Recommendation: Durable watch. Finally made a purchase!

eyeeatingfish

eyeeatingfish

Joined
Dec 9, 2003
Messages
4,817
I think I am in the market for a new watch. I have always bought freestyle watches for the last 15 years or so and they are good for the money but I wear out the bands relatively fast. Either the thin little pins that attach the band to the watch break or the band gets stiff. So I was thinking probably a good strong metal band.

So here is my list of desired things in a watch.

Metal band
water proof (I wear my watch 24/7)
durable
black or dark in color (uniform requirement)
Digital preferred but analog is acceptable
Have to have numbers, I can't read watches without the numbers or at least the tick marks
A date function preferred
A light or if not then at least trituim or GITD hands for night time use
Price range maybe $150 max or a little more if perhaps American or maybe even the swiss stuff as i hear it is supposed to be the real good watch people.
I don't need jewels or fancy stuff, I want a utilitarian watch I guess.

Thats all that I can think of for now, thanks for the suggestions.
 
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If I were looking for a watch with those criteria the Casio G-Shock would be my first choice.
Not the prettiest of watches but super tough and reliable.

I can also recommend a Marathon (SAR) Tritium/Quartz, the best watch I have ever owned. However it is a little more than you intended to spend....... http://www.broadarrow.net/sale.htm
 
The Seiko 5 series of automatic watches are reasonably priced and come in many styles, at least one of which is sure to please you. I have been wearing mine almost non-stop for two years and apart from some dings and scratches from banging it around, it still maintains +/- under one minute accuracy per week. Simple, tough, stylish, and with the added bonus of being mechanical :)
 
I agree with Alfaholic. I only wear a G-shock because, they are tough. The only problem you might have is that the band is plastic and it does wear out before the watch does. The bands are cheap to replace though. There are also many different styles and features available.
 
I agree with the G-shock there are hundreds of different options and styles. I searched around and found the exact one to fit my needs for a work watch.
 
It's unbelievably hard to beat a g-shock for toughness. And there are some with metal bands, too. Others to consider would be the pathfinder series from casio. The marathon watches posted earlier are great and can be found used for a tad less.- no metal band but those are available aftermardt if your looking. Timex also makes a metal band version of the ironman- not sure about the black though. Might be worth heading over to one of the watch forums PMWF (poor mans watch forum) or Watchuseek for more ideas
 
Suunto is the scale that outdoor, digital watches are held to and most of the rest seem like toys in comparison. I went a decade with an XLander before I replaced it with a All Black Core Mil. If you look for sales/secondary market, you might find one for <$150.
 
Are citizen watches any good? I have seen them at a couple of jewelry stores in the mall and they seem reasonably priced. I have heard different things from different salesmen about their waterproofness though.
 
I have two citizen's from the eco-drive line. The more expensive being the skyhawk and I have only great things to say about them. I've worse the one for about 3years now and its a bit marked up but that's all my own doing.
 
the water resist on any watch depends on the model- some are not even resistant to rain, some can go to the bottom of the sea. Citizen watches are great timepieces, good luck.
 
eyeeatingfish said:
Are citizen watches any good? I have seen them at a couple of jewelry stores in the mall and they seem reasonably priced. I have heard different things from different salesmen about their waterproofness though.
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I have had a Citizen Eco-Drive (the model is the Calibre 8700 or something - can't quite recall) for probably about six years that I got as a gift. It has functioned flawlessly and has a lot of features. It seems pretty rugged, but I use it as a dress watch. My knock-around watch is a cheap Timex.
 
I too was going to say G-Shock, except for the lack of a metal band. I stopped buying watches when I found the G-Shock, to large degree because it sets itself every day and you never have to wind it or replace a battery. Mine (the "Riseman" with altimeter, thermometer, barometer, etc.) has been very durable.
 
