Watch or time piece?

[thomm225]

Don't most people used their phones or GPS these days .............

Maybe you are having a dream you are living in the 1800's. I have a Hamilton Railroad watch you might like! (1887 with second hand)


It's a nice "time piece."

[barnakiel]

I use a 10 buck Casio as a backup to GPS time.

I am thinking of a mechanical wall clock but all I find are pretty big units, way too big and heavy for our boat. I will get a mechanical chrono anyways when I find something that I can afford.

b.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by dannc

There is a tide function but I think doubt it really works but I have no way to test it at the moment. It also has a moon cycle indicator that I do find useful.

Tide functions (my Casio has one as well) work well to give an indication of high and low tide times as long as:

1. You are in an area with dominant semi-diurnal tides.
2. You set the correct lat/long and lunitidal interval for your location.

They do not tell you anything about the height of tides and have a potential error of about 1/2 hour or so.

[redhead]

I'm astonished at the number of Casio's out there. My husband has worn one for the couple of decades I've known him. I'm a closet watch snob myself, so now I can relax and know he's actually a very cool dude. Thanks guys!

[GuerrillaCamper]

I bought my Tag in 1989 (before they were hip). It's not flashy like an Omega or a Rolex, but it has served me well. I lost it kayaking a few years ago but was lucky enough to see it glistening in the rapids as I returned upstream!

[dannc]

Originally Posted by StuM

Tide functions (my Casio has one as well) work well to give an indication of high and low tide times as long as:

1. You are in an area with dominant semi-diurnal tides.
2. You set the correct lat/long and lunitidal interval for your location.

They do not tell you anything about the height of tides and have a potential error of about 1/2 hour or so.

It sure looks like you are correct.

I just sat here and looked at the what the watch said versus some tide tables and the watch was pretty close. At least 1/2 hour or so as you said. My watch will not let you enter lat/long which is why I was wondering how accurate the tide table would be but the watch's time is set by picking a city. In my limited comparisons with the tide tables, that seems to work good enough.

The watch does allow you to calibrate the tide function which I would think WOULD be pretty danged accurate. The tide function certainly looks usable. Just wish I was at the coast too check it with reality.

Later,
Dan

[dannc]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Don't most people used their phones or GPS these days .............

Maybe you are having a dream you are living in the 1800's. I have a Hamilton Railroad watch you might like! (1887 with second hand)


It's a nice "time piece."

How well does a phone work in the water or rain?
How does one wear a phone or GPS on one's wrist?

Seems like that would be kinda bulky and more than Super Nerdy!

I did stop wearing a watch years ago because the cell phone would suffice. However, this was always problematic when I was doing certain things were there was water involved and it is a PITA to dig a phone out of your pocket to check the time. For some things I am doing, digging the phone out of pocket is not possible when I need/want to check the time. A watch works much better in those situations which is why I bought a new watch to wear again.

What surprised the heck out of me was how many different types/styles of watches were available from many brands.

Later,
Dan

[Bulawayo]

We wear Seiko Kinetic 200m waterproof watches (serviced at 10 years old cost $110 each including all new seals and a new power cell) and the kids all have Citizen solar powered 200m waterproof - to date, they have never been serviced.
All keep remarkedly good time and have proven very robust. We all scuba dive as well and have have had no issues whatsoever. All the watches are good looking as well, in our opinion. We avoid any watch that is battery dependent as you just know the battery shall fail when no replacement is available.

[captain58sailin]

For me, it is handy to have an accurate timepiece on my wrist for log entries etc... I tend to side with functional over beautiful.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by StuM

Me too - SeaPathfinder - also has fluxgate compass and race countdown timer.

(But the thermometer is useless when you are wearing the watch. It is closer to skin temperature than air temperature)

The Sea Pathfinder has great features but hope it doesn't go down. My (much) better half and daughter gave one to me for my birthday. After only nine months it needed replacement batteries--for which it must be returned to Casio in New Jersey at a cost of $35.00, batteries plus round-trip shipping. Six months later the battery warning came on again and I shipped it back to Casio yet again. Two weeks after they rec'd it, I get an email to the effect that the watch is defective but parts are no longer available so I can have my choice of two other watches, neither of which have the functions I like the most about the Sea Pathfinder, for only an additional $150.00 plus shipping (of course). After considering that my "girls" already had several hundred invested in the thing and I another $40 plus, throwing an additional $150.00+ for something that didn't fit my needs didn't make sense to me so I told them to keep it. My old Casio lasted 22 years and I could change the battery myself when necessary. The Casio's of today are not the Casio's of the '80's and '90's tho' far more costly.

