What’s the best watch to wear on safari?

[steve white]

I am sentimental about watches. When I was a kid about 8, so around 1961, I obsessed over getting a pocket watch for Christmas, just nuts.
Christmas day finally rolled around, the watch weighing heavily on my mind, stacked up presents like cordwood, not seeing anything that looked like it might harbor a pocket watch, panic began to set in, with tears not far behind, imminent.

I tore thru all the boxes, no watch, now about to faint, I looked up to my dad standing there in his bathrobe, coffee cup in hand, watching me, grinning.

He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out the pocket watch that nearly had me in tears for fear there wouldn't be one that year.

Since that day I have always been keen on watches and clocks and still have a neat Russian made pocket watch with nautical scenes on it. It keeps good time on the rare occasions I use it.

Of course the Xmas watch was soon broken, busted or lost, but I wont ever forget that day.
My dad died about 12 years ago, and this memory of him will always be with me.
View attachment 542586

My grandfather's gold pocket watch is missing a tooth on the largest gear and it frequently locks up...wonder if that could be fixed, sigh....

 

[Tanks]

This year I am putting my watches in the safe and taking Apple Watch Ultra with me to keep track of vitals etc.. Battery life on the ultra is such that it is viable for a safari.

To add to the story. I recently found a company called: https://nomadgoods.com/collections/bands
They had a titanium band for Apple Watch Ultra. So, far I like it. It does come with a link adjustment tool that allows one to remove links if needed to fit one's wrist. Magnetic clasp makes it easy to put on and off as well.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

To add to the story. I recently found a company called: https://nomadgoods.com/collections/bands
They had a titanium band for Apple Watch Ultra. So, far I like it. It does come with a link adjustment tool that allows one to remove links if needed to fit one's wrist. Magnetic clasp makes it easy to put on and off as well.

View attachment 550494

That watchband will make you sick. The magnet will suck the iron out of your blood. I thought everyone knew that.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I suppose if I got an invite to the president's inaugural ball I might go out and buy something a bit jazzier ... but for hunting? My plastic Casio Forester has seen the guts of a half dozen animals at least. I always forget to take it off. Giving a Rolex a bloodbath like that might send me to the stroke unit. Wearing a watch worth thousands to go hunting doesn't make a lot of sense to me ... but it wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of being insensitive.

 

[Tango]

To each their own, but wearing a nice mechanical watch is like hunting with a fine rifle or shotgun for me.....just adds to the enjoyment and it's one more, hard-earned, fine thing to pass along to my son. Just got back from another great hunt. Not a single issue with my watch/no unwanted attention. Rolling "load shedding" power outages in South Africa made it tough for the Apple watch guys to charge their watches some nights......the mech Omega never missed a beat!

 

[BeeMaa]

@Tanks - I know you have your share of big bore rifles so that's my reason for asking. Have you noticed any problems with the smart watch that can possibly be attributed to the recoil?

Anyone else is welcome to respond to any problems that can be attributed to a watch (mechanical, automatic, digital or smart) due to severe recoil. This would also apply to things like shotgun/rifle/pistol competition where over the course of a couple of days the watch would be exposed to several hundred shots.

 

[Tango]

Worked as a firearms trainer for 15+ years with LE/Mil/Govt clients in a previous life. Thousands of hours on the range with Omega, Rolex, and Seiko divers.....never a hiccup. Same with numerous watch geek buddies. Good watches are/were very common among serious shooters and no issues that I ever saw. My Suunto athletic watches seem susceptible to summer Florida heat and sweat (ingress) while running, but my new Garmins have been solid.

 

[DrBob]

Worked as a firearms trainer for 15+ years with LE/Mil/Govt clients in a previous life. Thousands of hours on the range with Omega, Rolex, and Seiko divers.....never a hiccup. Same with numerous watch geek buddies. Good watches are/were very common among serious shooters and no issues that I ever saw. My Suunto athletic watches seem susceptible to summer Florida heat and sweat (ingress) while running, but my new Garmins have been solid.

Casio G-Shock. Virtually indestructible and, if needed, expendable.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Casio G-Shock. Virtually indestructible and, if needed, expendable.

Working at an aluminum plant in the 80s a lot of guys had watch troubles. Just about everyone in fact. Being around high voltage DC all the time magnetized everything. Even very expensive watches succumbed. Once they were magnetized there was no demagnatizing them. Casio digital watches were a godsend when they came out. Some jobs around high heat were hard on them: the bezels cracked. But I suspect that issue was worked out with later models. Like you say, when one of those went boobs up, it wasn't a big deal. Cheap enough to be expendable.

