The BEST Field Watch? 330 Field Watches Rated - Top Ten
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- In this video I analyze 330 field watches to determine which one is the best. I also address the use case of the field watch. It arose out of the need to win military conflicts, but now is cherished for its rugged construction and simple looks. Some of the watches I review are Ball, Glycine, Benrus, Vertex, Hamilton, Victorinox, Patek Phillipe, Praesidus, Rolex, Seiko, Tudor, Bulova, Timex, Luminox, MWC, Nite, Vaer, and many more. Use the time stamps below for navigation.
Note: After I uploaded this, Radcliffe released the Mad Hacker watch, a $300ish 36mm hand wind with 100m WR and screw-down crown. It receives a score of 69, so it would have been in my top 5 hand winding watches, had I known about it when I shot the video.
Top 10 List 5:14:39
• Best Budget - Top 5 0:04:07
• Field Watch Purpose 0:05:52
• Scoring System 0:11:48
• Under $200 - Top 5 0:22:03
• Under $200 - Remainder 0:30:07
• Score cards saved at www.watchcrunc...
• $200-$500 - Top 5 1:21:07
• $200-$500 - Remainder 1:31:30
• Score cards saved at www.watchcrunc...
• $500-$1,000 - Top 5 2:43:30
• $500-$1,000 - Remainder 2:53:10
• $1,000-$5,000 - Top 5 3:38:30
• $1,000-$5000 - Remainder 3:51:10
• Over $5,000 - Top 5 4:45:43
• Over $5,000 - Remainder 4:54:30
• Intro to Top 10 5:08:49
• Top 10 5:14:39
• Best - 37mm and Smaller 5:24:53
• Best - Titanium 5:29:35
• Best - Solar Quartz 5:33:13
• Best - Tritium Lume 5:36:59
• Best - Hand Winding 5:39:58
• Bible Time 5:43:56
Today’s bible passage is Psalm 36:8-9
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Here are some of my favorite biblical pastors on UA-cam
The late Dr. Charles Stanley / @intouchministries
Mike Winger - / @mikewinger
Daniel Maritz - / @dlmchristianlifestyle
Nate Sala - / @wisedisciple
After the video, I've been notified of the following additional watches:
1. Smith and Wesson - score of 59, www.galls.com/smith-wesson-3-in-1-military-inspired-watch
2. Seizenn W10 - score of 52, grmontrewatches.com/products/seizenn-w10?variant=41586190942392
3. Radcliffe Mad Hacker - score of 69. Would have been top handwinding. www.radcliffewatches.com/product-page/mad-watch-collector-x-radcliffe-field-watch
4. Kingsbury MS4 Regiment - score of 70. kingsburywatch.com/collections/ms4-regiment/products/ms4-regiment-ref-101026
5. Citizen Garrison AW0050-82E - Score of 62. www.citizenwatch.com/us/en/product/BM8560-53E.html?cgid=super-titanium
6. Wolf Creek North Star - Score of 52. www.wolfcreekwatchco.com/shop/p/north-star
7. Citizen Promaster Tough BN0241-59H - score of 62. www.citizenwatch.com/us/en/product/BN0241-59H.html
8. Jeep X Marathon -score of 59 www.marathonwatch.com/products/41mm-jeep%C2%AE-willys-ssgpm
9. LIV Gravel 001 - Score of 54 www.livwatches.com/products/gravel-001-lume-dial-black-white-rubber-strap
10. Seaholm Rover - Score of 60 gordyandsons.com/seaholm-rover-field-watch40870/
Corrections: Lorus has 100m, +6, new score of 65. Bertucci A2-SEL has push pull crown, -5, new score of 82. Momentum Smokejumper Eclipse is Titanium, +1, new score of 76.
Did you miss the Timex Expedition Scout solar?
@@mikesucho I can't find that watch. If you drop a link I'll add it to the list
@@mywatcheswithben Its her. I got it as a beater and have it on a Velcro strap with the plastic ends ala SWC. I like it but just its just a 50m. Great series BTW was wondering if you added pints for fully drilled lugs?
No Citizen Promaster Tough Titanium was a big miss in an otherwise great video.
Wow, this is a watch enthusiasts dream come true. Almost 6 full hours of watch talk. I'm about one and a half hours in and can appreciate the scoring system so far. I'll need to take breaks and come back to it later. This is a meal that can't be polished off in only one sitting. Thanks for taking the time to make this. BTW, Avatar 1 and 2 with a combined runtime of 5h 52m, but zero watches! Cameron has nothing on this masterpiece!
Thanks for your kind words!
Damn dude! The work you put into this is incredible. Thanks for doing it
You betcha, thanks for watching
Wow! Very thorough. Love it! Thanks!
and subscribed!
Really appreciate your Hardwork for making this video
A fellow Catholic watch enthusiast. Never thought I would find another!! Instant sub🙌🏼🙌🏼
Thank you for creating this amazingly thorough list of field watches. It's incredible how many companies have entered this arena.
