What watch for today’s adventurer?

eveled said:
I know the Rolex submariner was the standard for past explorers and adventures. It’s a great watch but I can’t see somebody living on a shoestring budget or a research grant spending the money for one. So what would they use? Has to be affordable reliable water proof rugged and run forever.

The best I can come up with is Citizens eco drive pro master dive watch. Any better options? My second choice would be a solar Gshock mudman. Second only because I like analog watches.

Thanks Ed
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It would have to be a Citizen Eco Drive model or a Seiko automatic, given your affordability requirements. And even these, depending on the specific model chosen, might require the impecunious adventurer to have to save up a while before strapping it on.

Then there are the specific complications to choose from.

The Citizen will supply more complications at a slightly lower price because it is a quartz movement. This gets Citizen in trouble, though, because you can throw money at the Citizen counter and end up with a baroque looking hot mess of a dial with features no one ever really could use, let alone actually does use. Just go to the Citizen website and you'll see what I mean.

Seiko has some overwrought models, too, but as complications pile up on a mechanical watch, the prices rise exponentially. This will keep our young aspiring Jacques Cousteau/Indiana Jones/MacGuyver/Lara Croft away from something beyond his or her means. And as much as I like a complication or two, Seikos look great when they are simpler. Oh, and an overly complicated mechanical watch can be heavy and uncomfortable.

So that's my take on it. If our hero(ine) wants to troll eBay and look for something outré, there are the Breitling Emergency and its predecessor the Aerospace (which I wear, but inherited from my father-in-law: My own choice in this price range, could I afford it, would be a Rolex Explorer I, a Breitling Transocean, or Omega Aquaterra). I'm guessing any watch in this scenario would have to have at least a rotating dive bezel, a sweep second hand, day/date, sapphire crystal (many of the Omega Speedmasters have the original plastic dome NASA specified; and the original design is hand wound, though they come in automatic now as well), and an extra strap or two (I like a bracelet, personally, but I don't dive).

Fun topic!

Zieg
 
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This is what I ended up with. It’s perfect for my needs. I agree simple is better when it comes to watch faces.
 
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22-rimfire said:
What do you mean by complications?
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Complication is the watchmaker's name for the added stuff watches can do besides tell the time. Day, date, stopwatch, alarm, etc. Anything besides the basic hands. I suppose even a second hand might be considered a complication, but maybe not. So you can see an electronic watch can pile on the complications because they run via a printed circuit. But a mechanical watch must do this with gears and levers.

Zieg
 
I have had quite a few watches. My EDC is a Seiko skx009. But I wore a casio duro for 4 years. Used a gshock dw5600 as a gym watch and then bought a 5610 to replace it. Use a f91w as a night watch. I then inherited a 1982 casio dw1200 marlin that was still running on its original battery
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(Not my photo but the watch is the same. Photo from watchuseek forum posted by member xevious)
 
If you're really on a limited budget just get a G-Shock or some other Casio. Extreme budget but still functional, the Casio MRW200 series, with a rotating timer bezel. Seiko divers are always a good bet if you can afford a mid-range watch.
If you are looking for something a bit different, try Timefactors in the UK. http://www.timefactors.com/. He designs and sells mil-style watches often modelled after true issued models, in fairly limited numbers. Look at his Precista and Smiths ranges. Known to deliver fast and good service, and runs a good watch forum as well (TZ-UK). A decade ago I got a Broadarrow PRS-4 divewatch from him that I still wear. Lithium powered, very legible, 10 year battery life. No longer made (Omega objected to his use of the word Broadarrow, which they had not registered as a brand and he had, because some of their models were commonly describe as 'broad arrows' indicating the arrow on the dial that tells you it's an item issued by the British crown; they started an expensive case against him in the US and being a lone designer in Sheffield he just had to give up, so he changed to Precista and Smiths, old brands that he just outright bought.) As production suddenly stopped due to that legal battle I now have a watch of which there are only a few hundred in existence worldwide and mine is now worth three times as much as it cost me, LOL. There are mechanical models as well as higher-end quartz in his lines. He also sells very good NATO style nylon straps.
 
Bertucci makes watches from one piece titanium bodies with Swiss movements, Sapphire crystal, and integrated lugs for less than $200.

I used to really like the higher end G-shock watches, but once the plastic strap breaks the strap can cost almost as much as the watch to replace. Also, when it does go, you might lose a watch you paid $300 for. Also, the 'solar' battery doesn't last forever, rechargeable lithium batteries degrade over time and eventually need to be replaced. I also didn't see the value in an expensive watch that still needs an expensive and proprietary battery every 5-10 years when you can get a normal battery powered watch that will need a cheap battery, available anywhere, every 3-5 years?

I wanted to try an old school looking G10 style watch with a NATO strap, looked everywhere for one with solid lugs, sapphire crystal, and reliable movement. After months of looking I stumbled upon Bertucci in Illinois. After a few years of use it is very precise, the bead blasted titanium body shows a few snail trails but there isn't a mark on the crystal. In a year or so I'll replace the $5 battery and it'll be ready for another 3-5 years of use. Also, if I ever do break the strap, which hasn't stretched or frayed, I'll get a new one for $20 from anywhere in the world.
 
Interesting timing on your post. I just got my Bertucci back yesterday. It is very comfortable to wear. Classic styling. When the battery died nobody could get the back off. Bertucci has a service send in the watch alone. They clean it replace the battery and strap. For a reasonable fee. Very fast turn around. I just wish it had a rotating bezel.
 
I know the OP said affordable, but one of my main adventure watches is my only Rolex, the Explorer II. If I'm going to be doing anything particularly rough I just throw it on a NATO or MN strap. For a more affordable option (still expensive for a quartz) I go with the Seiko Tuna.
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I've been really happy with my Casio Protrek 6000. I went full turn from growing up with G-Shock watches, to using a fitbit, Apple watch, Garmin Fenix 5x, and then back to Casio. I like that it's everything I need without the worry of batteries or syncing with my phone. The features are similar to the Mudmaster (ABC functions, solar, atomic, countdown timer, stopwatch, alarms, world time) but in a more elegant package.
 
eveled said:
Interesting timing on your post. I just got my Bertucci back yesterday. It is very comfortable to wear. Classic styling. When the battery died nobody could get the back off. Bertucci has a service send in the watch alone. They clean it replace the battery and strap. For a reasonable fee. Very fast turn around. I just wish it had a rotating bezel.
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A few days after I made this post about my Bertucci watch coming back with a new battery. The second hand fell off! I’m not sure were it even is now. A shame because it really was a comfortable watch to wear.

My Citizens eco drive dive watch is still going strong. It’s a great watch. I bought my sons casio dive watches for $50 they are really hard to beat.IMG_4128.jpeg
 
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