Firefighter/EMT Wrist Watch suggestions

[LDB415]

My favorite uncle was a watchmaker from the 60's through the 80's. If you brought him a teacup with every part of a watch in the morning, he'd hand you a watch keeping perfect (as much as is possible) time in the afternoon. He said if you have tons of money to waste get a Rolex, if you want the best accuracy get an Accutron and if you want the best solid and dependable get a Seiko. That was 40 years ago. Some of those have probably changed. I'm still good with my earlier comments too.

[SigM4]

Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

I have the first version of this and it’s been great, extremely rugged and battery life is phenomenal.

[LDB415]

Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

I have the first version of this and it’s been great, extremely rugged and battery life is phenomenal.

I suggested the 2X Tactical for the built in light among other features a little ways back. No comments on it so far though. But you are right, it's a good option.

[RoyGBiv]

I don't have any better ideas than others have offered, but I can think of one watch you might decide you wouldn't want. And, yes, it's real, available at Amazon...and, yes, made in China.

That thing is off by what … 2-3 hours per day?

Actually, it only works for 2-3 hours a day, lies to you about the time and date, then it needs to nap.

[howdy]

I like what srothstein said about 2 watches. Don't show up for an interview with a gigantic watch and combat boots/pants. I would suggest he wear a tie. I am a Paramedic (never been a Firefighter) but I see those guys/girls/ in action and they need a tough/inexpensive watch. I would also stay away from a watch that needs charging. You get calls when you are in bed and you are trying to get yourself together and a charging watch will slow you down. I have an apple watch 8 and a cheap timex from Walmart. I always wear the cheap timex when working.

[der Teufel]

A couple of years ago, I gave up on electric watches and got myself a Seiko with a self-winding movement…this one.
…
I finally decided to go back to using an old-school wind-up/self-winding watch. Been happy with it ever since. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this watch to somebody who was going to be in a risky and physically demanding profession…as long as he can live with it being off by a minute each week.

I bought a self-winding Seiko in the early 70's when I was in Vietnam. I had it cleaned every ten years and it lasted a little over 30 years, so I bought another one almost 20 years ago. The first one had an internal spring that wound up with movement. The newer one has a small generator that charges a capacitor driving a quartz movement. It gains 4 seconds a day, or about a half minute per week. I have had to replace the capacitor once so far at about the eight year mark. It's pretty rugged and I'm very satisfied with it.

I like the one TAM shows, it looks like the hands have good contrast with the face so that it can be easily read in low light conditions.

[C-dub]

My "son-in-law" just finished his EMT program and takes his certification test in a couple of weeks. He already has his firefighter certification. Once he has both he can get on with a department.

I don't think the kid has a decent wrist watch, so I'm thinking about getting him something good, nice, and tough for the job. Any recommendations from any current or retired firefighters out there for what works and or things to stay away from?

I am a watch addict. I even work on them. What is your budget?

This is a tough watch that was designed for Search and Rescue. I have two of them.

https://longislandwatch.com/marathon-gs ... -ww194006/

I’ve seen that one and like it quite a bit. The G-Shocks are also nice. I’m thinking of staying under $500 so I don’t go too crazy. I don’t remember how much that Marathon is at the moment. I still need to get a basic idea of what type of watch he likes before pulling trigger here. If he doesn’t like analog then I wouldn’t want to get him that and vis-versa.

Edit: I just went back and looked. Just a bit outta my price point, but we’ll see. Maybe!

[C-dub]

Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

I have the first version of this and it’s been great, extremely rugged and battery life is phenomenal.

I suggested the 2X Tactical for the built in light among other features a little ways back. No comments on it so far though. But you are right, it's a good option.

Sorry I missed that earlier SigM4.

I just took a look and that is also a great looking watch definitely in the price area I was hoping to stay in. My SIL is not really a hiker/backpacker, so I’m curious about the need for those useful features. It seems many of those features can be turned off if desired.

What’s the deal with the light? I’m having trouble finding any images or info on that?

After talking with a couple firefighter/paramedics at my hospital a couple days ago I’ve picked up that a second hand or display is important. Thankfully, all suggestions and watches I’ve looked at so far have this.

[LDB415]

Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

I have the first version of this and it’s been great, extremely rugged and battery life is phenomenal.

I suggested the 2X Tactical for the built in light among other features a little ways back. No comments on it so far though. But you are right, it's a good option.

Sorry I missed that earlier SigM4.

I just took a look and that is also a great looking watch definitely in the price area I was hoping to stay in. My SIL is not really a hiker/backpacker, so I’m curious about the need for those useful features. It seems many of those features can be turned off if desired.

What’s the deal with the light? I’m having trouble finding any images or info on that?

After talking with a couple firefighter/paramedics at my hospital a couple days ago I’ve picked up that a second hand or display is important. Thankfully, all suggestions and watches I’ve looked at so far have this.