For the moment I rely on my now 35 year old Timex and will until I find another non-Casio watch that gives time, phases of the moon, tide, barometric pressure, headings/bearings; and, has an extended warranty (i.e. longer than 12 months!).

FWIW...

[Valmika]

I have had Citizen Eco drives for 15 years and never had a problem. My 15 year old is still running and I never had it serviced. I bought the dive version 6 years ago and it is still doing great. I did buy the pilot version for my son and it died in a year because he stuck it in a drawer with no sun. I took it back expecting to have to buy a new battery but the shop owner at Marina Bay Watch in Marina Del Rey CA.(talk to Mike) was able to get it going through some secret sequence of charge cycling.

All of that said. I had Casio before this and never had an issue. Now that they have solar I may buy a cheap one just so I can have digital backlighting for night sailing

[dannc]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

....

For the moment I rely on my now 35 year old Timex and will until I find another non-Casio watch that gives time, phases of the moon, tide, barometric pressure, headings/bearings; and, has an extended warranty (i.e. longer than 12 months!).

FWIW...

I spent a couple of months looking at various watches but could not find what I really needed/wanted in one watch. Just like there is no perfect boat, there is no perfect watch.

Warranties are interesting. Some had one year and I think I saw some with a two year warranty from the company, but on Amazon, some of the warranties are covered by a warranty company other than the watch maker. The buyer needs to pay attention.

Later,
Dan

[Russ]

Timex Expedition, Cheap $30 last time I bought one a K Mart. Lasts 2-3 years and dies dead. I wear it 24/7 in shower daily and boat work up the whazoo, works till it dies after being beat to death. Rarely replace battery, strap is generic. I want a watch to tell time, period. I have a barometer and altitude last I looked was sea level. Too many bells and whistle for lots more $$$ but then I drive a Chevy truck not a Caddy. I wear it everywhere, it is a statement re simplicity not show. Russ

[RichandHelen]

If you truly want a watch to be "waterproof" it has to have a screw-down crown (e.g. threaded). These are used on ALL serious dive watches. Other watches may have good water resistance using gaskets. But in my experience may not hold up to either depths or great force (like diving into the water). This Casio is $38 - with a screw-down crown. You'll find the same feature on Tag, Omega Rolex etc.

The downside to solar or kinetic watches is that the use a capacitor to store power. Replacing one is +/- $60. Although they last longer than a battery (6-10 years or so), when you need on it's a bite - and not available just anywhere. A battery (which lasts 2-3 years usually) is about $10.00.

NEVER send a watch for "factory service" unless you HAVE to. Most repairs like crystals, gaskets, cleaning etc. can be just as well done for FAR LESS MONEY by a local competent watchmaker. Repairs are a huge source of revenues for watch companies. Some of them don't even do the repairs in-house! They send them to a watch repair facility.

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by StuM

Me too - SeaPathfinder - also has fluxgate compass and race countdown timer.

(But the thermometer is useless when you are wearing the watch. It is closer to skin temperature than air temperature)

Me Three. On my second Casio Pathfinder, even though my first one is still working fine after 8 years. I got the one with the compass, altimeter, tides, barometer, moon phase, solar powered so I never have to open it up. I live half way between Florida and Puerto Rico, and it still picks up the time signal from Ft. Collins every night so it's dead nuts accurate. The rubber band finally got brittle and rotted off my first one, and my wife bought me a titanium Pathfinder to replace it. But I found a band on Amazon, and am in my ninth year of seriously abusing this watch and keeping the Titanium one for travel. It looks nicer.

I've gone through a number of watches, most recently a series of the Luminox but they went downhill a few years back. I've killed Timexs and G Shocks. But I can't seem to phase this Pathfinder, and it has a whole bunch of good sensors on it.

Temp, yes, of course the temp sensor measures the temp where it's located. If you have it on your arm, that's what it will measure.

The tide function works great, and I've added an additional offset for where we keep the boat. The tide display also tells you Neap and Spring tide timing. Useful.

And resetting the baro functions is pretty easy when you live at sea level.