Watches with altimeters come in 2 basic varieties: digital and analog. The digital readout display just shows the numbers and letters in a "readable" format and the analog is the classic watch type with hands that you interpret on a dial of some kind.
The advent of watches with altimeters has brought on quite a revolution in outdoor recreation. While certainly you don't want to ignore primary pieces of instrumentation that could tell you things like temperature or barometric pressure, having a watch with these functions is an excellent backup plan and really enhances the safety of your trip.
Each has its advantages but these are the reasons for choosing a digital watch that I think you should strongly consider in weighing which kind of altimeter watch to buy:
* Precision - the readouts on digital products are just simply easier to interpret. Because of the fact that they are displaying an actual number versus an interpretation of where the hands of an analog device are on some sort of scale, they provide more accurate information. There's just no way to match digital accuracy because you're getting the exact readout rather than having to interpolate based on what you see on the analog watch face.
* Easier to take in data visually - analog watches can be confusing. There is a lot of information crammed in a small space and they can be hard to read and interpret. When you get the data in the form of a number or a letter, it is just easier to absorb. Having to take in an analog data input - that is a hand on a watch face reading something like barometric pressure, it becomes visually taxing to look at something that small and interprets the small gradations on the watch face.
* Cost - digital watches are cheaper. Digital Products can be mass-produced in a way that analog products never likely will be. The fact that they're all solid-state electronics means that they can be made on an enormous scale very cheaply. We all know how an expensive digital watches on the lower end have become overweight. Something that back in the 1980s cost over $1000 now can be had for under five dollars. And, with arguably greater accuracy than those analog watches have.
In any case, watches with altimeters provide a ton of information that you need when you are out in the woods. Buying a digital product will give you the information you need in a more clearly readable format.
The advent of watches with altimeters has brought on quite a revolution in outdoor recreation. While certainly you don't want to ignore primary pieces of instrumentation that could tell you things like temperature or barometric pressure, having a watch with these functions is an excellent backup plan and really enhances the safety of your trip.
Each has its advantages but these are the reasons for choosing a digital watch that I think you should strongly consider in weighing which kind of altimeter watch to buy:
* Precision - the readouts on digital products are just simply easier to interpret. Because of the fact that they are displaying an actual number versus an interpretation of where the hands of an analog device are on some sort of scale, they provide more accurate information. There's just no way to match digital accuracy because you're getting the exact readout rather than having to interpolate based on what you see on the analog watch face.
* Easier to take in data visually - analog watches can be confusing. There is a lot of information crammed in a small space and they can be hard to read and interpret. When you get the data in the form of a number or a letter, it is just easier to absorb. Having to take in an analog data input - that is a hand on a watch face reading something like barometric pressure, it becomes visually taxing to look at something that small and interprets the small gradations on the watch face.
* Cost - digital watches are cheaper. Digital Products can be mass-produced in a way that analog products never likely will be. The fact that they're all solid-state electronics means that they can be made on an enormous scale very cheaply. We all know how an expensive digital watches on the lower end have become overweight. Something that back in the 1980s cost over $1000 now can be had for under five dollars. And, with arguably greater accuracy than those analog watches have.
In any case, watches with altimeters provide a ton of information that you need when you are out in the woods. Buying a digital product will give you the information you need in a more clearly readable format.
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