You betcha. The pilot one is coming out in a few weeks too
Althouh I disagreed on some of your picks, actualy a lot, I REALLY enjoyed the video and how much effort you took to grade the watches based upon your scoring. I found a lot of watches I’ve never heard of and I really appreciated your time to make this.
Thank you so much for that feedback
I absolutely lost it when you started playing violin at 22:02 !
As a classical music enjoyer whose favourite instrument is violin (I actually bought one but haven't started yet due to studying for my collage exams lol) and a hardcore watch nerd, it brings me so much joy to see other people with the same passions and hobbies as me. I wish you the best in all chapters of your life! You are a good man!
Thanks! Best of luck to you on your journey with the violin. It's a hard instrument, but I love it
Thank you for this awesome video, it must have took forever to do… i have to watch it in stages haha, plus I’m glad you added the Mad Hacker as that’s on my radar.
Thanks for watching, I appreciate the encouragement 👍🏻
I just recently bought a Hamilton Khaki aviator !
Love the video...right up my alley ! ⌚
Can not wait for the 7 hour video on dive watches! Loved this amazing and comprehensive video on field watches!
Cheers!
Thank you for your kind words. After weeks of prep, I start recording the dive watch one tomorrow. Will probably take me a few weeks to finish though. That series has 633 watches!
@@mywatcheswithben That’s an absolutely astonishing number of watches! Thank you for your hard work in providing a detailed analysis of the dive watch genre!
The main flaw with your scoring system is that your rated a number of watches you dont truly know about as they are so many of them which you cannot truly test as they are not in your hands and based your opinion thru speculations and not facts.
Really appreciate the work you put into this. Perfect timing for me, I have been struggling to find the "right" Field watch for my daughter, you made the research so less daunting!
Glad it was helpful!
What an amazing piece of work. Thanks for this. ❤
You betcha, thanks for watching
Thank you for your incredible work on this topic! Amazing
You betcha. Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome research, sad not to see the citizen promaster tough super titanium listed. Thank you for such an extensive look at field watches on offer in the market!
Yes, excellent point. That was a big oversight.
Finally finished it! My take away from this is that you get far more for your money at the lower tiers than in the higher ones. Sub $500 you get rough and ready tool pieces that that can take a beating without your bank account having to. Thank you once again for making this!
You betcha, and thanks for watching
The moral of this video is that there are far too many watch companies.
True. Almost done with one on dive watches. That market is more than double the size of field watches. 361 brands
Great work man👍🏻. Can come to this video anytime I need to check literally anything. Appreciate your efforts. Thanks
Faith and Watches without end… amazing!! Great work! Thanks
LOTS OF WORK! You have done an incredible analysis! I found it extremely helpful.I wish others would adopt a more comprehensive, analytical approach balanced with aesthetic value. THANK YOU.
Glad you enjoyed it
INCREDIBLE job gathering all this intel on all these watches ! You've done the community a great service 👍
I do disagree about the mechanical watch score though, what soldier wants to wind their watch every few days ?? It also greatly increases the likelihood of damage due to dirt or wear & tear.
Agree about the Solar power, a 5 or 10 yr battery is almost as good though as the rechargeable solar battery cell only lasts 12-15 yrs.
Thanks for watching, and I appreciate the feedback
Kudos for having the guts and endurance to produce a 6-hour video! I admit I haven't watched anywhere near all of it, but I admire the way you took the time and effort to rate them and do it properly, on actual features.
I guess the only thing is that the vast majority of buyers are firstly constrained by price - if you were spending a ton of money would your first choice be a field watch? I've never seen the point of spending more than a few hundred quid on a watch to be honest, and if I were to use it in a relatively hostile territory I would want something I didn't mind getting beaten up too much, and on that basis would spend as little as I could get away with.
I bought the Boldr Venture, very well made, similar price point to the Bertucci and better legibility. Great from a legibility point of view although I'm not a fan of the font used, but I would replace at least one of the Bertuccis in the top 10. Great watch for the price. Love the Minus 8 Field 1s but agree with you on the spacing and size of the numbers, it just doesn't look right. Shame because apart from that the case and design is superb.
Wow! The algorithm has done a decent job in recommending this to me. Fascinating stuff. I actually have and really like an SRPJ85 (it's my daily watch), but I totally agree that slightly less would be rather more in terms of the dial. I think it's genuinely pretty beautiful already, but I would say that wouldn't I? You're spot-on that it's not really a true field watch. I'd actually buy and wear that iteration (flatter crystal, quartz, no complications) if it did appear...in theory it'd be half the price, but we know the likely reality! But I'm truly grateful for your research here - I've now got so many options for my true apocalypse watch!
