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A few months ago I bought a SA 'altimiter' knife for my wife. $120+ On one of our camping trips, she broke it. The plastic case and the digital display were ruined. A couple weeks ago I sent it back to Connecticut for them to repair it. Well, it just arrived a few minutes ago in perfect shape. NO CHARGE
So I just thought I'd pass this on. Great customer service.

Also, several years ago Buck Knives did something similar. I had a folding hunter that I totally abused. Used the blade to cut metal banding, used the handle as a hammer, and anything else that you can do to a knife to abuse it, I did! Finally the back strap broke rendering the blade a flopping usless piece of metal. So I sent it in to Buck for repair. Because I'd had it for many years and the wood was pretty, I asked them to retain most of the knife. In a couple weeks after I sent it in, I got it back w/ a brand new blade. The brass had been buffed and polished (remember the hammer part?) and the wood was oiled and pretty as ever. Also, NO CHARGE

I'd do business (and already have as I own 4 Buck knives and 2 SA knives) with either of these companies again and recommend them to anyone.

rnr, tell us more about this knife. sounds interesting. We all like gagets. tom

Victorinox-Altimeter
1.3705.AT

Victorinox Altimeter (1.3705.AT)

Trust the makers of the Victorinox� Original Swiss Army� Knife to design an innovative collection of activity-specific Lifestyle� tools. Loaded with 17 features, the Altimeter will help you master every situation while climbing, hiking or mountain biking. Precision crafted to the highest standards, this tool is made of high-grade stainless steel for lasting durability and performance. Its thoughtful design and ease of use are clear evidence of its superior engineering.

Instructions and features
Altimeters calculate the altitude on the basis of atmospheric pressure. For this reason, all altimeters have to be recalibrated prior to use to accommodate daily fluctuations in atmospheric pressure. They must be set daily at a known altitude (at home, at the base of a mountain, etc.) to function properly.

Weather forecasts can be made on the basis of the fluctuations in atmospheric pressure. If there is a change in the altitude displayed without any change in location, a change in atmospheric pressure has occurred. The following forecasts can be deduced from this:
If the altitude displayed is lower than the reference altitude, there has been a rise in atmospheric pressure, i.e. the weather can be expected to improve.
If the altitude displayed is higher than the reference altitude, there has been a drop in atmospheric pressure, i.e. the weather can be expected to deteriorate.

The altimeter measures the following:
Temperature in Fahrenheit (0� to 140�) and Celsius (-20� to 60�)
Altitude in feet (-300 to 18,000) and meters (-100 to 6,000)

The digital screen is activated by pressing the Cross and Shield on the top of the knife handle. You can display the features in the following way: Feet/Fahrenheit, Feet/Celsius, Meters/Fahrenheit or Meters/Celsius.

Turning on the digital display:
Press and hold the Cross and Shield for 4 seconds until information appears on the digital display. Either the temperature or the altitude will appear depending on how the display was last set.

To display the temperature and the altitude:
If temperature appears, press the Cross and Shield to view the altitude. If the altitude appears, press the Cross and Shield to view the temperature.

Changing Fahrenheit to Celsius and feet to meters:
In temperature mode, press and hold the Cross and Shield for 4 seconds until the up and down arrows appear.
Release the Cross and Shield. F/ft, F/m. C/ft or C/m symbols will appear. To adjust, scroll through the symbols by pressing the Cross and Shield repeatedly until the desired combination is displayed. Wait 4 seconds until the display is reset.

Adjusting the altitude
In altitude mode, press and hold the Cross and Shield for 4 seconds until the up and down arrows appear. Release the Cross and Shield. The up and down arrows will flash alternately. To increase the elevation displayed, press the Cross and Shield repeatedly while the arrow is up. To decrease the elevation, press the Cross and Shield repeatedly while the arrow is down. Once the display shows the correct elevation, wait 4 seconds until the display stops flashing.

The display will switch itself off automatically after 15 minutes if not in use.

Warning:
The altitude is displayed with a delay in order to substantially extend battery life. For this reason, a Victorinox Altimeter may not be used to measure altitudes during parachuting or similar types of sport.

Battery changing: The Altimeter comes equipped with a 3 volt lithium battery. To change the battery, use the mini-screwdriver to open the battery compartment and replace the battery (see illustration).

Extended battery life: Close the battery compartment when in use.
If the altimeter has been submerged in water, take the battery out immediately and allow the casing to dry off.
The altimeter goes into standby mode when not in use. If the altimeter is not going to be used for a certain length of time, battery life (normally approx. 1_ years) can be extended if the battery is removed.

This is a cut/paste from their web site www.victorinox.com/newsite/en/index.htm

My wife likes it. It's got the usual 2 blades, cork screw, tooth pick, awl, scissors, you know all that stuff. Decent knife.

how much does it weight? seems like it might be heavy. guess I would be better off getting an Altimeter to carry. tom

Well, yeah, it's a typical Swiss Army. It's not a Beretta AirLite. I happen to be traveling thru the Zurich Airport (b4 Sept. 11) for work when I saw it. It had just come out and I guess I got caught up in the novelty of it. So I picked it up for my wife. Since then, the price has come down about half. Might have been the fact that I bought it at the airport gift shop too. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

But I guess the important thing is the service that they offered. I was pretty impressed that they fixed it for free. Especially if you include the LCD display and etc that they had to replace.