Brunton ADC Anemometers

I've had a Bunton ADC Summit now for about 4 years and I have to say it's a great bit of kit. I bought it of eBay from a seller in the states for about £30 inc P&P and import duties and it has served me well. Until last month when the batery cover broke. Because of the design of the unit it is nearly impossible to fix or bodge so I contacted Brunton to ask about a replacement. A month later (due to customs over here I must add) and not only have they sent me TWO replacement parts but they sent them FOC too! Can't beat customer service like that.

These little Anemometers are great. They are much cheaper than the Kestrel equivalets and offer all of the features below:

Displays current barometric pressure (in hPa,mb or Hg)

Storm alarm

Displays the past 24 hour pressure tendency

Predicts the coming 12 hour's weather

Altitude

Altimeter alarm

Water flow meter - (Not so sure about this one I certainly won't be trying it!)

Ski run counter  

Current, max and average wind speed

Water resistant

If your going to get one make sure you get the Summit or if you're feeling flush the Pro. The other models don't offer pressure and Altitude readings which are useful for shooters.

An anemometer is a very useful item and all long range shooters should have one. I used mine whilst shooting the Steel Challenge at WMS a while ago and it was invaluable. There were some very tricky winds but at least this gave me somewhere to start as well as providing me the alt, temp and pressure information to plug into my iPhone ballistic software.

The only thing I don't like about them is they turn on every time you push a button so if you've got it stashed in a pocket or rucksack etc it'll be turning on every two minutes and the battery won't last as long. Although it is claimed to last 4 years, if I leave the battery in it lasts about 6 months which is still useable but also very annoying when you want to use it and the battery is dead. It would be much better if it had a cover of a dedicated on/off switch.

All of that said, if money was not object I'd have a Kestrel 4500 NV with Horus ATrag Ballistics. It has built in ballistic software as well as all the usual features but at £450-£500 I think I'll stick to my Brunton and iPhone for now.