Highgear TrailDrop

Summary

Accurate, sturdy. Good backup.

I've had my Trail Drop for about 3 years now and only JUST needed to change the batteries. I've had it hanging on my bicycle handlebars the last two years or so and it always gives me the time, date and proper temperature all on the face. Taking a bearing is very easy but you just need to make sure it's level (has built in leveling bubble).

I've used it right on the bicycle and it works fine! I have a set of very small caliber flat head and Phillips head screwdrivers so removing the back was no big deal. Getting the batteries out was! You DO NOT need to replace it with the exact same sized watch batteries.  Since they all have about the same power, I replaced it with batteries that were slightly smaller and the unit works great.  

Not as rugged as the HighGear Alti-Tech digital compass but you get what you pay for. I don't think the Trail Drop is worth what many retailers are charging though.

I purchased this product from REI in hopes of having a decent watch/compass. I was elated to find there where additional features like a temp gauge. This temp gauge was not critical to my purposes, but I decided to check its accuracy anyway. To my supprise it did not work at all. That portion of the display had only slashes where numbers should have been. I called the number given with the instructions, and got an immediate response. The person I spoke to said he was in charge of international sales, and was apparently on his way out. Though he was very polite he could not help me. He said that problems with that feature was rare, but that this product is known to have battery issues. In the end he recommended I return the compass.

I set aside the compass and did not return it until a week later. In that time the product had a complete failure. The screen went completely blank, and none of the buttons responded. I am not sure exactly when this happend, but the compass was inside its original packaging, and not disturbed during that time. I am currently using another product from the same manufacturer, and there appears to be no blatent problems, but I'm holding my breath.

I would NOT recommend purchasing the TrailDrop. The product was unreliable in my personal expirence, and condemned by the person I called to help me with it.

I've found it to be a useful piece of gear.

But the batteries are almost impossible to change and the legend inside the unit for inserting batteries is **WRONG**. Where they tell you to put (+) up, you have to put (+) down and the same on the second battery. YES, this thing has two miniature batteries instead of one like just about every other watch.

So, I've had very mixed sentiments ... I like what it does, but the batteries are an exercise in mis-engineering. Overall, I would not have bought this item.

I would have derived more benefit from this thing if I ate the $35 or the "TrailDrop," which is the right name for it, because it should be dropped after stepping foot on a trail.

It was incredibly inaccurate, impossible to use, and broke after an hour of trying to stand level and still enough to get a reading. The HighDrop people spent too much time looking into the sun trying to figure out the east/west axis when they came up with this ripoff.

The compass kept losing calibration. The thermometer was never within 10 degrees. I carried it as a watch until the batteries ran out and then came the worst surprise: you need a jewelers screwdriver to open the case, you need to destroy the guts to get the old batteries out AND replacement batteries are virtually unobtainable. A waste of money. Never again!

The batteries fail after a few minutes of operation and are unattainable for a reasonable price. I replaced three sets for $4.99 each. I would have saved my money if I had read the reviews before buying!

Junk temp and compass way off, adjustment functions do not work per manual. Unit very to use, impossible with gloves. Buttons not labeled. Not the least bit water resistant. Don’t waste your money.