Watches?

What watches do you wear? Why did you choose that one?

I'm a WIS so I have many watches but the two I wear the most are a Rolex SS Sub date and SS GMT II. Both are rugged, accurate, easy to read, and self-winding.

Pardon me while I show my ignorance...

What is a WIS?

I'm not really a watch expert, but the kind I've been wearing for over a year, and what I've been happy with, is a cheap Coleman NightSight model.

It's got a big face, luminous hands, and a light button that isn't too bright and fades out nice and easy after a few seconds. Pretty nice for when I'm in the dark and lonely parts of the factory I work at. Simple, easy to use, and at about 20 bucks at Target certainly within everyone's budget.

I'm open to seeing what everyone else wears and what they can suggest to others, too. Knowing the Coleman can't last forever, I may be in the market to look for a watch that's more reliable...

Just to head this off at the pass...

Before someone makes the comment about why Rolex etc? Remember that fine watches, like custom knives etc are one of those things where, at a certain point, you stop paying for better performance.

The fact of the matter is, a true masterpiece of a custom knife will not cut any better, nor will a fine watch tell the time any better, than it's cheaper counterparts. But the satisfaction from owning something handcrafted, the pride of owning something that's "best of breed", and the appreciation of true master craftsmanship keep these sorts of products perpetually in demand.

Personally, I am not at a place in my life where I can afford to own the best of everything. But there are one or two places in my life where I do try and indulge myself. Thankfully I have avoided being bitten by the watch bug thus far. Hopefully I shall continue to be that lucky... -smile-

I wear a Casio Pathfinder PAW-1200. They're solar powered, have atomic clock time-syncing, and are tough as nails like the G-Shocks. Mine has the compass and triple sensor (altimeter, barometer and thermometer). I'm rough on watches but these things are survivors.

Yeah, I leave mine at home too and wear a G-Shock. Just as tough and it keeps better time.

Well, I'm not a Rolex guy myself, I generally avoid expensive watches because there's too much risk ruining one and feeling really bad about it later on.

For some time now I've owned a CWC British Army watch. It's actually an old one, made in 1991 and repaired to mint condition. I have heard the older, profesionally refurbished CWC watches are in fact a lot better choice than the new ones because the quality is no longer what it used to be. You can see a picture here (right on top):
http://www.armywatch.co.uk/watches.htm

As far as an EDC watch goes, I couldn't be happier. It's inexpensive and keeps time very accurately (I've actually tested it and it's like +/- 4 seconds in about a year now). The watch is also very tough, which is important to me. Being Johnny-on-the-spot more often than not, I get called to fix something at work regularly so my watches have to stand up to some abuse. The glass on that CWC is darn close to unbreakable. One time I had to do some emergency rope climbing (...don't ask! lol) and forgot to take off the watch. It was a pretty difficult situation and I accidentally hit the glass square on, full force as I pulled up and rolled over the top of the wall. Enough to smash pretty much any watch but the CWC survived it only with a scratch on the glass.

personally i have never worn a watch - always seem to be able to know the time w/i 15 mins.

and then there's the theory that a watch is only accurate twice a day.

and then too, what's accurate?

current hiking watch is altitech 2 - watch / altimeter / barometer..etc.

I don't know, whenever I see four zeroes in a row, I tend to lose my appetite for greatness...

I'm glad this topic came up. I've grown tired of the multi-gesticulation of using my cell phone as a watch. Unholstering, reholstering, unclipping, reclipping etc.

So after years of watchlessness I've placed my original Casio G-Shock back into service.

However...I've always wanted a Rolex Submariner and someday I'll treat myself to one. The Sea Dweller is also very nice. I'll never have a problem justifying it (to myself at least) because as MedB points out, there is satisfaction in owning something you know is well made, waterproof, durable and lets face it, looks great now and will always look good. The Submariner is simply an excellent example of great industrial design.

In the meantime I've remembered another "classic" from my youthful yearnings that also happens to share many of the above mentioned attributes. The Seiko SKX007 divers watch. It's been around forever, looks great, is durable and perhaps more to the point, is easily replaceable. In my recent research I came across yet another Seiko line. The "5" series has a nice "military" model that's even more affordable than the SKX007 diver. Either of these is automatic too. So very soon I'll be EDCing one of these two affordable alternatives to the Rolex.

Up until a couple of months ago, for the last 12 years I have used 2 Timex Ironman/Triathlon watches. The first watch is in the bottom of a 300' deep lake....don't ask how. The second watch which I purchased in March 2003 still works fine, however the face face is too scratched up for everyday use. In early Janurary of this year, I put a new battery in the watch and it now is spending time (no pun intended) as a backup in the BOB.

