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Reviews > Electronic Devices > Watches > Origo Rendezvous Peak > Test Report by Curt PetersonOrigo
Rendezvous Peak Series Watch
Report Series by Curt Peterson Initial Report - September 2009 Field Report - TBD Final Report - TBD
Initial Report Tester Background and Contact Information Name: Curt Peterson Age: 37 Gender: Male Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 270 lb (122 kg) Email address: curt<at>backpackgeartest<dot>org Location: North Bend, Washington, USA I live in the Cascade foothills, just 20 mi (32 km) from the Pacific Crest Trail via trails leading right from my backyard. My outdoor time in Washington is spent dayhiking, backpacking, climbing, fishing and skiing everywhere from the Olympic coast to rainforests to Cascade volcanoes to dry steppe. I played football in college and often evaluate products from a big guy perspective. My typical pack load ranges from 11 - 20 lbs (5-9 kg) and usually includes plenty of wet weather gear.
Initial Impressions I've always been a fan of altimeter watches. When I'm on a known trail and losing the path is unlikely, I find that in the Cascades navigation can be very easily done with nothing more than a map and altimeter. Because most trails out here are either going up or down - there aren't many flat walks in the Cascades - a quick glance at the altimeter and then finding where that elevation contour intersects the trail gives a pretty accurate location. I've used this method enough over the past 15 years that I can typically figure out where I am on a trail within just a few seconds, often without the need to even stop moving. The entire system, of course, depends on an accurate altimeter. Quickly changing weather patterns can cause significant altimeter drift, so I've gone through a number of altimeter watches. I've used at least 5 different altimeter watches in this way and still have not found the perfect watch. I'm curious to see if the Origo Rendezvous Peak watch can allow me to use this method of finding my location in a clean, quick, accurate way and do it in a comfortable package that brings some other useful features along for the ride. Part of Origo's AccuSense line, the Rendezvous Peak is a fully featured watch that brings more than just an altimeter to the feature list. Here's Origo's description with a full list of the watch's capabilities:
The Rendezvous Peak cycles through these features in a pretty fluid and predictable way. With only 4 buttons on the watch, remembering what each does is pretty simple. The one that gets the big workout is the bottom left: MODE. This button cycles through the different capabilities of the watch in sequence: TIME > COMPASS > BAROMETER > ALTIMETER > ALTIMETER DATA > CHRONOGRAPH > CHRONOGRAPH DATA > ALARM > TIMER > back to TIME. Inside of each of these modes, the top left button usually adjusts or calibrates the main feature, the top right starts and stops and turns on and off various features in the respective modes, and the bottom right resets data. This is not an exhaustive list of exactly what the buttons do in each mode, but in general these are their primary functions. The buttons require a firm push to engage, but are not so stiff that they are difficult. After having used some watches with very mushy buttons, these are a pleasant change for the better. One of my favorite aspects of the Rendezvous Peak is that there is a lot of information visible without going through the modes at all. On the "home" TIME screen, weather is visible (although tiny), temperature, date, time, battery remaining, and a visual seconds ring that works its way around the circumference of the display. It's great to have all that information available at a glance without touching a single button. The manual, which spells the name of the product incorrectly on the cover, is tiny and actually the first watch manual I would have no problem bringing with me on a trip. On my initial uses, I've found a few strengths, a few quirks to the Rendezvous Peak, and a few concerns. For strengths, my first couple uses of the altimeter have shown it to be very accurate and easy to use. This is the feature that is most important to me, so I'm happy to see it seems to be a strong point of the watch. I also like the simple user interface and easy navigation. I don't want to have to read the manual to figure out how to use features and so far the limited stuff I've tried is pretty intuitive. The quirks are mostly regarding "comfort" aspects, so these can be chalked up as personal preferences. To me, the watch seems pretty bulky. The main part of the watch is pretty thick, but it's the band that makes it bulky. It's easily the most substantial and stiff watch band I've ever used. In fact, I find it difficult to wear because the curve is so built in and inflexible that it doesn't wrap around my big wrists comfortably. There is no hinging at the joint where the band meets the watch, so the curvature is fixed. I often attach altimeter watches to my sternum strap and this watch works well this way, but seeing how easily aftermarket watch bands work with the Rendezvous Peak will be something I'll be sure and note in future tests. Another quirk is that the weather icons are extremely small - almost unusably small. The reverse display (black background with light numbers) is a refreshing change from the watch displays I've used in the past, but it is very dim in all but sunlight. The backlight is also pretty weak and I find myself having to put the watch pretty close to my face and looking at it from multiple angles to read the display. Most of the time I use the watch it will obviously be outdoors, so I'm not too concerned about it, but it is a little odd and I've never used a watch that was this difficult to easily read the display. My only concern at this early stage is with the battery life. It might be completely a non-issue, but the watch arrived dead as a doornail but with a spare battery in the box. I installed the new battery right away. This is easy to do as a user and this is very much appreciated after having some watches in the past that required a jeweler to swap it out or risk voiding the warranty. Big thanks to Origo for this! Within just a couple days, however, the battery icon was down to almost empty. Now, it's possible that this was not a new battery or that it had been sitting for a long time and wasn't fresh. Receiving a dead watch and having the first battery replacement drain quickly is not encouraging, however. I'll most definitely be installing a brand new battery and reporting on how the watch behaves with it. I look forward to putting the Origo Rendezvous Peak through its paces over the next 4 months! Initial Report Summary Initial Likes
Field Report Please check back in November to see how the Origo Rendezvous performs in the field. Read more reviews of Origo gear Read more gear reviews by Curt Peterson Reviews > Electronic Devices > Watches > Origo Rendezvous Peak > Test Report by Curt Peterson | ||||
