I received a multi-function watch for the holidays – a Nike Alti-Compass. I haven't yet been backpacking with it, but here in town and commuting the 15 miles to and from work it seems to keep a fairly accurate altitude measure (usually within about 30 ft, though I've been recalibrating it at least every other day). As for its user friendliness I am very impressed. Reading the above reviewer's description of how to set the altimeter or the barometer on the Origo watch made me realize how complicated a procedure that could be. Not on this Nike watch, though. Everything is very intuitive. There's one button to flip through the modes, another which you press and hold when you want to make adjustments within a mode, and two buttons on the opposite side of the watch face for adjusting a setting up or down, respectively.
Regarding the buttons, they themselves, are large and their surfaces are rough. I can't say for certain why it was designed that way, but the effect is to make the buttons very easy to find and operate even while wearing gloves, as the glove tip pretty much sticks to the button face where the metal has been roughed up.
I requested this watch in particular over other multi-function watches based on the scant reviews I could find online, but I simply could not find very much in the way of multi-function watch reviews…
This watch sells for quite a bit less than the Origos or the Suuntos (I think my girlfriend paid $130 for it on sale). I hope the low price is more an indication of their (Nike's) mass-producedness, and not their accuracy or utility in navigation. I'd be very curious to know if anyone else has any real-world experience with the Nike watches.
Ben Robinson
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