watches...

I

ipm

Joined
Feb 26, 2009
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576
I have seen lots of cool threads on various topics on outdoor stuff here.

one thing that i did not see much of is comment or thoughts on watches.

battery or not? quarts or mechanical? digital or analog? best quality, water and resistance? night time illumination? cold weather use preferences?

brands? bang-for-the buck?

any thoughts?
 
I've got a few watches that I tend to alternate through. Alot of the time what I'm wearing depends on the situation. I've got a TAG that I only wear for formal occasions (it was a graduation present from my parents), I've got a Seiko Orange Monster (this is a great watch for the price, also avaliable in black), I've got a Marataq AQC that I tend to wear when I'm out in the woods, I've got an old G-Shock that I usually wear if I don't want to draw attention to myself or if I'm going to be doing something that could wreck one of my better watches. My current favorite and my EDC is a Tissot Seastar 1000.

So I've got one digital, two quartzes and two automatics. I would highly recommend any of the aforementioned watches, the TAG has given me a few problems which is why I only wear it for special occasions now, so I wouldn't recommend it for heavy use, although I seem to always be banging my wrist into things which can be kinda hard on watches.
 
Batteries die and at a very inappropriate moments. That being said I wear quartz watches from Marathon and CDC. Both military providers with strong reputations for durability. However, for prolonged use, a good mechanical watch is my choice. The Rolex Submariner is a great choice but expensive. The Sinn U1, Fortis Cosmonaut, Omega Seamaster and Breitling Colt are a bit less expensive but still pretty bulletproof. Still ain't cheap though, that's why many just get a Casio G-Shock and be done with it.
 
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I prefer digital for the woods. I got a screaming deal on a Suunto Observer LTt a couple of years back, and it is still what I wear every day. The extra functions are nice to have, but I honestly never use them. The leather band is surprisingly comfortable and durable, it's lightweight, and looks pretty decent, especially when you compare it to Casio's multi-sensor offerings.
 
For rough conditions, I wear a 200m Wenger dive watch. About $70 at Campmor and other on-line sources. Very sturdy. It's survived a lot of dives and rock scrambling.

When I need an alarm, I've got a 50m water resistant Timex that is loud enough to wake me up for dawn hunts.

I have a couple good Swiss watches but don't wear them in the boonies.

DancesWithKnives
 
I wear a Luminiox series 3050/3950 and it is the best watch I have ever owned. I have worn Citizen, Casio, Timex, etc...., but nothing even compares in my books. I can say I have neve wore a Rolex, Tissot, Seiko, Suunto, or any other high end watch either though.I guess something in me just makes me shy away from metal cased watches and bands. So I guess take this might be a semi-biased opinion. hope in some way this helps.
 
Only watch I own SS Wenger I do not know the model number and here is an older pic of it I have on Photobucket...Just replaced the Battery a month ago...
IMG_1050.jpg
 
I have 2 G-Shocks, a Mudman and a Tough Solar (Forget which one) and a Nike Oregon series. I use the Nike for backpacking because it has all the bells and whistles on it. All of them are great watches.
 
During the mid to late 80s, I had one Timex Ironman Triathalon. Besides, hey, it's a cool Black Sabbath song. :D After that I wore two different Victorinox watches for about eight years then went to Casio G-Shocks for a bit...I've been wearing a Luminox on a daily basis...except for very few exceptions (then it was a G-Shock) for about nine or ten years now.

My next watch is scoped out, without a doubt. A Casio G-Shock Solar/Atomic. I went to China, errah, Wal-Mart, something I always hate to do...and they had one for $88.00...just on Sunday. It was an hour behind. Like Radio Shack, the watch counter cashier at Wal-Mart goes by the axiom: "You have questions? We have blank stares..." I asked her how it could be an hour behind if it is set by radio signal to the Naval Observatory Atomic Clock. Man, she didn't know what the HELL I was talking about! :D

That's my next watch, I'll probably have to pay $20.00 more for it elsewhere but Casio Gs are great watches. I have a friend in the FBI and he said in his office, it's all Luminox and Casio G-Shocks, all the time. :)
 
Don Rearic said:
During the mid to late 80s, I had one Timex Ironman Triathalon. Besides, hey, it's a cool Black Sabbath song. :D After that I wore two different Victorinox watches for about eight years then went to Casio G-Shocks for a bit...I've been wearing a Luminox on a daily basis...except for very few exceptions (then it was a G-Shock) for about nine or ten years now.

My next watch is scoped out, without a doubt. A Casio G-Shock Solar/Atomic. I went to China, errah, Wal-Mart, something I always hate to do...and they had one for $88.00...just on Sunday. It was an hour behind. Like Radio Shack, the watch counter cashier at Wal-Mart goes by the axiom: "You have questions? We have blank stares..." I asked her how it could be an hour behind if it is set by radio signal to the Naval Observatory Atomic Clock. Man, she didn't know what the HELL I was talking about! :D

That's my next watch, I'll probably have to pay $20.00 more for it elsewhere but Casio Gs are great watches. I have a friend in the FBI and he said in his office, it's all Luminox and Casio G-Shocks, all the time. :)
Click to expand...

Don, in my experience, an atomic clock won't adjust for daylight savings time as not all areas participate.

-- FLIX
 
Citezen Eco watch, solar powered. No battery accordin to the brochure so not completely sure how its works, but it does. 5 years and still going, dropped a few times. I never really pay attention to it so gets banged around on my arm quite a bit. Crystal or whatever they use is still unscratched, and I don't take it off for swimming. So it is waterproof, I haven't tested it to the claimed depth, 200' I think it was? Well worth the $300 my wife paid for it.
 
Eight years of everyday wear of my Citezen echo-drive divers watch. No problems and no battery change.
 
last few years, sometimes carry a WalMart pocket watch...about $8, battery. Take a fair amount of abuse. Not like life in the office out here in the country. :)
 
I have a quartz Marathon TSAR that I purchased from countycomm. I wear it almost every day. It's bombproof, the numbers light up like crazy in the dark and it keeps much better time than my automatic Tissot (which I really like for business dress BTW).

wctsarmaratac3small.jpg
 
My favorite as of now is a Casio Pathfinder, tough yadda, yadda, My favorite features are the Compass/Altimiter. The lip on the Bezel rises enough over the watch surface that is pretty tough to scratch.

It is Solar powered/ Atomic/ 100m water resistant - thankfully in the Eastern US I have had no issues with Daylight savings etc - has adjusted perfectly.

One Day I hope to get an automatic Brietling - but that'll be a few years I am sure and another tax bracket or 2 ;)
 
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