Caving Watch

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Caving Watch

Postby Scott McCrea » Dec 9, 2005 11:59 am

Years ago, there was discussion about caving watches on the original NSS Discussion Board. It has since been lost in cyberspace. That discussion helped me choose a good watch. So, let's see what cavers are thinking now.

I use a Casio Baby-G. The also make a G-Shock. I'm not sure what the difference is. Anyway, this watch has held up great. I've been abusing it for about 4 years now and have no problems whatsoever. Before that I had two Timex Ironman's that got trashed in a few months. The buttons broke, water got in, the band broke... I tried a really cheap thing once too and it only lasted a couple of trips.

I have also quit using the velcro the bands. They don't stay together when they get wet and tear up/pill the sleeves of my sweaters. The band that came with my Casio Baby-G has been tough as nails.

So, what do you use?
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Postby Steven Johnson » Dec 9, 2005 1:47 pm

Funny, I've been using an Ironman with no problems -- it's held up just fine.

But I suspect you cave on a much more frequent basis than me :-)
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Postby Dan Sullivan » Dec 9, 2005 2:25 pm

I gave up on watches a long time ago. Instead, I put my cell phone in my first aid kit, which I keep in an small Otter Box. If I need to be out at a certain time, I set the alarm. It's amaising how you can still hear it in the atmosphere of a cave. (I also have insurance on it in case I break it.)
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Re: Caving Watch

Postby mgmills » Dec 9, 2005 6:07 pm

Scott McCrea wrote:Years ago, there was discussion about caving watches on the original NSS Discussion Board. It has since been lost in cyberspace. That discussion helped me choose a good watch. So, let's see what cavers are thinking now. . . . . So, what do you use?


I don't like a digital watch. I guess it comes from being a nurse and liking to have that sweep second hand for checking pulses.

I've had great luck with $4.95 watches from WalMart (yes, I know some people don't like WalMart). I'm on my second one. It has large easy to read numbers. No light but it is "glow in the dark" so if I shine my headlamp on it for a few seconds it is easy to read in the cave. The brand name is "WATCH-IT" It has a stretch band that has proved very durable. I figured the band would be trashed after a few cave trips but it just kept on going. I wear my watch constantly - caving, swimming, working, showering, sleeping. Eventually after a few years the crystal on my first one became so scratched it was getting hard to read so I purchased a new one about six months ago. The old one is still running though. I've thought about using it for caving but I forget to change so I just wear my new one when I go caving. . . I figure for $5 I'll risk trashing the new one.
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Postby Squirrel Girl » Dec 9, 2005 8:28 pm

It seems like *all* the watches I've tried go in a cave on one trip, the buttons clog up with mud and that's the way they are until they die. I currently have two "cave" watches. One is a Timex, I think. The other is a G shock. So they keep accurate time half the year. The other half, they're off by an hour.
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Postby mgmills » Dec 9, 2005 10:31 pm

Squirrel Girl wrote:It seems like *all* the watches I've tried go in a cave on one trip, the buttons clog up with mud and that's the way they are until they die.


That is why I don't go digital. A regular "old fashioned" watch just seems to last better . . . at least for me so far. Three years for $5 ain't a bad deal :woohoo:
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Postby Trog » Dec 9, 2005 10:32 pm

I used to have a Mudman G-shock. It was built to be mud resistant and it survived for years until the plastic degraded and cracked. I couldn't find a model like that anymore so I'm back to using a timex. It's cheaper and I won't mind that much if it gets trashed.

oh, the casio had one defect. There's this figure of a mole with a helmet, light and drill that appears behind the numbers. Makes reading the numbers a little more difficult.
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Postby Scott McCrea » Dec 9, 2005 11:22 pm

Oh, hmm, I've never heard of the Mudman model... Googling...

Ah, http://www.g-peopleland.com/Mudman.htm

Pretty cool. Apparently, there are people out there that really like Casio watches. Lots of websites and forums devoted to them. What ever peels your :banana:
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Postby Trog » Dec 10, 2005 12:12 am

IMHO I would have been the perfect caving watch if it weren't for that stupid gopher cartoon that shows up whenever you use the light. But that's the only flaw I can think of. That watch really took a beating and kept on ticking (apologies to timex :)).
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Postby Cheryl Jones » Dec 10, 2005 5:26 pm

The band that came with my Casio Baby-G has been tough as nails.

Years ago, the band on my long-serving, faithful G-shock saved me from a nasty burn and scar, and maybe worse.

At the start of probably a 15-20 ft, near vertical arm rappel, my sleeve came up a bit or the cuff on my glove shifted on my lower (breakng) hand. The rope would have done a number on my wrist if it hadn't been for my G-shock. (Now I'm sounding like a commercial on talk radio! :eyecrazy: )

So the rope left my glove, rode across the band and the rubber protector around the face near the pin, then onto my sleeve. The watch stayed in place and lived to cave many more years, and I made a successful rappel.

Forget status groves in break bars -- I had one in my watch band!! :grin:

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Postby itabot » Dec 10, 2005 5:49 pm

Squirrel Girl wrote: So they keep accurate time half the year. The other half, they're off by an hour.


Silly Squirrel! :lol:
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Postby NZcaver » Dec 10, 2005 6:03 pm

Cheryl Jones wrote:Years ago, the band on my long-serving, faithful G-shock saved me from a nasty burn and scar, and maybe worse... Forget status groves in break bars -- I had one in my watch band!! :grin:


Ha - me too! 8)

My caving watch is a Casio Illuminator. It's the second one I've owned, after the first eventually died. It's kind of a cheaper, lower-profile version of the G-shock, with a plastic band. I think I've gone through 4 bands during the life of the 2 watches (so far). After a vertical caving trip earlier this year, I found this big abrasion groove in the band. I didn't notice anything while on rope, so I guess the watch did it's job protecting me! The band is still intact, so I'm going to just keep on using it. :lol:

However, this did finally prompt me to buy a real G-shock to use as my everyday not-to-be-ruined-by-caving watch. :wink:
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Cave Watch

Postby claustrophobe » Dec 10, 2005 6:17 pm

Ummmm, I use a Diurnal Rhythm Master, it's simple and cheap. When you're tired you sleep, when you're hungry you eat. It loses a few hours a day, but it's always in synch.
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Postby Nico » Dec 10, 2005 7:38 pm

I use a Casio Baby-G. The also make a G-Shock. I'm not sure what the difference is


Baby G is supposed to be the ladies model, thats about the only difference
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Postby Lava » Dec 10, 2005 10:11 pm

I hate to wear a watch while caving. For awhile I did, and every time I'd catch a glimpse of it, I'd be reminded that the above-ground world still existed... which I don't want to even think about while caving.
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