Watches

[hurley842002]

I suppose they could be considered fairly low on the priority list as far as actual survival is concerned, but as far as daily preparedness is concerned, i'd be LOST without my watch. How many of you guys wear a watch daily, and what brand do you use? Digital, Analog, any other functions you prefer? Analog all the way for me, with military time and the date is all I require, some sort of glowing capability is also nice.

I bought a $20 Smith and Wesson from Big 5 a couple years ago, and it served me quite nicely up until recently, the band was taking a tole and the watch itself was beat to hell. I just purchased a Timex Expedition at Wally world tonight and so far i'm pleased I'd really like to own a Luminox, but just can't justify the cost, maybe it would be the last watch I purchased for awhile, but dropping the coin is awfully hard.

[gcrookston]

I have a thing for automatics and mechanicals, with Seikos getting most of my casual/beat around wrist time.

[Bailey Guns]

I've had this watch for about 4 or 5 years.

It measures:

• Time - receives atomic time radio signals 6 times per day so it's very accurate
• Temp - It takes 5 to 7 minutes to get an accurate reading if you've been wearing the watch. You need to take it off for a temp reading but it's fairly accurate. I've measured it against my Kestrel weather station and it's always pretty close.
• Altitude - Also fairly close. It may calibrate itself with the built in barometer
• Barometric pressure -
• Direction - built in digital compass
• It's got a shitload of timers, countdown timers, alarms, time zone settings, calendar, memory features, etc...

It's a little on the large side but not as big/bulky as I expected it to be. The biggest problem with this watch is remembering how to use all the functions without referring to the manual. Another issue is the band. It's durable and comfortable...but for me, the adjustment holes are slightly off. One hole is too loose, the next is too tight. There's really no way to adjust it so I just live with it. And, it's not bad, just a minor annoyance as I don't like a watch that moves around on my wrist. But the other option, which is just as annoying, is having a watch that's too tight.

I've never needed it in a survival situation but I can see where it could be very handy. I was a weather forecaster in the Air Force for a while and I've actually attempted to make very basic, very short-term, weather forecasts with it...with some pretty good success. It's easy to tell when you've had a frontal passage and so forth so you can make educated guesses as to what the weather might be for the next few hours or at a minimum, what can be expected. It can help to alert you to potential weather problems with just some basic weather knowledge.

It is very durable and reliable. Mine's been beat around pretty bad on occasion and hasn't shown any ill effects from the rough handling.

The big downside is the price. I got a deeply discounted price on it when I had my store and some vendor was trying to get me sell them. I declined but still got the watch. If I recall I got it for about $89. I think they sell today for a little over $200.

[hurley842002]

That is a sweet looking watch Bailey, i've had nothing but good luck with Casio watches, and while I don't have much use for a dozen different timers, the rest of the functions would be awesome to have. You got a hell of a deal on it, because like you said, i'm seeing similar setups for a couple hundred dollars.

[kwando]

I've always wanted a Marathon C-SAR... but I won't be able to afford one, so i will pick up a G-SAR soon.

[StagLefty]

Check out this site for good watch deals :

http://www.xcelwatches.com/servlet/t...k-Solar/Detail

[netsecsys]

I too have developed a taste for the automatic/mechanical watches. I finally opted for an older Omega Seamaster Professional Chronometer. Spendy watch but extremely well made and will hold value if you get it at the right price.

I was really sick of buying watches that were built with disposability(sp) in mind and am not a big fan of quartz movements. Probably for the same reasons I own M1As, Les Baer 1911s, and Remington 870 Police; I get what I pay for..fine tools.

Good luck.

- Netsecsys
Semper Fi

[TriggerHappy]

I have a Rolex sub just like gcrookston (blue face, bezel and both golds). Its a sweet watch, unfortunately it has about a 5 year movement and needs to be sent to Rolex for a cleaning. I just got a Suunto Core black/black for xmas. Its pretty legit for a digi watch. I am sold on both, I still want a nice brietling though.

[TriggerHappy]

Almost forgot, the suunto has a boatload of functions.
altimeter, barometer, storm alarm, sunrise/sunset, TIME, date, stopwatch, compass. It has been pretty easy to learn how to use.

[hurley842002]

Wow, I guess I didn't know what I was up against when I opened a thread on watches, some of you guys are high rollers, with your rolexs', here I am excited for my new $35 Timex lol.

A good friend of mine through the years is a big "fine watch" fan, he's had everything from Rolex to Tag Heuer and many in between. They really are beautiful watches, I wouldn't mind having a Rolex or Tag, to go along with my Ed Brown "Executive Carry", ya know for those suit and tie evenings (dreaming, I don't own an Ed Brown).