G-Shock Mudman!

Best watch I've ever owned.

Been using a Seiko Scuba Diver autowinder since 1975. Lost the first one on a mission in 1978. Probably snagged on something while hanging off my LBE. Second one went through the worst of two trips to Lebanon and Iraq. Still hanging in there.

Like the G-Shocks, don't like the guys who forget to shut off the alarms on missions. One went off just as we were breaching a door. Needless to say the reception was exciting to say the least. Personally cut the bastard off the guy's wrist after the dust settled and threw it as far as I could into the mine field. Too bad, didn't set off any.

Had a G Shock that was the atomic clock model and solar powered. Was only 1 yr old when it would not take a charge very well. Would wear it outside all day and come inside and would tell me it was low on charge. Called Casio about it and they wanted me to pay to have it looked at and fixed. I sent it in and got it back. It was doing the same thing that I got it fixed for within a month. Have thought about getting another one just to see if it will work like many others have said they do, but have not bought one again yet. Have gone with the Luminox pvd for daily wear and my GMT 2 for formal wear.

I have a G-Shock Mudman and a Casio Pathfinder which is what I've been wearing the last 12 months. No issues at all, both excellent watches. for the price / features and ruggedness... I wouldn't waste my time with analog watches at the moment.

The Pathfinder has: compass / barometer / altimiter / temperature / alarms / timer etc... Good piece of kit, fairly inexpensive.

My Breitling Bentley has stood up to some harsh times. Between mountain biking with it and other rough activites I have never had a problem

Suunto vector or Suunto core. Just my $0.02

Sorry if this is a little off topic, but does anyone have experience of the 5.11 field watches?

Thinking of purchasing one. Christmas present to self.

Since you all have opinions of watches on this thread, I hope it's not too off topic.

Thanks Guys,

Neil

I've owned a few Rolexes, Omegas, Suuntos, etc. While they all do what they are designed to do, I keep going back to the G-shocks as an accurate and uber-reliable timepiece. I prefer the DW-5600E model. It's not a dress watch by any stretch of the imagination, but it has just the right amount of features and not too many.

Has anyone had any experience with an MTM watch. They seem really nice tactical watch that could be worn both in the field and out on the town.

C'mon Guys,

The money is burning a hole in my pocket!

Are the 5.11 Field watches worth the money?

Neil

The marketing is an instant turn off. Thus I have no experience with them. I have seen far more "operators" with Casio's than MTM's.

Just my $0.02.

I have to agree with LRRP34. I am a commercial diver and I collect swiss watches. At work I wear a Seiko Black Monster and I sometimes wear my Orange monster. The G-shock is a tough as nails watch but I hate plastic watches and I hate quartz watches. That is just me. There is no denying the inherent accuracy of a quartz watch. The Sinn UX EZM2 Hydro is an oil filled automatic (self winder) that is depth rated to 500 meters. This thing is a tank.

In my job we do a lot of things that transfer heavy vibrations to our watches. That is why I typically do not wear on, but a friend of mine has a Sinn and has worn it to do most everything on bottom and has experinced no problems with it at all.

Been using my Casio G Shock Solar for years and it's still going strong. Wear it at work, firefighter, every day and at matches and shooting. Never a problem. I actually never take it off. Literally.

I used a citizen aqualand dive watch, it's been on many deployments, I've banged it around on ship board take downs (F'n watch tight hatches!) and jumping in and out of AAV's/CH47 Hell holes, and it even took a extremely sharp blow to the face at the end of a some tank armor. The weakest part was the crappy rubber strap, which I quickly changed over to nylon (Stinks to high heaven tho).

Next watch for me will either be a Bell & Ross and Lum-Tec.

I haven't owned one... But I have a bunch of friends who do. They seem to be a decent watch. I'm familiar with 511 gear for that is what we are issued at my job.. Durable and functional. However, if it were me, I would go with a Casio Pathfinder instead, if its that style that you like (They both have similar styling). The Casio has way more options, not to mention I have personally tested the pathfinder through numerous ops without failure.

On the flip side, I took a chance and just bought a MTM Silencer (Black Titanium w/ rubber band). Its the nicest looking and most quality watch I have ever owned. Even comes in its own Pelican Case. I'll have to get back to you on its durability.

Thanks for responding to my slightly off topic post .308

I do not know the Pathfinder, but I am keen on the 5.11 Field Ops because of the ballistic software. I'm just guessing but I'll bet the Casio does not have this function.

I have on of the real old Casio triple sensor watches, is the Pathfinder one of these types of watch?

Oh, forgot to say, style doesn't float my boat, but function does. You can tell this by the way I dress, apparently.

Thanks again,

N

Yeah the pathfinder is just like the old triple sensor. Just slightly updated. The ballistic stuff is a cool trinket on the 511, but I'm not sure I would really use it for my dope settings in a real world scenario. Personally, I would trust a more accurate piece of software.

I have a friend that used to be a big fan of Luminox, until he broke the case. It was one of the plastic/fiber models. Luminox refused to fix or replace it, even if he paid.

I have a quartz Marathon TSAR and like it quite a lot.

