I received a Speedtech - Skymaster as a gift last year - works very well with weather instruments, like air temp, barometric pressure, storm alarm - but, didn't check out all the competition so don't know if better units are out there for better prices. (my price was right though (g).
A friend has a more basic model with wind speed, log and temp.
__________________ True Blue . . .
sold the Nauticat
I own a Wind Wizard (about $45 from West Marine, as I recall), which I don't have a lot of faith in. The little "fan" design of TrueBlue's SkyMate makes sense to me, and I can see how it could be pretty accurate. The Wind Wizard has the equivalent of a weighted vane, which I might trust for peak wind gusts, but find hard to believe for moderate, steady winds. YMMV.
I've had the Kaindl for years -- used it to evaluate my property for wind power. It logs average & max winds for about a week before going to sleep; batteries lasted nearly a year, always on. Tough little beastie -- it logged winds up to 119 MPH! And survived Wyoming's cold and sun on top a pole for two years, before the whirlygig shaft wore out its plastic bearings.
It's omnidirectional, which is nice; it has a 1/4"/20 tripod mount on bottom. Reads kmh, mph, kts, m/s, and Beaufort. AFAIK, the link above is the only US distributor. I got mine years ago from a dude in Quebec. Paid $65 on eBay.
The Kestrels work quite well too. Depending on which model, they can also do temp, humidity, and Barometric pressure.
__________________
Sailingdog Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)
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I had a Kestrel...never was close to on wind speed accuracy and fell apart with just light use. I think the hand helds are more of a gimmick than useful.
AFAIK they are all "fairly" reliable. The old Davis type with no fan blades, using two tubes with pith balls in them, is probably the least expensive and just as good as some others.
Like nost of the ones with fan--it has to be pointed directly into the wind to be accurate. The models with a vertical fan shaft (so the fan is "lying down") have the advantage that you don't need to point them accurately into the wind, in order to measure it accurately. But they also are usually more expensive.
AFAIK they are all "fairly" reliable. The old Davis type with no fan blades, using two tubes with pith balls in them, is probably the least expensive and just as good as some others.
WM had/has $15 one with one tube. Worked until some spay hit it. Never worked right again.
My Davis had two tubes, and shipped with instructions and pipecleaners, noting that the tubes would need to be cleaned out from time to time. The pith balls are washable, so all it needs is some fresh water and then a dry-out with the pipecleaners to work again.
OTOH electronics often take a permanent resentment to salt water exposure.[g]
I have a Speedtech Skymate that worked well until I left it out in the rain. It is not waterproof and the electronics died. I just ordered a Windtronic for $69 on ebay. I like the omnidirectional feature. I can just strap it to the rigging and not have to turn it into the wind.