Thank you for watching, and I appreciate the feedback 😊
You have absolutely right about Bertucci. If combine some specs of different Bertuccis you can have the perfect field watch. I'm gonna buy the A-2ts because of solar, welded lugs, and screw down crown, but I don't like sapphire, I don't like date complication. The A-2s could be the perfect field watch if it was solar. Cudos to you for over five hours video. Thanks m8. 👍
You say this list was put together without bias, yet you weight your scoring system HEAVILY in favor of quartz movements...
Couple points:
- During 5 deployments in Afghanistan and 2 in Iraq, my mechanical field watches never let me down. Same can be said for many combat veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
- For any "field" situation where EMP could be a factor, your quartz watch will only be correct twice a day...
- Didn't see many battery kiosks in the "field." Perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough...
And finally, thank you for putting the scoring system at the front of the of the video. You saved me 5 hours.
You're welcome. Thanks for watching, and thanks for your service!
WOW! That´s the Woodstock of watches. Lots of interesting brands I had no idea even existed. Thanks mate.
You betcha, thanks for watching
Great in depth video. New sub because of it. Nice work
Awesome, thank you!
Thank u for your efforts! Love your Lists content.
Thanks for watching
Incredible video how you stay focused for so long I have no idea 😅
Thanks
Thank you. For months I had been trying to evaluate the field watches. They were too big; they were too small; they weren't solar, etc.
When I realized the enormous premium that I would have to pay to obtain a solar watch in the size that I wanted, I refined my search, accepted that I would have to change the battery and went with the Bertucci dx3. Apparently the battery is reputed to be good for 4 years and not the usual two years, so there it is.
Glad this was helpful. Enjoy your Bertucci
1. thank you very much.
2. I have spent months trying to find a solar field watch. Very typically, I didn't want to buy a watch and then a few months regret that I had not spent enough money.
3. After seeing the reviews, I have decided to stick with quartz and the battery changes. I know which brand and model now.
4. Of course, I have a pile of inexpensive, very functional digital watches, however the preference is for analog, not oversized, not with a plethora of buttons.
5. The two watches that I have that would qualify are discontinued, nearly ancient Wenger Military quartz purchased used. Because I I can be rough with watches, I put a twist-a-flex metal band when the recent leather strap broke on one.
You're welcome, thanks for watching
Hey Ben, amazing. Id be interested in your thoughts in some of the basic lum-tec watches, the combat B series. Thanks again, amazing coverage.
From what I can tell, lum tec is really great. One was number 5 in affordable pilot watches. There's also a lum-tec in my overall top ten for simple pilot watches. www.watchcrunch.com/Crispyjukes/posts/affordable-simple-pilot-watches-524116
im only like one minute in but i hope you consider the older victorinox / swiss army watches, specifically the alliance and cavalry collections that were nice, honestly everything they made during 2006-2010 was nice, will be watching this video spread throughout days whenever i can lol
Sorry to disappoint on that front. I only looked at current offerings, which I know is limiting
great video. is there a hard list i can review
I've uploaded scorecards for the two bottom price tiers. Links in the description. I'll do the other tiers eventually, but right now I'm focused on finishing the video on traveler watches. That will take me another few weeks
Not all heroes wear capes 🙏🏽🙌🏽 thank you so much for this herculean effort man.
You betcha, and God bless you
What a fantastic video, it's a must watch for anyone who even remotely likes watches. (Or the bible). Wished the mad hacker watch was in the hand wind rankings. Otherwise this is as comprehensive as it gets. I believe MWC's announcement was too late anyway. Thanks for the amount of time you put in making this video, was such a joy to watch. Wish there was a video like this for every type of watch. This is the ultimate go to reference guide for field watches. Also, your easy relaxed commentary never gets boring. THANKS!!!
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, the mad hacker definitely would have been in the top 5 hand wind.
Im sorry if im wrong i think you missed the smith and weston field watch, great video though
You're right! I missed that one. Score of 59 and already on a NATO, so not recommended for extreme scenarios. www.galls.com/smith-wesson-3-in-1-military-inspired-watch
Heats down for your enthusiasm doing such a long video!
it is very long but very entertaining at the same time.
Divers are my favorite watches. Please make one about divers!
Thanks for the encouragement, and I'm definitely thinking about dive
I know people rag on Citizen but I saw they had a field watch that would likely score high on your list. It's got the WR100, solar, the numbers, lume is limited, and it's not a welded lug. It has mineral crystal so it's not so bad. Flush finish tho.
