Let’s see a picture of your WATCH thread.

I use a seiko 5 auotmatic military style watch for casual and field use. At home I usually wear a diver model also automatic but a little dressier. But this is the daily beater for the field. no batteries to fail. Glow in the dark hands. Never given me any grief, oh and around $50. (I have a highgear Altimeter/Barometer/Thermometer/Compass, I wear skiing sometimes, but I really don't like the size of it, or its fiddle-factor. Too much watch to really be useful for my needs.

There is one thing I've learned in this thread, that Timex and Casio make the ugliest watches on the face of the Earth.

That Sieko 5 auto looks like a nice watch!

It meets Nick G's requirements of being light and durable. And it's surprisingly accurate. Also keeps time most days after being off for 12-24 hours. Waterproof to sport diving depths – and tested. Oh and available in many colors. I really think Seiko and its "Seiko 5" line is quality for everyday wear. I have a hamilton and some older, more fragile watches, but I do like the looks and usefulness of my seiko autos.

That Seiko is a nice looking watch. Am I correct in assuming that isn't the original band?

No. It is the original band. I mentioned above, they offer these in colors. They are all military / police specific (khaki, Navy, Black, etc.). They ripped off the NATO band, but did it a dis-service in that they did not utilize a continuous band going under both band posts/mounts. The design is improved greatly with a real one-piece band, so that if one pin/post fails, you won't lose the watch. I have not, however, made that mod, instead rolling the dice for two years so far successfully. Forewarned is forearmed ladies and gentlemen.

+1 on the Casio PAW1300.

Nice and slim for an altimeter watch and will never need new batteries because it's solar powered. It holds a charge very well.

I have a weird admiration for extremely low powered electronics like these watches. In a time when you have to charge your phone every 8 hours, it sort of nice to get so much functionality out of a piece of equipment that you never need to plug in.

I'm between watches sadly enough. I had the titanium pathfinder (similar to what Rodger posted) but takes a special band which is now broken. Lesson learned. Being a special snowflake isn't desirable in a watch for me so unless I'm sure I can easily find and replace the band myself, I'm going to stick to the traditional two post setup from now on.

I have a Casio divers watch that's still running strong since 1996 but I don't like that it doesn't have a light and the luminescent hands/numbers don't hold a charge for very long. It now belongs to my son.

I also have the Garmin Forerunner which is great for running but the battery life is insufficient for backpacking when the GPS is on; I might get six or so miles on difficult terrain in GPS mode before the battery will die. It's not the most comfortable watch to wear so it's not something that's EDC or normally goes backpacking with me.

I considered getting the Garmin Fenix but because it uses a rechargeable battery which will eventually need to be replaced, I don't like the idea of buying another disposable gadget.

Other than the issue I had with the band, I was satisfied with my Pathfinder so I may buy another one with a better band or…..

…at some point in the distant future pick up the Luminox Recon Pointman (yes I'm a tact-tool):

http://www.amazon.com/Luminox-Recon-Point-Quartz-A-8823-KM/dp/B009RKHXVI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1387260224&sr=8-7&keywords=Luminox+pointman

I like that it's just a simple watch and is illuminated with tritium. I'm not sure that I'd use the tachymeter feature and I'm fine with kilometers vs miles so I may just go with a .km version to save a couple bucks. The supplied NATO band appears to be of good quality and long enough to go over a jacket so it's nice that I (hopefully) wouldn't have to upgrade from it.

Ian, you know that Tritium has a half life of 12.3 years, don't you?

"Ian, you know that Tritium has a half life of 12.3 years, don't you?"

Based on my experience with the USGI lensatic compass I'm fine with that and suspect that may be a conservative estimate. My compass is from the early 90s and is still glows strong enough to navigate at night sans headlamp.

I use the same compass. Question is whose light will go out first – the compass or me.

rOg: I think that will run out fuel in 5 billion years.

The Casio SGW100-1V has a temperature sensor and an electronic compass… I don't use either of those but they sounded cool when I bought it.

What works for me is the 200 M water resistant design. I spend several months every year fly fishing and dunking my hand (and the watch) under water (salt and fresh) and this guy just keeps on … ticking?… or whatever digital watches do. I've had it for years and it's still going.

Have a old Casio Pro-Trek which always served it's purpose well.

I struggle to unfasten the strap though, so haven't worn a watch in years.
Tried a few elasticated straps but not found anything that fits well and is comfortable yet :(

Nick,

My dad gave me his Swiss Army Watch, exactly like your red one, for graduating college. I've never seen another one before in my life, but it's that one.

