Customer Reviews

Timex Men's T49551 Expedition E-Compass Leather Watch

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We all know that GPS's die, get socked in on occasion and while great tools, they just aren't enough. A compass and an azimuth can save your life. As Daniel Boone said, "I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks." Bottom line, you need a compass.

There have been digital compasses built into watches before, and there have been analog compasses that attach to the watchband. I have used both in the past with reasonable success. But to have an analog compass that is part of the watch is just the best of everything. On top of that it is Indiglo as well.

This is an excellent watch for the money, and for the outdoorsman. I'm a wildlife photographer and spend a great deal of time in the wilderness, and wanted a rugged analog watch with an analog compass. The compass is very accurate when you learn to properly calibrate. It's a great feature I find myself using quite often. Indiglo light is bright enough to see in the dark, and it has a calander date. Better quality then I've seen in alot of watches that cost twice the Timex Expidetion.

I got a feeling this one will last a long time.

I ordered this watch for outdoor trips . . . camping, hiking, etc. Love the look and feel of the watch. It's not small, but also not too big that it feels clunky on the wrist. Had no issues figuring out the compass and how to recalibrate it . . . field tested to be very accurate. My only reason for knocking off 1 star is the band. The band looks cool, but didn't feel right on my wrist . . . either too loose or too tight. And the second loop to keep the excess strap in order is very loose and did not hold the excess strap for long, which was very annoying! I found a great velcro Timex Expedition brand watch at Target for $10 that is awesome. Normally I would not like a nylon/velcro style band, but for the outdoors, it's comfortable and works great.

This is a pretty good watch for the money. I chose this less expensive version of the Expedition line because it is easy to tell the time. The other Expedition watches don't have large numbers on the hour ticks to quickly tell the time. I have another watch that is very hard to tell the time and I have to stare at it for awhile, which is ridiculous. This watch has large numbers at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions.

It's not a divers watch, but it is much more water resistant than the more expensive watches with computer functions. Also, it's not too expensive a watch that I wouldn't want to wear it somewhere for fear of scratching it. The case is stainless (not plastic) and most importantly, the crystal is glass and not the easily scratchable plastic used in some Suuntos. Some people report scratching their Suunto crystals from the first day they had the watch! With this watch, I don't have to worry about that. And the date is easy to set, which is very important. Because, I have a number of watches, and I like "turning off" watches, when not in use, to keep the mileage off. I pull out the center crown (the way it's shipped) and that keeps the battery from draining and may help the watch last longer (since it's not continuously running). When I do this, I need to be able to readjust the date quickly and with minimal hassle. With this watch, I can reset the date quickly by turning one button. And the leather band that comes with the watch is fairly long to fit bigger wrists. But if you have medium to small wrists, the excess band doesn't seem to get in the way. I don't care for the style of the band, but that's minor.

Now a few negatives:

The compass is electronic with an analog display. It stays off, until you press a button. Seems to work well, since you can adjust for declination. However, to change declination, you have to go through the setup routine, which involves finding a level surface and slowly turning the watch 2 complete rotations. It would be handier, if you could adjust the declination directly without going through the setup routine. Adding plus or minus degrees from where the compass points shouldn't change the calibration of the compass, so I'm unsure why they designed it this way. But just make sure you adjust for declination at home and not on site to avoid the setup hassles.

The declination dial (the black ring inside the watch with the North, South...) does not lock. Turning the bottom button in either direction moves the dial. It moves by accident sometimes while I'm wearing the watch. It would be better, if you had to pull that button out, turn the dial, then push it back in and then it locked. This way it wouldn't move by accident. Because of this, using this watch as a real orienting compass is suspect but it could be done with caution. It could also be used, if you get spun around while driving and don't have GPS in your car. You could use it to get a quick direction fix to get back on track.

The blue Indigo night light is dim and should be brighter. In total darkness it seems bright, but in scummy dim light it could be brighter, so it's easier to read quickly. Also, it only goes on for 3 seconds, which isn't long enough. Half the time I find myself having to push the button twice to read the time. It should go on for at least 5 seconds.

There's no luminous marks where the big hour numbers are at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. And there's no mark at 4 o'clock because the date is there. Not a big deal, but there's a gap in luminous markings between 2 and 5 o'clock (there's no marks at 3 and 4). This is a big gap and it means you're guessing what time it is, if the minute hand is in that gap. You can always use the Indigo night light, but there might be reasons for using the luminous markings instead. This definitely isn't a military watch.

Overall, I'd say a pretty good watch for the money. It's not perfect, but it's a good go everywhere (except for diving) and do anything watch. It's reasonably water resistant, doesn't scratch easily and it's not so expensive that I'd be worried about taking it anywhere.

The watch was as specified. My boyfriend loved it. Really great gift. Would purchase from supplier again. Thank you for the fast shipment.

On 2/11 I purchased this watch, when I received the watch, it was a return, it was a used, soiled on the inside of the watchband from sweat, date set, watch running, didnt even work propely, which was why it was returned in the first place. I returned the watch immediately, and have still not received my refund and today is 3/9. Very disappointed.