I wanted to buy another Timex Ironman, however with our dollar taking a beating against most foreign currencies, the price point is way too high right now. A friend has worn a Armitron brand watch for a couple of years and of which he gave some good feedback on. I purchased a Armitron model 40/8152BKGN which has essentially the same functions and features and....almost 1/3 the price of the Ironman.

With this new watch, so far, so good. I like the bigger face diameter and bigger numbers. Also having the actual day of week along the very top of the face with the date number in the middle of the watch and just below the time makes for easier reference then the Ironman. Also the functions are easier to set and adjust then the Ironman.

The only downside (comaparitively speaking) is the light is not as bright as the Timex Indiglo system.

Time will tell how the watch holds up over the next few years.

WIS = Watch Idiot Savant. It was a term coined, I believe, on one of the TimeZone forums regarding people so into watches they barely knew the time. So to speak...

As far as Rolex's in particular, if you own one, you understand. If not, wear whatever you damn want, I don't care.

I got a casio watch, a fairly simple model, which is relatively inexpensive, has everything i need and i don't mind scratching it. It's also a lot thinner and smaller then some more expensive watches, so it won't catch on anything.

Suunto wrist computer (multiple time zones, altimeter, barometer, compass) or a Seiko divers watch (had it for 22 years now, traded in a Rolex for it).

Why? reliability, waterproof, durability and ability to read at night. The batteries have lasted for years in each, so as long as I put fresh batteries in before I am gone for an extended period, I am good.

When in field environments, I generally wear the watches on a breast pocket (through a button hole if there is one) because I hate it being on my wrist.

I have a citizen eco drive chrono. Never needs batteries! You can pick up last years models on ebay for 50-70% off. I also just got the casio solar atomic watch. Very impressed with that one also.

Proud to say I don't own a watch . I see little need to strap a clock to my body , although seems to work for Flavor Flav.....

Well, my first platoon sergeant set my preference on watches for life. He refused to allow digital watches due to the "BEEP Factor". He didn't want anyone with a watch that could "beep" giving up a position in the field. As such, he got all of us issued the true official issue watch. Tritium markings and all. It was considered part of our TA-50 gear and had to be turned in when we PCS'd.

Since then I have been partial to the Luminox watches.

I miss my military watch...the older ones, similar to what desperado is talking about. I got a cheap knockoff one, the glass lasted a week. Since then, I use Timex Expedition analog watches exclusively. They are cheap, dependable, and do what I need them to do; tell time. The indiglo is bright enough to use to illuminate my immediate area. For $25, if I trash one every 2 years, I am OK with that.

I kind of switch. Usually a S&W Tritium watch (sorta like the "SEAL watch" from Luminox), or a no-name swap-meet watch. Otherwise, I have a Wegner basic model, or when I'm really dressing up, a Citizen Eco Drive (LOVE IT). It was a "gift" to myself last May. I probably didn't have the money for it.

Speaking of official issue watches, are the watches on Countycomm the same as issued, or is it just hype?

I wear a Polar watch every day, but I chose this watch mainly for tracking my heart rate and distance when I am running. I don't have the desire to own more than one watch so this one is it.

What may be of interest to some here is a watch that I recently saw. It is a Tissot T-touch, the dial is actually touch screen. It seems pretty cool,but I really don't know too much about these watches. It is a multi-function watch, with altimeter, barometer, compass (the watch hands transorm to the compass needle when in compass mode), etc.

I prefer automatic watches, that being said, I don't think I would go for a Rolex, my frugal ways won't allow me, instead I wear a Seiko 5 Sports.

I might splurge on a Tissot PRS for my birthday....well I will strongly hint to the wife as my birthday comes around the same time I should be getting a tax refund.

I've got one of these too and I really like it. It's simple, easy to use and dependable.

My recent favorite is my Timex Expedition Adventure Tech. It's light, comfortable to wear and easy to use. (I have one of the older analog, electronic compass expeditions and it's big and heavy.)

A possible liability a 'beeping' watch can be turned to your advantage.

Hidden and set to ring every fifteen minutes it can be both hard to find and quite distracting for anyone following you. The sound of the beep can be heard a long way away in the woods but the sound, one or two short chirps, can be very hard to localize. While the searchers spend time trying to track the sound down your over the hill and making tracks away from the area.

