Contributions by hockeydoc (4)

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.

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.

I don't understand what it is with this brand but we've had nothing but bad luck. I got the Terratech for my husband and after just a week of light use around the house, he noticed a huge scratch over the face (which I think is made of plastic rather than glass). Exchanged it for the pricier Alterra model which fell apart during our overseas trip, after receiving it only two weeks prior. Would never buy highgear products again as a result of back-to-back bad experiences.

I wore this jacket once and ended up returning it after skiing at Schweitzer on a spring-like day with dense, misty fog. By noon the jacket was soaking wet. I got it for spring skiing conditions, but realized that I would never use it for Pacific Northwest skiing where the snow is always wet. Otherwise, if I was still living in Utah I would have kept it for those drier conditions. Other than that, the fit was great and I loved the way I could move freely. The helmet-compatible hood, which I didn't initially think was a big deal, I ended up using towards the end of the day when it got a bit chillier. I ended up getting a Gore-Tex shell instead which I used up at Whistler and was perfect. Bottom line is, for wet climates it's probably not as functional, but for drier, colder places it's probably perfect.