The Highgear Altitech has been a part of our gear for several years now. The carabineer style design clips easily to most packs. The altimeter will "lock" at a 90 degree angle allowing the user to easily read the display by simply looking down at the device. In cold weather it's nice having a device that doesn't require you to unbundled your arm to read.

Because the altimeter is exposed to the ambient temperature, rather than being strapped to your arm, the accuracy is better than many wrist-based devices, especially in changing weather. A detailed review can be found here.

 

The Suunto Vector is the AR standard for wrist-based altimeters. The Vector has performed as well as any watch style altimeter we've used. While it doesn't include HR or the ability to download information to your computer featured on the Suunto X6HR, however, for $190 you get a high quality altimeter.

 

 

The Suunto M-2 is a basic compass that has all the features you need in adventure racing. It is inexpensive ($20), light and reasonably durable. The compass doesn't include a sighting mirror, so it's not great for taking bearings solo, but with a little teamwork it works just fine (one team member lines up the sighting, another looks down on the compass to take a reading).