I have had three rolex's down to one DEEP SEA 2 Breitlings and one Panerai love them all but you will never go wrong with a roller

For the price, you can't beat the "Momentum" watches made by St. Moritz Watch Corp (all of their watches feature either Swiss or Japanese movements and are always assembled in Vancouver BC)

I love my 5.11. The customer service at 5.11 is top notch too. The first one I bought I scratched up in the woods...contacted them...they asked for a picture and a invoice and 3 days later recieved a new one in the mail. The glass is suppose to be scratch free so they warrantied the watch. The cool thing is I got to keep the scratched one and ended up trading one of my Marine buddies for some Oakley Gascans in Coyote Tan with the OD green American flag on the side. As far as the ballistics goes...its been pretty close to the dope I have for my rifle.

I ordered a Seiko Black Monster today. I need a watch that is not cluttered up.

I just got the Black Monster and I think it is areally good buy for the $
Accurate
Easy to Read and Set
Great band
Glows line a ... in the dark
very happy now

I got this one: Casio ProTrek http://www.creationwatches.com/products/...gb-1v-1567.html a year or two back.
Its been om my wrist ever since, only time I take it off is when Im putting on a tight shirt and dont want to bother unbuttoning the sleeves... (The number of times Ive put on a shirt since I got it is in the single digits)
The finnish is beat up a little, alu showing through the black paint here and there and the bright ring around the glass looks like sh*t but the glass is still scratch free and the strap shows no signs of critical wear.
Strap goes all around the wrist, the watch is attatched through hinged soft plastic "guides" so the pins (screws) dont take any strain unless it gets caught in something.
This means my wrist will probably be torn before the band gives in so its not a good idea to wear around rotating machinery...
I almost never use the altimeter but when I do bother calibrating it, it matches the GPS pretty closely.
Compass is more than adequate as a backup, it will according to Casio give you direction +/-15 degrees and is in my experience more accurate than that. I use it regularly when moving around in new areas in dark or clouded weather (no sun) to give me the quick general direction and even inside a vehicle its doing ok.
Temp gauge is plenty accurate for shooting, in my experience body heat does not affect it as long as its exposed and not under any sleeve or glove.
The only drawback in my opinion as far as a "tactical" watch is the green background light (though fairly dim I would prefer red) as alarms etc can be silenced and one should be extremely unfortunate to accidentally re-activate them.
Have had a number of more or less expensive watches and this is likely the best one I tried so far.
Would like to try a Suunto as well, probably will if or when this one fails, as I hear great things about them, but this one does for now.
John - out

I've had my Sub for 18 years and it has been through some rough stuff. I raced powerboats for 6 years and it took all the beatings I could dish out to it including when working on an engine in the middle of an ocean. I'm also a diver and I haven't killed it yet...

... with that said, I never wear it anymore. It sits in a safety deposit box. It is tough and chicks dig it, but the reality is that it keeps crappy time, its big and its heavy.


Now I wear a TAG if I feel the need for a little flashier application and I have a Seiko Black Monster for "active" times.

Stay thirsty my friends...

If you want proven durability and quality along with useful flash, check out the Citizen Skyhawk. My wife just bought me the titanium Blue Angels skyhawk and I love it! It's more of a pilot's watch, but suits divers well. With a 660ft waterproof rating, I'm sure it'll do just fine.

P.S. Very flashy too!

Pathfinder Atomic Solar.....as good as it gets....

The tell TIME not what the pretty gears tell them....

the are TOUGH

and the solar just keeps going......

Please understand anything other than an atomic watch is jewelry. You can get atomics that don’t look like a pathfinder or g-shock I am just amazed that atomics have not become the de facto standard…..

Every other watch, clock, timepiece is a WAG at time.

I should add that the Citizen skyhawk is atomic, solar, accounts for DST, has times for 48 world cities, and 2 alarms.

FWIW

I have a Sub and love it - wanted one since I was a lad watching Sean Connery as James Bond. But it's pricey, so I don't wear it for hard use - I think of it more as jewelry.

I have a stainless steel case Luminox that I am pretty tough on and it keeps ticking. Cost like $250 if I recall.

My problem with G-shocks is there's too much going on - bling, buttons, dials, etc. I want a watch that can tell me the time and date.

10th wedding anniversary today and I got a new Citizen Navihawk.
It's the old design, but in my mind it's better than the newer ones as the digital lcd display is bigger.
Yes it's a pilots watch and that's what I use it for. My previous Navihawk was NEVER off my wrist, and I mean NEVER!

It lasted 14 years of abuse, traveling as a long haul pilots watch, part time soldier and as full-time a shooter as I could get. Oh, it still tells excellent time, it's just that most of the buttons have stopped working. A quick trip to Citizen and a clean up and she'll be back up to full steam!
It's been back to citizen for 2 full services in the 14 years, great customer service.
I couldn't fault it, and as the wife said, "are you sure that you want another one exactly the same as your old one?" YES. I cannot think of a better recommendation.

Oh, and I'm sorry to say, I like the black and red of the original Navihawk, not the blue and yellow of the 'Blue Angels'

Neil

http://www.st-moritz.com/pages/products-models.php?family=Shadow_II_Chrono

It's a dive watch that I have put in the shit more than twice and still even looks nice. For 300 bucks you get a REAL dive watch w/ chrono. Looks all big and shit but doesn't weigh 12 oz. and is tough. Mine is 4 or 5 years old and still glows bright.
But if I was gonna go baller like you want to I'd get that Omega X33