Customer Reviews

Timex Men's T44642 Metal Analog and Digital Combo Watch

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I generally like the Timex Expedition series because they have both an alarm and a light on an analog watch.

I had an older Timex Expedition that had a rotating ring around the face. This ring was used to set the time and the alarm, and was very simple and quick to use. Just spin the ring to the alarm time, and pull out the crown to set the alarm. There was also a nice feature that would let you set an alarm for up to 1 hour from now, which was nice for setting timers for cooking, etc., without having to set the 12 hour alarm.

On this new watch, there is both an analog face and a digital display as well. I had hoped that they would be synchronized with each other. However, there is no connection between the two parts. The time must be set twice, once for analog using the crown, and once for digital using the buttons, and they do not necessarily stay in sync. I had hoped that you would use the crown to set both the analog and digital times at the same time. Also, the alarm is only settable on the digital part, using the buttons. The procedure for setting the digital alarm is hard to remember how to do, since I don't do it every day. I also miss the "under 1 hour" alarm feature from my old Timex.

This is my second Timex Expedition. My last was model T472319J (green dial, hash-mark hours, leather strap), and gave out only a couple of months ago. In the four years that I wore that watch it was with me ALL OF THE TIME, serving as one of my three bedside alarm sources and as my daily watch in all conditions. I expect equal service from this watch.


Technical Details:

This is really two timepieces in one body. The analog watch keeps its own time, completely independent of the digital watch. The main stem is for the analog watch. The digital watch is in the window at the bottom and uses the four smaller buttons around the perimeter.

The digital watch features timezones T1 and T2, with shared minutes and seconds, but independent hours and dates. The single alarm can be set to use either T1 or T2. You can set the display to either T1 or T2, displaying either the time or the date for either timezone.

The battery is a single 2016. My experience has been that with the daily alarm included the battery will last from 8-12 months. Like anything, more noise and more use of the backlight will shorten the life of the battery. Include other factors (operating temp, battery quality) and your mileage may vary. Replacing the battery requires removal of the back cover with a Very This edge (like the cutting edge of a sharp pocket knife) and a Very Small cross-head ("Phillips") or flat-blade screwdriver to loosen/tighten a retaining tab. My advice is find someone to replace the battery if you are at all nervous about small things.

The leather wrist strap is sewn leather, generally pretty nice and rugged. With daily use, and depending on how the watch is fit (tight or loose) and the daily environmental conditions the band may last 6-12 months. Light-duty will be longer. The band is not hard to replace, if you are used to replacing bands. If you are not then do the same as with the battery: take it somewhere to have it done, or get someone you know who can do the job.

If you are sending this watch to anyone without regular access to watch bands and batteries you might pack along a few extra 2016 batteries (in packs please) and one or two watch bands, or a suitable and matching metallic band.


Now Cons & Pros:

Con: Timex switched to describing this watch with "three timezones", which I feel borders on disingenuous. One of the "timezones" is the independent analog watch, and is in no way tied to the digital watch and its dual timezone feature. So from the perspective of the average daily user it is a two-timezone watch.

Pro: The watch keeps reasonably good time in both analog and digital. I typically experience 2-4 seconds drift in a 6-month period. Remember, it's just a wristwatch, not a "precision timepiece".

Con: Depending on your body chemistry and the your daily environmental conditions the buttons will erode. I do now know why the buttons tend to erode while the body does not, but this has been my general experience. The nature of the erosion is the loss of the outer plating, followed by pocking of the inner material. The watch body and backplate did not erode at all.

Pro: Okay, really mitigating the last Con...even though the buttons erode over time, which I have experienced on many watches, the buttons continue to function without problem, which I have NOT experienced with other watches, including Casio, Pulsar, and no less than Seiko.

Con: The two timezones, T1 and T2, are linked by minutes and seconds, meaning you set the minutes and seconds on T1, and T2 inherits the same minutes and seconds. If your second timezone is any of the +30-minute zones you are out of luck on the digital watch. You can set the analog to its own time, so it can fill in if needed.

Con: The two timezones are NOT linked by hours and dates, meaning the second timezone can be more than 23-24 hours away...it can be a whole different date. If you are a stickler for "timezones" being related and less than a day apart and including possible 1/2-hour timezones then the Timex Expedition line misses the mark.

Pro: It takes a lickin' alright. I have worn this watch while working on cars and computers, in the rain, snow, cold and heat, in fresh water and salt water, and it has stood up to being banged about, even on the crystal/face, over the years. It came through like a champ.


Summary:

It's a good watch...actually, for the price it's an excellent watch that should last you a long time. Like any manufactured goodie a certain number will fail anywhere from days into use to a few months. The vast majority, however, will likely outlast most similarly-priced watches.

