What watch do SEALs &/or Rangers really wear?

L.O. Little

L.O. Little

Joined
Dec 28, 2000
Messages
760
The subject line says it all. I'm CLUMSY, and I'm looking for a beater. If SEALs, Rangers, etc can't break it, I can't...
 
Get yourself a Casio G-Shock. Cost you less than $100 and will take anything you throw at it.

Kevin
 
I expect at their level, they wear anything they choose, if you picked ten of them together you'd probably find ten different watches.
Anything solid, waterproof and easy to read in the dark, and any modern quartz would be accurate to within a few seconds a year.

G-Shock fits the bill. The only thing that would worry me is just when is the battery going to give out? Doesn't matter to me when I'm out on the street, but to a guy in some jungle or desert who's very life might depend on an accurate timepiece would they wear two? Ok the lithium battery in a watch might last three or five years, but just when was it put in there?

Beautiful as they are, mechanicals are still going to lose/gain a few seconds a day, even modern, sophisticated ones. For the accuracy these guys need it has to be quartz.

Two systems spring to mind that have quartz accuracy but no requirment for battery replacment - the Citizen EcoDrives and the Seiko Kinetics. Expensive though.
 
Originally posted by Zardoz
G-Shock fits the bill. The only thing that would worry me is just when is the battery going to give out? Doesn't matter to me when I'm out on the street, but to a guy in some jungle or desert who's very life might depend on an accurate timepiece would they wear two? Ok the lithium battery in a watch might last three or five years, but just when was it put in there?
Click to expand...

I bought a refurbished Casio at least 3, maybe 4, years ago and it has been running like a champ ever since!
 
My G-Shock lasted 8 years before the band wore out. At that point I threw it away and replaced it with a Suunto - but then, I'm on enlisted pay anymore. In the military it took water ops, about 30-40 jumps, numerous rappels & helo ops, fun & games on RB-15's & at the demo range, and a few other "abusive" situations. G-Shock will take anything you can throw at it, and then some, for years and years.

Kevin
 
I'm as much of a cheapskate as the next fellow, but a $2 battery??? I replace it every year whether it needs it or not. That's a good bit less than it costs to keep a mechanical running.
 
G-shock! One of mine is about 6 years old and it's still ticking with
the original battery!:eek:
 
I also vote for the Casio G-Shock. The one that I'm wearing now((DW-6600) has been running on the original battery for about 7 years now. The only thing that has failed on the watch is the little tab that you tuck the excess watch band under.
 
Well we're not from SOCOM, but if you looked you'd find that the percentage of cops wearing G Shocks is roughly equivalent to those carrying glocks. That is to say, more than half.

And since most business is hands on, rather than being able to "reach out" with a rifle, I'd bet many are as hard on a watch as anybody working for Mr. Rumsfeld. You won't go wrong with the Casio. :)
 
FWIW, I wound up buying a DW6900-1V. I found it at Walmart for $59.93 + tax. It's been a very long time since I used a digital watch. Now I get to learn how to use this thing...
 
I checked out a LOT of G-Shocks at about 20 different watch stores in Hong Kong yesterday.

They have some pretty nifty designs, but I just can't get over 2 facts:

1. The displays might be nifty looking, but often they are just too small and cluttered to let me efficiently read the time. Yes, the watch is huge, but the letters are usually very small. I don't need 3 different spinning dials as a visual indicator of seconds passing.

2. Plastic screen, I hate these. They just get scratched very easily. I know that they handle massive indirect shocks better than glass, but I'm a rough user, and my glass-screened Seiko has yet to break on me. I always accidentally brush my watch up against hard surfaces when I'm walking, and the glass only has *very* few almost-invisible scratches. I know that the G-Shock body surrounding the plastic makes it difficult to scratch, but if I should accidentally hit it against a pointy surface, the plastic will scratch.

Mr-G watches (dumb name, I know :)) have glass faces, but they still suffer from G-Shock-eye-candyitis. I don't really like the manga robot look. So in my opinion, G-Shocks are less functional (for me) than a plain old Seiko. They're just not my style. :) I'm going to look into Luminox, Citizen, etc. for my next watch.
 
