The Timex Expedition E-Altimeter is an analog watch that has a built in analog altimeter. While the vast majority of all outdoor oriented watches are really aimed at purely outdoor usage, Timex made the E-Altimeter to go between the board room and the outdoors.
Due to the fact that this is an analog watch, it’s a bit more limited than your traditional altimeter. You won’t get a readout of the air pressure, incoming weather alerts, or a graph of your altitude profile. However, you also won’t look like a hiking nerd at work wearing the watch. While I really like my Suunto Core, it definitely does not go well with a button down shirt and dress pants. The E-Altimeter however, works perfectly. I wouldn’t hesitate to wear the E-Altimeter at work or with a suit.
With an operating range of -400ft to 25,000ft, the E-Altimeter can operate pretty much anywhere you or I are likely to go. Altitude measurements are available in both feet and meters. Reading the altitude is a bit more complicated than the average altimeter as you’ll have to read a couple dials for the full readout, but it’s not difficult. Since the watch uses pressure for altitude readings (like all other non-GPS watches), you’ll have to set the reference altitude somewhat frequently for the watch to be accurate. Thankfully setting the reference altitude is extremely easy; much like setting the time on a normal analog watch.
While the hands of the watch don’t glow in the dark, Timex did include Indigo illumination on the E-Altimeter. As with every other watch that uses Indigo, telling the time in the dark is not difficult. The illumination works by providing a backlight to the hands. So since you can see the entire face of the watch, it’s a bit easier to tell the time than on other analog watches.
One of the things that impressed me about the E-Altimeter was the solid metal construction. While I haven’t taken a hammer to the E-Altimeter, it certainly feels like it could take a beating. That said, there is a bit of a weight penalty for this much metal. It’s a pretty substantial watch, but nothing that you won’t get used to after a couple days of wearing it.
At $200-$225 MSRP, it’s a good deal cheaper than most of the competition. If you’re in the market for an outdoor watch that won’t break the bank (and you can actually wear to work), give the Timex E-Altimeter a look. While it’s a pretty simple watch as far as altimeters go, it’s well built and quite well priced. For more information, take a look at the product page at timexexpedition.com.
Product sample provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.