Growing up I would constantly break watch bands, eventually I gave up and carried my watch in my pocket for a good five or six years. When the battery wore out I threw it away. Last year I finally gave in and bought a new watch, durability and reliability being my prime concern. The best watch that I could find without spending an arm and a leg was from Reactor, after one year it's held up pretty well. I do worry that if it snags on machinery it will take my hand off, but I don't worry about the band breaking.
You can find varying reports on the reliability of most watches, given that no-one will make everything perfectly I guess this is normal, but I like to get things that are done right the first time and Reactor seems to come closer than most.
You can find them at or just above your price range refurbished or on closeout.
 
ok i used to sell watches and i was in the military so this is the voice of experience here:


if you want a tough analog watch go with luminox, if you want a tough digital go with the casio g-shock series. for a good automatic on the cheap go with seiko.

the absolute best watch you can get as a serviceman (without breaking the bank) is the luminox seal watches. they are made of an ultralight polycarbonate that is damn near indestructible. they have simple and sharp looking rubber bracelets that will last years of heavy use.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F1OGWW
you dont want a metal bracelet because they will not only get horribly scratched when your crawling, but they have lots of crevasses that will collect mud dirt and crap and become a breeding ground for grossness unless you clean them diligently. seriously the basic all black luminoxs cost about 2 bills and thats getting you alot.

for instance the see through material in watches isnt glass, on cheap things its a resin on more expensive things its a synthetic crystal. the best you can do is synthetic saphire and luminox uses a hardened mineral or sapphire in all their watches so unless you start bashing it into diamonds its going to be hard to scratch up top that off with an anti reflective coating. luminoxs also have a proprietary glowing element in the watch bezel, face, and hands that is similar in function to tritium but lasts about 25 years. additionally it has a precision ratcheting bezel to mark time events. all in all for what you get its a damn good value. another thing to consider is that a true waterproof watch has to have the battery replaced by a professional so that the watch can be pressure sealed, if this isnt done then the watch isnt fully waterproof, so while many companies claim that their watches are waterproof, they are really more water resistant.

if i cant sway you in that direction then go with seiko or citizen. citizen has watches that use their eco drive system which is essentially advanced solar power, this means you never have to change the battery. the downside to this is that the damn thing is clunkier than a battery watch, and it doenst have the artistry or tradition of a selfwinding automatic (which can be a little chunkier as well). this isnt as impressive as it first sounds tho as self winding automatics have been around for a fair while now.

speaking of automatics seiko is a good place to start in that area.

im a big fan of the g-shock series but there are better options out ther imho. this is the model that may interest you: http://www.gshock.com/products/index.php?id=174C897C-9F0E-410E-8532-2A32B480EACC

i hope this helps. i really hope i swayed you towards luminox, its the only watch i even have right now. at least until the day i can afford a fortis: http://www.fortis-watches.com/front_content.php
 
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Razor:
Thanks for spending the time to type all of that, I will definitely check out luminox.

As far as the metal band was I did not think about dirt and stuff getting trapped. Since I wear the watch 24/7 will a shower/dip in the pool or ocean clean it or i that still a problem? I am not very concerned with a scratched up band though.
My main reason for getting a metal band was because three things happen to my rubber bands. They stiffen up and are not as comfortable, or the strap breaks at the pin that holds the strap, or the pin itself breaks. I must admit I don't know whether metal straps are held on my better hardware or if many brands use those same thin pins. Maybe the better brands don't? Also I forgot to mention that once in a while I will get a rash from my rubber banded watch. Not sure if metal would solve that problem.

The freestyle watches have always been good watches, just the bands break. I never liked the bulk of the gshock but I may check them out. Though if I am going to stay digital watch then I might as well stay with freestyle, unless gshock has much better straps?
Plus there are so many different gshock watches that I cannot remember which one I just looked at.

I kind of thought it is time to mature up and get a watch with hands, even though it takes mea little while to read it.
I did price some citizens the other day and most of them are out of my price range.

Do you know anything about bertucci? They seem rather inexpensive but good quality

Joshua: ThanksI will check out reactor. At lease my wrist will be protected if someone shoots at it with a .22!
 
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erm, if you don't like rubber, have decided against metal, and are worrying about a pin breaking, how about a Countycomm Zulu band, it's breathable nylon, and one piece so if a pin does break you still have one pin holding the watch on.
Used one for years.
 
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