What altimeter do you like?

[Jabeln79 0]

1rst of all I am buying my first altimeter and am looking at the digital alt.. does anyone use them to compare them to a regular one..and would you trust them.
2ndly I was able to make my 24th jump today with a friend whose on on his 11th the king air wasnt up on week days (which i have made my last 6 jumps from )so i decided just for the hell of it to go with him on the cesna load and jump from 5500. Well it seemed like it took forever just to get to altitude which i amsure it did, and i geuss i dont realize just how nice a jump from a king air at 14000 really is.. But I still couldnt pass up a chance to jump out of any plane, king air or not.. it is something i cant pass up. and at this rate of jumps i have been doing i should be out of money and deep in debt by sunday.. but arent we all
Joe

[Viking 0]

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but arent we all

nope i still have quite a bit of money in my savings account. but hey i am still on student status Remember when Sex was safe and skydiving was Dangerous?

[freefallfreak 0]

Jabeln79,
I have jumped both the altimaster III and the Digitude and have not had a problem with either one...I also know the owner of Altitude Concepts (the maker of the Digitude) and believe that he puts out a safe, reliable product. I chose the Altimaster III, simply because it was heavier and I could feel it on my wrist better than the light weight Digitude, but both products seem to work well...and I believe that the Digitude now lights up for night visibility...don't quote me on that tho, cause I may be wrong about it...
FFF

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Personally, I like the FT50 by PDF - it's quite cheap and looks great. Accurate too. I use a protrack as well to back that up.
Don't pull low, unless you are

[freeflir29 0]

I have an Altimaster III I like it....I was once told it is one of the few thats actually tested to 30,000 ft. Dont know how true it is though. I dont think I would like the digital at all. I havent jumped one but I like the needle spinning around. It gives me a better user interface.
"I used to know a girl...She had two pirced nipples and a black tattoo"-Everclear
Clay

[RemiAndKaren 0]

I'm gonna show my age now....
Alti II, and until recently, chest mounted.... and I still would wear it there if my chest strap was wide enough... I find the only time I look at it is during traking (or others who wear it chest mount during RW), and a chest mount is perfect for that, but narrow webbing doesnt hold it up well during a track...... so just moved it the the leg strap ...
If it wasnt still working perfectly, and I wasnt a cheap bastard, I'd get an Alti III. Might be a couple of $ more the the FT or Saphire, but I cant fault the II i've had since 93...
Remi

[FallinWoman 1]

Joe,
I bought an Alti III, just like I had used on student status.
Brian has a Digitude. You ought to ask him if you can jump with it this weekend so you can compare for yourself!!
Blue skies,
Anne

[Slappie 9]

Well I'm onto my second AFP jump this weekend! Gunna shoot for 3 jumps total... I'll be broke by Monday. I swear I'm gunna have to get a second job. This sport is more addictive then CRACK and trust me I've tried it {J/k} hahahaha...
Gota jump baybay!! Blue Skies!

[rendezvous 0]

how's the FT40. I have one that I got along with some gear that I bought.

[mountainman 0]

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i still have quite a bit of money in my savings account

Yeah, Viking.....you are still on student status. You'll be suprised how fast that disappears once you are buying gear, gear rentals, jump tix and eventally a rig.
You'll think someone got ahold of your ATM card. heheh....
As far as the altimeter goes, my wife and I both just with new Altimaster III's. I love them. I used a Alti II, but the thing was just too damn big. These things are small, easy to read, and they look pretty slick (available in different colors). So, I would go with them.
Ask Phreezone about his alitimeter with the digital bars that go in the circle (can't remember the name).--------------
Our website...updated daily

[Snowflake 0]

I loves my Digitude to me it's much easier to read then analog. My DZO and skydive U coach use them too. I always check it on the way up and it's pretty accurate(I have also checked it against someone elses on a jump and they were about the same). If it failed on a jump I would simply use someone elses if I was with someone, otherwise god gave us eyes for a reason
JG

[mattb 0]

Get an altimaster. They give great service - they travel to dzs / boogies and recalibrate for free and replace the lens and velcro strap. Very friendly people.
-mob

[wildblue 7]

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Ask Phreezone about his alitimeter with the digital bars that go in the circle (can't remember the name).

Altitron. Stay away from those. They sound cool, all the extra little stuff it can do (record exit and open alti, flash at a set altitidue or if you're under 1500ft and exceeding 100 ft/sec) but they're just not that good. On cross-country jumps they have this habit of turning off. They're not that easy to read, and ask Phreezone about finding batteries for the friggin things (of course he did find a nice little replacement that cost a lot less)
Alti III are good. I use a digitude which I really like. And they are back-lit, almost like an indiglo watch kinda thing. I don't think they're as sturdy as an alti III. My LCD screen was cracked by some idiot's helmet (just kidding rogue, it was really your hard head) and I think something else would have taken the blow a little better. On the upside, it only cost $40 to replace, and they were really good about fixing it and sending it right back to me.

