Great Watches - High Gear Alterra

Buster kicked off an awesome gear review theme yesterday of GREAT WATCHES. We’ll be reviewing several other watches that go way beyond just telling time over the next week or so. Watches that help you get out and enjoy your outdoor experience.

So let’s get on to todays GREAT WATCH. High Gear makes some great watches, altimeters, and compasses. What they’ve done with the Alterra is combine all three into an affordable wrist watch.

When it comes to technical watches these days you have many choices. There used to be a handful of brands making watches for outdoor enthusiasts, but now the market has exploded. And lets face it, the first generation were giant wrist computers that looked more like you had a small saucer on your arm. The Alterra solves this problem with a sleek design that hugs your wrist, and even resembles a metal style watch. This watch doubles well as an outdoor workhorse, as well as a watch you can wear out to dinner without looking like you just came off the trail.

In my test I took this watch out and played with the barometer, altimeter, and compass. One theme you are going to notice with all the digital altimeter watches is that they are only accurate if you adjust them often. You need to re-calibrate the altimeter 3 or more times a day at known altitudes. This can be a problem if you are out on a bushwhacking trip. But keep in mind that the watch is only one ingredient in a recipe for land navigation. A GPS, magnetic compass, and map are all important ingredients as well. I found that all the instruments were within acceptable variances for the Alterra.

At $170, this watch is a great buy when considering the list of goodies you get. You can buy this watch at Moosejaw now and get the Outdoorzy discount that every member gets through your free benefits package.

I would say the features are “too long to list.” But we review gear for you here at Outdoorzy to help you make an informed decision when buying an expensive piece of gear. So here’s that long list…

Altimeter

· Digital Altimeter

· Working Range from -2,303ft to 30,058ft

(-702m to 9,164m)

· Current, Accumulated and Maximum Altitude in Feet or Meters

· Altitude Resolution 3ft (1m)

· Graphic Altitude Trend Display

· Altitude/Temperature Display

· Rate of Ascent and Descent

· Altitude Alarm

· 15 Altitude Log Book Memories with Log Date, Average-Ascent and Descent, Total-Ascent and Descent, Number of Hills and Total Time.

· 3 Altitude Presets for Quick Calibration

Barometer

· Digital Barometer

· Sea Level Pressure and Absolute Pressure Displays in Both mbar/hPa and inHg

· Resolution 1mbar (0.05inHg) Working Range 300mbar to 1100mbar

(8.16inHg to 32.48inHg)

· Graphic Barometer Display

· Weather Forecast

· Barometer/Temp Display

Compass

· Digital Compass

· Graphic Compass Display with 360° Compass Bearing

· 1° Resolution

· Adjustable Declination

Thermometer

· Digital Thermometer

· Resolution 0.1° in °F and °C

· Working Range +14°F to +122°F

(-10°C to +50°C)

Ski Chrono

· Input Current Altitude and Base Altitude, Start Chrono/Chrono Auto Stops When Base Altitude is Reached

· Calculates Speed of Descent

Chronograph

· Resolution 1/100 Second with Maximum Time Range 24hr 00min 00sec

· Maximum 50 laps/20 Runs

· Times for Each Lap and Split, with Best and Average Laps’ Time

Watch

· Time/Day/Date/Month with Dual Time Zone

· 12 or 24 Hour Format

· Time/Temp Display

· Dual Daily Alarm

· Hourly Chime

· EL Backlight System

· Mineral Glass Lens

· Water Resistant 5Om

· 2.8 oz

· Consumer Serviceable Battery (CR2032)

3 comments October 30th, 2008