In our guide to field watches, we pondered what exactly constitutes a field watch, and the answer we arrived at is a solid one: a field watch should be simple, durable and legible. “Dials should have big, contrasting markers and little else adorning them. Cases should protect movements from hard knocks. There should be lume aplenty,” we wrote.
All this is true of a watch that can perform in the great outdoors. But the category of Outdoors Watch is so large that its very definition is somewhat hazy. We spend time outdoors for thousands of different reasons. Almost no watch can cover every pursuit; even powerful smartwatches with “ABC” (altitude, barometer, compass) functionality, GPS and heart rate tracking might not rate for SCUBA diving or be too bulky for, say, bouldering.
So we have to ask ourselves: What do we decide fits the bill? Is a $10,000 Rolex that can keep perfect time despite being knocked on a rock but that any sane person would not risk knocking on a rock to begin with an outdoors timepiece? Is a $50 Timex made to be roughed up, but that could easily break any more of an outdoors watch?
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Seiko Prospex Alpinist SPB121 Read More -
CWC Mellor-72 W10 Mechanical Read More
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Luminox Atacama Field Automatic Read More
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Damasko DK32 Ocean Read More
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Ball Engineer II M Skindiver Heritage Read More
In order to answer this question, we’ve provided you with a wide range of watches that fit into as many outdoor pursuit categories as we can: The mechanical beauties that befit a summit photo; chunky dive watches whose brawn makes them ideal for the deep sea but also help them survive above the treeline; affordable watches powered by quartz movements, less flashy but more suited to shock survival; or the aforementioned ABC smartwatches, a potent tool for the trail runner looking to log his miles and the hunter hoping to find his way to camp. There is no perfect outdoors watch. But somewhere on this list is the perfect watch for your next adventure.
Notable Moments in Outdoor Watch History
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Summit Everest with a Rolex: In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to summit Mount Everest, and among their kit were Rolex watches. As Hillary described the watch, it “experienced considerable extremes of temperature, from the great heat of India to the cold temperature at over 22,000 feet, and seemed unaffected by the knocks it received on rock climbs.” Hillary's “pre-Explorer” can still be seen at the Beyer Watch and Clock Museum in Zurich.
The Enicar Seapearl Summits Everest Just a Few Years Later: A much different-looking watch made it to the summit of Everest shortly after Hillary. The Enicar Seapearl, a dive watch with a gaudy color scheme and no rotating bezel, was worn by several members of a Swiss team that summited Everest in 1956. Enicar afterward added the “Sherpa Guide” moniker and started a line of tool watches. Sherpa itself became insolvent in the 1980s and was sold to a Hong Kong company, which still distributes its watches.
An Omega Speedmaster Professional Saves the Day: There’s the outdoors, and then there’s the outdoors — in 1970 when an oxygen tank exploded aboard the Apollo 13 service module, the astronauts onboard were dealing with the latter. Without navigational and targeting computers, they had to aim their ship back home using a manual burn. Jack Swigert timed the 4-minute, 24-second burn using his Omega Speedmaster’s chronograph.
Seiko Straps Its Dive Watches to a Submarine: In 2014, Seiko grabbed two of its Marinemaster Professional Dive Watches off the assembly line and strapped them to the hull of the KAIKO 7000II, a deep-sea submersible on its way to one of the deepest parts of the ocean. The quartz version didn’t stop until it reached 3,284 meters, and the mechanical watch kept on ticking until it reached 4,299 meters down. Both watches are rated to only 1,000 meters.
A Rambo Watch for the Blueblood: Sly Stallone famously loves Panerais. But it was Richard Mille he teamed up with in 2014 to create the “Rambo” watch released in 2018. Price tag: $983,000. Its features are a bit above and beyond standard survivalist tools: a tourbillon and a titanium compass-lid bezel that can be equipped with a bayonet mount.
What to Look For in an Outdoor Watch
Since “outdoor” watches are a broad category, we’ve opted to divide this list into several distinct categories: quartz and mechanical general-purpose outdoor watches, dive watches and smartwatches — all of which can be utilized for different types of activities. Some of the picks may overlap into different categories, but this only means that these watches are particularly versatile. All outdoor watches should be tough, able to withstand shocks and at least some wetness, and they don't need to be flashy or even good-looking — it's just a bonus when they're also handsome.
Mechanical Outdoor Watches
Mechanical movements, incredible machines though they may be, are no longer the best movements suited to withstand the rigors of the wild — quartz movements, though perhaps less interesting to behold, do this job better. Fortunately (because we do love mechanical watches), some companies have toughened up their mechanical movements with anti-magnetic soft iron cages, anti-shock mounts, and hardened bezels and crystals. Here you'll find field watches and others that are generally appropriate for outdoor adventures.
