Which watch?

[mark a.]

I need a cheapo watch that can be used and abused when I don't want to ruin my nice one. I need a watch that is:
(a) easily readable at night (Tritium would be lovely...)
(b) cheap (ideally in the £20 mark, not the £100+ mil-spec superwatches)
(c) relatively robust (so won't die after a scratch with a bramble or after a drop of rain)
(d) not incredibly ugly (so that rules out all Casio gshocks )

I don't mind trawling through ebay etc for 2nd hand ones, if only I knew what to look for. I don't need (and I'd probably actively avoid) stopwatches, radio, tea-making facilities, although the date would be nice. I have slim wrists, so a non-chunky watch is ideal.

Any ideas as to what's out there? What would people recommend?

Thanks!

Mark

(p.s. I did try searching, but since looking for "watch" gives up 500 pages non-related to timekeeping I gave up!)

 

[leon-1]

Mark, try searching for Timex GI watch, you'll get a few links from that.

I had one when I was in training, they are cheap, but the hands do glow (not as good as tritium, but better than most), they take a fair amount of grief, but in the event of irrepairable breakdown it won't cost the earth to replace

 

[leon-1]

Here is a link

Have a look around the site they have a few different models

 

[sandbender]

A bit different, The Timex clip watch from Extreme Outdoor Gear.

http://www.extremeoutdoorgear.co.uk....html?osCsid=24c8465aabf26218b4edc12b28a816c0

 

[mark a.]

Thanks for the links. The GI watch looks pretty much spot on - nothing fancy, and hopefully fairly durable (and if not, expendable). I won't be buying it from the ArmyNavyShop, though - $65 delivery charge to the UK!

 

[AJB]

Hi Mark,

Thought this might be of interest:-

http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/military/index.htm

 

[Rebel]

You could try these from a UK based company.

http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shopscr465.html

I have one of these from Timex and I'm reasonably pleased with it for the price.

I bought it in George at Asda for around 34GBP.

 

[Shepherd]

I just bought one of these...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1#ebayphotohosting

But then not long after i bought one of these...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5020136321&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

so if you want the Lorus for what i paid plus postage you are more than welcome..

 

[jdlenton]

I now have one of these

Hole face lights up ”indiglow” enough to read small pieces of map not ruin you night vision and the hands glow too so you don’t need to use the indiglow too much and flatern your battery quicker, 50m water resistant and all the digi bits date, crono, alarm , countdown timer and extra time zone.


I like the expedition rage the last one I had was an ironman and it lasted me ten years as my outdoors watch it endured numerous climbing, caving, canoeing, mountain bike trips and lots of workshop and garden time too was really surprised and sad when I fell of my mountain bike and smashed it, that watch had taken a proper beating and still kept going in fact it still works it's just got lots of cracks in the lens and isn't water tight so it got retired.


Good look in your search I find good watch is a friend and companion some thing familiar when all around is unfamiliar when your out and about and when you get home a reminder of all the adventures you’ve had and the places you’ve been.


J*

 

[addyb]

Dude, I wouldn't buy ANY of the above. Try these on for size:

http://www.smirs.com

Look at the menu on the left for "Vostok watches."

They're fully-mechanical Russian watches. First got built during Operation Barbarossa (German invasion) of Russia in '41. Since then, until '91, they were the official watch supplier of the Soviet union.

There's a zillion different styles, ranging from $25 dollars to several hundred. If I were you, I'd suggest a "Komandirskie" model. They're manual wind, so you'll have to wind them every so often. But, they have a 36 hour autonomy, and have 17 jewels. They're anti-shock as well. The hands are some of the last watches still coated with tritium paint. North American watches outlawed it. They're waterproof to 2ATM, and have a screw down crown and caseback.

Or, if you want to spend a little more ($33-$49 dollars) look for "Amphibia." These are freakin' amazing watches. They are diving watches, all come standard 200metre water resistant, shock-resistant, as well as rotating bezels for timing. As well, they have a 31 jewel automatic movement, so you'll as long as you wear it on your wrist every day, you'll never have to wind it. Yes, they have Tritium hands and indices as well!

Now, I would like to tell you how much of a beating these things can take: I used to post on a site called the "Poor Man's Watch Forum." http://www.pmwf.com and Vostoks are probably the most posted about watch. Some of the guys even torture test 'em. One guy dropped one from 50 feet off a construction scaffolding, and it still worked. Another guy jack-hammered concrete with a Vostok on his wrist, and it still worked.

Here's a little URL about them: http://www.pmwf.com/Watches/T20PMW List Table.htm

Scroll down to # 4!

So yeah, a lot of people make fun of 'em because they're Russian, and dirt cheap. They usually stop laughing when they see 'em. Mind you, I've got a Lada Niva 4x4 and a Baikal Vostok 7-2 rifle, and all my friends are jealous, sooo..... heheheh

Cheers,

A.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Hey gents,
I often fall into the trap of wanting to get an "all-singing-all-dancing" watch, and then haul myself back from the brink of oblivion in the nick of time (!) The latest want, was a Casio pro triple sensor, or something similar, with a compass, altimeter etc. But then I got to thinking - I know how to find north from the time, and if my feet are on the ground - I wont need to know how tall I am.
I'm still using an old Casio that is perfectly able to tell the time but I am becoming consious of the fact that it reflects light from the flat glass face - which will be a feature I will avoid in the future.
Jdlenton, thats a nice example of reasonable simplicity, do you have a link?

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[redcollective]

I'll put in a second vote for the timex expedition watch. Dirt cheap, reasonably robust construction - I have one threaded onto a spare strap on my daysack. Just look in Argos - that's where I got mine.

 

[mark a.]

Wow, so much choice! Thanks for all the ideas. I'll have to go away and have a look at all the choices and see which one looks best. I'm the same as Ogri - I really just need a watch that tells the time, day and night, but my inner gadget-demon keeps popping up saying "You must have one that goes down to 500m, is accurate to +/- 1ms per century and will survive a 1km drop into a lava flow."

Addyb, those Vostok watches look quite cool, but unfortunately IMHO fail test (d)...

 

[Shepherd]

I have a Poljot aviator Original and people are always asking where i got it..
It's on http://www.russianwatches.co.uk/ for £169 so it's my bestest watch really..
I love it and to be honest i didn't think of getting one of the cheeper models.

 

[khimbar]

I'll third vote the Timex Expedition. I've had mine for going on five years and it's unstoppable.

 

[ronsos]

I remember reading David Hempleman-Adams account of crosing Antartica solo.His sponsers supplied him with a hugely expensive watch ,all bells and whistles apart from an alarm.On the way to the airport prior to departing the uk,he bought one from a garage for a fiver.This one kept going all through the expedition.The other one was exceptionally heavy ,and as he was ditching stuff everyday to save weight he considered dumping it but couldnt due to guilt about the cost of the damm thing.

Ive got a sekonda tideranger which despite being classed as water resistant ,has been used cannoeing and diving(spending more time underwater paddling than I did diving),had the batteries changed 3+ times,its not luminous anymore,my daughter buried in the garden(dont ask), but it cost twenty quid.... my goodness 15 years ago.

 

[mark a.]

I have a Poljot aviator Original and people are always asking where i got it..
It's on http://www.russianwatches.co.uk/ for £169 so it's my bestest watch really..
I love it and to be honest i didn't think of getting one of the cheeper models.

Now that's a gorgeous looking watch. Drool

Must resist... must resist...

Looks like there are lots of glowing reviews for the Timex Expedition, so a trip to Argos it is! Cheers again folks.