For some mountain enthusiasts, the outdoor watch is the love child of men's accessories. When it comes to outdoor watches, many people think of Suunto or Polar. But there are other manufacturers such as Tech4o with the Traileader PRO. All of them try to fulfill many needs of outdoor enthusiasts. For this reason, the functional report of the watches varies greatly depending on the manufacturer and makes the decision difficult for the buyer. I am interested in how the Traileader PRO fulfills my requirements for freeriding and mountain biking. The feature package is extensive and sounds promising.
I was looking for a watch that best meets my needs for fitness training, freeriding and mountain biking and has a decent price/performance ratio. The Traileader PRO package includes watch, heart rate belt and USB stick for data transfer to the PC (Windows only). Everything is supplied including batteries. The watch makes a visually solid impression and I really like the green and black color scheme. I am also impressed by the large display and the simple presentation of the menu items. The ESC button is the essential button on this watch. It can be used to switch between the 2 main menus: Time and Trail Menu. This should be internalized. The entire menu navigation of the watch requires practice to start all functions. Given the wealth of functions, the handling and suitability for everyday use is very good. Important functions for me on the Traileader PRO are heart rate measurement, compass and altitude measurement.
The altitude measurement is particularly important for me on new ski and mountain bike tours. The display in ALTI mode shows the current altitude in the middle and the current time at the bottom. Several functions can be displayed in the upper area, including the temperature. Setting a reference altitude is convenient as I often start my tours from home. The AS/DS function in the trail menu under ALTI accumulates the altitude meters. The start and stop must be carried out manually. The function worked smoothly most of the time, but a few recordings were unrealistic. For example, after an ascent of approx. 600 vertical meters, I had suddenly covered 2500 vertical meters in one hour, which would be an extreme achievement with touring skis.
A compass is essential for orientation in unknown terrain or in bad weather. A digital compass like the Traileader PRO does not offer 100% safety, as it is dependent on the battery and does not have the accuracy of a needle compass. A digital compass is sufficient for my business. Practice has shown that frequent calibration, as also stated in the manual, is particularly important in order to obtain accurate values. In addition, the angle between true north and magnetic north (declination) can be adjusted using the enclosed maps for Europe and North America. These are all functions to my liking, but are only of limited use to me on my adventures, as a good level of fitness is essential here.
For untouched slopes or hidden single trails, I accept long climbs and have noticed that my fitness needs to be a lot better. In particular: Powder and ascents always take their toll on me. Summer offers the best opportunity to build up a solid basic level of fitness with active pulse training. I have found this with the Traileader PRO. The functions such as the current heart rate and a memory per session with maximum, minimum and average heart rate are sufficient for me. The USER mode offers individuality in the display. The USER mode allows the three areas of the display to be shown according to personal preferences, with all available functions. An interesting feature is the accelerometer, which calculates the distance covered when walking or jogging, but only works in combination with the heart rate monitor. My measurements matched the distances very well.
Conclusion
The Traileader PRO combines my desired functions such as altimeter, compass and heart rate monitor. The other functions are a useful addition. Also worth mentioning is the weather forecast, which can give a barometric indication of the further development with reservations when staying overnight in the mountains without access to current weather data. Switching between the two main menu items: Time and Trail Menu with the ESC button takes some getting used to at first and should be internalized by the user. Another addition is the Wireless Data Manager, which only works with Windows, so I can't use it (Mac user). Apart from that, the Traileader PRO is a good all-round outdoor watch.
TIP: Polar has a device for attaching it to the bike handlebars, which also works for the Traileader PRO.
