Best ABC Altimeter Watches | 2022 Beneficial Buyer’s Guide

All experienced backpackers know the importance of keeping their items compact. Whether its clothes, sleeping bags, or tent poles, much high-quality outdoors items are designed to be multi-purpose. That's where the ABC Altimeter watch comes in.

What You Will Learn from This Guide:

Referred to by the acronym "ABC", these products provide an altimeter, barometer, and compass all in one handy device. Trekking through the backcountry? A trusty ABC watch could help keep you both informed and safe during the journey.

The Main Features of ABC Altimeter Watches

For those who don't know, an altimeter determines the altitude gained during a journey while a barometer measures changes in atmospheric pressure. As you can likely guess, both measures are incredibly important for backpackers who want to both note their current progress and steer clear of bad weather.

Of course, these are just the starter features of the most basic ABC watch available. Many ABC watches come with a wide list of capabilities too numerous to name. Nowadays, it's common for these products to be replete with temperature sensors, lap timers, automatic time zone change, backlights, and advanced altitude visualization maps.

Potential buyers should know that it's difficult to find a fully functional ABC watch that isn't on the bulkier side. Many of the more functional units weigh six ounces or more, which can feel appreciably more heavy on the wearer's wrist.

Trusted Brands of ABC Altimeter Watches

Currently, Suunto and Casio ABC watch dominate the market since these brands offer a wide range of additional features. That said, the Garmin brand has recently made a big push into the high-end market by offering solar-powered ABC watches with enhanced GPS capabilities.

Check out the Garmin ABC Watches, which are considered one of the best multi-sport altimeters watches in the industry. With full ABC capability, the Fenix 5X connects with GPS and GLONASS satellite for the most accurate location tracking.

Moreover, this little device features sophisticated topographical mapping for hiking, mountaineering, and use in the great outdoors. Though if you're just looking for basic ABC functionality, the Fenix 5X might be too bulky and feature-heavy for the average buyer.

TOP Best ABC Altimeter Watches

1. Casio Men's Pro Trek PRW2500R Tough Solar Digital Sport Watch

Developed under the supervision of meteorologists, this device is an extremely valuable tool for any outdoor adventurer. You can wear this watch camping, boating, climbing up rocks, or scuba diving — all under different temperature conditions. It never loses time! One of the advantages of this model is an integrated solar panel that utilizes UV light to recharge the battery.

This timepiece has a number of helpful features, such as an altimeter, a barometer, a compass, and a thermometer. The PRW2500R is water-resistant up to 200 meters, which is good news for anyone who loves swimming and diving.

Travelers would appreciate its world time feature which gives an accurate time readout in all time zones. This includes 31 time zones (48 cities + UTC), a city code display, and daylight saving on/off feature. The watch provides atomic timekeeping, receives time calibration radio signals, and has an auto receive function — up to six times a day. A reconfigured duplex LCD layout makes this watch highly convenient to use. For fishers, there is a tide and moon graph that provides useful information.

Casio PRW2500R: Check the current price

2. Garmin Instinct, Rugged Outdoor Watch with GPS

Offered in shades ranging from Graphite to Flame Red, the Garmin Instinct is built to withstand tough environments. This US Military standard, thermal, and shock-resistant watch is built-in with a barometric altimeter, GPS, and smart compass.

Aside from basic functionalities, the Garmin Instinct comes with an activity, stress, heart rate, and training tracker. You can even stay connected to smart device notifications with automatic data uploads.

With up to fourteen days of battery life, this Garmin is a fantastic companion to have when trekking through the backcountry. The patented TracBack feature allows you to easily navigate back to your starting point with the paired Explore app lets you plan trips in advance.

You're unlikely to find an ABC watch developed from a more customer-loved, trusted, and continued high-quality manufacturer than Garmin.

Garmin Instinct: Check the current price

3. Garmin Fenix 5X Plus Watch

Though its high price tag may initially throw you off, there's no getting better in multi-sport, ABC, and smartwatch functionality than the Garmin Fenix 5X. This ultimate, high functionality watch packs the best of activity tracking, GPS, topographical measuring, and smart device utility into one product.

Aside from tracking nearly every important dimension of health (pulse, oxygen saturation, and sleep), the Garmin Fenix is fit for any adventure due to its rugged and scratch-resistant design. Constructed with diamond-like carbon that is 30 percent stronger than steel, this Garmin is waterproof and corrosion-free.

Now, it's possible to easily store and play up to five hundred songs on your watch. Connect with Bluetooth headphones for phone-free listening or even make convenient payments with your watch through the Garmin Pay contactless solution.

With up to twenty days of battery life in smartwatch mode, the Garmin Fenix is both extremely functional and convenient. Ultimately, this watch is meant for those that treat going outdoors as a fundamental aspect of their lifestyle.

There's just no beating the advanced activity metrics, multi-network navigation system, live tracking, and topographical measuring of the Garmin Fenix.

Garmin Fenix 5X: Check the current price

4. Casio Men's Pathfinder Triple Sensor Sport Watch

The Casio Pathfinder is so jam-packed with features that you'll probably only discover some utility months after purchase.

The black, completely solar-powered watch is built with the standard compass, altimeter, and barometer, yet also boasts a: thermometer, LED backlight, automatic time zone adjustment, city code display, five programmable alarms, timers, power-saving functions, and much more.

On a full charge, this Casio watch can last sixth months without any exposure to light. The 51mm stainless steel case and mineral dial window lend extra ruggedness and durability to the watch, keeping it resistant to up to 100 meters of water depth.

With a reinforced resin band and buckle, you'd be hard-pressed to get even a scratch on this watch. Meant for those that need all the protection good tech can afford them in the wilderness, the Casio is built to withstand rugged conditions.

Casio Pathfinder: Check the current price

5. SUUNTO Core Military Watch

With its surprisingly sleek design, many are surprised when they realize the Suunto Core is a fully functional ABC watch. More than that, this product boasts tons of extra features packed into the diminutively small watch face: weather tracking, temperature readings, sunrise times, elevation, and even storm alerts.
This all-black watch is slim enough to function as both a professional and outdoors watch. Designed to be your companion wherever you go, the Suunto is constructed from lightweight yet tough composite materials to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Suunto: Check the current price

Best-Selling ABC Altimeter Watches | Comparative Table