A similar strategy can be used to get people to look in the wrong direction at an ambush point. People are wired up and at the critical moment there is a beeping noise behind or among them. Everyone reflexively turns toward the noise trying to locate it. Turned the wrong way and looking at the dirt is not a good way to start an ambush if your intention is survival.

In some areas digital watches are used to set off explosives so in these areas the sound of a watch going off can cause people to reflexively assume a prone position. Which can be good in some cases. Like when a group of rough guys is crossing a road awash with sewage. If you can't have a good laugh while your out there what is the point?

A 7$ or 10$ watch can more than pay for itself if properly used for advantage.

My EDC watch is DOXA SUB600T Professional. It's an automatic, I set the time twice a year. Spring fwd, Fall back. And ya, Dirk Pitt wears one also.

I love my Breitling.



To me, it is super rugged and reliable. I also have a Rolex and a Tag Heuer, but the Breitling is worn every day and every where.

My client has an titanium Omega Sea Master and that is very nice also.

2 cheap Timex digitals with no bands and a Titanium cased analogue by Momentum.

I keep the Timex watches set to both Universal Coordinated Time and local standard time because they have the dual time feature.
This is helpful when dealing with radio communications and can be used in navigation if I had to.

The dial watch is set to local time.

Basic $20 Timex Indiglo from Target. I'm a nursing student and I need big numbers and a sweep second hand. Pulses, resp., etc.

My "Sunday go to meeting" watch is a really nice Swiss Army watch. At this point, I couldn't tell you what the model is if my life depended on it. The watch and I are currently in two different locations.

I like gadgets and I'm not very style-conscious. My watch is a Casio Sea Pathfinder 701. It is solar-powered, has compass, thermometer, barometer and depth gauge, several alarms, down-counter and stop-watch.

I'm not very happy with it, to be honest, but I'm not unhappy enough to justify spending money on something better. I think thermometers in watches are pointless because the reading is offset by body heat. The depth gauge is useless because I don't swim much and don't need to know how deep I am when I do, and it's not a replacement for a proper diver's gauge. You have to push a button to see the barometer, which in practice I don't do (my previous watch had a pressure graph permanently on display, which was more useful).

The compass is OK. I no longer feel the need to carry a button compass every day now.

I'm undecided about solar power. Obviously it still has a battery inside it, and that will have a finite lifetime, so it might be better in the long run to have a watch with batteries that are designed to be replaced.

I wear a Bulova that my wife gave me for a wedding gift. Haven't really worn any watch other than that for the last 3 years.

I am looking to find a nice watch to wear in the "wilds" tho.

Both the S&W and the Countrycomm products say Luminox somewhere on the inside of the case. Same with the Uzi watches.

These are the ONLY analog civilian watches I have had any reasonable luck with.

I wear a Timex expedition, inexpensive and has three alarm functions to allow me set as needed. 1st is 0645 to get up. 2nd is 1420 to remind me to pick the kids up from school and the next is 1720 to tell me I have 10 minutes to clock in for my second job. I like the indiglo as well. Finally I really use the timer function every day for cooking and other events where I might loose track of time.

Generally my everyday wear is a Polar of which I own three, for all the training I do. For anything back country its either my Luminox version of the GI Issue, which I love, or a Timex Ironman. I also dress up with a gold Citizen Eco Drive model of the Rolex Sub Mariner.

I carry a Ruhla Regular pocket watch. It is build in a simple way and can be easily maintained.
My wristwatch is build in WW II aviator style. It has a clone of a Unitas pocket watch movement in it. The face is easy to read in the dark and the maintenance of the movement can be done DIY. I build this watch from parts I found in the internet. As a mechanical watch it doesn´t need a battery or capacitor.

Even if your Timex is "shock proof", be careful. My "Shock Resist" Timex Reef Gear has fallen from approximately 1 m onto the concrete surface not long time ago and it´s not working now. The hands are loosened and can move freely when you do quick and short movement with your hand. I have to send it to the company that repares Timex. So much for the "Shock Resist" feature.

St. Moritz Pathfinder....everyday. Titanium,light, strong, accurate, with alarm. It completely replaced my Suunto Vector It is quite affordable too.

I wear a Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical, it's a simple design Flierger style watch. A replica of the watch they made for WWII soldiers. For under $300 you have an ETA Swiss movement, 17 jewels for a hand wind, you have a sapphire crystal and it's water resistant to 50 meters. You can easily change the strap and use a Nato strap or a german leather Bund strap. It's neither a dress watch nor a bulky sports watch so it's still elegant and the dial is very readable. When I don't wear it, I lay it down vertically, crown left (upside down) so that the movement slows down during the night. This way it's about as accurate as a quartz watch.

