Watches?

would go with the suunto for durability over the 5.11. had one a while back, but sold it cause I never used the dam calc in it.

easier to use other types of calcs for me.
 
I have a suunto xlander. It's real nice, but order a couple of extra bands. They seem to last about a year. Been a fantastic e watch for the past 3+ yeArs for me
 
Suunto Core all black here... Had it for two years then part of the strap pin came loose and fell out. Called suunto and they shipped me a replacement pin in just a couple days for free. Locktighted that bad boy and kept on going... Love the watch, love the features , and great customer service for $299
 
I have 2 Suunto Vectors and 1 Core. I love all of them, but the are not a great choice if you are going to be doing any diving. Considering that they are made by a "dive watch" company, they have horrible depth tolerances.
 
Now have a Suunto Core and looking at the Ambit model...My first Suunto was the Vector, then Advisor, then X-10...had a Pathfinder, but imho, Suunto's a notch or two above...Suunto's atmospheric features seemed to be more consistent and accurate.
 
I have 2 Suunto Vectors and 1 Core. I love all of them, but the are not a great choice if you are going to be doing any diving. Considering that they are made by a "dive watch" company, they have horrible depth tolerances.

They are not "dive watches" nor are they intended to be. Suunto makes dive computers, not dive watches, big difference and even on their website they distinctly separate out their dive instruments from their watches from their compasses. The choice to use one as a dive watch is not the fault of Suunto, but the consumer.
 
I agree. I just wish that they had allowed the Vectors and Cores to go below 100ft. The Core is designed and has the ability to be used as a dive watch or computer, but does not have the depth to really be used in that way. It is a great watch for anything and everything that you do on dry land though.
 
I will throw my .02 in for the pathfinder as well. i got it about a year ago and it has seen it's fair share of bumps and bruises but it still running like a champ. Now i may not have been deployed to a remote harsh area but i work in the home services business (elect,plumb,drains,HVAC) crawling through tight attics and small crawlspaces dragging the watch against everything i can, shoving my hands up in walls, constantly banging it with my tools, and shaking the hell out of it on a jackhammer. So i would say i have put it through its paces and it still looks and functions amazing. I even helped Train a boy Scout orienteering course for some of our local adult troop leaders and during this I used the compass on the pathfinder exclusively and had just as good of results and accuracy as those using regular compasses. i recently bought a kestrel cause i never quite trusted the watch for it atmospherics. then once i got the kestrel i realized it wasn't really that far off except the baro needs a calibration every so often so in short outside of competition its great and id trust it no problem for getting me close.
 
I have a Suunto Elementum. It is expensive but stylin. I can wear it hunting or in a tuxedo. Honestly, I think the only difference between Casio and Suunto is form, not function. Both are equally as good. For a pure field watch, I would get a black Core. Positive is more visible to me than negative (I found after owning a negative for a while).
 
I have a Pathfinder.

The compass is accurate.
The temperature is accurate to within 1 degree or so.
The barometer is accurate.

The altitude is complete crap.

I am using a Brunton ADC Pro as reference.
 
I wear a Pathfinder(PAG240) daily and it's tough as nails. Unfortunately, that's about the only good I have to say about it. The barometer doesn't always jive with my Kestrel. The thermometer is pretty useless; it won't read properly while you're wearing it and takes several minutes(trip downrange to set up targets and back) to adjust. Even then, again it still doesn't always jive with the Kestrel that sits 6" away from it. After some of these inconsistencies, I tested the altimeter(on the toilet) several different times and somehow ended up with a 600ft disparity?

Also, the directional bezel moves if you sneeze on it so it's unreliable for navigation. I would have liked it to be much firmer. It also has a couple sharp edges around the bezel and before you laugh, I was denied sex in mid-foreplay because my watch caught her leg and drew blood....srsly

That's a lotta gripes, and in all fairness its probably a faulty unit since everyone else seems to love theirs, but as a timepiece it's accurate and reliable so I never bothered to phone em about it.

I normally recommend Suunto and Luminox but I wouldn't steer someone away from the Pathfinder because of one person's experience.
 
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I've got two watches that I won't be giving up anytime soon. The first is my Luminox with the Khaki face I think it's a 3051. I really like how easy it is to always read, and set a visual timer with the bezel. The second is my Pathfinder PAG-240T. It's very accurate, and does well with ambient temperature while on your wrist if you adjust it. It graphs the pressure too. I was worried about all the sensors and stuff when I first got but I have none now. I've had it in everything mud, snow, sand and water, grease, degreaser and its still looks good and works great. Just my .02

Also I paid 185$ for the Luminox and 225$ for the Pathfinder.
 
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I had the same question. After a ton of searching I picked up a Suunto Core Military. Its probably the BEST non-fancy watch I have ever bought. It has compass, alto, baro, logging, temp (not perfect due to how close it is to your body, ect...) I got a great deal on mine at ems. They normally retail for about $300. Good luck!
 
I went in to have a new pin put in my Luminox and saw the new Casio military G-shock. That sumbitch is bad, will definitely be my next watch. They have two models, one takes batteries and the other is solar powered. $100 for the battery model, $120 for the solar. They had in in olive drab, and black, not sure on other colors. They have all the bells and whistles and the buttons were textured for glove, and sweat use. Check them out, I don't think they can be beat for that price range.
 
