subject: Altimeter Wrist Watches And The Reasons You Need To Have 1 [print this page] Using altimeter watches to know and record barometric pressure while you're out in the woods is a terrific idea. Having all that information on your wrist just gives one a real sense of security. If you are staying out there overnight, you need to have at least the ability to predict changes in the weather.
A barometer is a terrific tool for doing just that. It will let you in on what is coming up weather-wise. To do that though, you need to understand a bit of trend analysis with the barometer. If things are trending negatively - that is, the weather's getting worse, you will know that by the fact that the altimeter watches telling you barometric pressure is also trending downward. Lower pressure just means worse weather in most cases.
Good weather is signaled by stability and barometric pressure readings, or arising barometric pressure trends. If you have a watch that will give you that sort of data feedback over time, this is really no chore at all. But if you watch doesn't tell you that type of detail in chart form you just need to make the chart yourself by writing it all down.
Altimeter watches look almost exactly like regular digital watches, but they're usually little bit thicker in order to house the sensors that pick up on barometric pressure, Magnetic North and temperature. They aren't that much bigger though in many people would mistake them for a regular watches if they didn't already know that it was an altimeter watch.
Again, the cool thing about having a barometer around is that you can make some predictions about upcoming weather. The barometer senses air pressure and as pressure decreases weather is typically getting worse. The important thing is the trend analysis though.
Many altimeter watch varieties store this information and feed it back to you in the form of a chart. That way you can see the barometric pressure over time. That trend analysis is key to understanding how weather will be affecting you in the near future when you're out on the trail. When exposed to the elements through sports that take you out-of-doors for many hours or days at a time, it is a very comforting feeling to know that you have all this backup information available on your watch.
Altimeter watches are more expensive than regular digital watches but they're not that much more expensive. A high and altimeter watch will run you in the $400 range. However, you can get one with all the same functionality for about $125 if you shop right.