Seiko Prospex Alpinist
- Movement: Seiko 6R35 automatic
- Case Diameter: 39.5mm
- Water Resistance: 200m
It’s maybe the funkiest-looking watch on this list, but don’t let that fool you: the Alpinist is a dark-horse favorite in the outdoors. Seiko makes a dependable movement, and though the watch comes on a leather strap that looks ready for cocktail hour, it also has an inner rotating compass ring for navigation and a thick, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal; throw it on a NATO and you have an instant watch for adventuring.
CWC Mellor-72 W10 Mechanical
- Movement: Sellita SW210 hand-wound
- Case Diameter: 38mm (including crown)
- Water Resistance: 50m
CWC has been making watches for the British military for decades. This one is based on a model from the 1970s and has all the Ministry of Defense specifications aimed at helping it survive in the field: Luminova on the hands and hour markers, a two-piece stainless steel case and water resistance to 5 atm (164 feet). (For a more affordable option, check out the quartz version.)
Luminox Atacama Field Automatic
- Movement: SW220-1 HH5 automatic
- Case Diameter: 44mm
- Water Resistance: 200m
The rest of the Atacama lineup from Luminox has chunkier numerals and quartz movements — consider this one a slightly more refined option. At 44mm, its stainless steel case is a sizable hulk, and its tritium gas tubes illuminate the dial beautifully.
Damasko DK32 Ocean
- Movement: Damasko A26-2 automatic
- Case Diameter: 39mm
- Water Resistance: 200m
Damasko is a German watchmaker that flies below the radar but makes very tough, simplistically sharp timepieces. The DK32 has a dial that's not just a pretty blue but packs value with the brand's own movement, and its beauty in the outdoors is more than skin deep: It’s made to take a beating without showing it, thanks to Damasko’s patented hardened stainless steel case.
Ball Engineer II M Skindiver Heritage
- Movement: ETA 2836 automatic
- Case Diameter: 42mm
- Water Resistance: 200m
Ball Watch started making durable watches for rail workers in 1891, and today it’s still known as a compelling watchmaker offering tough timepieces at prices that feel like a steal. The Engineer II Skindiver is a simple three-hander plus day and date, powered by an ETA movement surrounded by the brand’s “Amortiser” shock-absorbing, anti-magnetic system. At night, thanks to a plethora of micro gas tubes, its straight-laced dial lights up like a firework.
IWC Pilot's Watch Mark XX
- Movement: IWC 32111 automatic
- Case Diameter: 40mm
- Water Resistance: 100m
The Mark XX Pilot’s watch is the descendant of IWC’s Mark 11, a legendary watch first worn by British pilots in 1948. The Mark XX carries on the legibility, simple style and toughness of that forebear with a perfectly sized 40mm case; it also adds an in-house automatic movement.
Omega Seamaster Railmaster
- Movement: Omega 8806
- Case Diameter: 40mm
- Water Resistance: 150m
The modern incarnation of the Omega Railmaster — part of a classic tool watch trio that includes the Seamaster and Speedmaster — is far too often overlooked. After all, it has a movement that is both chronometer-certified (long story short, it’s very accurate) and super resistant to magnetism. And its new dial is lumed to the max.
Bremont MB-2
- Movement: Modified ETA 2836-2 automatic chronometer
- Case Diameter: 43mm
- Water Resistance: 100m
British watchmaker Bremont created the MB line in collaboration with Martin Baker, a company that makes fighter plane ejection seats; the watch had to withstand the same testing rigors as the ejector seats themselves, a success which involved encasing the movement in an anti-magnetic Faraday cage and anti-shock mount. Unlike some Martin Baker watches, this one is fortunately available to the wider public without requiring that you've actually ejected from a fighter jet.
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional
- Movement: Omega 3861
- Case Diameter: 42mm
- Water Resistance: 50m
What’s an outdoors watch list without the watch that went so out-of-doors that it escaped the earth’s atmosphere? You’ve heard the story a million times before: When NASA was looking for the right balance of accuracy and toughness in a watch for its missions in 1965, the Speedmaster won out. Astronauts wore their Omegas on spacewalks and eventually, onto the surface of the moon. Jack Swigert later used his to time a vital burn while getting Apollo 13 back to earth. If this isn’t a watch you can trust for a weekend in the backcountry, what is? And updates for 2021 make it more compelling than ever.
Rolex Explorer II
- Movement: Rolex 3285
- Case Diameter: 42mm
- Water Resistance: 100m
If the Explorer II had been available in 1953 when Hillary summited Everest, chances are he might have had this white-dialed beauty on his wrist. Originally developed for spelunking, it has a 24-hour fixed bezel, lumed indices and a bright orange-tipped 24-hour hand for absolute clarity when darkness and low oxygen levels threaten to overcome you. Its 3187 movement also features enhanced shock resistance.
