In praise of the lowly Timex Expedition...

[David Conwill]

I wear a Timex Indiglo Expedition wristwatch that my father passed on when the first band wore out and the battery died. I tracked down a correct replacement band at T-mart (it was still Target back then), had the battery replaced, and have worn it for at least five years since.

I don’t know exactly how much these retail for new, but I’ll bet it’s in the $25 to $40 range, and they’re more than worth it. I remove my watch and loop it through my wedding ring when I’m working on cars or the house, but otherwise this thing is on my wrist pretty much every waking hour. I’ve even left it on for the occasional shower or swim. It’s been banged into things, dropped, and submerged. Nothing has killed it yet.

Oh, and I didn’t even get into style. The tan face, dark sheen, combination leather/woven strap, size and simplicity of this watch all appeal to me. The styling is classic and, as one would expect from a line called “Expedition” brings to mind canoeing in the north woods, trekking through the Amazon, or flying P40s in Burma.

Size-wise, I think the 1.5-inch bezel is about perfect: The typical men’s watch of the 1940s is so small as to seem almost feminine these days, and the huge-and-complicated “dive” watches that were popular with fraternity guys five years ago almost have an air of insecurity about them.

I’m very impressed.

-Dave

[JohnJoyo]

That's a great looking everyday watch. How old is it?

[David Conwill]

I'll bet it's at least five years old now. Maybe older.

-David

[Automotive Stud]

That's a nice looking watch. I've found timex lives up to thier motto. I had one I wore for about six or seven years. I replaced the battery once and the band once. I did warehouse work and wore it every day. It was pretty bad looking but worked great. I finally got another job and haven't worn it in about 3 years, I came across it the other day and the time was still right. But it sure is ugly it's so beat up. I couldn't bring myself to toss it out though.

[ps]

I have a bunch these expeditions....there super cheap so you actualy do not mind wearing them and there hard to kill....I have one I bought for $30.00 in 1995? its been cliff jumping,spelunking, in pools , hot showers, you name it. It almost seems that every costly watch i have owned has been screwed up immedietly, I had a formula one tag , several Suunto watches and broke bands ,cracked cases ect. These cheap ass Timex expeditions(for me at least) seem to be the only way.... PS I recently bought the WS4 and I also like it better than the Suunto Vector....

[cowboy vintage]

I love the Timex expeditions, have worn them as a daily for a long time. Fool proof and big numbers for old eyes. -retro larry-