Anyone here have a lot of experience with Kestrel models?

[Johnson184]

I'm thinking about buying one as a gift to a field biologist. Seems like it'd be a great, handy tool for recording data with. It's obviously not too difficult to ascertain wind direction with a compass, but I'm hoping it can help with accurate readings for wind speed, temperature, and most importantly water temperature. Are any of these models accurate enough or capable enough?

Thanks guys.

 

[roggom]

If you look at the Kestral it has an external temperature sensor, and the units are waterproof. I just have not submerged mine to test it. I think it is geared more for air temp, although Kestral says it will measure water temp. They will have to dip the top into the water.

The 2000 and 2500 will do all that you are requesting and are not that expensive. You will also get altitude and pressure, but not wind direction. They run off a CR2302 coin battery and mine has been going for two years on the same battery. The higher end units run off a different battery system, as the added features use a little more power.

Here is Kestrals page on suggested models. http://www.nkhome.com/kestrel/uses/outdoor/

As for experience, you can dig through the posts and the Kestral rep has a thread in this equipment section.

 

[ZiaHunter]

I have used a Kestrel 4000 for over ten years now for hunting, fishing, shooting and other outdoor activities. They are very handy to have and provide accurate information. The ability to record weather conditions over time intervals is very useful when looking at trends in the weather. I download this information and import into an Excel worksheet. It amazing the inferences you can glean from this information. As an example, on our week long archery elk hunt in SW New Mexico this year, we noticed that activity decreased during the week. After I downloading and analyzing the data, I noticed the average daily temperature and barometric pressure increased during the week. That with a waxing moon kept the animals moving mostly during non-hunting hours. I like the unit so much that I made the leap and have a 4500 Horus on order.