Customer Reviews

Timex Men's T41101 Expedition Metal Analog and Digital Combo Watch

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'm an engineer. I was looking for a watch with the professional appearance of an analog face for business meetings, yet still have all features of a digital watch. I also work around tools and equipment and need a rugged watch that can take scrapes and knocks and still remain presentable.

I needed the stop watch, timer, and alarm, which this watch has.

The other features that I wanted were lit face (this one has the best in my opinion...the indiglo), along with a day & date display.

This watch has it all. And it's 1/10th the price of the other watches with these features I was looking at.

And as a bonus, it has a stylish "titanium grey" look.

The appearance of the watch is a medium grey. It is a slightly darker grey than a true titanium metal watch. It seems like a very durable electroplate finish over the stainless steel body. The numbers and hands on the face are easy to read at a glance, and have a phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) coating.

The band has a double snap clasp which is fast to get on and off, yet it prevents popping open accidentally (as compared to single snap clasps).

The size of the face is 1-1/2" in diameter (excluding the buttons). The watch is 7/16" thick.

And in the event that you wish to change the watch band out, the watchband can be interchanged with other common metal and leather watchbands.

Overall I am very pleased with the rugged build quality, professional appearance, and low cost.

And if the watch ever gets damaged by the tools and equipment that I work with, I would happily replace it with another, since I could buy 10 of these timex watches for the cost of the one TAG HEUER watch that I was considering.

I bought this watch a couple weeks ago to replace a previous Timex Ironman digital that had served me well for several years.
I read lots of reviews here and elsewhere before deciding on this one.
Overall, I like the watch, but I'd like to point out several key flaws that may help others make a more informed decision.

1) This is an adult men's watch. However, the band is too short for adult men with adult wrists. I am of average build (5'11, 208 lbs) and would not say I have unusally thick wrists. The band, even on the longest adjustment, is too snug to be comfortable. I contacted Timex, and they were nice enough to send me 2 free links. They normally sell 4 links for $4, so you may or may not have to pay for them. I had a jeweler add 1 link, and now the band is perfect, at least in length. I paid $8 to have the link installed. Note that you cannot install the link yourself unless you have the tool for it. Amazon sells the tool for around $[..] if you don't want to pay someone else. I mention all this because it adds to the total cost of the watch and should be considered.

2) Also related band-related is the quality issue. The band itself appears very well-made. It's certainly not as solid or heavy as my wife's Rolex, but it looks good and has a nice secure clasp mechanism. The problem is with the finish. Contrary to what some other reviewers have posted, my band began showing signs of wear after only a few DAYS. The underside of the clasp has worn completely through to bare silver. What do I do for a living? I work on a computer. The clasp rubs slightly on my desk as I move the mouse. My previous Timex showed the same type of wear, but only after many months on constant rubbing. Needless to say, this finish is only durable if you don't actually bring it in contact with anything more abrasive than a hand towel.

3) Features (or lack thereof). The main watch is of course analog, and seems to keep decent time, so far at least. The digital timekeeping portion also seems to hold time pretty well. The timer function, on the other hand, is a complete mess. Say you set a timer, 5 minutes for example. You scroll through each digit and set the desired interval. It's a one-way "count", so if you miss your mark, you have to go around. For timers longer than 1 hour, this means clicking through 24 hours! This is annoying, since my old watch used two buttons for setting; one for "up" another for "down". Much easier. Anyway, so you get the time set and start the timer. 5 minutes elapses, the alarm sounds. You press the "set" button to stop the alarm. You press it a second time to reset it to the preselected 5 minute interval. If you bump it one more time, it goes back to 0:00! Now you have to reset the timer from scratch. I don't mean you hold down the button to set, just a regular 1/8 second tap resets it. Needless to say, this is quite stupid. I use my timer a lot, and have lost count how many times I've accidentaly bumped the timer set button and had it reset, even when it's not actively timing.

Well, those are the boggest issues.
I hope those who took the time to read this long-winded message will consider the issues before buying this watch.
If you are looking for a nice-looking watch that you can wear to meetings and such, this is a good choice.
If you are looking for a feature-rich workhorse for daily use that can take a beating, keep looking.
I am happy to answer any questions you might have. I can be contacted by email here: elmojo@hotmail.com

I purchased this watch for my husband as a Christmas gift. He needed a watch with a backlight- this has the indiglo light, and he need dual time zones - this has a small digital clock in the face that you can set to a seperate time- in our case we needed Zulu time. The watch was easy to set, is not too large on his wrist and the color and style works well with casual or business clothes. (its more of a gun metal then stainless)
So far he has been very happy and if this watch performs as well as our other Timex watches have, he will have it for years.

As for the price, I also saw this watch at Target..... for $25 more, so Thank You Amazon for great products at great prices!

I bought this over a week ago from Amazon and I Love it.

Pros:
First off, this watch just looks Dammmmmmn Good on you!

The white on black makes it very easy to read (the Hands).