I added 4 or so Citizens in the updated scorecards. Check it out here: www.watchcrunch.com/Crispyjukes/posts/best-field-watches-200-to-500-537649
Just subbed. Always glad to see a Brother on YT. Fine vid. DL ing now. GBU
God bless you too brother
You did a tremendous amount of work turning the crank to generate so many results, but the most important precursor to this kind of analysis is that you have a correct set of requirements and weighting factors before setting out to make numerical evaluations and rankings. In my opinion several of your "requirements" for a "field watch" are incorrect and your weighting factors seem, in some cases, to be suspect. This means, of course, that when you make your evaluations and turn the crank, you get bogus answers (that's GIGO writ large) . Basing your concept of an ideal "field watch" on the WWII "Dirty Dozen" style watches, eliminating digital watches and penalizing date complications, among other errors puts too much emphasis on nostalgia for 80 year-old military designs and not enough focus on the hundreds of rugged, practical watches you eliminate or penalize unnecessarily. We are not operating in the 1940's, so we might as well acknowledge that today's military watch market is dominated by quartz watches, most of them digital. Ignoring that fact is like asserting that the ideal military carbine should only be equipped with iron sights, because that's the were on the M1 rifle. And that's not taking into account that many field watch users aren't in the military. But it's not necessary to pick apart the assumptions, when one can judge the validity of the analysis by the winners and losers. There are just too many poor field watches ranked highly for the results to be plausible. Case in point: none of the Top 5 Under $200 (nor many of the other watches in the survey) include a date complication, which IMHO is essential for any field operation lasting more than an afternoon. Whether you are on a week-long backpacking trip or on the battlefield, you need to know the date when you're going to rendezvous with your team or be resupplied. Do you really think that a date complication, even in an analog watch, is a huge reliability risk? How does that risk compare to showing up a day late for your exfil?
Thanks for the feedback, and very interesting points you make. If I revisit this in the future, I'll definitely add some digital options. Good point about date utility, I hadn't considered that information to be important, but I see what you're saying
@@mywatcheswithben Thanks for your courteous reply. I have done a lot of thinking about your video since I wrote my comments and I have to strongly salute you for some of your points, which (like mine) may sometimes run counter to the opinions of others. In particular I salute you for extolling the virtues of acrylic and mineral glass crystals, quartz movements, superior water resistance, crown protection, and NATO straps, although I would not personally penalize a watch with a screw-down crown but no crown guards, or a watch supplied on a bracelet or a two-piece strap, when a NATO strap can be easily fitted for a couple of bucks. You're right, field watches should be worn on a NATO strap, but not having one on the watch when purchased is a trivial defect since one can be readily be fitted. I struggle a bit with your strong preference for welded lugs. Here, I think we could benefit from differentiating between survival conditions (such as war, extended backpacking trip, etc.) and more casual field uses (like a morning of bird watching or an afternoon hike). Since you and I are going to wear a survival watch on a NATO strap, there is no penalty to having welded lugs and the chance of losing the watch or the functionality of it is markedly decreased. I'm going to take another look at some of your welded-lug watches to see if I am missing something. It is a pity that more watches aren't available in this configuration, but we probably have to conceded that most "field" watches are more likely to be seen in a restaurant than in the field. Finally, a new point, in a field situation where a watch is essential and one has to worry about damage or failures, the easiest expedient is to have a backup watch. For this purpose I submit the credentials of the Casio W800H, which has acrylic crystal, 12 or 24 hour display, 10 year battery, 100m of water resistance, high accuracy, and is lighter, less-reflective, and arguably more rugged than almost any of the watches in your survey. Oh, and readily available for $20! When in the field for more than a day hike or on vacation I always have one of these in my bag. It will do everything you need a watch to do, except look pretty. If my primary watch is lost or damaged the Casio will get me home.
I have not wached this video but I have subscribed, liked it and commented as such an amount of work deserves it. I will probably watch 10 minutes a day probably for a month.. You Sir are a Legend. In the future (when you decide to make one about divers 😉)I would divide the video into parts to help with the monetization which is well deserved.
Thanks for watching, and the kind words. I did split up the dive one, and I think it was a good choice. Just started pilot, and that will be easier to split because there are different types (simple, dual time, chronograph)
Awesome job making this... It must have taken ages to create and upload this!!! Its great to see another Christian watch youtuber! Wow but you were extremely specific with your scoring system. Its quite thorough. Some of these I have nearly bought and and some I have owned. The Lorus watch however has 10 bar on the dial which is equivalent to 100m not 50m as stated. What's crazy however is that watch used to be about $50 a few years ago... Some really cool options mentioned here! My field watch spectrum has been widened thanks to you!
Thanks for watching! Yes, it took a long time to upload. Rumble wont even take it because the file is too big (61gb)! Sorry about that error, and of course you're absolutely right with the 100m. When I was thinking about doing this, I knew I would probably miss some things, but went ahead with it because it was interesting to see an overview of the market and find out about some different options.
@@mywatcheswithben 61gb... Good grief, you have some incredible patience! I think you did an awesome job especially considering that their were 300 watches, a number of categories and a vast selection of criteria that you had to factor in. I am just over halfway and some of these brands I have never even seen or heard of. In my previous comment I forgot to mention that many of these watches are field style watches. They have the look but they try to combine other factors to make them more appealing to potential buyers. The Unimatic for example is a field style/ dive watch hybrid to try and capitalize on both markets... Its super interesting! Hope you have a fantastic day!
very nice review! keep them coming. will be nice to include product links
Thanks for watching!