If you scroll down a bit you'll see a photo showing the light in use. It projects out of the bezel at the 12:00 position. I'm sure he'll probably have a good Surefire light, a good gift suggestion for anyone else you might want to mention it to, but at times he may need light and not have a third hand for the Surefire. He also may be doing a rescue in a wrecked car or some other situation at night with inadequate light where that might make a difference. It's shown and discussed a little bit on this page for the watch, https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/884585 Surefire also makes an excellent wrist light / watch combination. It is geared toward shooters / LE but is an excellent light for anyone really.

[eyedoc]

https://marcandsons.de/en/shop/marc-son ... e-ceramic/



This is a good movement any watchmaker can work on. In fact a new movement costs around $300.00.

[eyedoc]

This is another good budget watch with a good movement. It is equal to the Marathon just without the Tritium dial.

https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/dive ... black.html

[ELB]

I was a volunteer firefighter EMT for a while, and in the Air Force before that.

For actual day-to-day work, I came to prefer an inexpensive plain face easy to read in the low light watch that if I smashed it on the edge of a door or something I wouldn’t cry about the loss. And if I got “ickum” on it I could wash/disinfect it or just throw it away, again without crying about the cost.

I specifically hated those watches that had “24 hour”time figures added on them, I know the difference between 2 AM and 1400. Also, especially for the EMT part, I wanted to be able to see the second hand easily.

Currently, I have one like this, and it fits my specs exactly:



Less than $25 incl tax, and it delivers tomorrow with Prime. The Numerals are big and easy to read, numerals, watch hands, second hand, are all white on a black background and visible in low light. They’re not glow in the dark, but they reflect what there is fairly well, and if you need glow in the dark, you need a flashlight anyway. Water resistant.

The watch bezel is larger than many watches, makes it easier to read, but if you have small wrists it might be a Little large. Most firefighter/EMTs that I,ve seen don’t have this problem.

Oh, And it’s fairly flat, so it fits close against your wrist. I hate those big clunky commando watches because they catch on all kinds of stuff.

[C-dub]

I was a volunteer firefighter EMT for a while, and in the Air Force before that.

For actual day-to-day work, I came to prefer an inexpensive plain face easy to read in the low light watch that if I smashed it on the edge of a door or something I wouldn’t cry about the loss. And if I got “ickum” on it I could wash/disinfect it or just throw it away, again without crying about the cost.

I specifically hated those watches that had “24 hour”time figures added on them, I know the difference between 2 AM and 1400. Also, especially for the EMT part, I wanted to be able to see the second hand easily.

Currently, I have one like this, and it fits my specs exactly:



Less than $25 incl tax, and it delivers tomorrow with Prime. The Numerals are big and easy to read, numerals, watch hands, second hand, are all white on a black background and visible in low light. They’re not glow in the dark, but they reflect what there is fairly well, and if you need glow in the dark, you need a flashlight anyway. Water resistant.

The watch bezel is larger than many watches, makes it easier to read, but if you have small wrists it might be a Little large. Most firefighter/EMTs that I,ve seen don’t have this problem.

Oh, And it’s fairly flat, so it fits close against your wrist. I hate those big clunky commando watches because they catch on all kinds of stuff.

I was wondering about the BIG watches getting in the way or knocking into things. I think I want to stick with analog and am considering a light colored face and a hivis second hand like this one.

https://longislandwatch.com/islander-dl ... 2MQAvD_BwE
And then switching the band out for a nylon NATO strap.

EDIT: Whoops, sorry about the giant image.

[puma guy]

I was a volunteer firefighter EMT for a while, and in the Air Force before that.

For actual day-to-day work, I came to prefer an inexpensive plain face easy to read in the low light watch that if I smashed it on the edge of a door or something I wouldn’t cry about the loss. And if I got “ickum” on it I could wash/disinfect it or just throw it away, again without crying about the cost.

I specifically hated those watches that had “24 hour”time figures added on them, I know the difference between 2 AM and 1400. Also, especially for the EMT part, I wanted to be able to see the second hand easily.

Currently, I have one like this, and it fits my specs exactly:



Less than $25 incl tax, and it delivers tomorrow with Prime. The Numerals are big and easy to read, numerals, watch hands, second hand, are all white on a black background and visible in low light. They’re not glow in the dark, but they reflect what there is fairly well, and if you need glow in the dark, you need a flashlight anyway. Water resistant.

The watch bezel is larger than many watches, makes it easier to read, but if you have small wrists it might be a Little large. Most firefighter/EMTs that I,ve seen don’t have this problem.

Oh, And it’s fairly flat, so it fits close against your wrist. I hate those big clunky commando watches because they catch on all kinds of stuff.

I was wondering about the BIG watches getting in the way or knocking into things. I think I want to stick with analog and am considering a light colored face and a hivis second hand like this one.

https://longislandwatch.com/islander-dl ... 2MQAvD_BwE
And then switching the band out for a nylon NATO strap.

EDIT: Whoops, sorry about the giant image.

It's been almost 35 years since my EMT days, but I'm with C-dub on this one. An easy to read quickly in all situations, not fancy, no buttons straight forward watch.