 

[DrBob]

Working at an aluminum plant in the 80s a lot of guys had watch troubles. Just about everyone in fact. Being around high voltage DC all the time magnetized everything. Even very expensive watches succumbed. Once they were magnetized there was no demagnatizing them. Casio digital watches were a godsend when they came out. Some jobs around high heat were hard on them: the bezels cracked. But I suspect that issue was worked out with later models. Like you say, when one of those went boobs up, it wasn't a big deal. Cheap enough to be expendable.

Wearing my watch into the bore of a 1.5 T MRI (30,000 times Earth's field)... the watch would blank out but once out of the field... came back to functioning. Also... nobody steals a baseline Casio. My beater watch is the Duro (Bill Gates wears one... at least some brains).... My next up to bat is my G-Shock solar.

 

[thriller]

Garmin watch for me does gps and other smart watch functions plus it hooks to my in reach mini

 

[DrBob]

Garmin watch for me does gps and other smart watch functions plus it hooks to my in reach mini

I have the tactical version.... sometimes I get lost going through all of the menus!

 

[Tanks]

@Tanks - I know you have your share of big bore rifles so that's my reason for asking. Have you noticed any problems with the smart watch that can possibly be attributed to the recoil?

Anyone else is welcome to respond to any problems that can be attributed to a watch (mechanical, automatic, digital or smart) due to severe recoil. This would also apply to things like shotgun/rifle/pistol competition where over the course of a couple of days the watch would be exposed to several hundred shots.

No. Additionally the recoil forces are not going sideways towards one's watch.

Also, having shot over 1,500 rounds of .40 S&W pistol rounds over a course of 3 days I have not noticed any detrimental effect either.

 

[Tanks]

I suppose if I got an invite to the president's inaugural ball I might go out and buy something a bit jazzier ... but for hunting? ...Wearing a watch worth thousands to go hunting doesn't make a lot of sense to me ...

I tend to use things I like and enjoy. Otherwise, why have them? It wouldn't do any good sitting in a safe taken out once in a blue moon. Also, I feel much safer while hunting than any large city.

That is why, when traveling to places like NYC, LA, BA, Rio etc. one needs to practice situational awareness.

 

[thriller]

I have the tactical version.... sometimes I get lost going through all of the menus!

I know what you mean

 

[tward1604]

Currently I don't own a watch but I am a fan of craftsmanship. What is a good mechanical watch that doesn't break the bank if that is a thing? (think poor folk budget)

What I find interesting and it's not just here, when I was in the Marine Corps I went through three G-Shocks in less than six weeks. They all just kept breaking. I ended up with a cheap digital timex that lasted through a couple deployments and was passed down to a younger guy when I left. I know I'm an exception to the rule when it comes to the G-Shock though.

 

[RR 314]

I suppose if I got an invite to the president's inaugural ball I might go out and buy something a bit jazzier ... but for hunting? My plastic Casio Forester has seen the guts of a half dozen animals at least. I always forget to take it off. Giving a Rolex a bloodbath like that might send me to the stroke unit. Wearing a watch worth thousands to go hunting doesn't make a lot of sense to me ... but it wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of being insensitive.

I have to have welding slag removed from my watches every time they are serviced. I don’t wear gloves when I weld unless the material is too hot to work with without them. I like welding when it is cool. . Both watches stay on while field dressing etc. would likely lose it if I took it off. This being said, I have never taken a watch to Africa!

 

[BeeMaa]

Really liking all the Omega love in this thread recently.

We own a total of 7!

 

[Red Leg]

One update. The last couple of years I have been wearing a Sinn 3006 Hunting Watch. It accompanied me with @spike.t and @PeteG at Takeri. It is a rather extraordinary mechanical design with more complications than needed, but I love the look. Like most quality German kit, it also seems to function exactly as advertised. Mine carries the OD synthetic rather than leather band. It really is a special sort of thing. Besides. I will never do watches and digits and batteries.

I'm Obsessed With This Hunting Watch

...and I don't even hunt.

www.hodinkee.com

 

[Rimbaud]

My grandfather's gold pocket watch is missing a tooth on the largest gear and it frequently locks up...wonder if that could be fixed, sigh....

Easily, I bet. I’ve had family watches refurbished by the makers. I also think any good watch smith - you can google it - should be able to fix that gem.