Quartz Outdoor Watches
When it was first released in 1969, the quartz watch movement threatened mechanical watches in part because both its accuracy and toughness were superior to that of its mechanical counterparts. That hasn’t changed. They’re also usually — but not always! — more affordable than mechanical movements, which is a good thing when there’s a risk your watch could fall off your wrist into a volcano.
Timex Expedition Sierra
- Movement: Quartz (unspecified)
- Case Diameter: 40mm
- Water Resistance: 50m
It costs just around eighty bucks, so don’t expect the Expedition to deliver the goods like other more expensive watches on this list. Still, Timex does here what it does best: provide a decently constructed beater watch, in this case, made with a steel case and an Indiglo backlight for visibility. And you won’t cry if it falls off a cliff.
Bertucci A-2T
- Movement: Swiss quartz (unspecified)
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Case Diameter: 42mm
- Water Resistance: 100m
Bertucci watches, with their affordable prices, solid construction and even, in some cases, hard plastic covers, are favorite watches of folks whose hands take a beating daily. The A-2T combines a classic military field-style design with a titanium case that’s light and strong, a sapphire crystal and a thick Zulu Nylon webbing band.
Marathon Pilot’s Navigator
- Movement: ETA FØ6 high-torque 3-jewel quartz movement
- Case Diameter: 41mm
- Water Resistance: 60m
As noted in our latest Field Watch buying guide, military-issued watches are not so much a thing anymore; soldiers tend to buy their own watches. However, Marathon’s Pilot’s Navigator, like many of its watches, is still made to American military specifications. It has tritium tubes for visibility, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal on the newest models, a fiber shell high-impact case with stainless steel back, and is both water- and shock-resistant to the level needed by a pilot or parachutist. All for around $400.
Victorinox I.N.O.X.
- Movement: Quartz (unspecified)
- Case Diameter: 43mm
- Water Resistance: 200m
Victorinox built the I.N.O.X. with all the design subtlety of a dumbbell. If you can get past that, the chunk of stainless steel is a great watch to survive a beating, including, according to the company, being driven over by a 64-ton tank and then tossed into a washing machine. Survivalists can also buy it with a paracord strap, and you can get an automatic version, too, if you want.
Breitling Professional Emergency
- Movement: Breitling 76 SuperQuartz
- Case Diameter: 51mm
- Water Resistance: 50m
Technically, this is an upgrade of Breitling’s first Emergency watch, released in 1995. Besides being a beefcake on the wrist (consider the “why-not-make-it-indestructible?” black titanium-cased version), it has a dual-frequency distress beacon that you can activate so that search-and-rescue will come get you out of any tough situation. Barring a real scare, you can always use its SuperQuartz movement to power the included chronograph, countdown timer, second time zone, and alarm (the normal wake-up kind).
Dive Watches
Dive watches really are great for a lot more than diving. Building a watch that can survive hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface tends to also make it tough for hiking, biking, and backpacking, and a tradition of bulky designs and chunky tool bezels make for a watch case that can take a beating.
Orient Mako USA II
- Movement: Orient F6922 automatic
- Case Diameter: 41.5mm
- Water Resistance: 200m
Orient is a Japanese brand known for delivering solid mechanical watches at affordable prices. The Mako USA II is just that: its case is hearty and good down to 200m; its crystal is scratch-resistant sapphire for good measure. If you want an affordable, tough watch with some character to boot, this is it.
Marathon TSAR Quartz Medium
- Movement: ETA FØ6 quartz
- Case Diameter: 41mm
- Water Resistance: 300m
Just like Marathon’s Pilot’s Navigator, the TSAR (Tritium Search and Rescue) is made to military specifications regarding shock and water resistance, illumination markings, and spring bar strength. It has a Swiss quartz movement, a steel case with a unidirectional bezel, and tritium gas tubes for easy reading in the depths (or just the dark). As Jon Custis, a former Marine who wore one while stationed in Iraq wrote, “Despite the abuse endured on operations, my TSAR hasn’t skipped a beat.”
Doxa Sub 1500T
- Movement: ETA 2892-2
- Case Diameter: 45mm
- Water Resistance: 1,500m
A modern take on the legendary Doxa divers from the 1960s and ‘70s, the Sub 1500T is a monster with a 45mm case, a bright orange dial (it also comes in other colorful options) and 1,500 meters of water resistance. It also has all the makings of a great, tough outdoors watch: shock resistance, the ability to take a dip and an entirely unique look. If you’re a Jacques Cousteau fan, it’s a no-brainer.