Overall, for the average watch-wearer, it's a great watch.

I've owned this watch for almost 8 years now. I was looking at this page because I wanted the exact same watch again. The one I have now is getting a little tattered. I'll probably just replace the battery though.

I like this watch because it looks good for work (office) but stands up to weekend car repairs and house renovations without damage. I was always annoyed by other watches because the side buttons would stick.

This is one great watch that can handle a beating and still look good.

I've had this watch for over two years. It has performed flawlessly during the entire time. I swapped out the leather band for a twist-o-flex band -- mainly because I'm too lazy to have to unbuckle the band every time I remove the watch. I'm a pilot, so the ability to set one of the digital times to Zulu is great. I always like having an analog second hand for timing holding patterns, etc. Much faster to use than a digital timer. This watch beats the heck out of paying a few hundred dollars for a fancy pilot's watch that has essentially the same functions. I'd definitely buy this model again.

Within two weeks of receiving the watch, all push button functions on the watch ceased working. No Indiglo light, no alarm, no date and day, nothing. And to add insult to injury, I had to send a $7 handling/postage check with the watch back to Timex's warranty repair center, which amounts to a 20% surcharge on the original price of the watch.

I purchased this watch after returning a Casio Waveceptor. The Waveceptor was very good, but I needed a watch that was easy to read without reaching for my specs.

I've had the watch for over four months now, and I'm very pleased.

This watch met all of my criteria. It's easy to read, supports multiple time zones, and has the Indiglo backlight that is bright enough to use as a nightlite when navigating a dark bedroom populated with the odd sleeping cat, dog or lurking dog toy.

As mentioned by another reviewer, it's not perfect. It would be nice to have the digital and analog components automatically synchronize, and I would favor having a larger screen for the digital numbers, and making it a bit thinner and lighter would also be nice.

But, for less than $50, a watch that gives you the time, day or night, provides multiple time zones, an alarm, a stop watch and has a clean, business like look, but is comfortable on a hike - hard to beat it for the price.

I highly recommend this watch.

Solid, quality watch. Nothing fancy. Leather band is nicely conditioned so it isn't too stiff. I have very small wrists so a large watch like this can be hit or miss. The band has enough holes in it to fit me (I'm on the second to smallest hole) and the watch does not feel bulky at all on my wrist. It is a full size watch but the curve of the base and the quality of the band make it fit my annoyingly small wrist very comfortably.

I like having the date always available at a glance in the digital section - and since it's digital, it's always right (as oppised to analog types that read 31 rather than 1 on a 30-day month). The alarm however, is somewhat difficult to set and actually have it go off in the morning without setting the hourly chime proved also to be a challange... but I wasn't using the manual and I was just pushing buttons in hope to land on the right combination.

I have always used digital watches in the past. This time I wanted something a little more "dressy", but still have the digital part for a basic stopwatch and alarm. This watch fits the bill. Plus, the Indiglo is great. I have had the watch for about a month. I have taken it to China and the dual time-zone feature came in very handy.

Within a week of receiving this watch, I noticed that the analog hands occasionally stopped completely. The digital timekeeping continued without interruption. After resetting the time, the watch would run for a while before stopping again. I returned it and got a new watch (kudos, Amazon) with an explanation of "dead battery" for the previous one. After about 5 months, the same phenomenon returned. I had the battery replaced, but it continued to cease functioning, about once/day, sometimes more. That is intolerable. It appears that the seconds hand occasionally rubs against the minutes hand and they get stuck together. It is too bad - I really like this watch, but it is far too unreliable.

I've worn this watch for the last many years, and cannot be without it. I've had to replace it a couple of times, but I am pretty hard on my watches, and for the price, I'm still pleased if I get a few years out of it.

One of the biggest pro's is the indiglo. I travel a fair amount, and can use the indiglo to navigate my way in a dark, strange hotel room. It's amazing how the indiglo can illumiate your path in a dark room.


The other pro's are the comfort of the watch / band, and the many functions it has. I love having the digital portion, which I always leave on my home time zone so I can easily determine what time it is at home. I also use the timer quite often.

The only con is that these watches don't last for ever, at least not for me. Part of the problem I think is that in the past, I got the battery changed at Walmart with some kid who seemed to know nothing about changing batteries in these. After this, the sound never worked. So now I go to a jewler to change the battery - I pay more, but it's worth it.

Timex - Fantastic Watch!!

UPDATE: Oct 2008: I would lower the ratings of this watch if I could due to durability issues. I finally tired of having to replace it every year. I got a new watch (Casio MDV102) that has a super bright LED and seems very well made and durable - Casio Men's Sea Analog Illuminator Dual LED Dive Watch #MDV102-1AV