Origo Granite Peak Series Altimeter Watch - 2008 BCS

I got this watch as a Christmas gift last year, And it is one of my favorite pieces of gear to have with me! I have a knack for banging watches around and putting some scars on em'. So I was VERY happy to see that this thing is a tank! You can beat it around (I have) and there will not be a scratch or mark on it. Besides that, the functions are great and very accurate in my observation. All of those great qualities are topped off with a great look. I wear this watch daily and just about everywhere I go.

Looks and wears quite nicely, a little tricky to get on and off snugly without damaging the strap which has a history of failure (good luck finding a replacement). The manual is minimal and the features require frequent calibration.BUT for the money I paid for an ABC I'm happy !

Great watch. Picked one up on Steep and CHeap for a great price and have been very pleased. I'm familiar with ABC watches (calibration, data storage etc) but this watch would be very easy to learn to use even if you'd never used an ABC watch before.

Altimeter- I have found that its accurate within 25ft or so, in my opinion that's good enough- i'm using it for hiking and skiing. Barometer is simple to use and read. Compass is accurate when calibrated corretly, declination is also very easy to set. Thermometer, like other ABC watches, is affected by your body temp. I've found my difference between the watch and actual temp to be ~20 degrees. If you need exact temp readings, take off the watch and leave it alone for a few min and it's really accurate. THe temp readings even go to 1/10th of a degree.

Size- I have relatively small wrists. The Suunto Core looks like i'm wearing a hockey puck on my wrist. This ABC is a "medium" sized face but I can say that it is def smaller than many other ABC's and therefore looks alot better on, thought its certainly not as small as say a Timex wristwatch. I'm pleased with the sizing, haven't had any issues getting it under any layers. The silver face is fancy enough that I can wear it in the office as well.

Highly recommended watch for the outdoors but good looking enough to be used for every day activities and work. Comes with an extra battery which is a nice touch.

It was nice to finally find a watch that didn't look like a saucer on my wrist. The altimeter is usually really close with out constant calibrating and when you do it is very spot on. It is simple to use and very nice looking. The one issue I had was both the battery in the watch and the spare sent with it were dead when I got it, no big deal though, batteries are cheap. Anyone looking for a complete outdoor watch will be more than happy.

While it worked well in water, after about a week the screen began to mist whenever I went outside!! Don't get me wrong, I loved the functions that came with this watch, but a watch that mists when its 55 and raining is not a watch that I want! Hopefully that was just a defect. Every other aspect of the watch was great. The Barometer and Altimeter are easy to use, and the watch is not too big. While the band is a little irritating (as it refuses to stay under the clip) the misting is the real problem.

I love this watch. I needed an altimeter for adventure racing, and i didnt want to spend 3 or 400 bucks on a watch. during a race, i check the calibration 2 to 3 times, depending on the length of the race, and this watch stays accurate very well. I find the altimeter extremely reliable as long as its calibrated before use.

its also super durable. this has taken plenty of tumbles with me and it still looks awesome.

2 cons though -

1 is battery life. it seems to eat through batteries relatively quickly, but i do use it often, and battery changing is quick and easy.

2 is the bulk. its a thick watch, I understand that this is going to be an issue with most altimeter watches, but when on the moutntain bike, the watch bounces around on my wrist and often takes some skin off. when im on the bike, i usually turn the watch face to the bottom of my wrist to avoid this. A handlebar mount will also fix this problem.

I like this watch a lot. It isn't as big as what I thought a watch with so many features would be! The thermometer is only accurate when you aren't wearing it for about 10 minutes though. It always is affected by my body head on my wrist and can be more than 10 degrees off because of that. Can't wait to take it scuba diving and test out the water resistance!

