TimexMen's Expedition Camper Nylon/Leather Strap Watch
F**N
Many Times, the Old-Fashioned, "Boring" Ones Make the Best Life Partners
Summary: This is a review for the black "Camper" style Expedition watch with a black Velcro Fast Wrap band. This style is unique from the other Expedition Acadia watches offered by Amazon in that it has water resistance of 100M instead of 50M for the other models. I have seen some non-Amazon reviews showing this same black Timex Expedition watch with 50M water resistance, but mine is 100M. I believe that there is also a white dial version of this watch, too, that is available on Amazon, but it is listed separately from the other Acadia models.A quick rundown of watch details: 38mm resin case, quartz movement, 100M water resistant, Indiglo, push crown at 3 o'clock with modest protectors flanking the crown, date complication, hackable second hand, stainless steel screw down case back, Fast Wrap Velcro band, black dial, white Arabic numerals, small military time designations, flush acrylic face, white lumed minute and hour hands, and red second hand. All in all, a very simple watch design.Pros: Easy to read, durable, light weight, the second hand lines up with the dial markers, accurate, very comfortable band, excellent water resistance, Indiglo backlighting feature is excellentCons: None, really. If I had to come up with some, I would say average lume on hands, will eventually have to replace the batteryReview: The first thing I would say is that if you can still find one of these and you are in the market for a solid, dependable military-style field watch, stop reading this and buy it now while you can. At 30-ish dollars, you can't go wrong and there isn't much to lose.I have always been hard on watches. I have a digital Casio G-Shock, but I wanted a simple, analog field watch (without all the *stuff* on it) as a different style of beater watch. After some searching and looking at a lot of different watch reviews online (including reviews from soldiers who purchased Timex Campers like this one at the PX and wore them in the field), this popped up on Amazon and I purchased it.I have had it for a little over a month now and it has been a faithful companion during that time. I don't go out of my way to abuse my possessions, but this Timex hasn't been coddled, either. It's gone to work with me in an office setting, but it also does real yardwork with me, I have taken it hiking, I have submerged it in water, I workout with it on, and I have had no problems with it at all. It has gotten a little scuffed up and dirty, but it cleans up nicely, including the Velcro. It has gotten a few good bumps and it's just fine. The face isn't rounded and doesn't stick out above the surface of the watch, so it won't get scratched up so easily. When it does invariably get scratched though, it should be easy enough to polish out the blemishes.For what it's worth, if you are looking for a comfortable band, particularly if you have a larger wrist like I do (8"), the Velcro band is really nice. It fits perfectly every time, it isn't scratchy at all, it dries out quickly, it stays secure at all times, and it never feels sticky like the regular resin-type bands do. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but now I'm not sure if I would want to go back to another resin band.The watch has been fairly accurate. As soon as I received it from Amazon, I set it using www.time.gov. During the time that I have had it, it has lost only four seconds. That's not too bad at all. With a quartz movement, I didn't expect any less. It is easy to set both the time and date. The second hand is hackable, so synchronized time-setting is possible.The uncluttered dial is easy to read. The numbers are crisp. The hands are clear. The date window doesn't require a second look. One of the characteristics of this watch that will please some of the more exacting watch owners out there is the fact that the second hand movement lines up with the markers as the second hand moves around the dial. Some watches have analog movements where the second hand fails to properly land on the markers, but not this one!The watch isn't too large, so it slips nicely under one's sleeve, but yet it isn't so small that it looks like a kid's timepiece. Even as a bigger, taller guy with a larger wrist, the watch still looks appropriate on me. It is also very light and I forget that I'm wearing a watch.There really aren't too many things that I don't like about the watch. The lume on the hands isn't outstanding. It's fine, but what lume it has is not going to garner awards. The hour and minute hands have lume, but there is no lume on the dial or second hand. That said, it is important to remember that this is not a dive watch. The Indiglo works very nicely though. In absolute darkness, the Indiglo function works perfectly.Having to replace the watch battery someday will stink, but only because I worry about losing water resistance due to improper battery and O-ring installation. I like the watch enough that I will probably just pay to send it to Timex, have them replace the battery, give it a once over, and then ship it back to me. I would rather have the manufacturer do it right than have a jeweler screw it up. Yeah, I know, it's only a $30 watch, but it's a really well-designed $30 watch and I like it. It feels like somebody took time to engineer this watch right. It may sound kind of silly, but it's like somebody actually cared when this watch was being designed and built. It is a lot like driving past a simple, old building in town that has a special architectural character to it. It just looks and feels like it was thoughtfully designed to do something very specific. That's what this watch is like.That leads me to my last point. I may be wrong, but I don't think Timex makes this model anymore. Why not? They make a lot of other ones that are prettier, have GPS, can pay for groceries, or whatever, but they aren't going to last like this one. This is a tremendous watch and blows away all of the other Expedition models. Why is it that such a great watch like this gets discontinued? Is it because it is too old-fashioned? Is it boring? Nobody bought it? Well, if it pops up for sale on Amazon, and you're in the market for this simple, camper-style watch, you should plunk down your $30 or so and get it. Many times, the old-fashioned, "boring" ones make the best life partners.
P**E
Classic Timex
The strap looks more khaki than army green, other than that the watch looks good and works consistently on time. Good watch at a good price point.
G**Y
Terrific watch, extremely functional, and comfortable to wear, especially if your skin is sensitive.
I have always preferred Timex watches. I’ve never had a problem with a Timex watch. This watch has every function that I need. It’s face is big enough that I can read the dial, I am over 70 years old and I do need reading glasses, it lights up so if you wake up in the middle of the night, you know what time it is. It is a great camping, hiking, bird-watching watch. And you can actually wear the watch while swimming. I love this watch
R**.
Simple to set up
What I like is the glow dial in low/dark light. The dial is easy to see and simple design. I like the appearance. The case appears to be rugged to hold up to outdoor activities.Not a big problem, but the nylon strap is almost too small for me, I have a big wrist, had to use the last hole in the strap to be comfortable. Also the calendar dial has to be reset everyday, one would think this would be automatic.Update: The calendar dial is automatic once it gets set correctly. I had to set it several times before it finally is on the current date.There were no instructions included. I had to go to timex.com to look at the instructions/register for warranty.
T**E
Only One Watch for Me (but now I have two)
I have had this watch for about six years and other than replacing a worn-out watch band, I have had no issues with it. It kept perfect time, until the battery died. I decided to bite the bullet and order a new one, yet I still kept the old one as a knock around watch. Replaced the battery today, and it's ticking away just fine along with the new one. One thing I noticed was the new one has a larger stem for setting, making it much easier to set the time. Timex, not the most expensive nor least expensive but definitely worth the price.
R**T
I like the nylon strap.
Watch itself is fine - doesn't stand out as something spectacular but is great for what it is. