ABC Wristop

For less than the weight of an ABC watch, you can get the ADC Brunton Pro which does far more, without the lanyard, it is about 2 oz weight. Google and read the manual. It's what I take. I also don't like the weight of a 3 oz watch on my wrist hiking. I wear solar fingerless gloves and the hiking pole strap wraps around the wrist where a watch would ordinary be.

Look at these features:

Overall dimensions: 4.3”x2”x0.8”
Weight: 2.4 oz Waterproof / Submersible
Current temperature (°F, °C)
Current wind speed (mph, ft/s, m/s, km/h, knots, beaufort)
Maximum wind speed (mph, ft/s, m/s, km/h, knots, beaufort)
Average wind speed (mph, ft/s, m/s, km/h, knots, beaufort)
Wind speed alarm
Wind chill (°F, °C)
Minimum wind chill (°F, °C)
Wind chill alarm
Current water speed (mph, ft/s, m/s, km/h, knots, beaufort)
12/24 hour clock
Time, day and date
Chronograph Race/countdown timer
Current barometric pressure (in hPa, mb, or inHg)
Past 24 hour pressure graph
Prediction icon for next 12 hour’s weather
Storm alarm
Current Altitude (ft,m)
Maximum altitude (ft,m)
Minimum altitude (ft,m)
Altitude alarm
Ski run counter
Current relative humidity (%) Air density (%)
Relative air density (%, relative to 59°F / 29.9 inHg / 15% RH)
Heat index (°F, °C)
Dew point (°F, °C)
Wet bulb (°F, °C)
Density altitude (ft, m)
Manual and automatic data logging (1979 logs)
IR data communication with PC (via ADC-IR)
2 Year warranty Suggested retail

http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=262

That looks like it might be a better and cheaper option. I like it. Anyone else have experience with these?

Mark Verber comments on it here:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=13298

do a search for "Brunton ADC Pro" on BPL

Yup… I still take my Brunton ADC Pro on pretty much every trip. I like it a lot. I much prefer the 1.7oz in the pocket of my pack or around my neck than the 3+oz around my wrist. At night I leave it outside my shelter with the lanyard leading back to my sleeping area. I can pull it back briefly to see what the conditions are without the influence of me or my shelter and then toss it back out. Hard to do that with a wristop. Kestrel also makes portable weather instruments. No personal experience with them.

–Mark

I've been using the Suunto Core ABC watch for about a year now. I love it. The altimeter when properly calibrated is usually accurate to within 15ft +/- even when doing massive altitude changes in the Sierras. Some of the unsung features are my favorite, like an alarm that you can snooze and a setting that tells you what time the sun rises and sets in your selected region. Admittedly the watch does have some durability issues (I'm on my third watch in a year) and battery changes suck. But I bought mine at REI and have no problems exchanging the watch for a new one when it gives me problems. The watch has never given up in the field, my problems have all been related to the unit not functioning properly after battery changes. I like the watch and would buy it again but I also look forward to a next gen unit from Suunto that fixes some of the gliches and maybe slims it down a bit in size and weight.

I have a Kestrel 3500. I have had not problems with it. It has alot of the same features as the Suunto wristops.

When I looked at the Kestrel at REI, it required me to know how to interpret numeric data to do a weather forecast (this was about 2 years ago). I like the cartoon icon that the ADC Brunton Pro uses for its weather forecast (sunny day icon, cloudy day icon, thunderstorm lightening icon, rain only icon) — there may be more icons like snow but I never used it around snow.

Maybe the Kestrel has changed in the last 2 years.

The Kestrel seems like it might be a better choice. I only say this because that company seems to specialize in only that product. They do run a bit heavier than the Brunton though.
Great, just when I thought I found what I needed in the Brunton, I find another product to make the choice harder. Can anyone steer me one way or the other with these two devices?

If you live near an REI, go there and compare the two. When I saw the Kestrel and the ADC Brunton Pro, it was hands down with the ADC Brunton Pro — it was made for lay people like me. If you are a professional weather forecaster, I suppose the Kestrel might be more for you.

It appears that the Kestrel 4500 has a few features such as digital compass, headwind, tailwind, crosswind, etc., that the Brunton ADC Pro doesn't have. The Brunton has a few features such as past 24 hour pressure graph, prediction icon for next 12 hour weather, etc., that the Kestrel doesn't have (at least that I'm aware of). These features on the Brunton may make weather forecasting easier if that is all that you do with the meter. My Kestrel 3500 does have a 3 hour prediction barometric pressure icon.

The Brunton is cheaper but the Kestrel comes with a 5 year warranty, Brunton 2 years. Kestrel offers trade in and trade up options. Kestrel also offers to fix or recalibrate the meter for the lifetime of the product for a substantial lower cost of buying a new meter. That Kestrel specializes in weather meters may be a factor in which product to buy as well.

William Puckett noticed this is going for an incredible 60 percent off over at amazon now (the ADC Brunton Pro) — $100 ignoring pennies

http://www.amazon.com/Brunton-ADC-Atmospheric-Data-Center/dp/B000FKMUDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1245444860&sr=8-1

List Price: $249.00
Price: $100.83 & eligible for free shipping with Amazon Prime
You Save: $148.17 (60%)

I've been quite pleased with the new Highgear ATF8. It weighs 1.6 ounces and has a carabiner-like clip for your belt. (It isn't worn on the wrist.) It includes, aside from the ABC, a chronograph, a ski chrono, a watch, and a thermometer.

So basically, Kestrel costs and weighs more, but gives you more features and longer service life. Brunton seems to be more "user friendly", but I'm sure once I get used to the Kestrel, it will not be a problem…. I'm sort of leaning more towards the Kestrel now. Although something in the back of my head is telling me to go with the Brunton because I don't need the extra features of the Kestrel (then again, you never know, they may come in handy). Decisions Decisions…

Oh and I've also found a third possibility, the Skywatch Geos 11.

Do you live by an REI where you can have a demo of both? When I looked at the Kestrel, it had no bottom line weather forecast. When you're hiking in the High Sierra, you want to know before you do a multi-hour climb to a mountain pass if it is going to be in the midst of a lightening storm, having a 12 hour forecast is fantastic. You have nothing but atmospheric pressure, a bunch of multiple numbers you have to compute via pen and paper to know what the bottom line forecast is. Are you that good that you can get a forecast from a set of numbers alone?

With the ADC Brunton Pro, you just look at the time of day and alongside it is a cartoon icon weather forecast, how much more simpler can you get? When you ask me, the Kestrel has less not more. Kind of like getting a computer with a bunch of compilers on it but no compiled programs.

Martin,
Unfortunately, I don't live anywhere near a REI, so I can't compare them for myself.
You make a very good point regarding the Kestrel. I suppose it would be pretty much useless in predicting weather being that I would not have have the knowledge to use the data given to predict the weather myself. I think Brunton ADC pro is the way to go (I didn't mean for that to rhyme, I promise). Thanks for making the decision easier Martin!

I just double checked the user guides — you can see how much more useful the Brunton ADC Pro is via the user manuals, the Brunton is much more informative, more readable, and shows the icons (even on the cover) while the Kestrel has no icons shown doing weather forecasting. Just raw data.

Here are links:

http://www.brunton.com/manuals/current/Instruments/adc_pro_eng.pdf

http://www.kestrelmeters.com/assets/product_files/instructions/Kestrel/k45_web.pdf

Don't take my word, review the manuals yourself and judge for yourself.

Just to play Devils Advocate with myself, check out this Timex Web Page on the WS4 – it shows a weather forecast icon similar to the ADC Brunton Pro, I did not look in depth, you should do more reading, I just don't want to wear a watch and it is heavier.

http://tinyurl.com/kufk5x

Be neat to have someone comment who has seen both products or who has the WS4.

the manuals are here:
http://assets.timex.com/instructions/W253_WS4_EN.pdf
http://assets.timex.com/instructions/W253_WS4_PockGuide.pdf

I have not downloaded them, just looked at the photo. Retail is near $200, don't know if you can get one anywhere near the $100 mark of the Brunton ADC Pro.

I found the user manual for the Highgear ATF8:

http://www.highgear.com/download.cfm?file=AlterraAerial.pdf&directory=manuals

the sales brochure says it has a weather forecast feature – I see in the manual the icons are similar to ADC PRo but they are very, very tiny. I'd probably have to put on my reading glasses to see them. I don't have the watch in front of me, how readable are the icons to you?

ps – the weather forecast (for any of these units I bet, but personally speaking about the Brunton) is no more accurate than TV forecasts, sometimes a storm is forecasted and only bad clouds occur but never develop into a storm.

This page has a link to the manual for Skywatch but the link is bad – no pdf manual pops up:

http://www.ntechusa.com/products/geos11.html

the demo link works but shows no weather forecast icon feature similar to the three systems I mention do (eg, the Brunton, Timex, and the Highgear). I think your choices should be between these three units.

The only thing keeping me from getting the Brunton now is that infamous beeping sound I keep hearing about from reviews. Apparently it beeps every time it logs data into the device. I can't find anyone who has figured out how to turn it off, leading me to believe it CAN'T be turned off. This can be a deal breaker for me. That would keep me awake all night as I am a light sleeper.

The Kestrel 3500, 4000, and I'm presuming the 4500 (as the 4500 is suppose to have all the features of the 3500 and 4000) do have a pressure trend indicator. My 3500 has a 3 hour pressure trend indicator. It forecasts (with an icon) if the barometric pressure is going to hold steady, go up (high pressure coming in) or go down (low pressure coming in which in general means a storm, thunderstorm, etc.). I'm presuming the Brunton ADC Pro's 12 hour forecasting feature is based on a prediction of the barometric pressure, though I don't know this for sure. Barometric pressure is just one of the things weather forecasters use to predict weather, but I think it is a pretty important one.

I've gone through several watches and other conifgurations including the kestrel/brunton option on which this thread is focusing.
Now that my previous standby has kicked the bucket, I'm looking for a wristop watch that has altimeter function **with rate of ascent/descent (vertical speed)**. This is the one function I've found most useful. I'd like accuracy and reliability, reasonable water resistance, and a display that shows the rate along with hopefully time and total altitude.
The Suunto Core doesn't AFAIK display vertical speed.
Kinda interested in the St Moritz VS-1 in sapphire, but I had a Topograph (analog altimeter watch) that bit the dust early and had issues getting it serviced from Taiwan.
The Observer seems like a good choice, but pricey.
Any comments directed at the parameters I've defined would be most appreciated. (If the mods think I should start a separate thread I'd be more than happy…).