Is the altimeter really that bad?

For me the altimeter in the VA3 when the watch is tight enough for it's HR sensor to work well is very unreliable, I believe this is mainly due to Garmin placing the sensors hole on the underside of the watch where your wrists skin (especially once sweat is involved) blocks the inlet.
Garmin connect will default to using the altimeter data for uploaded activities but you can go into the activity on their site and switch it to "Elev Corrections" which changes it to known mapping data, which at least from what I have seen is pretty good; As a note if you use Strava it also has this option.

Generally I find the data good enough for me but if I was back country cycling down sharp inclines or hiking off trails up mountains and wanted really accurate data I would be looking at a higher end watch with better sensors/data.

One thing I will mention is the VA3 did have some issues with connected cycling sensors (cadence, power meters etc) and I am not 100% sure if these have been fixed although I have not seen it mentioned here for quite a while so I will let others chime in on that.

All the cycling sensor issues were fixed since software 5.00. If you don't care about altimeter or music the VA3 is for you. I 've had mine for exactly a year and still love it. I just use the elevation correct in Strava and I'm good. I've heard the altimeter in the VA3M is better then the VA3; maybe due to the sensor port on the side. I'm still not convinced that its hardware; I think the way it averages the elevation is too aggressive. The Fenix had the same problem till recently, and I was hoping the same fix would make it to the original VA3.

All the cycling sensor issues were fixed since software 5.00. If you don't care about altimeter or music the VA3 is for you. I 've had mine for exactly a year and still love it. I just use the elevation correct in Strava and I'm good. I've heard the altimeter in the VA3M is better then the VA3; maybe due to the sensor port on the side. I'm still not convinced that its hardware; I think the way it averages the elevation is too aggressive. The Fenix had the same problem till recently, and I was hoping the same fix would make it to the original VA3.

I'm with you. I have observed that a change in temperature, either from my body heating up or going from cool air conditioned to warm outside, that temperature really drives some altimeter changes.

ciao, I run marathons but I took part to several trail runs. Many people here complains about the altimeter. In my experience the altimeter worked fine in trail runs: the VA3 altitude profiles were comparable the offical one published for the trail event (maximum error 50m less on 1700m). Of course, if you stand and check the altimeter it could have a fake value because it is based on the embedded barometer. I'm just sad it has not a native triathlon duathlon application...

Those are runs on the same circuit on 3 consecutive days. Judge for yourself.

I must be very lucky to not have these Problems with the Altimeter. My Floors register near to a 100% right and when moving up or down I can see nicely how the Altimeter reports some very realistic height changes (I'm using myABC Widget to monitor this outside of activities). I must be frank though, for my runs I still use my fenix 3 HR, because of the more advanced running metrics. I might try to track my runs simultaneously. But from what I've seen so far, I'd be suprised if the Altimeter on my VA3 goes bonkers.

What does annoy me though is, that the GPS altitude is always wrong for about 20 to 40 meters… I never seem to get a proper altitude (even when waiting a minute or so after GPS-lock). I really miss the manual calibration from my VAHR and f3HR...!

1. It seems when many people ask for advice to buy something or not, they have already made up their mind and just want to find some support from other users. Hope you are not.

2. I am a cyclist and yes, some of the connecting problems were solved since firmware updated to 5.2.

3. For my VA3, some problems still exist that would ruin my cycling experience. My garmin speed sensor and cadence sensor both keep connect and disconnect whenever I stop for few seconds in waiting red light. So the watch always vibrate to notice me about the situation of sensors. It is annoying and would mess up with phone call or Whatsapp notification.

4. Like the other users say, altimeter issue. The starting altitude usually not accurate which would ruin the experience of cycling. I know the mountain pass is 1000m and now the watch shows I am at 500m, do you believe you have 500m to climb? No, it may not. Altimeter is very important in tour cycling. Using the elevation correction in Garmin connect or Strava, the elevation gain sometimes better and sometimes even worst with few hundred meters off.
If you can live with buggy altimeter, what is the reason of buying one more device for cycling? I think real time altimeter is one of the important function of cycling.

5. As VA3 is not a very professional cycling device, I suggest cyclists spend their money on a proper cycling computer rather than a watch, if they mainly buy the watch for cycling. Cycling computers are
more reliable, easier to read, more data and with maps. Or just keep using their phones to record.

6. If you are not serious cyclist and basic data is enough, something from Cateye, Lezyne or Wahoo should work better than VA3. You said 70 euro is sensitive to you, then a cycling computer with the same price tag as VA3 could do better. If you are a serious cyclist, then cycling computer is the only choice. Sigma ROX 12.0 might worth a try but I don't own it.

7. You mentioned about safety when cycling. Yes, it is not so safe to twist your wrist to check the speed or cadence when pedalling. I never dare to view or press the button on my watch when going high speed at streets or downhill. So again, cycling computer is far better.

8. Wearing long gloves ,long sleeve jersey or cycling jacket is no good to use a wrist watch.

I have to agree with Au but sometimes when I'm just out for a casual, relatively flat ride, I use the VA3. I've never had it malfunction. It's not an Edge or a Bolt or any other serious cycling head unit and I hope folks don't mistake it for one. The VA does have a place. The place is just limited when it comes to cycliing.

If I were to use the VA3 with cycling - I would use a short piece of pipe insulation on the handlebars and strap the watch onto the handlebars (or by a specific holder and then use a chest strap for HRM. Much less expensive than getting a Cycling Computer.

The VA3 on the wrist would be difficult to use safely and it has been noted that with cycling the ORM doesn't work well.

For someone wanting to record their bike ride, the VA3 is fine for recording the basics. If one is a serious cyclist, they're already aware of the problem with cycling and oHRM's, they're familiar with mounting kits should they choose a watch over a cycling computer, and wouldn't have chosen the VA3 in the first place for serious cycling since it's cycling features are limited.