Despite daily weather changes (which can affect the barometer that’s used to calculate altitude) and a route that yo-yo’d between 13,000 and 10,000 feet, the replica brand watches altimeter was accurate within about 50 feet throughout. (The key was to recalibrate at a known altitude every morning before setting out.)The alarm was loud enough to roust us for an early morning start (Tip: keep your watch in the tent pocket, not on your wrist, where it’s muffed by your sleeping bag). the Lap/Reset button starts your distance tracker, but will reset it if you hold it down. The Start/Stop button just cycles through display options.
The timer is helpful when we were starving and wanted to know exactly how much time remained until that dried beef stroganoff was ready. The temperature gauge seems pretty accurate and is helpful. It can’t get an accurate reading unless you take it off your wrist and strap it to a backpack for about four or five minutes, but that’s not a replica Gucci watch big hassle. There’s also a stopwatch feature with laps for those who’ll be taking the watch for trail runs. It’s certainly light and close fitting enough to feel good on the fly. The good part: that’s most of what you’ll need a watch to do in the backcountry. The bad part: the rest of the features are either a little tough to operate or didn’t seem very reliable.
If you buy a TraiLeader, expect a fair bit of head scratching as you try to navigate the watch’s many features. If I didn’t have a product representative to call (twice) to walk me through certain features, I would still be somewhat puzzled about how to get them to work, or how to interpret them. There are nine major features: altimeter, barometer, replica watch gift compass, speed/distance tracker, timer, stopwatch, dual time, alarm and current time. Each of these has sub-displays and settings menus, some have alternate units and start/stop features and personal adjustments—all of which require a lot of practice before you stop pressing wrong buttons and wreaking havoc on your data. For example,
