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Need a Paragliding Wind Meter?
You've come to the right page if you need to choose a paragliding wind meter. Particularly important in mountainous areas where you might strictly decide not to fly if the wind speed is gusting to more than a particular value.
There's a whole bunch of little, light devices with electronic readouts and functions for wind measurement. Over the years they have been getting smaller and lighter. Although this page focuses on wind meters, most of them can readout other parameters as well, like air temperature and chill factor.
Try thisif you're not living in the U.S.
It seems that there is just one well-known wind measuring device that isn't electronic. It's the classic Hall Wind Meter which has been around since 1976! Although very simple in design, being basically just a tube with a floating indicator, they are very accurate and reliable. The Hall meter is described first, in the next section.
If you are a Hall-type pilot, I'm sure you will still enjoy reading about all the others! On the other hand, gadget freaks wouldn't be seen dead with a Hall, I can imagine ;-) My personal preference would be for anything without batteries... someone should do a solar paragliding wind meter!
Some Anemometers From 2007
I did a scout around in mid 2007, for new units, and here's what I came up with. Hope you find something interesting here, at least until it all goes out of date.
The anemometers below are in order of price. Prices just a guide of course, and dollars are US dollars. And all the meters are hand-held, meaning you could in theory take them up with you to double as airspeed indicators!
The Hall Wind Meter, for $45.
simple, rugged, reliable
the unofficial standard paragliding wind meter, and other air sports since 1976
very accurate, since individually calibrated
smaller of the 2 models measures in the range 7 to 30 mph
calibrations other than mph are available
mounting brackets are available if required
The JDC Skywatch Fun Wind Meter, for around £40.00.
no frills, smallest paragliding anemometer in the world, they say
manufactured in Switzerland, reliable as a Swiss watch har har
adjustable scale for mph, kph, m/s, knts
measures 10 second wind speed average, readout on LCD display
can do up to a million such measurements, depending on lithium battery
waterproof
impeller accurate to +/- 3%
impeller housing can be rotated for full protection
measures 3.0 x 8.3 x 1.0 cm (1.20 x 3.28 x 0.38 inches)
weighs 23 grams (0.85 ounces), about as much as a really heavy feather :-/ wow
note: you might be able to get the Xplorer 1, an earlier model, much cheaper!
The SkyMate Wind Meter, for around $90.
electronic pocket-sized paragliding wind meter, measures temp and wind chill too
adjustable scale for mph, kph, m/s, knts, fpm, Beaufort (how about that!)
wind speed, average speed and maximum speed readout on LCD display
highly visible, floats and water resistant to 1 meter (3 feet)
supplied with lanyard and threaded for tripod mount
replaceable plastic impeller, accurate to within 3%
400 hour lithium battery life
dimensions are 14.0 x 4.4 x 1.9 cm (5.5 x 1.75 x 0.75 inches)
weighs 103 grams (3.2 ounces)
warranty? ask the manufacturer
The Kestral 1000 Pocket Wind Meter, for $95.
electronic pocket-sized paragliding wind meter
adjustable scale for mph, kph, m/s, knts, fpm
wind speed, average speed and maximum speed readout on LCD display
waterproof
slip-on hard case for damage protection
replaceable anodized aluminum impeller, accurate to within 3%
400 hour lithium battery life
dimensions are 11.7 x 4.6 x 1.8 cm (4.6 x 1.8 x 0.7 inches)
how bizarre is that, look again at those 2 sets of numbers!
12 months warranty
The Flytech Windwatch, for around $105.
electronic portable wind gauge, measures temp and wind chill too
adjustable scale for various units, probably mph, kph, knts at least
absolute and measured period peak wind speed, readout on LCD display
average and current wind speed, readout on LCD display
water resistant to 5 meters (16 feet)
probably 400 hour lithium battery life, they say 'approx. 4 years'
It seems that there is just one well-known wind measuring device that isn't electronic. It's the classic Hall Wind Meter which has been around since 1976! Although very simple in design, being basically just a tube with a floating indicator, they are very accurate and reliable. The Hall meter is described first, in the next section.