Hi Peter, JosBaz, JC, and WeatherCat fans,
So Davis Vantage is most popular but do they deserve it?
Probably the best way is to think of a Davis Station as a Cadillac with all the ups and downs associated with that car maker. In the glory days of Detroit, Cadillac was the best in terms of everything America had to offer in cars. As technology passed US makers, what was left behind was the durability and style.
Davis is clearly slow to innovate and has only a lukewarm interest in the consumer market (even if it is probably their largest market.) I believe they see themselves as a maker of instruments for industry, government and academia. It is the needs of those consumers that Davis caters to first. It isn't a foolish move because . . . . . those folks can afford to spend more on weather instruments that an individual consumer. For a small privately-held company, it is a very reasonable strategy for survival.
That leaves us end users very much out in the cold. I'll be the first to admit, the reason I bought a Davis was that they had Mac compatibility and I really wanted that. I didn't realize what sort of reputation they had. However, since buying it I have to admit I very much like the Davis features. The flexibility that allows professional meteorologists to use them was also handy for me. I really appreciate their durability. Also, I'm sure some end-users buy them for the bragging rights of having a Davis station.
Are the worth the cost? Probably not. However, so far nobody had really come up with a station that is very tough, accurate, innovative, user-friendly, and yet, still priced to way undercut Davis. The competitors to Davis are . . . . . . I'm sorry to report - cheap. There are many low-end station manufacturers and they are locked in that destructive aspect of capitalism: price-wars. I have no doubt there is a place for very inexpensive stations, but you get what you pay for. For someone curious about weather, it is enough to get their feet wet. However, for those who ultimately decided they are interested enough to keep up their stations - what happens when their station breaks?
Some folks will just replace cheap with cheap. However, for the folks who realize the real investment is in the time to get your instruments set up correctly, putting up cheap instruments every few years will be a real drag. So, I am convinced, that Davis a sizable fraction of their money in the consumer market on folks who are trading-up rather than first time purchases of high-end Davis products. Until someone else starts making a station that really can shoulder a reputation for quality - where else can you turn for a quality weather station?
Cheers, Edouard