January 2, 2001


What do you think of Nike's new ACG Ascent Watch?

Nike has a new altimeter watch out called the ACG Ascent Watch. How does it compare to the Suunto? I'm thinking about getting this as my Christmas gift from my wife. Thanks,

— Jake Irvine, California

I don't know, Jake, are you sure this isn't a thinly disguised gift for yourself? ("Oh, hi dear, I noticed you weren't wearing the watch I got you so I'm taking it to Denali for three weeks. Thanks! 'Bye!").

Certainly, Nike's ACG Ascent ($160) is an attractive watch, with the sleek styling you'd expect from Nike. Nike claims it has technology that eliminates the "drift" caused by barometric change (so you won't gain or lose 100 feet overnight while you're sleeping). It also has a digital compass, and such functions as elapsed time for ski runs. Nike enlisted the help of some mountaineers to help design the thing, so I expect it works pretty well.

I have one quibble with it: The Ascent measures rates of descent in meters, not feet. Sure, I can do the little bit of math involved in switching from English measurement to metric, but it would have been an easy add-on to allow the user to switch between the two. For that reason alone, I might lean toward a Suunto Altimax ($170); otherwise it's a toss-up between the two.

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