Great video. I'll throw Kingsbury in too
Never heard of it, but yes, that's a very nice option. Score of 70 for anyone who's interested, so suitable for the apocalypse. kingsburywatch.com/collections/ms4-regiment/products/ms4-regiment-ref-101026
Huge effort, my cobgrats! 🎉🎉
Thanks
I have 2 SWC watches. A bunker and and an ARK. Crazy lume on these. They are both titanium. The ARK is quartz and super thin. Screw down crown and 100m of water resistance. 16 layers of AR coating and drilled lugs. Really a good company. The bunker is probably my favorite watch. The ARK is like 225.
Those SWC watches look really nice
Incredible. Thank you for your work
You betcha, thanks for watching
THANKS!
I really like your approach, but feel the length of the video is way too long. I think most people who watch UA-cam videos would recommend no more than 20 minutes. Keep up the nice work. I subscribed! Hope to see more videos in the future.
Thanks for the sub, and I appreciate your feedback
Voww, this is crazy good. Thank you so much.
Can I get your opinion on the Seiko SNK805K2 Field Watch, please
Thank you. That Seiko looks nice. It's a flieger type B pilot watch. I tried to keep pilot watches out of the video.
I think I will do pilot watches next though. I will include it in the pilot video.
I’m simple. For me it’s the Rdunae RO-3.. $42.00, the military ML-05..$38.00, the Sam Martin SN0123.. $120.00 and my steeldive Willard..$52.00 and my Rdunae 6015 Willard in the mail. Pigani design I makes a nice sapphire sandwich PD1751 as well, so cheap I bought two.
I just bought the Militado ML05. Same specs as the Escapement Time, but it has a sapphire crystal.
That's a pretty amazing video! Although the best field will always be a solar quartz gshock 😂 I do aggre that paying over 1000 for a watch of this nature is not a good idea making them difficult to recommend. Many buys those watches for the look and feel. I have a few gshock the spb155 baby alpinist and love them alot for different reasons. I'm waiting for a Pagani design 1717 in white. At the end it's wear what you like and enjoy them! 👌Thanks for this great video!
Well said! Enjoy your watches
1:16:23 - You asked, “I don’t feel great about the fact that on the scoring system I set up, Seiko did horribly. But if you have a criticism with this, please explain your scoring system where Seiko is the best.” Sure!
If your goal is truly to be able to survive either the zombie apocalypse or a war out in the woods, then I think that I would have to give the edge to mechanical watches over quartz, mostly because if there’s a zombie apocalypse or if you’re pat war, there’s no easy way to get new batteries. While in contrast, a mechanical watch never run out of power as long as the person who’s wearing it is still alive.
Your scoring system also docks watches for not having minute arabics, and I’d be inclined to flip that as well: I’d be inclined dock watches if they did have minute arabics because I find that minute arabics make it harder to read the watch at a glance (assuming that the watch still has minute marks ).
I also think that you’re scoring system of docking watches so heavily for having non-NATO straps is a bit overly stringent since you can buy a NATO strap for 15 or 20 bucks quite easily. As well, although acknowledge that a spring bar could theoretically pop out or break, I’ve never had that happen in any of the watches that I own. (And I acknowledge that that had happened on one of your watches, but in practical terms, I’m guessing that it hasn’t happened on any of your other watches before?)
And then just as one last thing, I don’t think that I’d be inclined to penalize watches for having a push-pull crown or for not having crown guards. Sure, they may be a theoretical benefit to having a screwdown crown or having crown guards, but unless you might be wrestling with a bear or free soloing a mountain, I fathom to think of much if any scenarios where you could clunk your watch crown so badly that the watch would be damaged (but at the same time in which that same clunk wouldn’t damage the watch if only it had had a screwdown crown or crown guards).
Very thorough and thoughtful response to my question, and I understand your perspective. Clearly Seikos have their advocates, even if they are not for me. Thanks for sharing your perspective with me
@@mywatcheswithben And thank you for making such a thorough video!
Amen brother, Bible time!
That Momentum Smoke Jumper is sweet
It really is. I don't know about build quality, but from what I can tell, it looks like a great choice
The new best field watch is the Kuoe Old Smith, there are different models prices ranging under $300 and up.
Thank Ben, would you consider Lum tec, Gpw, mido, omega aqua terra. I c ur point with the straps. argument, however, when it's my hand or the watch, I wld sacrifice the watch with the a good make spring bar. Would you consider adding anti-magnetism as part of ur rating?, thank you.
Yes, good point. If I do an update in the future, I will change some things. Magnetism resistance should get a bonus.
