Talk about an impulse purchase. When we spotted the Vaavud digital wind meter for smartphones in the Sporty’s catalog, the marketing photos made it easy to justify dropping $49.95 plus shipping on the thing. Turns out it didn’t provide the level of utility we anticipated, at least for our flying missions.

It’s not that the device doesn’t deliver enough gee-whiz factor for weather geeks, or provide at least some utility for a number of outdoor activities—including watersports (we used it on a boat where it was helpful for docking). It’s also accurate, in comparison with the airport ATIS broadcast.