inexpensive rugged watch?

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Nov 29, 2004
7,808
22
Scotland
Does it need to be on your wrist? Most watches will have a longer life if you keep it in your pack or in a pouch around your neck.

Just a thought.

Problem is finding a pocket watch that's water-resistant & has GITD - unless you are willing to spend hundreds.... (obviously I'd be delighted to be proved wrong)

I was thinking about any old watch being kept in a pocket or a pouch rather than on the wrist, not specifically a watch designed to be carried in a pocket. :)
 

Tadpole

Full Member
Nov 12, 2005
2,842
21
59
Bristol
Google 'AVIA Polar star 100' great watches, I've had one about 4 years now (keeps good time (about 1.5 seconds loss per month, more so as the baterry fades, but I'm on the first battery so no so much of a handycap)) ebay for a decent one is about £20.
 

phaserrifle

Nomad
Jun 16, 2008
366
1
South of England
The Casio is digital and the Rotary is analogue.
There's always someone on ebay flogging the Rotary ones at a huge discount too.

found a rotary on ebay that looks perfect for about £30 total.
just missing a bit of GITD on the bezel.
I'm very tempted.

the vostock amphibias seem to be a little more expensive than £40, but some of thier other models are in the right sort of region. and for a few quid more (about £44 ish) I can get an automatic.
 

bilmo-p5

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 5, 2010
8,168
9
west yorkshire
Given that the Citizen Eco-drive is only a little more than your budget, why not use the one you have as your edc until you break or lose it, then replace it with another, by which time they may be even cheaper than they are now.
 

susi

Nomad
Jul 23, 2008
421
0
Finland
Given that the Citizen Eco-drive is only a little more than your budget, why not use the one you have as your edc until you break or lose it, then replace it with another, by which time they may be even cheaper than they are now.

Now that sounds like sensible advice.
 

jeffz

Forager
Apr 4, 2011
141
0
Surrey
Having been a watch fetishist for over 20 years, and having owned submariners, oysters, seamasters, constellations, as well as rotaries, I keep on recommending GShock (tough solar, multiband atomic, analogue models) and Vostoks to people who want a solid, quality timepiece at a good price.

If you want robust, bulletproof accuracy and self-powering, go for the GShocks(the avaitor ones) - but you're in the £100-£300 territory. I'm wearing one now, and I have to say that it's a lot smarter than any Breitling. The Tough Movement tech that the analogue GShocks have is jaw-droppingly good, and it syncs automatically with atomic-clock signals. No more forgetting GMT/BST, or setting dates. You get a lot of tough tech for your coin. Go to heinnie.com: they've a load of models at a good price.

If you want classic, tough and self-powered, go Vostok. It's as accurate as any Rolex or Omega in real life, and just as tough. Probably more distinctive. And the movement is pretty damn good. I suspect that the Russians took a few Rolex movements apart to understand how to build their automatic movement. I prefer it to my Omega Seamaster automatic which cost an awful lot more.

I've heard that the second-hands come off the Timexes, and I wouldn't trust a watch that needs batteries - it's sod's law that you need a replacement when you're miles away from a shop. And I've a couple of Rotaries. they're crap, too. Bad alignments.
 

Barn Owl

Old Age Punk
Apr 10, 2007
8,245
5
58
Ayrshire
I've got a Rotary from Argos that was about £38.
Looks like an expensive watch though.
I can't link it at the mo' but it has a black face and bezel,day and date window,lumed spots instead of numbers on the face.
 

jeffz

Forager
Apr 4, 2011
141
0
Surrey
Given that the Citizen Eco-drive is only a little more than your budget, why not use the one you have as your edc until you break or lose it, then replace it with another, by which time they may be even cheaper than they are now.

Last Eco-drive and Kinetic I looked at were noisy, and you could feel the pendulum moving. My reference-point for a good kinetic-movement is Omega's Omegamatic. Very quiet, and moves like a quality automatic.
 

ruger_red

Tenderfoot
Mar 9, 2009
51
0
Merseyside
A Timex Expedition or Pulsar PXH035 can be easily bought for under £40 on Amazon. Also have a look at the Argos clearance outlet on Ebay as there can be bargains within your budget eg Casio Chronograph watch at £39.99 (200m wr, date, rotating bezel, backlight, chrono). I can't imagine you could find a more functional watch for the money.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CASIO-MEN...es_Watches_MensWatches_GL&hash=item519b237906
 
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Doc

Need to contact Admin...
Nov 29, 2003
2,109
10
Perthshire
I love those Russian Vostok watches. Just bought my son the Amphibia diver with rubber strap for Christmas!


They are pretty good. I have an Amphibia "Radio Room" which is for some reason in demand by collectors. I've also got a ex-Red Army Komandirskie. They both developed a winding fault and I couldn't find a repairer in the UK. However, there is a Ukrainian chap offering a repair service on ebay for about £7 plus postage. So they are also cheap to get fixed - worth bearing in mind as a battery replacement and pressure test on a Tag Heuer is about £60, and Rolex servicing - although very good - is pushing £400.
 

phaserrifle

Nomad
Jun 16, 2008
366
1
South of England
I've also found a sekonda watch which seems to fit the bill (well under budget too) are they any good?

just to ask a stupid question are all vostock's wind up rather than battery jobs

all the one's I've seen so far are either manual wind-up, or automatics (wound by the motion of your wrist). haven't seen any mention of batteries.
 

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