After I got this, I spent 5 minutes getting it out of all the packaging. Then I put it on my wrist and could barely get it off because the band is so stiff. I see what other people mean when they say they had problems with the band breaking, or breaking off pins. Not a good design. Also, I didn't realize how much it weighed until I had it on my hand. Then I checked the weight and some other altimeters and this one definitely seems on the heavy side (4.5oz vs. 2.5 or 3.0). It is like swinging a quarter pound hamburger on your wrist everywhere you go. I took it back.

Great watch overall with the following complaints:

1. It does not have easy access to the alternate Time setting (called TIME 2). I have it set to Zulu time, but is actually quite useless.

2. Band broke and is tough to find replacement.

3. Loses about 1 second per day. I need accurate time hacks, so I end up spending 5 minutes each day calling the Naval Observatory - not cool.

Otherwise, the watch functions great and I would've been happy with it if it kept time accurately.

My husband bought this watch and after about a year the strap broke. Unfortunately the company went out of business in the US and they don't sell replacement straps. Furthermore the watch strap is designed differently than most watches and we are yet to find a replacement strap that will work with the watch...

I got the watch about 2 weeks ago and its been nice to have for sure. Its my first altimeter watch and so far so good. The functions are great and easy to use. Simple and pretty straight forward just a little heavy on the wrist is all. But time will take care of that.

I have had an Origo Granite Peak watch for several years. I like the watch and its functions. Problem is the wrist band is broken and it is impossible to find a replacement. The company has stopped supporting this product in the U.S. apparently. Do not buy this watch.

I love all the functions of the watch, nice compass, large digital display. Not the easiest to program but if you know how to read the manual you will do just fine.

Pros:
1. Large display
2. Smaller form factor for those with smaller wrists
3. Price (very affordable compared to comps)

Few negative quirks that I've noticed:
1. The battery that came with the unit was drained so I had to replace it with the spare that they provided me with.
2. The retention band that keeps the band in place seems too loose and the watch band keeps popping out.
3. Temperature is spot on if you haven't worn it for over 15mins. Otherwise if the watch is on your wrist you can just take the temperature on screen and subtract 15 degree's and you will be within a degree or two of actual temp.
4. I can def. tell that the band will wear out over time due to the stiffness of the material and how you have to yank back a little while trying to remove the watch or even putting the watch back on.

For the price I think the watch is great, pretty tank like and will take punishment when I take it out.

So this is my first ABC watch, and I'm figuring it all out. One thing I notice is the AM/PM on time and alarm is imposible to read. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, since you always know if it's night or day. BUT, when setting the alarm, it's quite possible to be 12 hours off and not realize it. The alarm chime is very quiet also, and probably would not wake me up from a solid sleep. Compass and altimeter seem to work well. Calibration, declination were very easy to set. Weather forecast is gimmicky and not needed. Might write an update after some period of use.

I did not buy this this model but the one that I did buy did not hold up for six months. I was very dissapointed. I would not buy another.

After two High Gear Altimeters breaking within a matter of months, we settled on this one for his b'day present. I personally think it's the best-looking altimeter watch out there - the stainless steel bevel gives it a dressier look but it lends itself to greater durability also. Husband also feels that it is easy to use and the altimeter has had no issues so far, though he hasn't really tested it yet (had it for a month). We would both highly recommend this watch.

I've had this watch for about a month now and I'm pretty happy with it. It does what it says it should and looks nice to boot. The only problems seem to be a quiet alarm and a band that is just a bit to rigid.

Just a few things. The watch came with a dying battery but a new battery was included with the watch. What was not included was a instruction manual that was remedied within a day after a couple emails. So, I got the watch up and functioning like I wanted only to find that after a month, a pin for the wrist band buckle broke. My initial impression is htat the wrist band is too stiff and taking the watch on and off daily put too much pressure on it. I still haven't found the time to get to a jeweler or watch store to replace the pin.

That said, for the time I had the watch, I loved it. Looks good, seems accurate, easy to calibrate.

I still need to take it on some hikes. But so far I love the look, feel, and quality of the watch. I'm sold!