Watch options

[deadwood]

My old timex expedition watch has finally succumbed to the punishment and refused to tell me the time. I went looking for a reasonably robust but not huge analogue watch (ideally with an alarm to wake me up before the birds do) that was suitable for wearing on multi-day walks in the wilderness. So far I've found nothing suitable. Surely some sort of timepiece that continues functioning without needing to be recharged every day is still a fairly essential piece of walking equipment to help judge the pace of travel between chosen camp-sites. Has anyone got any sensible suggestions?

[phATty]

Not analog but alot of Garmins have plenty battery life and only need to be recharged every 2-3 weeks, I have an older Forerunner that usually decides to quit after 3 weeks. Something in the Fenix range might suit you, I'm probably going to buy one myself.

[Warin]

Cheap, goes for years, tells the time day and date, water resistant? Casio F91W. Had one for years. The band broke, took it to a both to get a replacement and they broke the case. Bought a new one for not much more than a new band. Con - the alarm is too quiet to be usefull.

[johnw]

Are you sure it isn't just that the battery needs replacing on the Timex Expedition? I have one myself, possibly a different/later model than what you describe, and I had the battery replaced when it stopped working. Otherwise I agree that even the cheapest Casio retro style watches that Warin mentioned are very reliable with long battery life (many years). Also very minimalist and ultralight.
I own a couple of them and they've survived numerous walks and dunkings. Has an alarm and other functions but I rarely use them. However they aren't analogue.
If analogue is important there are other Casio models that are, although they may not have an alarm unless dual analogue/digital.

[Bill P]

I only wear a wristwatch when bushwalking or rogaining. I use a 40 yo Citizen automatic (self winding) mechanical watch. Analogue, Time /day/date. 100m water resistance. No alarm.

If it ever stops working or gets lost,I would replace it with a new Seiko 5 automatic.

Never have to worry about batteries.

[headwerkn]

I suppose we're all using Garmins or Suuntos these days. If you're not using it to GPS-track your every move, the current Fenix line will last a couple of weeks-plus on a single charge. I'm sure the Suuntos are no different. I do record everything on my Fenix 6X but find most days it only needs a half-hour top up charge in the evening to be back to full.

Garmin do analogue-style watches too like the Vivomove and Instinct if that's your preference. They're obviously digital, battery driven watches though.

Are there many mechanical wristwatches with alarms? Can't say I've ever heard of one, though admittedly I've only taken an interest in mechanical watches recently. I think I'd be too worried about damaging one out bush.

[Biggles]

First myth to put down: recharging every day.
No, modern smartwatches certainly do not require recharging every day. My $39.99 Blaupunkt BSW9 smartwatch (bought from Supercheap, and super, super cheap it was!) gets a recharge once each 14 days!

I see fancy (and expensive!) smartwatches gracing every wrist that comes into view, mostly Apple or Samsung, then comes the large Suunto and FitBits. Their ginormous size is kind of off-putting; fine if you have arms as big as mesmates, way too imposing attached to a stringbean... But what if you lose those big watches, or fall and break the glass?

The Tissot analogue watch I wore from 2014 up until this year served me very well; analogue but battery driven, no alarm. The problem at the time and before retirement was I travelled frequently interstate, and got irked from winding forward, back or making adjustments to the time. Nowadays smartwatches get their time cue from either inbuilt GPS or their persistent link to the user's phone — time is adjusted before you remember it! How did we manage without that!?
Like many SWs, the Blaupunkt I have is a blackout e.g. nothing visible until touched, or wrist turned (selectable). Daily steps (stride for walking and running is fully adjustable), distance, type of movement (hiking, walking, running) height, weight, sleep time, calories. Best thing I ever bought from Supercheap (besides spark plugs and polish...).

To go all mechanical with no battery, you probably have to look at bespoke retailers specialising in this niche. Never heard or seen of an all-analouge watch with an alarm function. Daily-Winders do exist, but you'll be paying a premium for a 'backward' timepiece when any of the modern and cheaper (or 6x expensive!) products will do the same thing and provide more information on your activities, if that is what you seek.

[Franco]

Casio has a series of solar powered watches.
You can get one with the analogue face for under $100. Not sure how long the battery lasts on those but mine (a Pathfinder type) is more than 15 years old still using the original battery.

[peregrinator]

My suggestion is a bit unorthodox. Mainly because it's a device that is not worn on a wrist. (I've always disliked wearing one there.) Put it in a pocket, or wear it around your neck on a lanyard. Mine has been operating trouble-free for about two decades. Battery change about once per annum (CR-2032).

https://osoa.com.au/product/adc-summit/

This price is massively more than I paid, but it appears that Silva has discontinued this product, so perhaps the price reflects that. Maybe a second-hand one might be available.

[ChrisJHC]

I used my Garmin 5 on the Larapinta.
If actively tracking with GPS I was getting about 3 days between charges.

Turning off the GPS I regularly get 10 days between charges.

The newer Garmins do have better batteries and claim longer durations between charges.
Some have solar charging, however while this will extend the battery life, it is apparently not enough to charge fully.
They are, of course, rather pricey!

I also have a Citizen solar powered watch which has gone for years running only on solar power.

I find the overall functionality of the Garmin to be so good that I never wear any other watch.

[WestcoastPete]

I have a Seiko Bellmatic that I love dearly. Self-winding mechanical watch with a lovely little alarm. I wouldn't take it bushwalking though. It's a bit too fragile for that I'd say.

