree of accuracy just isn't there for me. You can get a good compact and accurate compass for little money and 1000 times the reliability of a battery operated widget. I'm no Luddite either-- I repair and sell computers and other electronics for a living, so I like my transistorized toys a lot. An altimiter is nice, but they need calibration too. If the weather changes overnight, you will find yourself at a different elevation when you wake up

A good ol' Timex Ironman has all the watch functions I need and is light weight and out of the road. I just end up smacking big watches on stuff.

If I'm going to trust electronics for navigation, I'd rather use a GPS and get some real info for the weight and hassle.

 

[kage]

The Suuntos are the most accurate I've used. I mountain guided internationally for more than a decade and used an altimeter regularly. The problem with the Suuntos is that the batter compartment cover is plastic and tends to strip out when gunked up, making changing the battery impossible at times. I went through more than half a dozen of these in the military, but they were issued so it didn't matter.

The Casios are huge and weren't particularly accurate.

The Nike's get terrible reviews for accuracy.

I don't think Avocet makes them any more, but they were decent, if not ugly.

The new Timex watch (don't know what it's called, but it's square, orange and ugly) is getting a lot of attention, but I haven't seen any solid reviews yet.

If I had the money I would buy a Tissot T-Touch, but Uncle Sugar isn't footing the bill any more. Supposedly a decent altimeter and accurate digital compass.

 

[Mountainman38]

I love my Casio Pathfinder. It's a great watch. It's big, but feels like a normal sized watch when on your wrist. Very easy functions to learn.

http://pathfinder.casio.com/watches/hiking_trekking/PAG40B-2V

I'll second the Pathfinder recommendation. I've had one for about a year now, and really like it. It's not solar powered, and doesn't have the atomic clock sync of some of Casio's watches, but I like the way it looks better.

The altimeter function on a watch is of marginal value, I'd say. On a 2 hour hike, my elevation at the car changed by about 60 feet, and the elevation changes a lot with barometric pressure changes. Right now it says I'm at 420 ft. elev., while reality is that I'm at about 27 ft. elevation.

The compass is a much more useful feature, I find. I've actually used it quite a lot, and it's nice to have it right there on my wrist.

 

[shalegreenjeep]

Marathon TSAR, zulu band and suunto compass.