I also have a cheap digital Casio watch with a battery that will last probably about 10 years. My principle is quartz with battery watches are digital, but analog watches are mechanical, either automatic or hand-wind.

Frankie

If you want a watch that will still be around your skeletal remains when the archaeologists find you go with a Marathon SAR. it was built for the Canadian Search and Rescue folks on government contract. The US then adopted it. you can take a look at it at www.countycomm.com There are limited supplies as these are currently military issue and made on contract. They are OUTSTANDING. Both in auto and quartz. I am also a WIS and have watches from $80 to $19,000 the SAR's depending on what you buy are between $475- $2770 and nearly every model could/would be three times as much on the pure civilian market.

I've been wearing the Casio Databank 150 for a number of years. I don't use the data storage feature anymore, but I like having a tiny calculator 'at hand' all the time.

My wife calls it my "Buck Rogers watch".


Dennis

I finally killed my Timex Expedition that I had worn for a long time. I haven't got around to purchasing a new watch yet, but will probably buy another one just like that one. I really like the Indiglo light on them and they are darned tough, mine took a beating every day for years before it finally died.

When I buy another one soon, I may look around for a button compass that can be attached to the band also.

Casio G Shock Mudman. Damn near indistructable. Love it.

I wear a Sinn watch U1 made of submarine stainless steel casing and 1000m rated. Alternatively one tough watch I use is the Citizen Ecodrive in Titanium with date and Perpetual Calendar, similar to the one Ray Mears wore in some of his shows...

when i was working i had a 24 hour watch..a real one,the hour hand went around the face once in 24 hours and not the kind where 4 was also marked 1600..all the paper work we did,and there was a constant stream of it,was marked in 24 hour time..for canoe tripping i have a cheap military repo that i hang off a shirt button hole because i don't like stuff on my wrist and i keep a second watch without a band in a waterproof case along with back-up glasses in my pack.

Been wearing a tritium illuminated watch for a few years, I never realized how nice that is until I had one. I have a Luminox version, like this, but, with a metal snap strap:



The model is Luminox 3401, it has a stainless case, instead of the composite on some of their watches. I opted for the stainless metal strap with the scuba expander, that can fit over a wetsuit, nice. Very reliable, never changed the time for anything but daylight saving twice a year.

I am really hard on watches and have laid waste to a good number of them in the past. I tried a Casio G-Shock many years ago and have been hooked ever since. I have brutalized three Casio G-shocks in that time and they have all performed well under a variety of extremes. The bad part is that they went to factory battery replacement for most models. But...

My EDC right now (since DEC) is a Casio Riseman G-Shock (solar).



No power supply issues and it has taken a real beating thus far.

My watch is just a cheap analog quartz watch from Walmart..
I used to have a timex basic analog watch but it disappeared when i moved... though am considering a timex for my next watch..

Casio PAW1300T-7V: http://www.amazon.com/Casio-Pathfinder-M...=cm_cr-mr-title


Absolutely tough as nails G-Shock watch in Titanium. I've been wearing as EDC for close to 2 years now. It's a bit thick, but still far thinner than the previous version.

Has about anything you could ask for:
Digital Compass
Solar Powered
Electroluminescent Lighting
Barometer
Thermometer
Altimeter
100m Water Resist
Naval Atomic Clock

I love this watch. About my only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the face could be larger, but the solar cell takes up a healthy chunk of the glass space. I do everything with and to this watch that you can imagine. It's picked up a few scratches (mostly from banging against rock or tools), but remains perfectly functional. I have a drawer full of watches and I almost never wear anything else unless it's to something dressy.

I use the compass and altimeter all the time, and the barometric tracking is nice... I've been mowing the yard and noticed the weather was going to turn bad long before it did because of the graph. Slick. The only improvement I could ask for (aside from a more efficient, and thus smaller, solar cell) would be glow-in-the-dark hands somewhere so I could see the time at a glance in the dark without need to activate the light. There is an auto-light activation, but sometimes you don't want that going off either.

They even have a diving model that's similar if you are into that. I'd say this is an absolutely ideal survival watch with the exception of perhaps an EMP! ;-) It's the most complete watch I've ever found and FAR FAR cheaper than alternatives from Suunto, etc.

Luminox Titanium, metal bracelet for dressing up. Maratec 4 ring strap for work and play. Haven't managed to scratch the crystal yet, in 8 years of daily use in a warehouse environment.