altimeter - Moved from Q&A

[skibones]

altimeter

How many people have an altimeter when they hike?
What brands do you find are more accurate and stay accurate during the hike?

 

[Paradox]

I have one that is part of my GPS (Garmin CSx) it self calibrates over time by averaging GPS altitudes (which can be off by a couple hundred feet or more in a single reading). I never calibrated it this Saturday for the Presi-traverse, and found it was off on each of the summits by 0 - 21 feet. Good enough for my purposes.

I go to that page now and then when I want to find how far I have to climb. I generally don't have it set exclusively on the altitude page when hiking, although I have heard of some who do. I don't know how long it takes to arrive at a good average altidude from the GPS but it seems to do it in less than three hours.

I have friend who has one on his watch that does not self-calibrate. He says he usually forgets to callibrate it before starting out, rendering the altimeter about useless.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I have friend who has one on his watch that does not self-calibrate. He says he usually forgets to callibrate it before starting out, rendering the altimeter about useless.

The Timex Helix is a watch, compass, thermometer, altimeter, barometric pressure guage, chronograph, and very weak light, all in one. About $60. It's a little bit larger than most watches men wear.

It works well enough if you realize a weather-related drop in barometric pressure might cause the reading to rise falsely, and vice-versa. Sometimes it's dead on at the summit, other times up to 300' off, but usually explainable for the just stated reason.

As for not calibrating it, if you know the ascent of a mountain, you can set it to anything you want and use the relative difference to know where you are. I live at sea level, and the only problem with this Altimeter feature is that it gets stuck at 'LO', (which is its way of saying "you're below sea level"), so I am tempted to set it to 1,000 feet when at home and deal with the difference.

 

[Jay H]

Suunto Vector here, I find it pretty accurate and like Tom says, if you know the ascent to summit, you can just offset that with the current altitude it's reading. I believe the barometric altimeters are better at giving relative altitude than absolute altitudes (aka you total elevation gained is more accurate than the elevation indicated, barring any pressure changes).

Jay

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Years ago, I had a cheap cassio. One of the first electronic ones to come out. It was a fun toy, and it was amazingly accurate--always within 20-40 feet when I reached a summit. It was not temperature compensated, and was only good in the summer. It was a fun toy, but I lost it in deep- snow, in a bicycle accident. I replaced it with a similar one, but it was nowhere near as accurate. Makes me wonder about the consistnacy of quality in the lower cost ones.

The Timex Helix is a watch, compass, thermometer, altimeter, barometric pressure guage, chronograph, and very weak light, all in one. About $60. It's a little bit larger than most watches men wear.

Sounds about my style, I might try one again... Does it have an alarm clock as well? That saves me several pounds on a bike ride.

It works well enough if you realize a weather-related drop in barometric pressure might cause the reading to rise falsely, and vice-versa.

True of even the most expensive pressure based altimeters. They must always be re-calibrated.

As for not calibrating it, if you know the ascent of a mountain, you can set it to anything you want and use the relative difference to know where you are. I live at sea level, and the only problem with this Altimeter feature is that it gets stuck at 'LO', (which is its way of saying "you're below sea level"), so I am tempted to set it to 1,000 feet when at home and deal with the difference.

Not really. It is non-linear. Look up the formula. Pressure difference from 0-1000 is not the same as the pressure difference from 1000-2000. In a practical sense, you may be OK, as long as you don't go out west.

 

[Jkrew81]

High Gear Summit

I use a High Gear Summit watch and works pretty well. My only complaint is to get the best results you have to reset the barometer every couple of days for the altimeter to get the most accurate readings. Most of the time when I do this the summits will be off from 10-20 feet which is not too bad. It is a great tool mentally to have when you have been chugging all day up a climb that never seems to have an ending.

 

[trailbiscuit]

Ditto on the Suunto Vector. I dig it. The altimeter is fairly accurate, as long as you set it at a known elevation. It's very useful for ascending. It's also interesting to compare your rates of ascent. Especially, when you feel like you're dragging, but still moving at a respectable pace.

Although, it's also my everyday watch, so it's a bit big and ridiculous...in certain settings it's been referred to as a birdbath.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Sounds about my style, I might try one again... Does it have an alarm clock as well?

Yes. It's very loud and obnoxious, just what you need to wake up at 3:30 AM!

Not really. It is non-linear. Look up the formula. Pressure difference from 0-1000 is not the same as the pressure difference from 1000-2000. In a practical sense, you may be OK, as long as you don't go out west.