Unfortunately, the resin casing wore away in the 15 years he had it and the watch is no longer produced by Swiss Army, so the watchband occasionally breaks. I learned this while hiking and luckily didn't lose the watch; it sits in a drawer now.

My father and I are looking for a suitable replacement "legacy" watch that I'll have for decades, like him and my grandfather have.

I think I'm going with this one:

My previous watch was neat. G-Shock Riseman.

This one has a fun story. I bought it when I was 14 from a jewelry store clerk who was hell-bent on swindling me out of $100. The watch was almost ten years old and nearing the end of it's functional life, but I bought in with all my savings. I wore it religiously for four years.

When I was 18, I wanted to go see a band called Queens of the Stone Age play live in NYC. I sold my kid brother the watch for $30 ticket money. I got sick the day of the concert and couldn't go.

That was the last time in my life I'd been sick. Harrison is still wearing the watch, but it's almost dead; when he pushes the Indiglo button, the numbers disappear for 5 minutes. I have seen Queens of the Stone Age twice since then, so I've recovered.

Max,

Have you tried sending it to Victronix? I have never done that, but my "legacy" watch my dad gave me in 1969 ( Seiko) has been repaired by the factory.

Regarding a legacy watch from your father, have you considered one of the Oyster Perpetual models by Rolex?

Max,

Swapping a nearly dead watch for a chance to see one of the greatest rock bands of the past 10 years is never a bad idea.

Saw them at the Gorge, WA with Soundgarden.

Apparently Nick and I have similar tastes in ugly Timex watches.

Viva la timex!

I think the Timex Expedition is a great looking watch, classic face with HANDS, not digital gobble-gook. Light, rugged, durable, and accurate. I need to remove the band and soak it is water for a few days, since it has become brittle and stiff with sweat-salt. I am thinking about buying another exact model, as manufacturers always seem to discontinue good products.

Nick,

This particular Victorinox was price-preventative to try and fix. With no "Legacy" program, I would be investing at least several hundred in finding a watchmaker to custom-make a new casing, or spend hours researching to find an identical casing fit (with no guarantee of success).

It was a nice watch when my dad got it, but by no means a "generational" timepiece, I think it had a lifespan on it if it's using a non-metal casing.

I wanted to stick to Victorinox because he's wearing a new stainless Victorinox now, and like-father-like-son sentimentality makes up the roots of our family. :)

This is going to sound weird but I bought the Casio PAW and every time I wore it, my wrist would get tingly and numb (I don't have any hardware in my body). I ended up buying a compass/ thermometer combo for my pack and went back to my $15.00 Timex.

This thread got me thinking about getting a new watch. For those of you with altimeters on yours, do you find it useful? There's been a few times I thought it might help navigation wise. But if it's not super accurate it might not be worth it.

Thanks!

"For those of you with altimeters on yours, do you find it useful? There's been a few times I thought it might help navigation wise. But if it's not super accurate it might not be worth it."

I got hooked on mine after a couple hours' hiking the first time. It does help with navigation, though you're right that it's not always as precise as you'd need for detailed work. But on a relaxed hike up/down a forest trail it's about all you need to figure out where you are and how far you have to go without having to watch very closely. And it can sometimes be handy in camp to warn you of changing weather.

I'd sooner give up the watch than the altimeter.

> I bought the Casio PAW and every time I wore it, my wrist would get tingly and numb
When you walk with your arms hanging down, your hands tend to swell up a bit, as do your wrists. So what fitted when you were at home is now too tight. Just in case someone thinks I am talking (again) about feet/shoes, I will explain that I am now talking about a watchband around a wrist. It's now too tight, and that is putting pressure on the blood supply and nerves in your hand. Hence the tingles.

If you wear a watch like this in the snow you can get frostbite in the fingers of that hand. Get's really painful after a while.

I cut the huge and ridiculously bulky band off my watch/altimeter, and either carry it tied inside a pocket or on a cord around my neck. More often in my pocket as it fights with my compass when hanging around my neck.

And in case anyone asks, I reckon the compass in any digital watch is a heap of very unreliable 2-axis battery-munching crap. IMHO.

Cheers

"your hands tend to swell up a bit"

The standard recommendation here is that it happens to many backpackers. Sometimes you can alleviate it somewhat by adjusting shoulder straps. Symptoms may persist through the trip, but it should be easing off by 24 hours after the end of the trip.

–B.G.–