AlphalphaPB, like I said, "I'm CLUMSY, and I'm looking for a beater."

Up until I bought my G-Shock, the watch I wore to work, hiking, etc, was a automatic black face/black bezel Omega Seamaster Professional (new style SMP, Ref. 2054.50.00, not the classic James Bond SMP). I've worn it every day since November 20, 2000. It's a great watch, very sturdy, very comfortable, very functional, etc. I have to look professional at work. (my avatar is NOT me) The Omega works for me. The bracelet's pretty scratched up, as I USE my SMP. It's a tool. I USE my tools. My SMP is a great tool. So is my Strider AR. Another story...

I bought the G-Shock to hike with, to bike with, to DESTROY. It's comfortable, it's cheap, and it's VERY expendable. It's a beater. The mineral crystal will scratch easier than synthetic sapphire. I don't care. If I frag it, I'll throw down another $59.93 + tax for another one. My G-Shock is a tool.

"1. The displays might be nifty looking, but often they are just too small and cluttered to let me efficiently read the time. Yes, the watch is huge, but the letters are usually very small. I don't need 3 different spinning dials as a visual indicator of seconds passing."

I agree. My previous beater, a Timex "Humvee", has a bigger, easier to read display. However, the watch is very uncomfortable, and feels fragile. All four buttons are exposed. The button for the light is at the upper left, which is VERY awkward for me. The light button on the G-Shock is placed perfectly.

The G-Shock will do.
 
i like my gshock its been with me for 5 years now. replaced the battery once and band once when it melted (dont ask). best watch ive ever bought and its been through hell on earth. I think it could outlive me haha
 
BTW, if you wear bifocals like I do, the Omega SMP (new style SMP, not "James Bond" SMP) is very easy on the eyes. Without my glasses, I can't see squat, close up. The "Super Luminova" on the hands and markers are easy for me to see in the dark, even without my glasses.

BTW, when I hike in the dark, I wear my glasses, and carry either a SureFire E2E-HA or M2. I can see the time on my G-Shock just fine...
 
Ah, I guess you're right about the "beater" stuff. :) If it's a beater you're looking for, those G-Shocks will probably work out great. I was thinking from the viewpoint of having one durable watch for all situations.

For me, I wear the same watch both to work and when I'm doing other stuff, and I usually only have one at any given time, so my Seiko just works fine for that. Due to my desperate economic situation (!@#$ bladeforums, !@#$ candlepowerforums), I think I'll just stick it out with my 3 year old watch :) I can't afford to get into another crazy hobby. (translation: look for my posts on watch forums soon).
 
I've got one that's about 13 years old I think?? On it's 3rd battery.., but still running. Very tough to beat for the $$$...


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Get a Timex! I love these things. I went through two or three cheap ones. Really small, second set of numbers for 24hr time, but the little day indicator broke on all of them. That and every other month and Feb. you need to run it ahead a day.... But that last one that I didn't exchange is still ticking and accurate time-wise. Now I have a digital compass model Expedition. Big numbers, tells you what day it is, has a chrono, timer and alarm... And you're never without a compass! The backlight is a bit annoying, you have to push the button for 5-10sec to put it in "night mode" that keeps it on for a few seconds. I almost went for the G-shocks, but I couldn't get over the spinning timers and small numbers.
 
Having only seen one SEAl in my entire life. I would say Timex because that's what he was wearing. To be very precise it was the Timex with the green cloth band and green plastic case. Come to think of most of the people I know who either are in the military or who were in the military wear a Timex. Personally I've used Armitron and Casio to. The Casio I had wouldn't keep time anygood (could have been a bad watch just got it because it was the cheapest thing available at Wal Mart with a date) so I replaced it with a Timex Expedition with analog dial with digital display. Only replaced it with another Timex because the plastic crystal was getting scratchedup to badly to see the face clearly. The Armitron kept very good time but I just didn't like it very well. Used it till the battery wore out and replaced it with another Timex.
 
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