[Staso 0]

I'm using Altitron and I'm pretty happy with it. It's very easy to read and it's very precise. Don't
think there any particular problems with digital altimeters except that they are more advanced ... :)
Stan.
C-31743

[Watcher 0]

FT-50, larger Face, with a longer needle IMO its easier to read than the Alti III
Jonathan

[OmriMon 0]

I jumped with a friend's digitude acouple of times, it was pretty accurate comparing to other people on the load, it's very easy to read and it also have a light for night jumps, it's pretty expensive though.
i jump with a FT-50 and i like it a lot, it also looks like it have a larger face then the alti III but maybe it's just my eyes...
Free Skies,
Omri A-38593

[freaksister 0]

I'm with Jonathan on this one! I bought an FT-50 partially because that is what I used on student status, so that is what I was used to looking at in freefall, but also because the numbers are much larger and easier to read than Altimaster. I think everyone just buys Altimasters because everyone else does. I have only had my FT-50 for a year but I have banged it on exits and stuff and it is hardly even scratched. Works faithfully every time! Jon is right, the needle is longer too. All around good alti.
Sis
Before you judge me, take a look at you...

[mouth 0]

I like my silver ALTI III and back it up with a PROTRACK.

[pilotdave 0]

I bought an Alti-3 but I think I should have gone with the FT-50. The FT-50 is a little cheaper, has a bigger face, but i think its actually a little smaller overall (thinner). The diameters are actually about the same, but the Alti has a bezel around it which covers part of the face. I find the finger loop to be way too big for my little fingers (without gloves I stick 3 fingers through, 2 with gloves, and the wrist strap ends up with FAR too much slack if i'm not wearing gloves. I actually haven't tried jumping it without gloves yet just for those reasons. Also, my rigger suggests the FT-50 over the Altimaster because it's a lot easier to service. If i want to replace the face on my alti, i have to send it back to the company. For the FT-50, the company sent the face-removal tool to my rigger so he can do it himself. Pop the old one off, stick a new one on, and its done. I don't know anything about the digital altimeters... I don't think i'd be very good at replacing batteries in freefall so I think I'll stick with a mechanical one.

[PhreeZone 20]

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ask Phreezone about finding batteries for the friggin things (of course he did find a nice little replacement that cost a lot less)

Of course I found a cheap way to fix the battery problem... I'm a cheap bastard. The Batteries that are required are used in Europe for watches but not in the US. The make is like CR-2040. The cost to get a new PAIR with shipping was going to be close to $25-30. We found that you can get CR-2030 Batteries (cost for 2 was $5.50) and place a nickel tab between them to make up the height difference between the batteries.
The main problem with the Altiron is that it lets you know of low batteries at the worst time possible... at altitude. On the ground it shows as fine, at 13000 ft the battery thing flashes once or twice. If your not looking for it you miss it. On cross-county jumps it turns off since the cold saps the batteries. Then all of a sudden it won't work anymore.
Do I HAVE to do another raft dive???

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[PhreeZone 20]

Plus if you forget to turn it on, on the ground. It will read what ever altitude to turn it on at as 0. I had mine off by 3000 feet once since I forgot to turn on on untill the pilot made the first 90 degree turn in the flight path.
Do I HAVE to do another raft dive???

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[freeflir29 0]

"Plus if you forget to turn it on, on the ground. It will read what ever altitude to turn it on at as 0."
Hmm.....I dont think I have ever forgotten to turn on my Alti III.
"I used to know a girl...She had two pirced nipples and a black tattoo"-Everclear
Clay

[skybytch 273]

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If i want to replace the face on my alti, i have to send it back to the company. For the FT-50, the company sent the face-removal tool to my rigger so he can do it himself

The newest version of the Alti 3 has a screw off lens for easy field replacement.
I jump a Robnyk Sapphire. The face is huge compared to an Alti 3 or FT50. I much prefer the elastic hand mount on the Sapphire over the velcro strap and huge ring between the fingers wrist mount that is on the FT50 and Alti 3. It's also not as heavy as the other two.
Yes, it's a plastic case, but I've put two different ones (someone stole my first one) through some pretty interesting landings without a problem (other than a scratch or two).
pull and flare,
lisa

[AirMan 0]

I also have a silver Alti-3 and love it. It's very durable, as I found out when I dropped it at the DZ directly onto a cement floor. Everyone said I'd be buying a new one after that, but I took it to work, popped it in a altitude chamber to test it, and it worked fine. Besides, Altimaster stands behind their product, and offer a 10 year warranty (used to be lifetime). Also, they are now making them with removable lenses, and in some funky colors...I really like that Platinum one. I've also heard/read that they are making the face & numbers bigger, but not sure.

[Watcher 0]

The finger loops are also something to consider as stated. The FT-50 seems to fit alot better, but ofcourse you can get different mounts like the full wrist mount which looks cool.
Jonathan