Need a watch

[Kuan]

I need one for my outdoor emergency tech class. Here's the criteria

Analog w/ second hand
Visibility in the dark
Durable
Water/snow/ice/cold resistant
Leather or velcro strap
Date optional

[ShaggyDiesel]

Chase Durer.. I have a couple of them, they're a great durable watch.

[suginami]

What kind of movement are you considering? Quartz or automatic?

[elchivito]

For the price of one of those fancy watches, you can buy 25 perfectly good Timex outdoorsmens watches, each of which will last you 2 years or more. Analog, water resistant to 100m, nite glo visibility, second hand, date, webbing wrist band, the whole nine yards. I have one that I never take off. In the shower, in the barn and pasture, wrestling sheep goats and cattle, on boats, white water rafting, fishing.If it breaks, your out the price of a case of beer. One thing the fancy watchmakers don't want you to know is that today's digital guts in even the cheapest watches are highly accurate. That's my .02

[TheDon]

gshock watches tend to last very long.

[WVOtoGO]

Originally Posted by elchivito

One thing the fancy watchmakers don't want you to know is that today's digital guts in even the cheapest watches are highly accurate. That's my .02

Another thing they don’t want you to know, is that the guts in their fancy watches are often the same guts found in the cheapest watches.

[Kuan]

Ah I got a Timex. It was $36. Actually it seems like this was my only choice. Nobody really makes a basic analog watch these days. I could have paid over $100 more for a Swiss Army. It just goes up from there.

[Ara T.]

Try a Traser.. simple watches with tritium so you always see them in the dark without having to press a button or make sure they've been charged by ambient light or anything.

[Sev]

If you want to go tritium you should check out luminox--they are better quality than swiss army, and used by more SF/ranger/military/paramilitary guys

[Skid Row Joe]

'Nuff said......

[CSchmidt]

I had a luminox "navy seal" watch for the past 30 months. At 16 months it died. Checked the battery, not the issue. Luminox fixed it under the 24 month warranty. It died again at 27 months due to moisture inside it. BTW - I never went diving with this watch. It did go in 2' of water, but that's it. I left it inside my car ( in 90* temps) to dry it out. It blew a seal and stopped. I think they hosed the seal in the first warranty fix. They offered to fix it at $300 or replace it at $250... street price on Amazon is closer to $200, what a bargain. I regularly leave my ipod and cell phone in my car - neither are "navy seal" tough - and neither have failed. After contacting Luminox to express my disappointment, they offered no additional help after a $250 watch failed twice in 30 months. Read the comments - lots of them fail. So I tried to see how it reacted to my 10# sledge on the way to the dump.... not too good. ;-) Overall the "tough as a Navy Seal" claim is crap. Back to a Casio or Timex I think.

Chuck

[alabbasi]

For analogue movement, I would take a look at Invicta. They are a little known brand that has some pretty nice designs. I like their dive watches. They generally cost less then $100, are incredibly well put together. Water resistant to 200m an use a very robust moyota automatic movement.

It looks very similar (casing is almost indistinguishable) to a Rolex Submariner.

There is also a swiss movement model that comes with errr... Swiss movement and sapphire crystal instead of mineral crystal for about $300-400.



If digital is an option, get a G-Shock. I have a bunch of watches but I find myself wearing the G-Shock more then any other. It's shock resistant, water resistant, solar powered and syncs with the atomic clock in bolder which makes it more accurate then any watch out there (except for the clock in bolder).

I could replace the whole watch for the cost of one link on a Rolex or Omega so it's also the watch that I wear when I wrench on my cars.

I've had it for about 6 years and I have had zero problems.

[Skid Row Joe]

^^^ My extreme compliments.........that's one good looking and very masculine looking watch!!!


I don't wear a watch anymore - only because my cell phone which has the time and date on it's face, and, it is always with me (well.......almost always with me.)

Besides - I don't get-off by wearing pricey clothing, shoes or accessories/jewelry - just no biggie to 'ol Skid!

[LUVMBDiesels]

You want durable and simple but also accurate?
Go SOVIET

I have two Vostok automatic watches. One from the early 1980s and one brand new one.

Both are 23 jewel automatic watches (copied Swiss movements) are reliable tough and accurate.
oh and CHEAP

http://shop.ebay.com/items/vostok?_dmd=1&_sop=12&rvr_id=139820034491&keyword=vostok&geo_id=1&crlp=1919183093_9414&MT_ID=475&tt_encode=raw

I have the Amphibian

I BEAT my watches to death and they keep going...

[Kuan]

Well when I graduate and spend a year out there without destroying this watch maybe I'll get a nicer watch.

I learned how to make a splint yesterday. This stuff is pretty fun.