What are some watches that might be good or great in a survival situation? Ones with lots of interesting features…

Interesting is bad. It means lots of gimicks and a manual the size of a phone book. When you are cold, wet, tried, and hungry, you aren't going to remember any of it.

You want a simple watch. One with hands.

I'd love to get a Breitling Emergency. Has a built in 121.5 mhz emergency transmitter.

Price is outrageous though...

I really like my Timex Expedition. It is my true EDC. I wear it to work and out in the woods and everywhere in between. It has hands AND a compass. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Not to mention one button operation, so it would be pretty hard to forget how to operate the compass no matter how badly you've lost your wits. If you can't remember to push the button (either the top or bottom button... both engage the compass) then odds are you have bigger problems that a compass won't fix anyway. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />



I bought it at Bass Pro for $98 IIRC.

Personally, I have never had a simple Timex Ironman fail on me. That being said, I love my Polar AXN500 Outdoors Watch. It has a reliable compass, altimeter, barometer and thermometer. With the added Heart Rate monitor feature for my workouts it is a one unit does most watch! It is easy to use and accurate as long as you calibrate it often (once a month or so). I have often used the compass for quick hikes or runs and it is right on, I don?t go to the field without a ?real? compass but it is accurate enough that I use it almost exclusively on the fly.

The key to any watch that does more than telling the time is to use it when not stressed out? a lot? so that it becomes second nature when you are, like running in the cold at 7500??
<img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I´d like to have a watch that doesn´t have too many things that could fail. My choice was a Seiko automatic watch. No battery, traditional hands, glowing markers. The automatic design spares the winding.

My EDC watch is a Marathon quartz from Countycomm.com. They are currently sold out, but they regularly restock. You can also find this watch on eBay.

It's the basic military issue watch. NSN 6645-01-318-9833.

Expect to pay about $100. Tritium capsules in the face and hands, so it is easily read in the dark. I can read this watch at night even when my other hand is busy or disabled.

On the band is a Suunto Clipper compass. It isn't readable in the dark without some other light source. Even the model with a luminous bezel isn't really readable. However, it works well otherwise and is always there.

Black watch with a black face on a black nylon band doesn't get much attention, whether in T-shirt and shorts or a business suit.

Bill

I use a Suunto X-Lander when hiking and camping. The main functions are easy to scroll throught, and the light is just bright enough not to ruin your night sight. The barometer forcasting function (which is always showing) is fairly accurate. Watch, stopwatch, timer, alarm, altimeter, barometer, and compass all in one (big but light) package.

Ive always found Sieko's the most reliable watches.
My EDC watch is a Seiko pilot watch with a E6 flight computer around the bezel. Basically its a ritary slide rule optimized for a pilot. I find I use the slide rule all the time.
Sometimes I use a Casio Sea-Pathfinder with a compass, barometer and temperature for bushwalking and camping. I dont use the temperature, but Ive found that it works fine, but a bit bulky.Its a little heavy on bateries, but later models have solar power now.

Aside from the formula for determining North- and I can never remember where Mickey's hands should be: What is a watch good for in a survival situation? Movies love to show the changed value of Anthony Hopkin's watch to make a compass or Tallullah Bankhead's diamond bracelet for a fishlure. The ETS member who names both movies gets a medium popcorn <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> A watch can measure time and distance for navigation and determine if natural phenomenon occur at a regular basis. Even knowing what loved ones are doing at specific times can be a moral booster( Aunt Hermionne is serving that wretched garlic and tuna casserole tonight. But at least being stranded in the desert means I avoid it and MMMM these bugs are delicious.) A watch needs tobe robust and relatively accurate. Unless you plan on a nuclear blast which will knock out most systems ( including us) except a mechanical or the battery goes dead it is personal preference. I have an old Marathon mechanical wind. When My cat was a kitten the ticking substituted for his lost mom's heartbeat until he got used to this really wierd looking substitute <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />