Highgear Alterra Watch - 2006 BCS

The watch does not quite live up to its promise. It does not allow for dual time zones when in India or Nepal as minutes cannot be adjusted. Temperature measurement is disturbed by body heat (no surprise really), the weather calibration is not quite up to par. It is fun to play with, but for serious measurements I would suggest looking out for another watch.

If you don't have the coin to drop on a Suunto, this watch is a good alternative.

This watch gets the basic functions down. The altimeter is fairly accurate when it is calibrated to a known elevation before use. The altitude log does a good job of tracking total ascent and descent. The compass is good for getting a general idea of your bearing. I have yet to use the ski chronograph so I cannot comment on its function. I have also only dabbled a little with the barometer.

The thing I wish this watch could do is link to a computer so I could download trip or lap information for easier tracking of training.

All in all I am pleased with this watch and will use it for many years to come.

When I first got the High Gear watch as a gift, I was a bit concerned how it would perform. Lucky for me, I was going on a trip to the Canadian rockies where I could make good use of all the functions, and I must say that this watch is fantastic. I read some of the reviews about its temperature gauge and altimeter, etc, but I found them to be quite reliable as long as one understands how to best use the watch. Using topo maps on my GPS, the altimeter was not perfect but performed excellent. Even when using the altimeter to record vertical accent, it was only off by 20 feet on one hike. Pretty sweet for a watch eh! I have had the watch now for a month, and have backpacked 3 times with it and found the weather forecast to be excellent and all functions within reasonable limits. Best watch out there, and I eagerly recommend to others.

The Highgear Alterra is a real value compared to other altimeter watches in this price range. Just hold it side by side with the Suunto Vector and the ruggedness of the Alterra is made obvious by the steel back. There are also more functions which can be a pain when scrolling but this is minimized by being able to access altitude and barometric readings (including graphical) from the time function. Scrolling through the functions is only necessary when seeking more detailed information. I have not been to altitude yet so cannot attest to the accuracy over time, but I am more than pleased so far by the quality construction and function of the Highgear Alterra.