Highgear Alterra Altimeter Watch

Functions are awesome ... used it in Japan, shreddin gnar, great altimeter barometer etc... wore it everyday for 4 months and then it fell apart... the top half of the metal casing just fell off.. admittedly i could have glued it back on but why should I have to? ... my Suunto should be arriving any minute

This is the second Highgear watch I've gotten my husband in the last 2 months. The first one was the Terratech from the outlet which had a plastic face and scratched after the first week of light use around the house. I then returned that and got the Alterra thinking the quality would be better. Husband noticed that indeed, the electronics the digital display were a notch up from the terratech, and I believe the watch face is more durable mineral glass instead of plastic. Initially he was very happy with the watch. A week after receiving it, we left for two weeks in the mid-east. Mid-trip, one of the plastic buttons popped right off, leaving the spring underneath exposed. He was therefore unable to set the alarms and times for the rest of the trip. I should have heeded the reviews on rei.com about this exact defect with this watch. Overall, we are very disappointed with Highgear products and would never purchase this brand again.

This is the second Alterra I've owned. The first one had cosmetic issues with the soft rubber sides coming off but the new version has hard plastic sides that stay put. The face is large enough to see for 50+ eyes even without readers. If you actually know how an altimeter works you'll find this watch to be highly accurate. The dual time zones and seperate alarms are easy to set and switching between them is a breeze. The compass is quite sensitive and works well as a backup to get you home in any winter whiteout. It has the usual chronograph and timer functions. Mine has remained water proof after several hours in the Green River in Utah during a five day canoe trip. Well worth the money spent.

I have both the Alterra graphite and Alterra shadow watches and I'm very satisfied with both. The Highgear Alterra watch is easy to program and extremely accurate. The time, altimeter, barometer, and compass modes have all worked well with no problems. The Alterra is not excessively large like other watches in this category. It is also very comfortable on the wrist. The battery is easy to replace. The quality of the Alterra is also excellent. It also has a mineral glass face instead of plastic which scratches easily. The price is excellent for all the data this watch has to offer. I own most of the watches Highgear produces and the Alterra is my favorite. Highgear has a winner with this watch.

Loved the features on this watch-- unlike a couple of previous reviewers, I found it quite easy to program. It's also good looking, sturdy, all around a good value for the price. Also, as noted by a previous reviewer-- if you set the altimeter first it's an easier way to calibrate the watch. The ski features, in particular, are impressive. However, I am a small woman, and like most altimeter watches, this is a BIG timepiece. I didn't mind the weight or the look of the size of the face, but I returned it because I was unable to adjust the strap in such a way that the watch fit correctly, due to the diameter of the face. One note-- in the photo the graphite watch looks grey all over, but in fact it is a silver face on a truly black strap.

I purchased this watch after having many higher priced altimeters. The Alterra is very impressive!!! Track your accent, descent, rate per min, provides weather forecast (that appears to be dead on). I think it is the only product on the market that allows the user to view current rate of assent and descent and elevation in the altimeter log mode. Feature rich but I found it super easy to use. I would suggest this to anyone looking for a multi function altimeter.

This watch is sturdy and has a nice easily read display. The major drawback is that it is quite large and thick.

Had the watch for 4 weeks and never saw the weather icon change in the face of real weather variations. Watch was rebooted with great help from BC and Highgear techs over the phone but no change with weather icon. Altitude could be 800-1200 ft off true elevation even with daily calibrations. Barometer was fairly accurate. Compass has a funky display to indicate lead point; a series of vertical lines interfaced with compass-face letters. As reviews noted, thermometer is markedly affected by body temp. It’s difficult to see bezel markings in the sun on graphite model (silver bezel). Although reviews suggested accuracy not to be spot-on I was expecting a bit more from the altimeter and weather icon functions. Perhaps I was still expecting too much from the watch or perhaps I had a lemon… right now it’s on its way back to BC for a refund.

As a follow-up to the review posted by Schott5504, setting the Barometer is less accurate than setting the altimeter to a known elevation. Most NWS barometer readings are ~30min old, and the barometer can change enough in 30 min to affect the accuracy of the altimeter. Since the altimeter and barometer work together, i've found that setting the altimeter to a known altitude (http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=151:1:7302452860451648895::NO:::) is a much more accurate way to calibrate this watch. Setting the correct real altitude will also auto-adjust the MSL Barometer reading as the local barometer reading is determined by the watch and should not be adjusted. Great watch overall!

The backlight on my alterra stopped working after about two weeks of ownership. They tell you not to set the barometer unless you REALLY know what you're doing, and the altimeter (probly since i haven't REALLY set the barometer) has been nice as a ball park figure, but I wouldn't trust it in any situation where I was relying on a certain altitude to know I was in the right place. The watch is also fairly bulky and not too comfortable to wear with ski gloves. I had it attached to my bike handle bars for a while this fall, but it got ripped off by accident (don't ask how, I'll admit, it wasn't easy) and broke some of the rubber/plastic so now it's pretty useless as a watch and I have an excuse to get a suunto. It was fun for the first week or two at least.

Programming this watch is pretty difficult, you do not want to set a certain barometer and also the altimeter. Once you have the correct barometer set then the altimeter is fairly accurate. If you want to watch to remain accurate the barometer has to be updated fairly often, about twice a week. I would recommend updated it right before you head out to use it to be the most accurate. There are a lot of nice features on this watch though, graphs of barometric pressure and change in altitude is really nice. Also an altimeter alarm so you know when you hit certain height with out having to always look at the watch. The thermometer is very accurate also. The watch is water resistant to 50 meters, but anyone who would need a watch like this would love to see it be waterproof. The customer service was great though when I had a question about how to initially set the watch functions.