I have a solar powered Casio G-Shock G-5600E that I wear most of the time. It's a bit like an overbuilt F91W, which I've had a few of but all have broken at the lug so can't be restrapped. The G-5600E should last 20yrs+ on the solar charged battery, has various alarm settings, timers, time zone settings etc. You can even get them in funky colours. I love mine, obviously. Not analogue though. I love mechanical watches and have two. My other one is a Seiko SKX013 from memory and it would be tough enough for bushwalking. No alarm though. And I just have more confidence in the G-5600E when it comes to toughness. Dropping the Seiko onto pavement resulted in a pretty expensive service where the G-5600E would survive me throwing it at a brick wall

[deadwood]

Thanks for all the contemplations. My old timex had been through 4 or more batteries and at least that number of leather watch bands through all it's abuse, but now the hour and minute hands disagree about when the hour is up apart from a few other niggles. I had noticed all the G-Shock watches about but had dismissed them as excessively large for my stick-like wrists. I'll have another look and also see if I can bring myself to consider those watches made for people who can't tell the time on a clock with hands.

[ChrisJHC]

Thanks for all the contemplations. My old timex had been through 4 or more batteries and at least that number of leather watch bands through all it's abuse, but now the hour and minute hands disagree about when the hour is up apart from a few other niggles. I had noticed all the G-Shock watches about but had dismissed them as excessively large for my stick-like wrists. I'll have another look and also see if I can bring myself to consider those watches made for people who can't tell the time on a clock with hands.

The Garmin Fenix has a “Small” range that you might like to look at.

You can also choose either an analogue or digital watch face

[bernieq]

For bushwalking, I have a Casio Sport Protrek (PRG-110) that I'm pretty happy with. Same size (45mm) as some current Timex Expeditions (although some are a smaller 37mm).

The Protrek has very efficient solar charging and compass, barometer/altitude & temperature. I find the altitude useful in the high country.

Bought years ago, local pricing was stupidly expensive but on-line was good value.

[deadwood]

If anyone is interested, I invested in a Garmin Instinct 2s and then put a nice analogue face on it. Apart from testing the alarm to wake me up after a post-christmas afternoon nap, I haven't tested it out too much yet. I'll get out for a walk during the week and see if I can track the walk with the GPS.

[johnw]

If anyone is interested, I invested in a Garmin Instinct 2s and then put a nice analogue face on it.

Nice! That's one advantage of some modern devices. Thinking about that, I have one of those google smart speakers in the bedroom, which I set up as a radio/alarm with a digital clock display.
Wonder if I can change the display to analogue...

[Dexter]

Ahhh something I'm qualified to answer haha!

I'm a bit of a hopeless watch collector and probably have about 20 various watches for any given situation.
Others mentioning Casio are spot on. If you want robust and not humongous, I'd highly recommend a G-Shock 'square' - one of the various iterations of them. I have a slender wrist size about 6.25 - 6.5" size (yes I'm obsessed enough that I know my wrist size) and the squares fit and look brilliant. They're not a massive G like some of them, very comfortable and wearable. You could run one over with a truck and it would shrug it off. The most basic would be the DW5600. If you can afford the extra go the solar powered version G5600UE or G5600E as mentioned by WestcoastPete. I think the 'U' has an updated module but they are pretty much the same watch I believe. There's also a GWM5610, but not a lot of advantage, given the only thing it adds over 5600UE or 5600E is Multiband 6 which adjusts the time from a radio signal (atomic clock). We don't get reception of that here in Australia.

If you want a smart watch with GPS and all that jazz then I'm sure others can weigh in. I use a Garmin Fenix 5 at the moment, but it does requires charging.

[slparker]

I'm a mechanical watch fan but take an old suunto ambit 3 when bushwalking. I mainly use it to get a MGRS grid reference to check my position and also have a few maps loaded into it that i can follow as a breadcrumb trail.
This is for winter walking - for example, I have the route from Cleve Cole to Michel Hut loaded into it so if I'm caught in a blizzard on Mt Bogong I can follow the watch to safety.
It's not a comfortable watch though - i tend to have it looped over my pack harness.

[Dexter]

My other one is a Seiko SKX013

SKX's have skyrocketed in price of late. Hang on to that one. Maybe even grab yourself a spare 7S26 movement while you still can. Though, they can be modified to an NH35 as well which should be around for many more years.
I have a few Seiko's I love them but Seiko is fast becoming a lot more expensive than they once were. Probably even fairly priced these days, rather than the bargain mechanical watches they once were.

[Neo]

Ya a Garmin instinct is the go, look for a special at $300 not 4.
Casio et al are re making some of their original designs too. I look for a watch with the time and multiple alarms. Optional tracking is an extra.

[deadwood]

After taking the watch on a few hikes and using the "Hiking" activity - a few early observations:-
Garmin is extremely poor at documenting their activities, the options available and how to best make use of them.
The hiking activity is quite good for recording breadcrumb trails, marking a few waypoints, checking the heart rate data afterwards etc. The distance travelled shown on the watch while hiking is at most 75% of the actual distance, so it is useless for using to judge where to expect a sidetrail etc. The distance travelled magically corrects when uploading to Garmin Connect, so I don't quite get what is going on there.
I haven't yet had a play with using it to record breadcrumbs for a multi-day hike, and whether I can pause and resume one hike over multiple days and go into low power mode over night or need to have a separate activity for each day of the longer walk.
I had no intention of using the watch as a main navigation mechanism while walking, but maybe the occasional GPS readout to confirm map location, so tinkering with the best way to get a breadcrumb trail is just out of interest.

[crollsurf]

Watches are only useful for dead reckoning, and I still use that for planning. You're not going to get there any quicker wearing a watch. You'll get there when you get there.

Watching time reminds me of working in a job I hate.

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