Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Backpacking Electronics

Anyone have a recommendation on good, durable, light multifunction electronics for backpacking? I really only need a good alarm clock and compass…I’ve had a couple of time pieces with great functions but none that lasted very long, or, they weighted too much. I broke my old analog compass last time out. Now it seems compasses are built-in to the newer electronics – I saw a Casio wristwatch in an airline magazine the other day that had everything mentioned above, plus temperature, humidity, altitude readings, etc. I’m confused by all the multifunction pieces on the market. Should I wait for the all-digital, Internet-enabled trekking pole, or is there a good product out there now with basic functions?

I use the Suunto X6 HR. It has been a reliable altimeter watch. It has a built in compass that I use on rare occasions but I prefer using a normal compass. It has an alarm too.

I would be happy just to find a watch with an alarm loud enough to wake me up for alpine starts....

I'm with Kurt for Suunto watches. For those who like alarms, it has three of them. (Maybe the third one is the "charm," muddeer!) I use my Suunto Vector frequently for the compass and altitude functions. For climbing workouts, it gives a readout of how many feet per minute you are going. For example, if you are trying to pace yourself at 1000 feet elevation-gain per hour, you would walk so the watch shows 17 feet per minute. The altimeter reads in 10-foot increments and is quite accurate, as long as you do periodic adjustments at known elevations for changes in barometric pressure, especially in stormy weather.

muddeer, a little trick to hear the alarm is to not wear the watch when you sleep, but place the watch where you have a better chance of hearing it. Also, by not wearing it, assuming your sleeping space is not way below freezing (so you don't freeze the watch), you would be able to get a precise temperature reading of your space, rather than your arm's body heat, etc.

I'll third the recommendation for Suuntos. I've got a Vector also, and I've now been through about four batteries (they last me around years, which shows how little I get out ). The previous altimeter watch I had lasted just a couple of years. I do find that the altimeter is "fast," that is, when going up OR down it always gets a little ahead of where I actually am. I've taken this up with the Suunto people and they say it can't possibly be doing this, so I guess I must be hallucinating.

I slept with my Suunto Vector outside of my sleeping bag with temperatures somewhere below freezing and it went dead from the cold, losing the time. It recovered when warmed up again.

I like the watch, but I cannot reliably hear the alarm. I guess I need a pocket near the head of the bag.

My biggest use for the Vector is to count off altitude in 100 feet increments while ascending -- that way I have something to think about other than "Will I ever get to the top?"

I view the digital compass strictly as a backup for a real compass. It has to be aligned, which I never do, and it is a battery eater.

I don't know how many people know this, but GPS altitude readings can be way off. The satellites are set up to measure position, not how high you are. But a receiving GPS is an excellent clock, accurate to 1 second.

I used the SUUNTO VECTOR for a few years and noticed it would have to be recalibrated every 1000 ft of altitude gain. It would lose about 50 ft per 1000 ft of altitude gain. I now use a Garmin Forerunner 201 in my running and hiking. For the past 2 years, it's been very accurate at the Whitney summit (+/- 15 ft)

I just bought a nitfy little item called the Digital Dangler made by C-Tech. It has the following functions: Thermometer with temperature in C or F; 24 hour min/max temp memory; Clock with 12 or 24 hour format; Alarm with snooze; Calendar with day, date, month and year. Super light weight and can hang from a lanyard on your pack or just about anywhere else. Picked mine up from antigravitygear.com for only $9.95.
No compass though.
Adam

Digital Dangler
The Hardware -- $9.95
The Name -- Priceless

I've always considered myself to be of the Analog Dangler sort.

Actually, that is not correct. The FAA has certified WAAS enabled GPS as the sole means determining both horizontal and vertical guidance on precision approaches to airports based on extensive calibrations of GPS altitude accuracy. I have multiple aviation GPS's in my airplane that are each used for terrain avoidance as well as instrument approaches and they show the same altitude within 20 feet or less (usually less). When I check them on the ground at different calibrated airport altitudes they are very accurate.

I think the issue that you may be having is that it takes more satellites to get an accurate altitude calibration. In canyons, under trees, etc. it is often hard to 'see' enough satellites to get accurate altitude information.

Thanks, Sam. That's exactly what I was thinking. If you get a lock on 5, or so, satellites, I'd think it would be near impossible for them to not give you a fairly accurate altitude reading, because some of them would have to be out on the horizon rather than directly above you.

For a good discussion of GPS altitude accuracy, see this site:

http://gpsinformation.net/main/altitude.htm

Richard and/or Kurt: So glad someone brought up this subject.

Going to Nepal in October, want to take VIDEO of the trip as well as pictures. No way to charge batteries out in the middle of the Himalaya is there? Other than some solar charger if them make them. Cold temps will kill any batteries I take and it's 19 days so I'll need a slew of batteries.

What do you two guys take out there? The cost of the trip is getting me in kind of deep $-wise, so I'd like to take the ancient equipment I have (film camera and cam-corder all paid for.)

You can get solar battery/phone chargers -- I know a guy who takes one on his Sierra hikes.

You can do a Google search for "solar battery charger". Here's one that looks interesting: Silicon Solar

Brunton makes several models of solar chargers, both rigid and flexible. The cool ones are the SolarRolls - they come in 6, 9, and 14 watt models. Check them out at thesolarpowerstore.com also REI and a few other places carry them. Watch out for the price - can be a little steep.

Hey Sherry,

Beerbrewer is right. Brunton makes several good solar chargers. I have used the Brunton Solarport 4.4 on trips to Mt. McKinley and Mt. Vinson and it worked well. I was charging a satellite phone, I Pod and other accessories with it. It has plug in ports for a cigarette lighter, USB, among others. I don't know if it would offer enough juice for a video camera but if not they make other models. Here's a link to it: http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=280

Another charger that has been getting good reviews is the Solio. I haven't used it before but people say good things about them. Here's a link: http://www.solio.com/v2/

Hi Twenty feet low on a mountain hiking and twenty feet low flying not bad until they go in for the litter. Thanks Doug

Thank you everyone for the great guidance. Here are the addresses for anyone wanting more detail:

www.suunto.com has a line of analog compasses as well as electronics designed for our purposes, wide range of prices. Watches and integrated electronic pieces start from around $100 and go to high 3-figures.

www.garmin.com appears these products are entirely hand-held, generally mid 3-figure prices, more focused on mapping and locations than other functions.

www.coghlans.com these are the Dangler people, a line of compasses and electronics under the Ctech brand, all very low cost.

Despite the good humor, above, the Dangler is actually a highly regarded product. For price and basic functionality (including avoiding Dangler-envy), you can’t beat it.

Probably wouldn't make any difference. If you are foolish enough to depend solely on a GPS (or any other instrument) to clear terrain by 20 feet in an airplane, then you will be quickly be a statistic one way or another. it is just a matter of time before a pilot with that kind of poor judgment finds themselves in a smoking crater.