What’s the best watch to wear on safari?

[Iclimb]

Before my Rolex I had a TAG Aquaracer which collected a fair few scratches despite utmost care. I got it totally rebuilt by TAG before passing it down to one of my daughters, she molly coddles it and it has remained smart. The Rolex seems to be far more robust, harder metal I suppose, and the ceramic bezel is scratch proof.

I agree the Rolex is up to the task! I equally enjoy my Tudor watches! As mentioned this ‘ranger‘ is a great watch, I’ve been enjoying, nice provenance as well! More and more I’m considering only owning 1 nice watch!

 

[Iclimb]

Whatever watch we may choose to wear should be covered with some kind of wristband so as to not be reflective.

A bit of vet wrap or a sweatband is an easy cover if not covered by a sleeve…

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I’ve been wearing this model Casio G Shock as long as they’ve been making them. My business partner, who is an anesthesiologists, (now retired) always wore one and still does.

Fishing, diving, hunting, shooting, work, and general use. Tough and inexpensive…

 

[Iclimb]

I guess maybe I should have titled this and ordered the question differently….
should‘ve been:
‘what watch do you wear…..’
NOT
’what is the best watch’

thanks all! love to see the time pieces!

 

[sestoppelman]

I love time pieces, watches, clocks, pocket watches, chronographs, LOL.

Been wearing this for a while now, nicest watch I have owned.

 

[uplander01]

Anonimo Militaire.

 

[Capnjackv]

Just went Cape Buffalo hunting last week. Purposely did not wear a watch. I let the sun tell me the time.

 

[Bonk]

I feel naked without a watch so I use an old Timex Explorer as my 'beater' for stuff like hunting, diving, skiing, running etc. I've had it since I was 11 and it survived all through secondary school plus a load of fairly rough treatment for hiking, sky diving, scuba diving, a motorcycle accident, rugby, sailing, festivals, hunting, cadets etc so I'm confident in it's durability. I'd be sad, but not devastated if it got lost or broken so I don't have to think about it if I'm crawling around in the dirty or scratching it up.

For daily wear I mostly gravitate towards my Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. Still pretty bombproof, but I would be sad to see it break, so it mostly goes to the office, on drives and out and about on the town and sees nothing more strenuous than a swim or a walk. I have scuba dived with it a bit though, kinda seems a shame not to if you've got it. I have a couple of other pieces that fill a similar role, but the Omega gets the nod more often than not.

The Planet Ocean is a great watch. I have one and it's my 'dress' watch. My daily wear watch is a Diver 300m.

 

[Nyati]

I have a few good watches, but for traveling to Africa and hunting, I wear a cheap Wenger Swisss Army, in bronze color, so it doesn´t reflect light.

 

[Bonk]

As an aside, how many folks that eschew a watch carry a cell phone with them while hunting? Most of the reasons people give for not wearing a watch also apply to cell phones. I'm on vacation, I'm retired, etc but I suspect a lot of non watch wearing people probably carry their cell phones. I'm the opposite. I wear a watch but I almost never take my cell phone with me into the woods.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

when I am hunting I only care about when the sun comes up and goes down, other than that time stands still for me

 

[Thomas Rutledge]

A quiet one.

 

[Inline6]

As an aside, how many folks that eschew a watch carry a cell phone with them while hunting? Most of the reasons people give for not wearing a watch also apply to cell phones. I'm on vacation, I'm retired, etc but I suspect a lot of non watch wearing people probably carry their cell phones. I'm the opposite. I wear a watch but I almost never take my cell phone with me into the woods.

Another perspective.

Speaking for myself only, when traveling I don't like jewelry or watches. It is something that can draw unwanted attention, from the 2 leg critters. You can certainly label me as paranoid, I know of several people that have been robbed over their watches. It is the world we live in. Personally for me it is a consideration, maybe I have met the only 3 people in the world this has happened to?

If I did not say it before, yes I take my phone with me. It is on airplane mode to conserve battery. I take it instead of a camera, cellphone is much easier.

 

[gcbailey]

I think any watch will do. I have a Rolex Submariner "Bluesy" that will be an heirloom for my son one day. I took it on safari without hesitation, just wore a velcro band over it to keep the shine down and protect the face from scratches. Worked well for me and looks good in photos.

 

[Jaegger]

I’m on the bandwagon … PH needs to babysit my lunch & nap time but the fading light of a brilliant African Sun Set signals its time … to give thanks for a blessed & safe day in the bushveld + cocktails await! Happy Trails

 

[Hunter4752001]

When I was a school kid my parents gave me my first watch, something somewhat more expensive than they could really afford. It lasted less than a day before an encounter with a fence pole, while playing, destroyed it. Ever since that time I've gravitated towards the cheapest throw away watch I could find. Currently using a $10 supermarket special. Keeps time, has readable numbers (large), and if it gets wrecked, lost etc I won't care.

