Victorinox, the makers of the Swiss Army Knives, has long made watches and this spring the company launched a limited titanium edition of its Dive Master 500, which is limited to just 500 pieces. It features a 43mm case in Grade II titanium and is water resistant to up to 500 meters. It also features protected screw down crown and push buttons.
Tag: Watch
Garmin Gets Tactical
When we think of tactical gear we think of something the military might use, but Garmin’s tactical GPS navigator watch is a piece of tactical gear for the rest of us. The Tactix features high-sensitivity GPS positioning with automatic calibrating altimeter, barometer and 3-axis compass, as well as negative mode LCD display with green LED. It features TracBack reverse mapping that can help get you back to your starting point.
For those who need waypoints to find the way, this one allows up to 1,000 waypoints along to 10,000 track points to be stored. Forget bread crumbs, with this on your wrist you’ll never get lost again.
Bianchi Ready for Time Trial
Italian bike maker Bianchi has endured the test of time, and now is looking to bring time keeping to the wrist with a new line of watches. These Swiss-made watches are part of the new “Barcelona 1973” line, named for Felice Gimondi’s victory on a Bianchi bike at the UCI World Championships 30 years ago.
The line, which includes three different models, will be available from the bike maker beginning next month. These will each feature Bianchi’s famous celeste color. These won’t track heart rate, calories or distance but they’ll look stylish on and off the bike.
Style Watch
Fitness watches that are meant for running, swimming and cycling aren’t the kind of thing you’d want to wear when you’re not working out. The Monblanc Sport DLC Chronograph Watch will look good anytime. It is durable enough for outdoor activity, and features a hardened stainless steel case that is thermally treated and coated with black carbon.
While wrist watches aren’t something everyone appreciates these days, this is a fitness watch for those with a sense of style.
Seamaster and Commander
If spending nearly $7,000 for a watch is a normal occurrence for you and you know the sport of sailing, then you certainly know the Omega brand. The company unveiled its Omega Seamaster Diver ETNZ Watch to commemorate the 34th America’s Cup at an event in San Francisco last month. It doesn’t hurt that the watchmaker also has a partnership with Emirates Team New Zealand.
This watch is water resistant to 1,000 feet but most who take part in sailing hope not to test that feature out. It also offers a rotating bezel, a helium escape valve and we expect keeps perfect time.
This Watch Will Take Point
The military style Luminox Recon Nav SPC Watch looks like something one of Tom Clancy’s hard hitting special forces characters would wear. It is a watch that does more than just look cool and tell the time. It features a GMT function for checking time in another time zone, which is necessary for tracking bad guys as they move around the world; it offers a removable compass, necessary for finding your way in the wilds; and a walking speed tachymeter, because knowing how fast you are moving can be crucial in getting to the LZ in time. It even features a three common map scales that can be used to measure distances on maps without the need for calculations, while the watch strap also features an inch/cm measurement and comparison chart and holds a removable compass as an orientation device. Press Release after the jump
High or Low Activity Watches
We don’t normally associate skiing with diving and these are probably not the sort of things you can do back to back. But that said it is good to know that Werdelin will have you covered with its Dive & Ski Instruments, which are so much more than mere sport watches. These digital timepieces feature anodized aluminum cases, sapphire crystal screens and four button menu systems.
The Rock is designed for those going high, as in hitting the ski slopes, and it can measure altitude, and air temperature; while the Reef can track depth, oxygen percentage and water temperature. Rock and Reef, we like that.
Swiss Army Watch Has Night Vision
We’ve seen a variety of Swiss Army products from Victorinox, the company behind those multifunction devices and gizmos. One thing that the Swiss Army Knife doesn’t offer is a way to see in the dark, but that’s where the Night Vision watch comes in. This time piece features a series of integrated LED lights that enhance the ability to see the timepiece but also can be used as a flashlight and as a strobe that can be used as an emergency distress signal. The watch also has a red pilot light designed to help find it in the dark. Originally launched back in 2003 the Night Vision has gotten a makeover this fall. Video after the jump
Eco-Friendly Watches Sprouting Up
There are plenty of watches that can track your heart rate, calories, distance, etc. But there are times when you just want a reliable time piece that can endure your active life and tell time. The Sprout collection is such a watch. It won’t track calories or that other stuff but it can get help you get to the gym in time, and it will look stylish while camping and hiking. The lineup is also made from eco-friendly materials including corn resin, bamboo and Tyvek and these are affordable, sustainable, water-resistant and ready for anyone’s active life.
Casio Mud Resistant Watch
Plenty of watches claim to be water resistant and shock proof, but the Casio G-Shock Mudman G9300-1 looks like it could be ready for the end of civilization, and promises to be the last watch ticking. It is water resistant, shock resistant and can endure mud. Lots of mud!
The internals are protected in a hard plastic and steel casing that makes it waterproof to 200 meters, so it can get wet, dirty and endure the outdoors about as well as any sports watch. It offers a digital compass, thermometer, moon graph, full auto calendar with 12/24 hour formats, and even features 1/100 second stopwatch. At $200 it is a true value, especially for the last watch you might need to buy.
Garmin’s fēnix Outdoor Watch Goes Off Trail
GPS is great, but when you’re on a road you typically still have an idea of your location. For trails and other outdoors activities, if the GPS stops marking when you step off the trail, it’s useless. Garmin just released its fēnix Outdoor Watch, which still tracks and directs adventurers, even when they’re off the beaten path. Continue reading Garmin’s fēnix Outdoor Watch Goes Off Trail
Casio Patherfinder Loads Up With Features
For those who like the look of a traditional watch – and there are a few of those people out there – yet want a timepiece that does more than just tell time, the Casio Pathfinder PAW5000-1 could be one to consider. It features an integrated digital compass, altimeter, barometer and thermometer, along with Tough Movement, which means that it checks and corrects the hand positioning (if necessary) at the 55 minute mark of the hour.
The Pathfinder is solar powered, offers multi-band 6 atomic timekeeping (US, UK, Germany, Japan and China) – and receives time calibration radio signals up to five a day. The built-in digital compass can measure and display direction as one of 16 points. It is water resistant to 100M and offers world time with 29 time zones. And while acting as a timepiece it can display the time in analog and digital formats.
It is thus a tough watch that can help wearer’s find their way while out in the wilds – and it provides style for those times when the user just wishes they’d be in the wilds.
Outdoor Retailer Show: Suunto Shines With New GPS Watch
Suunto has long been on the cutting edge with unique watches, and at this week’s Outdoor Retailer Show the company offered the Ambit. While not exactly cheap – at $600 it isn’t quite in the Rolex space for expensive timepieces – and frankly we’d like to see a Rolex that could do as much as this one. It features built-in GPS, and an accelerometer so you can know where you’re going and how high you’ve climbed.
It also can track heart-rate, speed, pace, elevation, distance, temperature, barometer and work as a compass and of course as a clock and alarm. This one shines!