Ah yes, you are correct! But usually my 'offset' is only a few hundred feet.

 

[NukedRocket]

So, if I've processed all this info correctly, if I check the altimeter at the TH and again at the summit, I should have (roughly) the same differential at both places, right? Or am I way off?

Also, does anyone have the altitudes of major ADK TH's to use as base readings? Corey's, Garden, Loj, UW, AMC? I suppose I could just look, but someone might have'em handy.

 

[DougPaul]

All the aforementioned altimeters are electronic. There are also mechanical barometric altimeters that are quite reliable and accurate to within 10m or so. Thommen is (was?) the classic brand.

Doug

 

[Orsonab]

High Gear Alti-tech 2

Got this at Christmas as I became frustrated by my battery-hungry, unreliable GPS. Extremely useful when combined with a good old-fashioned paper map. You do have to remember to calibrate at the trailhead as I believe all altimeters that use barometric pressure as their measuring tool will "wander" as atmospheric pressure changes between hikes but once that is done, the altimeter is accurate to within 100ft for the rest of the day at least. It also measures temperature, chronometer, compass, two alarms, etc. and the battery lasts two/three years. Weighs about a quarter of a GPS and has a built in carabiner and stiff hinge so that you can stick it on a shoulder strap and then just look down when you want to get a reading. I think I got it at EMS for about $125.

 

[Daniel Eagan]

All the aforementioned altimeters are electronic. There are also mechanical barometric altimeters that are quite reliable and accurate to within 10m or so. Thrommen is (was?) the classic brand.

Doug

I have the Suunto Escape 203, battery-operated, which has clock, thermometer, barometer, altimeter, and memory functions. It's been pretty accurate even though I rarely recalibrate it. It's very light and water resistant. What I like about it is that it doesn't tell you where you are, only how far you have to go.

 

[HighHorse]

I also have the Suunto Vector and find it to be very accurate when recalibrated once or (sometimes) twice during a hike and when crazy weather events aren't a factor.

 

[AntlerPeak]

I have the same one Pete was talking about. The Casio watch altimeter is not self adjusting but the thing is usually right on. It calibrates at 20 feet intervals and at the end of the day it usually reads within 20 feet or so of the map actual.

In regard to others comments if this puppy is reading 200 feet over or under in the parking lot you just add/subtract when you read it on trail. I have found if the start point is say 1000 feet and Casio is reading 1200 for instance when I get to a known point say 3400 hundred this thing is the same 200 feet over that it was in the lot. At that point it would read 3400 feet, so it's no big deal.

As for winter use, I have not noticed any difference in accuracy. Bought it at REI Seattle in 1991 and it is still going strong. One weird item of note the watch sweep hands, ( it has both digital time and old fashioned sweep hands with standard watch numbers ) One sweep hand has illumination to glow in the dark the other does not. So at night when you wake up and look at the watch you can easily see it is twenty of. You just can't tell twenty of what!. My buddy has one as well with the same funky defect, too bad it wasn't the other hand that way with both watches we could tell the time in the dark. That's what flashlights are for, right?

 

[Rob S]

Sometimes it's dead on at the summit, other times up to 300' off, but usually explainable for the just stated reason.

Agree with that. The Helix is a great "does-it-all" watch. My experience has been that 95% of the time it is either dead on or within 50-75 feet. Only one time was it off by more than that (around 250 feet) and it was due to a strong cold front moving in.

 

[KMartman]

Suunto Vector here too....has served me well so far..

M

 

[4000'er]

Polar

I have a Polar S720i. It is a heart rate monitor and cycling computer. It has altitude, temperature, and cycling functions. You can download the results to your computer. I always forget to reset the altimeter though.

 

[Tuco]

Have the Casio Pathfinder. Find that WHEN i remember to recalibrate i am within 20-40 feet, unless ther's a big weather change at hand.

 

[dms]

All the aforementioned altimeters are electronic. There are also mechanical barometric altimeters that are quite reliable and accurate to within 10m or so. Thrommen is (was?) the classic brand.

Doug

Doug, I have used my Thomenem while do the 3ks, it is always accurate within 10-20 feet. When looking for a register on a scrubby flatish peak, the accuracy is essential.

 

[bill bowden]

Altimeter comments

None of them are especially accurate in winter because you go outside their range of accurate temperature compensation, but they are still good for relative altitudes.

Suunto Vector has been accurate and has an easy to read display

Casio was accurate but difficult to read

Avocet has had continual problems with battery leakage (and they don't stand behind their product)