Hi there, I just signed up and I have a burning question. I've been shopping for a sports watch all day that will help me on the slopes of Colorado this winter. I'm an intermediate skier, a woman, and hoping to progress. It's been maddening trying to find some recommendations of watches that can handle the cold, the wet, that have an altimeter/barometer, and that are suited for a woman's wrist. Why aren't there more of this type of watch made for women? Tons of stuff for the guys. I looked through all of my ski magazines and couldn't find any reviews.

The new website is very buggy, not working well in Firefox. It's not letting me upload a picture for my profile.

Thank you,

Crystal

Suunto has a number of watches, many of which are really pricey...  Personally I like my old beater Casio, but it doesn't have the altimeter you asked about.

Check out this link to the women's version of the Vector, which has an altimeter and is sized for a smaller wrist.  It is also one of their less expensive models.  Beyond that, try REI.com, they usually have a strong stock of most anything in women's options.

http://www.suuntowatches.com/Suunto-Vector.pro

Best of luck,  Nate

Crystal, I share your pain.

Even for men, there isn't much choice out there.  Watch manufacturers want to pidgeonhole us into different categories.  They seem to think that skiers and climbers never go diving or snorkeling. They make you choose between a watch that has an altimeter and a watch that is waterproof.

In my opinion, Casio has some of the best feature combinations and the most universal appeal. Casio watches have something nobody else has: watches that can pass the "stranded on a dessert islalnd for years" test.  Most non-Casio watches will be ruined by water exposure if you have to jump into the sea from a wrecked ship and swim to shore.  If water doesn't damage them, the watches will definitely die in a year or two when the batteries go dead. 

But Casio watches are almost all SOLAR powered. Their batteries get automatically recharged by exposure to the sun, or any other kind of light. Even without any light, deep inside a cave, they can keep on ticking for at least 5 or 6 months before they need re-charging.

Also, almost all Casio watches are waterproof down to 200 meters (600 feet). You might think you will never dive that deep anyway. But, what this means is that the watches can withstand a presure of 20 atmospheres. Even in shallow water, if you are splashing about a lot, you are generating a lot of pressure on the watch, much more than the shallow depth might indicate. So, you really need a watch that can go down to 200 meters to call it truly waterproof.

The downside is: Even though Casio watches have a basic altimeter, they don't have any way of automatically keeping track of your accumulated vertical.  Not a single Casio watch can do that. So, if you are running, biking, or skiing up and down hills, Casio watches won't be able to tell you how much vertical you have accumulated in a day.  Instead, they will give you some useless tiny little graphs.

Write to Casio. Demand that they add a counter for accumulated vertical. And maybe another to count the number of runs. With this feature, they would be a perfect watch for skiers.

Check out the following article: http://www.mthigh.org/Articles/Ski-watches.htm

The article is 2 years old. Since then, Casio G-Shock Riseman was re-introduced, and it includes a basic altimeter, but again with no accumulated vertical counter.

On the Casio Pathfinder side, thoguh most of these have been water-resistant down to 100 meters,  they now have at least one or two watches that are waterproof down to 200 meters (20 atmospheres of pressure).

The Suuntos have the most skier-related features, but Suuntos are expensive, replacement parts are expensive, they require frequent battery changes, and they are not very water-resistant.

Avocet watches are now also available again, and they have been improved. They are great for counting vertical and the number of runs, but they are not waterproof at all, excpet for being able to withstand a bit of wet snow.

So, write to the watch manufacturers and ask them to add the missing features.