altimeter watches (6 Viewers)

[S_Man]

I just noticed my smart watch has altimeter and barometer, but I have never checked how precise they are...
I bought it for sleep monitoring initially, but have kept it on my wrist almost 24/24 for more than 2 1/2 years now, showers, kayaking, etc.
It's a GTR2e, they also have a rugged model, T-rex which is more popular for sport and outdoor activities...

 

[Trinovid]

…unless the solar really does soak up every ounce of daylight!

I’ve got a Tissot solar watch and the battery is always full, but it waits to be seen how it does come winter.

 

[Trinovid]

…my smart watch has altimeter and barometer, but I have never checked how precise they are...

I don’t know how accurate mine are either but at least they seem to be in the right ballpark.

 

[Steve Babbs]

unless the solar really does soak up every ounce of daylight!

It really doesn't. I suspect it will be useful in the tropics, if I'm not in forest, or on my trips to southern France etc but for anyone mainly using one in the UK, I'd save £70 and buy the non solar one.

 

[Trinovid]

...for anyone mainly using one in the UK, I'd save £70 and buy the non solar one.

I've been in nothing but overcast and rainy weather lately and my solar watch is still reading at full charge, so the technology seems to be coming along with regards to charging capacity in subpar lighting conditions.

 

[Steve Babbs]

I've been in nothing but overcast and rainy weather lately and my solar watch is still reading at full charge, so the technology seems to be coming along with regards to charging capacity in subpar lighting conditions.

This is the new smart watch which is constantly tracking me and telling me about my texts etc. I will eventually work out how to turn some of these things off. The Casio had no problems apart from during covid.

 

[Trinovid]

This is the new smart watch which is constantly tracking me and telling me about my texts etc. I will eventually work out how to turn some of these things off.

That's pretty annoying, that they give us so many electronic devices with tons of stuff activated rather than letting us choose for ourselves and there's a number of words for people who do things like that!
Anyway I just wanted to share that at least some solar powered watches do well in cloudy conditions and my Tissot seems to be doing well in that regard so far.

 

[pppppvvvv]

This is the new smart watch which is constantly tracking me and telling me about my texts etc. I will eventually work out how to turn some of these things off. The Casio had no problems apart from during covid.

I learned to tone the features down enough for the battery to last around 2 weeks.
Phone notifications, heart rate, sleep monitoring, all on.
GPS only on occasionally.
Then I charged it every Thursday, so it was always full for a weekend away!

Just put mine up for sale in the classifieds on here, (original Garmin Instinct).

 

[Steve Babbs]

I learned to tone the features down enough for the battery to last around 2 weeks.
Phone notifications, heart rate, sleep monitoring, all on.
GPS only on occasionally.
Then I charged it every Thursday, so it was always full for a weekend away!

Just put mine up for sale in the classifieds on here, (original Garmin Instinct).

I'm slowly getting the knack of it.

 

[pppppvvvv]

I'm slowly getting the knack of it.

I've changed to an Instinct Crossover solar, which I actually found cheaper than the Instinct 2 solar when I shopped around last weekend.
And I realised I never really used the original Instinct to it's full effect in all the time I had it.

I always tried to cram all the data fields I needed onto the front watchface, but now I realise, you just put the day to day fields like notification count, date etc on the main watchface, and put the rest on the activity screen which is just a press of the top right button away (bottom right button to get back to main watchface!).
So elevation, sunrise/sunset could all go in the activity data fields.
Then as long as you remember to start the activity, you have it all when you are outdoors, within a button press.
Long press of bottom left button gets you to the compass etc.

I've never used the map feature in these watches. The map, and few of the other screens really do start to ask a lot of your eyesight

 

[pppppvvvv]

I also, found the info below for Barometers, are there any flaws in this table?:

• Barometer readings
  
  If the reading is over 1022.689 mb:
• Rising or steady pressure means continued fair weather.
• Slowly falling pressure means fair weather.
• Rapidly falling pressure means cloudy and warmer conditions.
  
  If it falls between 1022.689–1009.144 mb:
• Rising or steady pressure means present conditions will continue.
• Slowly falling pressure means little change in the weather.
• Rapidly falling pressure means that rain is likely, or snow if it is cold enough.
  
  If the reading is under 1009.144 mb:
• Rising or steady pressure indicates clearing and cooler weather.
• Slowly falling pressure indicates rain
• Rapidly falling pressure indicates a storm is coming.
  

 

[S_Man]

I also, found the info below for Barometers, are there any flaws in this table?:

• ...

Depending where you are living, average air pressure can vary a lot with season, and of course with altitude. So the same reading on the barometer might mean a very different atmospheric/weather situation.

 

[albie...]

Here is a watch I have been considering , I just need to get past the sticker shock. It's solar powered , has altimeter, compass , touch screen and a few other basic features.

https://www.tissotwatches.com/en-ca/shop/tissot-t-touch-expert-solar-5.html

I guess the link is no good anymore .
Here's a picture of the watch . It's roughly $1500 CAD to buy one .

 

[Jos Stratford]

Pity they can't just use the same charging cables as most things.

Your wish is the EU's command. A new law has been passed - all phones and other mobile devices, including watches, sold in the EU will have the same USB Type-C charging port by the end of 2024 (will include laptops by spring 2026). And all charging blocks all will have to have the same fast charging speed.

Although the UK is not EU, I assume manufacturers will not configure items separately for the UK, so it'll become the common standard in the UK too.

 

[Trinovid]

Here's a picture of the watch . It's roughly $1500 CAD to buy one .

I'm selling mine if you're interested. Just got it back in May or June and have gone back to my other watches. Trading is fine too.

 

[Elkhornsun]

Needing to fit a USB-C connector is going to result in needlessly fatter watches for users.