Brunton ADC Ridge Mechanical Altimeter

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Customer Reviews

Very inconsistant and inaccurate, I sent it back.

I was really excited to be getting a mechanical altimeter and the the price was right and it is very lightweight. However, I was very disappointed with the accuracy of the product. It was consistently 200- 400 feet off. I would set it a known elevation and travel to another known elevation and it was always off. I would let it sit for several hours to make sure it was reading correctly, no help. I did this over a 10 day period to make sure. I do not recommend this product unless the accuracy of elevation does not matter.

ALTIMETER

This Brunton Altimeter is a decent hand-held altimeter, of good quality.
I've set and re-set it several times and checked its readings locally then at our airport. It holds its adjustments very well driving around or ATVing and is accurate at my known elevation check-points.

Superb mechanical altimter, tough and ccurate for altitude

I bought this a week ago and used it on a grueling day hike on the north side of Mt. Hood. I had pre-plotted waypoints with elevations on a 1:24,000 USGS topo map and also carried my Garmin Etrex Legend GPS. I had oreviously gotten off the trail in some steep, confusing terrain and not knowing how far down the ridge I was made it difficult to know how far from the trail or river I was. I wanted a good, tough altimeter to complement my compass for better location identification against the topo map and as backup to my GPS.

At home I tried to calibrate it via the county survey info for my property and the weather station's barometric pressure (given for sea level). Set for the given altitude of 180 ft. The barometer was always about 0.2 inches of Mercury too high. So, I don't think the factory correctly set the fixed barometric scale. It would still be useful to get changes in barometric pressure, or if you mentally make adjustments for the known variance. Anyway, I did not buy it as a barometer but for checking elevations.

The altimeter is very sturdily built inside a tough plastic case (ABS plastic?). It has a subtle no-slip texture. The altitude setting dial moves precisely and stays in place. It did move when I stuffed it in a tight belt pouch, but not in my pants pocket or normal use. I looped the strap around my pack belt and had the altimeter hanging inside my hiking shorts pocket. The scale also is very precise and marked in 100 ft. increments. I used it to estimated to the nearest 25 ft. If the needle was half way between 100 ft. lines I called it 50 ft. and if between the midpoint and the indicator line I called it 25 ft or 75 ft. This is the most you can expect from any mechanical altimeter. To get more precise you have to spend at least $150 for an electronic instrument. I wanted something without batteries and absolutely reliable in the harshest conditions. I think this Brunton altimeter meets all my expectations.

On the hike I set the altitude for 4,000 ft at the trail head as indicated by the USGS map and guidebook. GPS read 3975 ft. but GPS itself cannot be much more accurate then about 100 ft. due to the geometry of satellites (less accurate vertically than horizontal coordinates). Over a 12 mile day hike ascending to 5,800 ft and varying up and down, I checked it against the map topo lines and the GPS unit. It was always within about 25 ft or sometimes exactly the same as both. Since the topo map has elevation lines every 40 ft. this was plenty accurate.

I am in my fifties with contacts intended for long distance vision so I am challenged to see fine detail up close but had no problem at all with the Brunton altitude scale marks. I think anyone could use it for getting elevations to the nearest 50 ft. and if you look closely you could likely get within 25 ft. I carried a Fresnel magnifier just in case, but never needed it in the bright sunlight and shade. Because it was on a strap it did get bumped around several times against logs and rocks or the ground as I was crashing for a lunch or water break, or getting up and strapped in again. The rim of the case is slightly raised above the lens so it helps protect it from impacts without getting in the way.

I did not find the need to keep calibrating the altitude against known elevations trail intersections, viewpoints, etc.). The weather was clear and not changing so it gave consistently accurate readings the whole day.

I don't like buying instruments over the Web because I can't feel or see the detail. But the Brunton ADC Ridge Altimeter met my every expectation:
- Easy to read scale
- Consistent
- Accurate to at least 50 ft.
- Inexpensive compared to electronic altimeters
- Tough
- Simple to use, no batteries

This is a keeper and I expect it will see a lot of miles whenever I go into steep terrain. I may someday get an electronic altimeter, like the ones built into watches, but I will keep this one as a backup even then. A GPS is pretty good all around position locator and navigation aid, but sometimes while hiking I am in deep forest where the GPS doesn't work or it could get broken. A good compass, topo map and altimeter can do much of the same position fixing and navigation.

Helps navigate back country hikes and 4x4 trips

I keep it in the vehicle when exploring back-country National Forests and 4x4 remote camping. Knowing your altitude is key to finding a nice remote camping place where it will be cool in the evenings and helps with confirming with a map and compass your location. Well worth the money and a must have item for people who like to take back-country road trips out west. The best feature is it is simple, no batteries, complicated GPS stuff, etc.-- just old fashion mechanical that works without having to take a "technology course" to use.

Brunton Altimeter

Works well for the casual user - seems to match the elevation signs when we are headed up to the mountains from the desert valley. Gives us an idea of the elevation of our camp site and what weather we can expect based on that.