I would also put in the lume shots and factor in thickness
Sorry I wasn't clear, I meant Lum-tec the brand, in addition to Mido, GPW, Sinn, also brands. Lume shots definitely will add charm to all types of watches, field, dive, etc. Thanks
Fantastic video is there any chance you can do a complete break down of German field watches with only German brands. I would like to see your opinions on Sinn, Damasko, Hanhart and others...
I'm working on a 6 video dive watch series now. Perhaps after that I would consider pilot watch
Thank you for your hard work! A very interesting video for military fans! I've discovered 5 new brands! From Russia with love! God bless you!
Thanks for your kind words, and God bless you too!
Well, there goes my Sunday
You misrepresented the Drake Aoraki Zulu as I have the exact watch and it does have a screw down crown which is in the 4 o’clock position so is partially protected.
Thanks for that feedback, and if course you are right. If you check the website, you will see that they don't say it screws down. www.drakenwatches.com/aoraki/ I had to go with the websites since there were so many watches.
@@mywatcheswithben thank you for the quick acknowledgement and just curious what reassessed score you would give the Aoraki Zulu
It gets 5 points more, so 67, tied with the Marathon Officer's Quartz. 29th place in the $200-$500 range
i have the escapement time black and white theyre one of my best field watches
Good to hear, they certainly look like great value, just from the specs
Keep in mind that a lot of folks just like the field watch esthetic, and won't care about half of Ben's points criteria here. E.g.: The only water my watch will ever see is an occasional couple of rain drops.
Did not see the Citizen Promaster Tough? Top contender IMO
Hey, thanks for watching and pointing out that watch. I checked it, and with no arabic numerals and a steel bracelet, to me it's more of a sports watch. It doesn't fare well on my scoring system. It's also discontinued
BN0241-59H is a black dial and they make a cool green one as well. They are in production and Arabic numerals…very large and very legible. Most robust watch of any. Sorry i did not include the latest edition of this watch when i first suggested it. Icon “Ray Mears” made this watch somewhat famous years ago from Britain. I do appreciate the work and just wanted to make sure you knew this is in full production with new features.
Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, that's a good one!
Can you tell me where the victorinox fieldforce scored
1:16:49 the only argument I could make for automatic/hand wind >quartz in your specific situation is the long-term use of the watch in a post apocalyptic world where batteries are a finite resource. So it’s not just annoying to do a battery charge. It’s likely not even possible.
Good point there about lack of availability
I know, lets do a 6 hour field watch video and not have a Citizen BM8180. Unbelievable. 😮
Fair point. That one looks pretty good and gets 40th place in the $200-$500 price range. The updated scorecards are saved at www.watchcrunch.com/Crispyjukes/posts/best-field-watches-200-to-500-537649
I personally like the Timex T45181
That is very cool. Kind of a technical field watch. Tons of complications
I think this is a good watch... 2024 Tandorio 40mm vintage NH35 movement, 20ATM , sapphire crystal, screw down/crown guard
No Sinn? The 556 and 856 would probably score pretty well
I can't watch this video just to find out what I already know, the NITE MX10 is my field watch of choice.
So Ben, I know that you're defining a scenario where a watch has to be as reliable as possible but somehow not digital which is the most reliable because digital modules have no moving parts, but the simple fact is that most field watches aren't made for this one particular scenario or even for fieldwork in general. They are daily drivers and so people expect stuff on their field watch that fits into their daily life and that includes their preference for mechanical over quarts for reasons that only have to do with emotion and not practicality.
I mean these are watch collectors for crying out loud you think logic and practicality feature into this at all?
I do hear what you're saying though and now I have a low level task in the back of my head to design a field watch for people who actually need a super robust field watch, for getting out into nature for days at a time with minimal complications and maximum reliability.
I would like to know why you next the digital option though. Is this an example of your preferences overriding logic or is there another reason?
Also a watch being automatic adds one part? It adds a few more than that.
I would like to stay too that even though automatic is more complicated than a manual wind they took over the market for a reason. And it's not just the convenience of not having to remember to wind your watch. Because automatics stay more fully wound more of the time they keep much better and more consistent time than a manual wind which has to contend with keeping time when both fully wound and nearly unwound. The changes to timekeeping and improvement in accuracy due to not having to fight the isochronism problem far outweigh the cost of their relatively modest complexity.
I'm looking forward to watching the rest of your 6 hour video.
Thanks for the feedback. Very interesting about the handwind watches and isochronism. I had no idea, but that makes total sense. Fortunately there aren't that many of those handwind ones. Really the decision to exclude digital was practical. I wanted a more manageable population, and it would be hard to compare the analog to the digital. It's sort of like apples to oranges.
@@mywatcheswithben makes sense, esp. as digital watch shoppers are probably not cross shopping analog field watches. Thanks for the reply!
