watches...

I like the combination analog/digital. I usually stick with the sub-$100 watches as I tend to smash them quite often. Usually, one of the only reasons why I go to Walmart.....that and the clearance isle there usually has some decent deals.
 
Here;s what I wear: Seiko Orange Monster

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It has great lume:
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I have a Seiko self-winding model that I was really excited about when I bought. I hate it. The dang thing looses time too quick. I drops a min every 3 days or so and that pisses me off. Part of it is my wife won't let me wear a watch to bed so it sits on the bedstand at night. You are supposed to shake the thing 30 s before going to bed and after getting up. Hey, I can barely remember to do that after urinating.

So I went back to a Timex. I have a cheap little analogue/digital expedition model. The indigo light works great at night, it keeps great time and has the digital timers without the ugly digital face. I like it. I even stole the watch band from my seiko and put it on the timex. The Seiko is a nicer watch, but I'll never by a machanical or self/winding one again. Yeah, batteries die. But they last for a long time. I'll toss my expedition in the garbage well before its 5 or 6 year battery lifetime.
 
kgd said:
I have a Seiko self-winding model that I was really excited about when I bought. I hate it. The dang thing looses time too quick. I drops a min every 3 days or so and that pisses me off. Part of it is my wife won't let me wear a watch to bed so it sits on the bedstand at night. You are supposed to shake the thing 30 s before going to bed and after getting up. Hey, I can barely remember to do that after urinating.
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I almost exclusively wear automatics and I have never shaken one for 30 seconds before and after going to bed. I haven't heard that one before.

Sometimes Seikos, especially the cheaper ones, come from the factory with serious timing issues. However, they are easy to regulate and can become very accurate. My Orange Monster lost time until I spent $10 to have it regulated. Now it only gains and loses a few seconds a day.

Chad
 
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.
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Same, for when I need a beater. Mine's got a white face and a blue rubber strap. It accompanies me exercising, woodsbumming, etc...
When I need a watch I can beat up on, but that will look a little bit better than the blue Wenger, I go for a Wenger field watch with a steel strap. It was $40 from Sierra Trading Post on clearance. If I compare it to my Fossil, which was $100, there is no comparison. Swiss made all the way.
For my EDC (high school) I generally go with my Tissot Quadrato Chrono. It's a big, square watch, reminiscent of the Tag Monaco. Steel band, black face. Feels very high quality.
I've also an old Gruen, Benrus, and Elgin, all mechanical. My namesake, great grandfather, was a watch repairman.
 
FLIX said:
Don, in my experience, an atomic clock won't adjust for daylight savings time as not all areas participate.

-- FLIX
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I'm not sure about all atomic watches but I know that for my G-shock you can set DST to automatic detection. You also set your the watch to your home city since as you said, not all places observe DST. If you go away, you should also change your "home" city to wherever your going.



Your're NOT suppose to shake an automatic watch for 30 seconds before you go to bed. An automatic should charge the reserve spring through your daily activity. The only reason I can see where you would "shake" the watch at night is if you didn't wear it that day. And really its less shaking and more rotating the weight inside the watch to charge the reserve. You don't want to shake the watch too hard and mess up the movement.

My only current automatic is a Seiko SKX031. It was cheap enough and much nicer looking than my old Citizen NY0040. When I first got it, it was losing 20 seconds a week. Eventually it regulated itself out. I haven't timed it in a while, but I rarely have to adjust the time now. Really just when I'm being nit picky and its only off by a minute or two.

My outdoors watch is an old Casio Pathfinder 400. It's nice enough with the triple sensor. It is big though, especially with a sensor on each side. Not an EDC watch for sure.

I recently got a Casio G-shock and I love it. A remake of the old 5600 series, I got the GW 5600J. It may replace the Pathfinder for outdoors stuff since I don't really use the altimeter and as for a compass I usually carry at least 2 on hikes anyway.



If you were to get a good watch, I'd say get a G-shock. If you don't want or need the solar power and atomic time, then G-shocks are really affordable. I think on Amazon the DW 5600 is just $45. The battery will last a long time and quartz oscillator is really accurate, really more accurate than mechanicals.

The only issue I can see would probably be cold weather. I don't know how well the resin will hold up in very low temperatures. If thats a big concern then a watch with stainless steel parts would be much better.
 
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. :)
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I have a tough solar G-Shock, and depending on whether the daylight savings feature is turned on, and depending on what home time zone the watch is set to, it could be off by even a few hours!

Once you set it to the appropriate settings, it will instantly correct itself. I love this watch. From a full charge, it will run for months even in pitch black. A few hours of sun or even light from a lamp will keep it charged. It's also never off because it syncs to the atomic clock in colorado every night (you can turn this feature off to sync to other clocks, or do the sync manually too)

It is VERY impact resistant, water resist to 200M, and the one I have has analog hands, and a digital display. Multiple time zones, stopwatch, alarm, day, date, blah blah. Comfy to wear, and looks good too. Oh, it also has an interesting hands free illuminating feature. You can just bring your wrist up toward your head in a "checking the time" position, and the light will automatically go on for 3 seconds. You can turn this off for tactical reasons, or if you want to just hit a button for illumination. Very handy if you want to see the time in the dark and only have one hand free. Got it on the bay for about $80.

The casio pathfinders look cool too. They have compasses and altimeters and all kinds of crap! They do everything but start a fire and build a shelter.

Mechanical watches are cool, but they can't match even cheap quartz watches for accuracy. A crappy quartz watch will gain less than a second or 2 a month, and even a high end watch like a Rolex that is a "certified chronometer" will gain or lose up to 5 seconds a day! Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up.
I love 'em (have a cool vintage Omega Seamaster) but they are not as reliable, and don't keep as good of time, period.
 