About 1997 I bought the Suunto Vector, The sales rep was trying to do a deal with a local camera store to buy a shipment of them, So I jumped at it and the deal was done and its still live and kickin and the great thing is you can calibrate it your self and change the batteries, Its helped me solve a few problems when checking other gadgets and it is spot on with my Kestrel its got it all, I first bought it for the compass but then I realised how usefull the Barometer was for my shooting and my work, It will show the current pressure and you can set the sea level pressure or you can Set the Absolute Pressure and the Compass has 1*deg resolution which is cool coz Digital Compasses with 5*deg Res can give you an extra mile or two to walk,

If you get any Scratches on the screen/dial get a dusting cloth and Some Tooth Paste and rub it on the screen in tiny Circles and that will get rid of any Marks on the Glass/screen, Its Just Perfect for Shooting and camping or any other thing you pay mind to,

hope this helps, John
 
For those who like the Pathfinders. I have been Google Fooing Pathfinders for a couple weeks in a search of a replacement for my G Shock. I have seen alot of folks that have abused there Pathfinders with good success. My question is whether anyone knows if they are as vibration resistant as G Shocks. I spend a good amount of time under rubble, breaking concrete with breakers and hammers and my G Shocks have withstood the concrete dust and vibration without a hiccup.
I would like the additional features of the pathfinders but not at the expense of durability.

Also must be able to withstand short back and forth movement for periods of 3 to 5 minutes at a time.
 
I doubt they are as vibration resistant as a G-Shock, if they were they would advertize it, but I've never had a problem with mine. I haven't run a jack hammer with it, but I have run hammer drills on concrete, hand split a shit ton of oak firewood, been in full brown out dust storms, etc. without any noticeable issues. I've hit the sensor opening with some canned air after the dust storms and take it into the shower as well, just to be sure, still read same altitude and pressure levels afterwards.
 
Good to know. I ordered a G Shock Riseman after visiting a couple watch Forums on the subject. I have to run a 90lb hammer on rare ocassions and just cant convince myself to risk it on a Pathfinder. Its not often but...

On a side note, if you ever find yourself wondering how you can spend so much time on the Hide, just visit a watch lovers forum. Jesus its sad. Man there are alot of macro pictures of watch band screws.
 
I have a luminox series 2 watch, and it is the worst watch I have ever owned. The tritium insert on the bezel was lost in the first month. The glass wasn't any more durable than cheap Timex's, and Casio's. And a year into owning it, the second hand would keep hanging up in the same spot. I could never count on it. Had a local jeweler look at it twice and he never fixed it. It sits in the junk drawer. Never again.
 
I agree with all the Luminox haters out there. I have owned 2 of them (different models). I bought them in the mid 90's back before all the "Navy Seal" B.S. they came up with so they may be better now. Both of the two I owned the hands fell off one a second hand and the other the hour hand broke off. This happened while mountain biking, but still come on!

The watches I do like are:
#1 (the toughest and best watch I have ever owned) the original Citizens N.D. Limits Aqualand dive watch, the only mod I have made to it since I bought it new at Camp Lejeune N.C. in 1996 was change the band over to the Waterborne. I think I am on my 4th strap.
#2 would be any Casio or Timex
#3 is my Suunto Xlander Military I have beat the hell out of it for many years and it is doing great...
 
Has anyone looked at/owned one of Casio's Pro Trek series? Supposedly with their new v3 sensor they're supposed to be more accurate than the older Pathfinders.

PRG270-1 - Mens, Digital, Analog, Sport Watch | CASIO PRO TREK with Pathfinder Technology

I see a few posts above commenting about inaccuracy of the pathfinders vs Kestrels or even Brunton pocket weather stations, but nothing really specific to the Pro Trek series. Is their claim of 1m alt resolution crap? Or does it flicker around within a 5 m range anyway?

Maybe the newer sensor is better at temp?

Seems like all I'm giving up vs. the Suunto's (feature wise) is the possibility of fully integrated GPS?

I see these go on sale for $140 which seems to me to be a not terrible price vs. some of the Suunto's I see....
 
I have a Suunto Ambit 2s and love it. It has everything you want plus GPS.

Also, you can easily make apps for it on Suunto's website.

I would get the ambit 2 or 2s over a used ambit. The upgrades were pretty significant to the hardware.
 
For those who like the Pathfinders. I have been Google Fooing Pathfinders for a couple weeks in a search of a replacement for my G Shock. I have seen alot of folks that have abused there Pathfinders with good success. My question is whether anyone knows if they are as vibration resistant as G Shocks. I spend a good amount of time under rubble, breaking concrete with breakers and hammers and my G Shocks have withstood the concrete dust and vibration without a hiccup.
I would like the additional features of the pathfinders but not at the expense of durability.

Also must be able to withstand short back and forth movement for periods of 3 to 5 minutes at a time.

If you have seen it yet, check out the G-Shock Rangeman 9400 series G-Shock Master of G Rangeman GW9400-1 | Casio - G-Shock
 
After a few weeks of looking around, I ended up buying a Gshock Riseman, but I wasn't happy with the altimeter function, so I sent it back. I ended up with a Gshock Mudman Tough Solar Twin Sensor and I really dig it...except for the uncontoured band. The Rangeman looked good but was a little outside of my budget right now.
 
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