 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all
I'm all up for a 'naff christmas presents' thread for things which well-meaning relatives have bought you which are supposed to be helpful when skiing but you know you're not actually going to waste your luggage allowance on. But this isn't necessarily about that.
My brother bought me a Pyle Ski Master watch for christmas. Like this
http://www.pyleaudio.com/sku/PSKIW25BK/Ski-Master-V-Professional-Ski-Watch-w-Max-20-Ski-Logbook - has anyone had any experience with this thing?
I'm a bit concerned because:
a) The Amazon.com reviews give it a bit of a slating on the grounds of not being able to read the display in sunlight, or in the dark; it being a bit cheaply made; the thermometer measuring the temperature of your arm not what's around you; the altimeter function not working properly etc. I don't know how true these are or people just venting. Some Amazon reviews can be a bit fairytale; but the general consensus seems to be that at it's American retail price of $50 it's barely worth the money - so at it's UK price of twice that I'm not feeling good about it.
b) I don't really understand what it's actually meant to do, which is useful. It claims to do logging, but when you read further into it, it's limited to 20 runs on the memory, and it doesn't measure your surface speed or distance (as it's not got a GPS) - it only measures your altitude gained or lost, and the speed of doing so. Compared to SkiTracks, which for a reasonable sum of 79p, has full GPS functionality and gives you unlimited amounts of actually useful information. Temperature could be useful (IE monitoring if it's warming up), but only if it's accurate which apparently it is not. It has a compass which seems a reasonable function, and it tells the time but probably not as well as my actual watch. It's supposed to have an altimeter which would make up for it a bit, but if I wanted something like this I'd have spent the extra £100 and bought a Suunto.
You all know the score - "it's the thought that counts" etc etc, I really don't want to ask him to take it back for a refund. If it's actually good and Amazon is full of snobs then I'll be the first to say cheers!
If any Snowheads have any experience of this device it'd be great to hear about it.
Cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think you've identified it's functional problems which apply regardless of quality.
I've worn a similar Casio protrek and currently a Suunto core. As you say, without GPS a sports watch is naturally limited.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I have a Casio Protrek and a Garmin Fenix GPS watch.
You would be better buying a used one of these or a Suunto on eBay, to be honest.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The trouble with a GPS watch is battery consumption.I wouldn't really be in the market for one anyway, so I'm not going to ask him to spend any more or even add my own cash to it.
Having played around on the web today I've identified a thing called a Pebble. It doesn't have GPS in it's own right, but it interacts with SkiTracks. I use SkiTracks every day when I'm skiing so, in theory, the GPS in my phone should do all the hard work, SkiTracks should interpret that data as it does, and then send that data to the watch. And the battery consumption issue is bypassed because it's rechargeable.
And it works as a normal smart watch. And it costs less.
Thanks for your thoughts. I think the Pebble is the obvious way forward.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@dp, Pebble have just been bought by Fitbit and closed down.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@rjs, wow man, the interweb has managed to keep that quiet. The 67,000 people who pledged $12m into the Pebble 2 Kickstarter must be pretty irate.
I wonder where this leaves me on this conundrum. Do I buy an obsolete product for £50 because it does everything it needs to, or not?
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How about an Android phone with an app?
Pyle also make GPS bike computers, the general opinion is to save your cash and put it towards a Garmin. I have an expensive Rox 10 bike computer and you could make the same comment too!
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| davidof wrote: |
| How about an Android phone with an app? |
I have an iPhone with an app which works fine (see my above post about getting a smart watch instead).
I don't really want to go with just a phone. I prefer to keep it stashed away - it doesn't like the cold (not many phones do), dropping it in the snow will kill it by water damage, and that's if you find it.
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Pyle also make GPS bike computers, the general opinion is to save your cash and put it towards a Garmin. I have an expensive Rox 10 bike computer and you could make the same comment too! |
Thanks for the advice on the brand. I found their website and they 'make' everything - to that effect I would conclude they actually make nothing and are just a company putting their name on generic Chinese goods, I would be willing to bet you could find most Pyle products which a range of other brand names stamped on.
I have chosen to instead get a smartwatch which works with SkiTracks. It will display the same information, but use the GPS in the phone.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@dp, bring it to the EoSB as, if you get the same apartment as last year, it looks just the right thickness to wedge the wobbly kitchen table leg up 
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| spyderjon wrote: |
| @dp, bring it to the EoSB as, if you get the same apartment as last year, it looks just the right thickness to wedge the wobbly kitchen table leg up |
If I'm sharing with you again I'll be bringing an industrial grade air freshener as well, to keep by the fridge...
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