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G-Shock by Casio. I have two; each of them use solar cells to keep the battery charged up and each synchs with the US govt. atomic clock in Ft. Collins to keep the time accurate as it can be (I live in northeastern NY and have no problem with the watches receiving the time signal).

The Riseman (with barometer and thermometer) is my fave.

A much more expensive Seiko has let me down twice, and batteries have expired on other Timex and Casio watches. The solar power and atomic clock time synch features are two things I'll always look for in a watch.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
ipm said:
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.
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One reason you may not see much about watches here is that watches are off-topic in W&SS but on-topic in Gadgets & Gear, which is where this is going. :)
 
I've got a Traser which won't keep the date up-to-date and the outer bezel won't rotate but it leeps great time year after year in every kind of weather and dishwashing liquid.

I had a beautiful atomic solar G-Shock and it stopped running in less than a year.

My daughter got me a Casio Pathfinder, which I can't be bothered with all the idiot functions but it keeps good time. The outer metal face fell off, had to glue it back :rolleyes:

I got a great deal on a Suunto Vector but it's just not comfortable. I probably need to figure out how to put a better strap on it.
 
Best bang for the buck:

Digital - Casio G shock

Analog - Invicta Sub Automatic


Best Higher dollar:

Omega Speedmaster Professional manual wind

Rolex Submariner Automatic


Best Battery Analog:

Chase Durer UDT
 
If there's any better value in a wristwatch than a G Shock on this planet, I've certainly never seen it. Those suckers are the Spydercos of the watch industry. Pure performance. No matter what end of the G Shock spectrum you're looking at pricewise (and featurewise) you can be assured that the watch is gonna be a brute. The "entry" level G's are just as tough as the high priced models. I recently replaced a G that had been thru everything I could throw at it. Still runs. It's a first gen tough solar and needs a rechargeable battery, so some of the functions don't work rite now. Those first gen GW-300s had some battery issues. So with the battery bad I have no alarm, no illuminator, and it needs A LOT of exposure to sunlight, but the impressive thing is - the darned thing still does what it was made to do. It tells time.

I recently solicited the advice of Buzzbait on replacing this G. Can't wait for him to reply to this thread. His photos and reviews are super informative. Anyhoo, he pointed me in the right direction and I ended up getting a classic looking model off Amazon for a really great price. Basically I got an atomic tough solar model for the price of a non atomic and non solar. Check out the GW5525A-1. Strangely the price is 5 dollars more than a few days ago when I ordered mine but it's still a screaming deal. But after thinking about it, I called Casio and ordered a replacement battery and o-ring for my original G. Heck I went all out and got a bezel and band too. Gonna overhaul that sucker and put it thru even MORE punishment. Planning to keep this new one also. Even toying with the idea of getting my wife a Baby G. :D
 
I have a watch problem and have owned my share of high-end watches over the years. I have a couple of quartz watches but I prefer automatics by far, I don't have to worry about a battery dying (which usually happens when it's most inconvenient). I also can't stand a digital face, analog is easier to read at a glance and can function as a field expedient compass in a pinch. I think far and away the best 'bang for the buck' in a good quality watch is one of the Seiko divers, SKX007, SKX009, etc. The Seiko "Monster" uses the same movement so it's comparable, personally I don't like the hands/bezel on the Monster but that's me. My everyday watch is an Omega Speedmaster, I find the chronograph often comes in handy.


haley1 said:
Citezen Eco watch, solar powered. No battery accordin to the brochure so not completely sure how its works, but it does.
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The Eco-drives have a battery, you just don't have to change it like you do with a typical quartz watch. The solar cell keeps it charged all the time but at some point I imagine the battery will stop holding a decent charge. No battery can last forever.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I've got a Traser which won't keep the date up-to-date and the outer bezel won't rotate but it leeps great time year after year in every kind of weather and dishwashing liquid.

I had a beautiful atomic solar G-Shock and it stopped running in less than a year.

My daughter got me a Casio Pathfinder, which I can't be bothered with all the idiot functions but it keeps good time. The outer metal face fell off, had to glue it back :rolleyes:

I got a great deal on a Suunto Vector but it's just not comfortable. I probably need to figure out how to put a better strap on it.
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About the date. Make sure that your watch is in the right day or night phase. If you see the date is always off by 12 hours then you probably didn't set the time in the right phase of day.

Best is to set the date a day before the current day. Then forward the clock until the right day and set according to AM or PM.




As for the solar powered watches. Yes they do have a battery. It's just a rechargeable. Generally they should last a good amount of time, more than a regular lithium battery. Sometimes there are duds. With recent G-shocks, the replacement rechargeable is pretty cheap. You can get them for like $8-10 and replace the battery yourself.
 
My Traser date was set just fine, but it's lost a few days over the last month, like something is stuck in there slowing down the date wheel.
 
Wow that sucks.

A Traser would definitely be worth sending to someone for repairs. But I guess as long as it's working in the capacity you want it to then its okay.
 
Eco-drive, kinetic, etc. all use capacitors which are really rechargeable batteries. After a few years they will stop recharging and have to be changed. Automatic watches really can be regulated or adjusted if it runs too fast or too slow. I own both automatics and quartz and as mentioned, the best automatics will not be as accurate as a quartz watch. Gravity has too much influence on the automatic movements no matter what brand. I prefer a Citizen with a solar powered watch myself. I have an older,12 years old all titanium one piece case eco drive that still works perfectly and glows like crazy at night( has to exposed in light before ). Dove in it also.
 
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