However I do like the idea of a GPS watch with map navigation. When hunting by myself I always carry a dedicated GPS unit as well as a map and compass. Saved my bacon on a number of occasions. If hunting in Africa with a PH I wouldn't be lugging the GPS with me, but it'd be nice to have that capability in a wrist watch package for when/if something goes wrong. Similar situation if touring in some of the less stable areas around the globe. Unfortunately everything I've looked at is mega expensive and seems designed for the mountain bikers/track runners rather than general navigation. I don't need all the you beaut features. Just map, location, distance to way point and the ability to easily mark where the vehilce was left etc. Dual co-ordinates (Lat/Lon plus MGRS) would be a bonus. Don't need music, pulse rate, or any of the other trendy junk.

 

[Iclimb]

When I was a school kid my parents gave me my first watch, something somewhat more expensive than they could really afford. It lasted less than a day before an encounter with a fence pole, while playing, destroyed it. Ever since that time I've gravitated towards the cheapest throw away watch I could find. Currently using a $10 supermarket special. Keeps time, has readable numbers (large), and if it gets wrecked, lost etc I won't care.

However I do like the idea of a GPS watch with map navigation. When hunting by myself I always carry a dedicated GPS unit as well as a map and compass. Saved my bacon on a number of occasions. If hunting in Africa with a PH I wouldn't be lugging the GPS with me, but it'd be nice to have that capability in a wrist watch package for when/if something goes wrong. Similar situation if touring in some of the less stable areas around the globe. Unfortunately everything I've looked at is mega expensive and seems designed for the mountain bikers/track runners rather than general navigation. I don't need all the you beaut features. Just map, location, distance to way point and the ability to easily mark where the vehilce was left etc. Dual co-ordinates (Lat/Lon plus MGRS) would be a bonus. Don't need music, pulse rate, or any of the other trendy junk.

others have mentioned some gps models, I personally have no experience with them. I do have an abc watch and for lr shooting it is quite nice to have that info on the wrist…makes it easy to plug in the calc…
re;gps watches
suunto traverse (I think) has a hunter specific model. I am sure some of the Garmin‘s are well suited for navigation. Good luck

 

[Cervus elaphus]

I feel naked without a watch so I use an old Timex Explorer as my 'beater' for stuff like hunting, diving, skiing, running etc. I've had it since I was 11 and it survived all through secondary school plus a load of fairly rough treatment for hiking, sky diving, scuba diving, a motorcycle accident, rugby, sailing, festivals, hunting, cadets etc so I'm confident in it's durability. I'd be sad, but not devastated if it got lost or broken so I don't have to think about it if I'm crawling around in the dirty or scratching it up.

For daily wear I mostly gravitate towards my Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. Still pretty bombproof, but I would be sad to see it break, so it mostly goes to the office, on drives and out and about on the town and sees nothing more strenuous than a swim or a walk. I have scuba dived with it a bit though, kinda seems a shame not to if you've got it. I have a couple of other pieces that fill a similar role, but the Omega gets the nod more often than not.

I usually take my Casio ABC watch for its compass and baro but it stays in my pikau bag because I don't like watch faces reflecting light everywhere. Used to be able to get a leather or nylon cover that the watch fitted into, protecting and covering the face, and it opened/closed off a stud but don't know if they're still around.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Ok, not sure how many watch nerds there are here….
what is the best watch for safari? Best watch for hunting in general?
maybe the most nostalgic watch for safari?

are you a “one and done” kinda guy?

recently i had a customer that dropped by and we were bs’ing about sheep hunting…I noticed a Rolex ‘pepsi’ gmt on his wrist. I’m guessing a mid 80’s model. It was well worn with much patina! I could tell this was his go to watch! It got me thinking…how many miles that thing has endured, been a part of, experience’s akin to.
I envy those that take a minimal approach! Buy something fantastic and then use the hell out of!

currently I’ve been rocking the new Tudor ranger on a bracelet! I kinda love this thing! Comfortable, light, simplistic…. It has character, it’s a great balance of luxury and ’tool’ watch, in many ways it embodies the “minimalist“ mindset mentioned above.
A Rolex explorer 39 or a gmt (maybe a 116710ln x) might be a better Option… I don’t know… but I’d like to know if anyone has something better or at least to call me crazy to think up such a question. Have you ever thought about it?
This new model Tudor ranger is certainly one I could nominate!

I havent read the whole thread
But what is noce is a gps type sportwatch that tracks/maps yourwalk and heartrate etc
Always cool to look at afterwards

I did a stalk on a buff bull this season where the 1st 800m took an hour
It was theough thick stuff stopping listening etc apptted him twice but couldnt get a shot
The walk ended up 5km over 3 hours
Lots of circles and turning back etc
With still no buff

 

[geoff rath]

Within a month of poor health issues forced me from the workplace, where keeping to timetables was essential, I gave up wearing a watch, anywhere. After all, if I climb into/onto the Bakkie at 0600 each morning, my internal clock is accurate enough, within 10minutes or so. Similarly, keeping track of where the sun is helps keep me oriented. After all, I have a PH and his crew with me, and there are no appointments to keep, except with that trophy animal ...