Highgear TerraTech Altimeter Watch - 2007 BCS

Have to say is my first altimeter watch i owned but it was put to the test on freezing temperatures for 2 days ranging from ( -17 to -5 max C it was attached to my backpack shoulder belt ) and it worked like a charm , the altimeter worked perfect the barometer had an minute difference (compared the pressure with a meteorological station reading and it was off by 1.8 mbar ) the display is great large easy to read and materials seem to be sturdy.
The compass is a great asset too just would be nice to stay bit more on then to go into standby mode after a short period .
A thumbs up for a very good price and a wide range of features .

This is a pretty cool watch. People say it breaks easy, but mine is still holidng up fine. It is fairly easy to use, has fairly accurate altitude readings, and is somewhat water resistant. For this price, why not?

I bought this watch when my Suunto Vector finally died after many thru hikes and after working as a guide for over two years. I received it as a good deal ($75 new) from a local dealer who supports the company I run. This watch is not consistent in any of its readings, is fragile and fogged under the bezel in less than a month with minimal rain. I and any of my employees will not be running these in the future. I will happily go back to Suunto watches when this watch is officially in pieces which will probably be soon. I could warranty it but I would only do this to sell it and if the warranty was a free replacement. Save your hard earned money.

As stated, this watch needs frequent calibration, but not as much as some people state unless you really are trekking backcountry and making some substantial altitude changes. So, that said, I would not rely on this altimeter for serious backcountry folks, but it works well for tracking downhill runs, etc. Yes, it is large, but that doesnt bother me much - it really does not feel heavy or anything. The large display is nice to see in whiteout slope conditions, especially. So my biggest complaint about the watch is the band - the plastic will begin to tear and mine eventually completely ripped off after about 6 months. Apparently one must be extra careful when taking it on and off,but I was in no way abusive with it. If the plastic band breaks, there is no chance of replacing / repairing it. So now its a pocket watch.

This watch is a bit on the big size, but that does help when u want to look at your watch without bringing it up to your face. The altimeter remains accurate for the day as long as it is set each morning. Compass seems fairly accurate, but is best as a quick reference.

In my opinion the best features of the watch are: Screen: Some people said it was too big, but I think that is the correct size for the function that was constructed. The chronograph: Is in excellent accuracy and can take many laps and runs. I buy it at great price... only 62U$D

The worst thing about this watch: The temperature does not mark well, I get about 4°C of variation from reality. Never use the watch in my hand so as not to vary with my corporal temperature , but still not a good measurement. The minimum temperature was only -10°C. The compass should remain on screen for 30 seconds, but do not stay more than 15 ... then we must re-activate it and ... The height measurement is not accurate and I have to calibrate it with great regularity.

I bought the watch for mountaineering and I don't gave the result I wanted. With temperatures of -30°C did not have temperature... a less.
An altimeter that does not mark either the altitude is NOT AVAILABLE!!! two less. I do not recommend it for mountaineering or climbing

I have had this watch for about a year now. The main purpose for buying this watch was to assist in tracking altitude during long climbs and ski trips. As others have stated, you must calibrate the watch frequently which is a pain in the arse. Not so bad if you are at a place where you can verify the altitude. No so good if you are on a week long expedition and don't have a calibration point. I also didn't like the fact that it looks like I am wearing a wall clock on my wrist. This thing is HUGE! I still get jokes from climbing buddies standing 20 ft away saying "Hey, hold up your wrist so I can see what time it is"! If you can get past the huge size, and the constant need for calibration, you will probably be fine with this altimeter.

Just picked this watch up on SAC. I have been in the market for an altimeter watch for some time now. I figured I didn't have much to lose on a $61 price tag. So far I am surprisingly impressed with both the functionality and seeming durability of this little gem. It seems to have all the functionality of my buddies Suunto and designed in a user friendly manner. Since initial set-up (correct time, barometric P, etc), I have checked its' accuracy against several sources, the barometer as stated above is within 2 mBar consistantly, and the elevation within 30 feet or so. The thermometer like all similarly designed watches detects body heat, I realized that it is fairly safe to subtract 10-12 degrees F to get the correct temperature while the watch is on. I haven't had the watch long enough or put it through and outing that will truly test it, so I can only give 4/5 stars. I believe that it will prove to be a 5 star product!!

