Victorinox Traveller

U

Ultraman

Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
1,083
Hi everyone,

I have been looking at the Vic Traveller - basically a climber (scissors) with an LCD display set in the scales that shows time/date, alarm, timer, temperature, altimeter readings, etc. I like the altimeter as it can work as a means of location if you have a good topographic map.

Does anyone have one, how do you like/dislike it, and what's your overall assessment? Is it waterproof or water resistant, or will a little moisture destroy the electronics? How easy or hard is it to EDC on your person?

Thanks very much for any responses.
 
I've been eyeballing this one lately too and would love to hear what people think. Could such a small device determine altitude accurately? I'm curious. What is the lowest price people have seen? I have seen as low as $86.00
 
That's a good price as the one I was looking at was about $20 higher.

I am just guessing, but the altimeter probably uses air pressure (barometer) calibrated at a known height, so maybe the error would be on the order of 20-25 feet. Just a guess, though.
 
Hi,

The altimeter is most dissappointing. It is based on barometric pressure and requires calibration for each change in base pressure. Example, the AC came on in a sealed building resulting in a 0.3 psig pressure increase. Altimeter reacted with almost 200 foot elevation change. Carry the knife inside your pocket and take it out to 20F temperatures. Response time relative to temperature is about 20 - 25 minutes.

Neat idea - but needs something else to make it viable - Joe

PS - I am a Vic fan with about 400 in my collection, so don't think I don't lke their products.
 
JoeBW said:
Hi,

The altimeter is most dissappointing. It is based on barometric pressure and requires calibration for each change in base pressure. Example, the AC came on in a sealed building resulting in a 0.3 psig pressure increase. Altimeter reacted with almost 200 foot elevation change. Carry the knife inside your pocket and take it out to 20F temperatures. Response time relative to temperature is about 20 - 25 minutes.

Neat idea - but needs something else to make it viable - Joe

PS - I am a Vic fan with about 400 in my collection, so don't think I don't lke their products.
Click to expand...


Good to know - thanks!
 
At the back of the handle with the electronics in, there are holes for the sensors to do their thing and sense, so its definitely not waterproof. They look like they're coated in some sort of plastic though, so they could be splashproof at best.

The issues that JoeBW mentioned (altimeter depending on air pressure, thermometer affected by temperature of pocket) also apply to watches with the same features, that are roughly the same price. However, I'd imagine cutting something with a watch would be pretty difficult.
 
qwertyuiop said:
At the back of the handle with the electronics in, there are holes for the sensors to do their thing and sense, so its definitely not waterproof. They look like they're coated in some sort of plastic though, so they could be splashproof at best.

The issues that JoeBW mentioned (altimeter depending on air pressure, thermometer affected by temperature of pocket) also apply to watches with the same features, that are roughly the same price. However, I'd imagine cutting something with a watch would be pretty difficult.
Click to expand...

:D Well said! Thanks for the observation... I guess this item is good for urban travellers, but not for outdoorsy/wet conditions use. Thank you for the input, sir!
 
I have one, and as pointed out for actual navigational use the altimeter is lacking. Since I rarely travel beyond sea level to 500', this isn't a real big issue for me. Just so everyone is on the same page virtually ALL altimeters are simply barometers that are calibrated accordingly. The exception being radar altimeters in aircraft. ALL barometric altimeters need to be calibrated for base pressure and temperature, and that changes accordingly. It's on the preflight checklist...;) That being said, I find it a useful tool for weather prediction and take one to the beach or on the boat all the time. Although it has not had a severe dunking, it certainly has held up to splashes and salt air. The thermometer is accurate and the trend in pressure is noted very quickly. I'd just by a spare GPS if navigation was a concern, relying on topos and any altimeter would be dicey at best for precise navigation. Relative nav would be a different story altogether, but there the map is more useful than the device, provided your Mod I eyeball is still functioning! Here's an interesting article fyi http://www.biber.fsnet.co.uk/altim.html
 
marcangel said:
I have one, and as pointed out for actual navigational use the altimeter is lacking. Since I rarely travel beyond sea level to 500', this isn't a real big issue for me. Just so everyone is on the same page virtually ALL altimeters are simply barometers that are calibrated accordingly. The exception being radar altimeters in aircraft. ALL barometric altimeters need to be calibrated for base pressure and temperature, and that changes accordingly. It's on the preflight checklist...;) That being said, I find it a useful tool for weather prediction and take one to the beach or on the boat all the time. Although it has not had a severe dunking, it certainly has held up to splashes and salt air. The thermometer is accurate and the trend in pressure is noted very quickly. I'd just by a spare GPS if navigation was a concern, relying on topos and any altimeter would be dicey at best for precise navigation. Relative nav would be a different story altogether, but there the map is more useful than the device, provided your Mod I eyeball is still functioning! Here's an interesting article fyi http://www.biber.fsnet.co.uk/altim.html
Click to expand...

Am checking out the article as I write... thanks for your insights!

Much bigger errors than I thought for this method of estimating altitude...
 
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