The digital display is nice because I do need at least one Alarm (This one has it).

The Titanium look is solid throughout the watch and the band (No different shades).

Cons:
The glass is not recessed, so it is easy to scratch, especially if you work with your hands for a living.

The Background for the digital display is your normal ole school Timex green. This makes it hard to read at times unless your under direct light (I usually use the Indiglo to see it better).

To Sum things up:

You can't go wrong with this solid made watch. It's well made. I would've given it a 5 if it wasn't for my cons. I am an electrician and a recessed glass would have been nice for protecting the glass better.

I owned this watch since 2003 or 2004. I think I changed the battery once. I bought it because of the dual time zones, alarm, and analog dial. I need the dual zones and alarm, but I like the analog look. Before this one I had several of the plastic Expedition series. All the plastic ones lasted about 2 years and looked like crap after about 6 mos. I honestly expected this one to be the same, but I wanted a little nicer looking watch for a job interview so I spent the extra [...] for the metal one. I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED at the durability!

The crystal doesn't scratch, even though it appears to be right on the surface of the bezel. I am MEAN to my watches. I NEVER take my watch off when working outdoors in the garden, while doing rough carpentry, hunting, fishing, offshore sailing, biking, running, falling off my bike, water skiing, diving, climbing telecommunications towers, working on the car, painting, digging foundations, etc. I have destroyed many other watches, or at least made them look very bad by scratching up the crystal, band, and bezel and coating them in paint. This watch finally showed one scratch on the crystal this year when I was moving furniture. Even the steel parts continued to look good, with just a few shiny edges on the band and bezel. Paint washes right off, and if it doesn't, even tough chemicals don't hurt the stainless and quartz crystal.

The bracelet opened by accident just a few times in all the years I used this watch, even though the metal bracelets are notorious for opening at exactly the wrong moment. I lost many velcro, leather, and plastic banded watches in a short time due to the band failing. The band never completely failed like leather or plastic can, and this watch never fell off my hand even after opening.

So why do I need another? The one weak spot in this watch is replacing the battery and a rare tendency to "freeze." Three times in 5+ years I was messing with the buttons and the digital part locked up. Digits showed on the digital portion, but they wouldn't move, regardless of which buttons I pushed. There is no Control-Alt-Delete on this watch that I know of, so I had to take the battery out. The back cover is a real B!TCH to put back on (maybe there is a trick that I did not know). I pushed, pressed, beat on it, and squeezed it with some pliers. OK, so squeezing a watch with pliers is a bad idea. I cracked the crystal. So, in spite of this extremely rare issue, I will buy another. I figure if the only way to break a watch I own is to squeeze it with pliers, then it is a mighty fine and tough instrument. FIVE stars for durability, function, and looks, but -1 star for locking up.

I got my watch about a week ago, great shipping, packing and price like most everything on Amazon. The watch was many times better than I expected. The band is sturdy and has a double lock mechanism which prevents it form opening when shaken or jarred. The watch is absolutely great. Both digital and analog time with day and date. The indiglo light is the best I've ever had, the entire face lights up. The buttons can be easily set so that no matter which is pressed, the light will come on for about 3 seconds.
Now for the rest of the story.
The instructions that come with the watch aren't worth the paper (yeah, it was cheap too) that it was written on. It's bad enough having to twist it around to find the part that's in English but even worse when it just isn't right. Do yourself a favor and throw the instructions away. There are four examples of how to shorten the band. None of them work. You have to drive a pin out of each link you want to remove.
Setting the time is just as bad. Almost none of the instructions resulted in the display or setting sequence stated in the instructions.
I finally gave up and went to timex.com. Believe it or not, the instructions on the web site are even worse than those on paper. They have four languages for each step. Hey folks, I only speak and read English. Besides that, they're wrong too. I finally gave up, read the instructions to get a feel for how the designers think and played around until I got it working.
IT IS A GREAT WATCH THOUGH and I'd buy another one or two.

Update December 12, 2011
I've had this watch for going on 5 years and other than a couple of battery changes, it works just as good as the day I bought it. I wear long sleeve shirts and the ONLY problem I've had is that occasionally my shirt cuff will depress the buttons and it will change modes. Again, this seldom happens and has been far worse with other digital watches I've owned. Sure do wish everything was made this well. What can I say, it's a Timex.

This watch comes close in function to my great old dual-time Swiss Army that finally died after 30 years of perfect timekeeping. The Timex costs about 1/5 of what a good replacement would, but the minor negatives noted here sure do detract from the over all experience:

1. The setting instructions are inaccurate and incomplete. Fortunately, there are only so many ways you can push 3 buttons!
2. The band (clasp) does have some sharp edges, but a few minutes with some abrasive paper or a fine file can correct this. Unlike one or two reviewers, I found it pretty easy to remove a link.

These beg the question of why Timex couldn't fix these easy issues themselves, but at $38 bucks we can't be too demanding. Also....