Answering the unasked question: "what did people used to do for a field watch?" I have a couple of Wenger quartz watches that are about 30 years old. Perfect condition. Keep perfect time. I broke the strap on one this year and replaced it with a Twist-a-flex metal band fitted to me. The glaring problem was that the crown was unprotected. So, that launched me on the search for what ended up the Berucci dx3 choice. The old Wenger watchs are available on eBay.
Some of those wengers look really good. After this video, I picked up a bertucci, and I'm really pleased with it
Hello, thank you very much for you immense effort. What about citizen ecodrive?
Yes, good catch. I should have included a citizen or two. I thought they were all pilot watches, but some are field watches www.citizenwatch.com/us/en/product/BM8560-53E.html?cgid=super-titanium
Yes, there is the Chandler, and also this one that's super legible :
BN0118-55E
What blows me away is that patek's price. If the average person looked at both that and the Cincinnati field watch they would say the patek is slightly more expensive... maybe. When held it may be more apparent.
Yeah I don't know why it costs so much. Totally mind blowing
Is there an excel spreadsheet for this where we could apply filters to find a watch suitable for our wants? For example, filter for case size, depth, movement etc?
Here you go. I'll add the pilot one soon drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q1H1BF1z8VE3ihWGSNGbhnQzM8onqVdW
Sorry, they are not very user friendly
@@mywatcheswithben thank you, so much. This is awesome work! Fits my nerd data mind very nicely 😀
Seaholm Rover watch in the 1000 to 5000 range checks off a lot of boxes but not shown here
Good catch! I'll add it to the pinned comment
Sir, may I inquire as to your service history and combat experience? I ask because many of your assumptions about what features are valuable in a field watch seem perceived vice experienced. I served for 27 years and have 9 combat deployments in my record jacket, and I can assure you that most of the inexpensive quartz junk on your list wouldn't last 3 weeks in a field environment.
Thanks for your service and your feedback. No, my observation about a quartz movement being more robust than a mechanical is based on what I've read. The fact that golf and tennis will destroy any mechanical movement (except Richard Mille) very quickly, but a quartz will be fine. Look at CWC - quartz. That's the real deal.
@@mywatcheswithben Thank you for your reply. Yes, the CWC quartz is the real deal. Many of the Brits I served with early in my career still wore issued models. But then again, many of them chose to wear either Marathon or Hamilton WWGP models if they could get their hands on them. Some didn't want to deal with batteries and some just preferred mechanical. I've worn both the Hamilton issued model and my personal Marathon GSAR on deployment and had no issues with either one. Of course, my last 5 deployments saw me with a G-Shock on my left wrist and the Marathon on my right, so I'm not dead set against quartz. As long as it's the right quartz lol.
Citizen Eco Drive BM8180 / BM8188 / BM8186 anywhere?
No watch with disposable battery or less than 10 ATM water resistance should ever be scored higher than these.
Some of the Citizen watches were added later. See revised score cards for that price tier at www.watchcrunch.com/MyWwithBen/posts/best-field-watches-200-to-500-537649
@@mywatcheswithben Thank you! Amazing how many beautiful watches are available and that’s only one particular style.
A little mistake I spotted is that Lorus (1:01) literally has 10 bars written on the dial, which would equate to 100m. The video says 50m.
Oh, good catch!
@@mywatcheswithben I was on my phone and I didn’t notice the pinned comment! It was caught already.
Really great video - still watching it at 2 half hours.
Hello again, I watched that video so many times.. what will be your score on that one? : PMD56-2951.
Thank you
Hey, see my pinned comment. It's probably the same score as the Citizen Garrison, score of 63. It fares much better as a pilot watch though. I just finished the score cards for the pilot watches and will start filming in the next day or so.
@@mywatcheswithben ok, thank you
I love the bible verses brother!!!! Keep them coming !!!!
Bit to long of a video tho😂😂
Thank you so much, and God bless you
Hello! In Minute 2:27 you mention a Watch called Mark 3 Crucible i cannot find it anywhere.. can anyone help me out or maybe send a link!
Thank you! Best regards!
I got you: mkiiwatches.com/products/cruxible-type-a-11-date
It's Mk II, I said the wrong thing
You missed the best titanium tritium lume field watch, Bertucci A4L
You're absolutely right! That would definitely be the top tritium watch. That was a big oversight
What score did the casio overland field watch get?
I think that model is off the market, so it wasn't included
Durability
Reliability
Legibility
You underestimate bronze, it dose not have the tensile strength of steel but it dose add to the impact resistance to the movement
Ahh, very interesting point. That's makes sense. In retrospect, I should have highlighted some of the bronze options
Hand wound: Merkur/Seizenn W10
Under $200: Baltany D12 36/39mm
Mentioned despatches: Timex Expedition Scout.