Bought this watch in November and it worked great (aside from the frequent calibration, which I had read about). In the last week it has "crashed" repeatedly- temperature, barometer and altitude functions do not work or give incorrect readings (mbar reading for the barometer fxn is all over the place). I replaced the battery to reset the watch, but it still does not work. Even more frustrating is that I paid the $160 price just before it dropped to $80. I'll probably use my tax refund to do what I should have done earlier- buy a Suunto.

Bought this watch in November and it worked great (aside from the frequent calibration, which I had read about). In the last week it has "crashed" repeatedly- temperature, barometer and altitude functions do not work or give incorrect readings (mbar reading for the barometer fxn is all over the place). I replaced the battery to reset the watch, but it still does not work. Even more frustrating is that I paid the $160 price just before it dropped to $80. I'll probably use my tax refund to do what I should have done earlier- buy a Suunto.

The style, size and weight of this watch are great. It's huge, but, for all of the functions it was supposed to have, that is fine. The size made the temp easy to read hanging from the top of the tent before you had to get out of the bag in the morning.

Bought this on SAC 8 months ago, because it was cheap. 5 months ago, the barometer, altimeter and temp gauge stopped working. at all. No resets or batteries could change it. This morning, the watch's time was even off by 7 hours, and one of the buttons had stuck, and the entire thing would not respond to anything.

In other words, it's cheap for a reason. I do not recommend this purchase.

I got this watch on Steepandcheap.com thinking it was a good deal. Granted it was a good price but poor quality. Before I even got to use it in the mountains I flew to Boston. On the flight back everything went crazy. It said it was 740 degrees Fahrenheit!! It stayed that way until the batteries died. Also the barometer never worked again and the altitude was stuck on 1,000 ft. Once the batteries died so did my desire to use this watch. Spend the extra money and get a Suunto.

I have had this watch for a couple of years and it has joined me to Death Valley, San Gorgonio and 5 countries overseas. As a barometric altimeter, you have to expect it to vary with temp and weather, but if you keep this in mind and recalibrate sensibly, the watch will do a great job. This thing is massive and is probably readable by some satellites - I recently went diving and took another watch, and realized just how blind I actually was. It has been my favorite "go-to" watch and has performed well in my job as a firefighter - many assignments in the mountains and actually has outperformed my suunto. Just don't get it too wet (submersing it will probably kill it due to the field servicable 2032 battery door). Folks that need high accuracy altitude should also carry a good gps, but for me, this honkin watch has been great when everything else gets left behind or shows up with dead batteries. If you only have the chance for one tool on your wrist, this is a pretty good choice. The compass is a real pain to recalibrate, is major battery hog and doesn't get used often. I can't really shoot a bearing with it anyway and prefer a lensatic compass (and it uses no batteries). Temperature reads high if it is on your wrist, but given 5 minutes carabinered to your pack, it'll come around and be fairly accurate. Since I have had this watch, I have used it in parallel with gps, kestrel, and belt weather kits (you should never really rely on only one method if you can avoid it) and I have learned its peculiarities, expected accuracies and know what it will and will not do well. For the price it has been a real winner and a great companion in work and play.

Used it for the first time over the weekend doing some backcountry skiing and worked great. Didn't fog up, accurate elevation and even gives you a little graph to show your decent/ascent. The only complaint I have is the compass doesn't stay on, I admit this could be user error but haven't figured it out just yet

I picked up one of these on SAC about a year ago. Overall, I'm pleased with its performance given the price I paid. Feature/functionality use is fairly intuitive. Although some have complained about the size of the watch, I think it is appropriately sized for its intended purpose. The data is presented in a large enough font that it can be read with a quick glance. It's a bit large for an everyday watch but that's not its intended purpose. I have two complaints. The altimeter must be calibrated VERY frequently. I used the watch on a recent climb of Pico de Orizaba. I calibrated it 2 days before summiting. It was inaccurate by nearly 60 ft when I summited. That would be understandable if the weather had changed drastically but it had not. The second complaint I have is that the temperature reading is worthless when wearing the watch as it is affected by body temperature.

This watch is not the best altimeter watch on the market. I don't feel like it is very accurate. I have to adjust the altitude and compass more than one should have to. Other than that, it works better than not having an altimeter at all. It fits well. It reads time easily. It is easy to use and to adjust. Fairly intuitive design. If you find this watch at a discounted price it is worth buying, if not, I would not pay $200 for it.