3. Second and third time zones don't display the day of week or date, which would be a great feature.
4. Turning the alarms on and off is a pain unless you have 20-20 close vision. I would consider this a very important issue, but it's also the main reason I never bought a digital watch before.

I really like the looks and feel of this watch and hope it's reasonably water-resistand and lasts a few years.

Timex has long stood for watches built to take whatever you throw at them. For nearly two years, I've worn one of these [T41101] doing most everything from mowing the lawn to fishing. Not once has it let me down, or shown signs of possibly doing so.

That isn't to say that it's a perfect watch, still there are only a few knocks I can make toward it.

Upon first handling the watch, you're struck by the gunmetal or titanium like finish, it's nice and quite a different look than most watches. While I fully expected that with wear it would start to chip or peel off, not so in my case. It's held up more than admirably well, enduring scratches to the case and bracelet with nary a sign of finish compromise.

The second thing you notice when picking the watch up is the bracelet. It's a lightweight modified "oyster" style with folded links, rattly end links [the two closest to the case on either side] and generally feels like something from a dollar store watch. The one saving point is how the gunmetal finish hides its cheapness. So, if you're not bothered by rattling the bracelet is acceptable at a distance, but still fails upon inspection, even at an arm's length. Despite what some have said about the bracelet size, it's not short... and certainly NOT hard to size, I took care of mine in minutes with a small nail and hammer, but would be even quicker with a cheapo sizing tool [which I now own.]

The luminescent hands and numeral markers are nice, holding a charge well to burn [however dimly] long into the night. This is the only Timex out of many that I've found the Indiglo next to useless since even in darkness, I can still see the time.

It's rated for water resistance to 50 metres, but who would be going that deep wearing a watch like this? I would rather have seen a screw down crown for further protection against water entry, but this would negate the function of Indiglo. On several occasions, I've been forced to completely submerge the watch in water without an issue.

Having the analog readout is nice since you can either set it to display time in another time zone [or even your own if you wish], or as I have mine for day and date.

At 40mm across INCLUDING crown, the sizing on this is smallish, but I'm used to larger dive watches so anything sub 40mm in case diameter is small to me. It sits low on the wrist, making it a good fit under even slightly tight cuffs. It weighs in at 102g[3.6oz] with all links attached, so it's rather light.[again, the bracelet is featherweight, so most weight is from the case itself.]

While not quite boardroom presentable, it can easily work in a business casual environment. It of course it will look most at home beating around on the hiking trail or puttering around the yard, it is an outdoors watch after all!

As a whole, this watch works quite well and is a great value for the price. The single reason I don't give it a 5 star review is the chintzy bracelet. Looking past that, I only see a nice rugged watch built for an active outdoor lifestyle.

I had one of these before and broke the band on a flight while getting my bag out of the overhead. Lost the piece that goes between band and watch and was never able to find a suitable replacement band...so bought another exactly like the first.
What I like about it:

Like any decent watch...it keeps good time plus it has the lcd readout of day and date. I know those features are on my phone too...but it keeps me from having to dig it out when I need the information (surprisingly frequently given my age).

I also like the indiglo feature. Can't tell you how many times I've looked at my watch in the dark and appreciated the built-in light.

It looks good. I don't like the flash of gold or silver nor the cheap lookingness of plastic...so this is exactly what I want...understated, classy...under the radar...kinda titanium looking...makes me look just a little tougher than the next guy (not Stratham tough...but still).

The weight is just right. I really don't like watches that make me fear the water because they are so heavy I think they will take me down like cement overshoes. Others have commented that the finish wears off...and maybe for them it did...but not for me. I've worn it skiing, scuba diving, and everyday for a couple of years (at least the first one) and it never showed any signs of wear.

To me, the first question you have to ask yourself is "why do I want to wear a watch?" If it is to impress others, this might not be the thing for you. If it is to make some fashion statement (think big-dial, flashy behemoths)...then again...probably not for you. If, like me, you value function but not at the expense of style...then this might be for you. I like the watch so much I bought a second as a backup for years down the road in case this one stops working...however unlikely that might be

This is a great watch. I travel A LOT, and need a watch that has sweep hands easy to change. I tried several Casio watches (I typically prefer Casio) but none of their ana-digi watches offered the combination of features I wanted: Illumination, quick and easy pull-out crown adjustment of hands, countdown timer. I actually purchased and returned 4 other watches before finding the Timex T41101. Unlike the lesser priced Timex T45171, this watch is all metal, and is very durable. It is waterproof too.
Depending upon your individual needs, perhaps this combination of features is not as critical. But for me, I was willing to pay a whole lot more for a watch, but found all I was looking for in one inexpensive package. By the way, the LCD display is very good, and happily DOES NOT look so silly-bright all the time, as some of the web-images would imply. One thing to note is that the Timex documentation (instructions) are not as specific as I'd prefer, and the operational logic of the digital features is not as intuitive as the Casio LCD operation. But I am learning this watch, and truly loving it. Likely I'll be selling some costly watches on Ebay soon, since this watch, for me, does it all.