There are several kinds of barometers to cover a wide variety of functions and applications. There are aviation altimeters, car altimeters and rocket altimeters, for example. Most people, however, are shopping for a barometer that’s an important piece of gear for their outdoor adventures. Here’s a selection of altimeters to meet every need.

· Analog Altimeters: The strength of analog altimeters is their ability to indicate multiple incremental changes simultaneously with their simple dials.

· Digital Altimeters: These contain barometric pressure sensors that can achieve impressive accuracy ratings of greater than .5%.

· Skydiving Altimeters: An altimeter designed for skydiving should be: able to quickly register altitude changes, recognize the “Danger One” and be easy to read.

· Antique Altimeters: These quaint barometric pressure barometers make for good conversation pieces.

· Altimeter Sports Watches: The sheer number of extra function on these little digital monsters beggars the imagination: log-books, compasses, alarms, chronometers, pedometers, variometers, heart-rate monitors, air pressure gages, weather forecasts, lap-counters, calorie-counters…some of them even tell time.