Seiko Prospex 1975 Reinterpretation S23631
- Movement: Seiko 7C46 quartz
- Case Diameter: 49.4mm
- Water Resistance: 1,000m
As legend has it, Seiko’s “Tuna Can” diver came about after a letter from a commercial diver arrived at the brand’s headquarters, pleading for a watch that could withstand the rigors of the undersea job. The result was the Professional Diver’s Watch, nicknamed the “Tuna Can.” The name comes from its most obvious feature: a shroud covering most of the watch’s case. In its modern-recreation form, the watch has a ceramic shroud, titanium case, is anti-magnetic, anti-corrosive, and has a tough, dependable quartz movement.
Sinn UX EZM 2 B GSG9
- Movement: ETA 955.652 quartz
- Case Diameter: 44mm
- Water Resistance: 5,000m
With the UX, German watchmaker Sinn tackled the water resistance problem by filling the watch’s case with a special oil. The benefits are twofold: first, the oil makes the dial, hands, and crystal appear all on the same plane, making the watch extremely legible from any angle underwater. Secondly, and more importantly, the oil negates the main problem depth causes underwater in a gas-filled watch — namely, immense pressure, giving the UX a depth rating of something like 5 kilometers.
Rolex Deepsea Sea Dweller
- Movement: Rolex 3235
- Case Diameter: 44mm
- Water Resistance: 3,900m
The Sea Dweller was a legend in its own right long before James Cameron drove a submersible wearing a specialized version of the Deepsea on its mechanical wrist down to 35,000 feet. The Deepsea you can buy can descend to 12,800 feet (that ought to be enough) thanks to a movement that’s shock- and magnetic-resistant, a hardened ceramic bezel, a 5.5mm thick sapphire crystal and a helium escape valve. (Whether you’ll take a $12,000+ watch under the waves is your own choice.)
ABC/Smart Watches
Time to learn your ABCs: altimeter, barometer, compass. On a watch, this is a life-saving trio, great for any adventurer no matter what their pursuits. Many ABC watches today have digital smartwatch interfaces, too, and offer a range of advanced and useful features for the modern adventurer.
Casio G-Shock Rangeman GW-9400
- Case Diameter: 60mmm
- Water Resistance: 200m
The G-Shock specialty watches (Frogman, Mudman, etc.) are favorites of US special operations personnel, which tells you all you need to know about their place as sports and adventure watches. The Rangeman has a “shock-resistant triple sensor” that gives altitude, barometric pressure, compass, and temperature readings; its Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping keeps it ultra-accurate via regular updates via radio signals. The watch is solar-powered, shock- and mud-resistant, and can withstand temperatures down to -14 degrees Fahrenheit.
Suunto Traverse Alpha
- Case Diameter: 50mm
- Water Resistance: 100m
The Traverse Alpha is the only watch on this list built specifically for hunters and anglers. Atop Suunto’s (already excellent) outdoors features, like an altimeter, barometer, compass, GPS, weather alerts, and activity tracking, it offers three modes: hiking, hunting, and fishing. Automatic shot detection marks your exact time and location every time you fire a gun; sunrise and sunset alerts and a moon phase calendar provide important information for anglers. All this comes inside a stainless steel case that’s built to military standards.
Alpina AlpinerX
- Case Diameter: 45mm
- Water Resistance: 200m
Alpina is known first for its sporty, Swiss-made luxury watches, so the AlpinerX was a serious departure. The brand paired an analog dial and quartz movement with a digital readout for the ABCs, plus GPS, thermometer, sleep tracking, and more via a paired app. With a black fiberglass case and a rubber strap, it’s hardy enough for your next adventure.
Apple Watch Ultra
- Case Length: 49mm (Apple gives case measurements lengthwise)
- Water Resistance: 100m
It's the Apple Watch but beefed up and made for rigorous use and outdoor abuse. It'll serve as a dive watch (or dive computer) but is also made for a wide range of activities beyond the simple fitness applications the regular Apple Watch already does so well. It's made of lightweight titanium, has a bigger case with crown protectors, a bigger, brighter screen for improved legibility, and even a customizable "emergency button." As an Apple Watch, of course, it's got even more possible uses, and it's likely one of the best smartwatches you can get for serious outdoor adventuring.
Garmin Tactix Delta Solar Edition
- Case Diameter: 51mm
- Water Resistance: 100m
The Tactix Delta features a huge, 1.4-inch high-resolution digital screen, ready to be filled with all the information Garmin smartwatches provide: ABC, GPS and GLONASS with TOPO mapping, heart rate, swimming, cycling, running, and golfing-specific modes, and more. Even though it’s loaded with tech, it’s still built to last, with up to 24 days of battery life and a DLC-coated steel bezel. Plus, you can customize its appearance and settings through its paired app.
