Wrist Watch Recommendations - Merged Thread

[gun runner]

I wear a LUMINOX series 3000/3900 v3. It has the Tritium inserts around the dial, and is water resistant to 200m. love it.

 

[northernboy_24]

I have an amazing St Moritz Momentum Chrono that i have used for diving and field work for over 7 years.  The benefit is that it is a Canadian Company.

 

[ward0043]

Hey guys! I am applying to the infantry trade, and am trying to improve my weaknesses.

One of them is my sense of direction; so I was wondering if anyone here would recommend me finding a watch with a built in compass.

As far as I can tell, the main Pro would be having a compass available for quick reference, however from the research I have done, people suggest that these compasses are not always accurate.

Furthermore, I am not financially able to buy an expensive watch, and would prefer to keep it in the 100$ range. However, I have found this one; http://www.timex.ca/EXPEDITION-ADVENTURE-TECH-Digital-Compass-P253.aspx

What do you guys think?

 

[AmmoTech90]

How will wearing a compass constantly improve your sense of direction?  If you need one, you'll get issued one.

Otherwise keep in mind the sun travels east to west and in Canada is always to the south from Fall solistice to Spring solistice and also during the day (9am to 6pm) through the summer.  Early morning and evening it is to the north during the summer.

 

[Snaketnk]

The best watches cost 10$ at wal-mart.

You don't need anything fancy, you're just going to lose/break it.

If you want a compass later in your career, and you're not issued one (guess what? We're not issued compasses...) Buy a compass. You don't need one in your watch.

 

[Timmy!]

The best watches cost 10$ at wal-mart.

You don't need anything fancy, you're just going to lose/break it.

If you want a compass later in your career, and you're not issued one (guess what? We're not issued compasses...) Buy a compass. You don't need one in your watch.

Totally agree with Snaketnk. If you want a compass in MILS, try CP Gear . Or ask your local Canadian Tire for a Field Compass in MILS. That is your best bet.

Regards,
TN

 

[George Wallace]

I agree with Snaketnk and the rest.  There is no need to worry about a compass on a watch.  This is a nice watch and Timex watches will do you fine.  The accuracy that you will need with a compass, when you do have to use one, will not be found on a watch, so it is superfluous fluff.

I once bught an expensive SEIKO watch with calculator thinking it would come in hand as a Tank Gunner.  Didn't use the calculator at all, and it didn't take long to smash the watch.  Seems everytime I had an expensive watch on, I smashed it somehow.  The cheap Timex watches lasted forever.  Karma I guess.

 

[ward0043]

Thanks guys, I'll go with the cheap Timex then.

 

[Snaketnk]

You won't regret it, I've never had a watch survive more than 2 months of field use.

 

[armyguy1]

Timex Men's T498549J Rugged Digital Vibration Alarm Watch

I have been reading about watches lately and this one seems to have a lot of upside to military use.

100m water resistent
vibrating alarm so you wont give away your position if on deployment and forgot to turn off your alarm
24 hour clock
stop watch
I believe it has a countdown timer too

 

[fraserdw]

God, I am old.  You had to be a MCpl to wear a watch when I was Pte!

 

[LineJumper]

I've bEen sporting a shock ironman the last 5 years(no batt change yet) The band failed in 1 year. Replaced with a velcro wrap for last 4. It is higher off the wrist, but I can still fit my arm elbow deep in my kinda work and not pull spaghetti. I love the 3 alarms as well as simple timer setting. (Chimes work in my line of work, unless marching out with PP) Overall, a simple, cheap and reliable timepiece. Incedentaly, I still have 1 oldschool watchface guntaped to my tri-bike handlebars as well as it's older brother controlling time on my many brewing projects.

Good hard watch with indiglo.

 

[Popurhedoff]

I wore a Timex Ironman, Expedition for years, good affordable watches.  Now i wear a Sunnto Vector HR, lots of nice features, Barometric pressure, altitude above sea level, compass, weather change, outside air temperture, bubble level, and heart rate monitor, and of course it tells time, dual zone, alarms and all that usual stuff as well.

It is very light weight watch and has held up nicely after a tour and now back working in Afghanistan.

Cheers
Pop

 

[m2austin]

I wore a <a href="http://www.watchallure.com/Coleman-40286-Nylon-Watch-1/">Coleman 40286</a> through workup and two deployments to Afg.

Features:
Velcro strap,
date,
light,
alarm,
stopwatch,
timer (good for those pre-made 5 minute sachel charges)
dual time (to always know what time it was back in Canada)

Pro's:
Very light-weight
Water resistant to 50m
timer and dual-time = simplicity
a small compass included on strap (only good for quick look at the cardinal pts at noon)
$20-25 at Wal-Mart

Con's:
Velcro loses its durability after 2 yrs of solid use.
A replacement strap runs you approx. 75% of the value of the watch - giving incentive to simply buy a new Coleman
Can't turn off the "beep" when switching between screens.
"Light" button may become stuck in the off position.

My analysis is that it's a cheap watch that's good for infantry and combat engineers. I've always kept my GPS separate from my watch and at approx $20, this one is disposable.

Edit: It has two alarms, not one.

 

[Allgunzblazing]

This looks like a good solid watch. A nice cosmetic touch is the green strap  .

 

[MikeL]

Casio G Shock,  not sure which model,  but it's cost $40(roughly) from Walmart,  had it since '08 and no issues with it yet.  Before that I had a Timex,  but it broke just before I went on HLTA during tour,  so I bought the G Shock during my leave and finished the tour with it, and so on.

 

[Dissident]

What store carries these usually?

(I know it's a bit of an older post)
DS Tactical is a Marathon watch dealer, woe to my wallet.

 

[blacktriangle]

I just picked up a Timex Ironman for training or being on the go. I make the big bucks now so I can afford to spend 70 bones on a watch.

But I'll never wear it to work. For one, I will lose it or break it. Two, I don't want to know what time it is.

 

[Jarnhamar]

I just picked up a Timex Ironman for training or being on the go. I make the big bucks now so I can afford to spend 70 bones on a watch.

But I'll never wear it to work. For one, I will lose it or break it. Two, I don't want to know what time it is.

Where are you making the big bucks now?

 

[ncelq]

I would recommend brand Panerai if you are looking for highend military watch. Victorinox might be a good choice if you are looking for highend quartz. But for that price range, i would go for Hamilton Khaki Field series. You can see the comparison for different Hamilton Khaki Field watches here:

Hamilton Khaki Field Review