Nice catch. Yes, I missed the Seizenn W10. Based on the product listing grmontrewatches.com/products/seizenn-w10?variant=41586190942392, it has 50m WR, push pull crown, no crown guards, handwinding.... Score of 52. Not recommended for the apocalypse.
As for the Baltany, check out 53:46. I think this is what you're referring to. I recommend if you put it on a NATO.
Pretty intensive video! Manically so.
Some observations: what difference does it make having a NATO. Strap? Especially, if they have a nylon, or rubber, or even a bracelet! Having a standard lug width like 18, 20, or 22mm would be far more important.
Zombie apocalypse? I think you'd be looking at tactical watches more than a field watch? Seiko Alpinist is a mountaineering watch historically, it's also somewhat vintage inspired, thus it's more dressy countenance. You're judging non-military watches by military criteria.
Quartz? In the zombie apocalypse you're not gonna want standard quartz, because you'll be out-a-luck in one to three years!
Because of these rather pointless criteria ( especially since you clearly second guessed yourself on a couple of occasions as you went on) I really felt like this rather clinical approach didn't really ever get good traction. It reminded me of the approach a D&D dungeon master might have or an accountant might have!😂
Indeed you probably could have cut out everything but the last 15-20 minutes when you became more "subjective"
Speaking for myself your selection of Solar and titanium watches was pretty much the cream of the crop overall anywayz! With the exception of the Seiko's almost nothing else was relevant too much.
Speaking of solar; no Citizen? Honestly, a Citizen Eco-Drive field watch (there's even some in Titanium) would basically pound all comers by your criteria simply by putting it on a NATO!
Grab a Citizen Garrison, put it on a NATO and that negates the purpose of the whole video! 😅
But, seriously what this does more than anything is highlight why personal hands on experience is so important and almost required, even if it would be impractical for the scope of this review.
Watches you got right from my personal experience? Longines Titanium Spirit, RZE, Cinncinatus.
Watches got wrong? Alpinist,
Great watches you missed? DuFrane Mabry, Vertex A-11 (both corkers)!
Honestly, I wouldn't have said anything, but it wouldn't have been fair to the inexperienced, budding watch enthusiasts out there. 😕
Thank you for watching, and I appreciate the feedback. Of course the whole premise of the video is silly, but I thought it would be entertaining, and based on the feedback, it really has been. Fair point about seeing a watch in-person. I know you can get really good looking photos of ugly watches, and you can hide flaws such as poor finishing and excessive thickness.
As for the Citizen, when I first looked at that one, I saw it had a triangle at the top with dots on either side, and it had flieger hands, so I deemed it to be a pilot watch. However, now that I look again, I found some that are different, and there's definitely one that isn't a pilot watch. It's the AW0050-82E www.citizenwatch.com/us/en/product/AW0050-82E.html. It has some nice features, so it should have been in the video. Score of 62, so on a NATO I recommend it for extreme scenarios.
The NATO is to prevent you from losing the watch if a spring bar pops off. It's happened to me before, and the NATO was invented for exactly that reason, because this does happen when you're doing physical things outside.
As for Vertex, there is no A-11 on their website. All I see is the M100A, which I talked about. I only included watches in current production. The DuFrane Mabry, with the California dial, no crown guards, applied indexes, gets a score of 47, so even if you put it on a NATO, I don't recommended it for your trip to the jungle. Looks pretty though. I should have included that one too. Thanks for pointing those out!
Oh, and how did you know I'm a CPA?
Yes, sorry M100-A these watches are being reproduced in limited quantities, but likely are sold out. But it's an excellent watch! Only downside is the price!
Yes, I know the function of a NATO strap! 😢
Crown guards with a screw down crown in most cases are overkill for a field watch. Maybe OK on a dive watch. Kind of like wearing two Condoms.
How did I know you were an accountant!?😅
ua-cam.com/video/NAOQH4xEyhM/v-deo.htmlsi=GjqPRrgOwWmPX0SF
yeah hamilton 38 mm field watch is back for the second time water in the watch you cannot get the bertucci in europa we dont have field watches thats the problem
Sorry to hear that
WHY YOU SKIPPED THE KAKHI EXPEDITION????
Here's the timestamp for you 4:18:16 Enjoy!
ON THE TOP TEN YOU WENT AGAINST YOUR OWN RULES, AND PUT A COUPLE OF PIECES WITHOUT NUMBERS AT ALL, JUST BATTONS
HOW CAN YOU RATE WATCHES WITHOUT HAVING THEM ON YOUR HANDS???????????
Yes, you correctly identified the topic of my video. Overly analytical, imperfect? Certainly. Primarily it was an excuse to show people tons of field watches and discuss the differences.
Rip hamilton and cw
Yeah... didn't excel here
Amen to the ending of this video. Amen. Jesus is the only way, brother. Keep up the evangelizing.
Thanks for watching, and for the encouragement
Church priest talk about watches
I'm just a Christian, not a priest. Have a good day