HighGear Summit Review

Yes, the review is ready. I have been on many trips and have fallen in love with my low budget purchase on my Summit Altimeter. It has saved me on several occasions when the map and my orienteering skills would have let us down the wrong trail. On one trip, I had gotten turned around a bit and the trail blazes as in many areas are just a little confusing. I tried the old trusty compass and map but no luck. We decided to continue with the blaze that we had original began with and I just kept getting this feeling that we were going the wrong way. I quickly checked the altitude on the altimeter and then compared it to the map. No surprise we were heading the wrong way and it was definitely the wrong way!!!! If we had kept going on that trail we would have ended up about a two day hike in the wrong direction.



Now lets get to the pros and cons of the Summit Altimeter:



Pros: Price, Dependable, durable, ease of use, multiple useful features, Battery replacement is the same as the Suunto watches, discounted on Campmor, no smelly wrist band



Cons: degree marking on bezel have warn off (see picture), takes a little time understanding how to set different settings because watch buttons have two functions when setting some you have to hold button longer to get the second setting to work



The Bottom Line: This is my altimeter. I enjoy it and have gotten very dependent on it. Now, do not get me wrong. I will use these as another tool along with my experience, compass, and orienteering skills. I would never recommend to use a device such as this alone, there are just too many variables. I prefer to reset the altimeter at the trail because riding in the car makes the setting become inaccurate. Oh! I also found that if you choose to change the barometer and then change the altimeter, it will cause a conflict between the two. Be sure to check the quick guide that is easy to slide in a coat pocket to make calibrations on watch as accurate as possible.

Here is a link to Campmor if you are interested in purchasing the HighGear Summit.
http://www.campmor.com/high-gear-summit-wrist-computer.shtml




Bentley - VentureTree Team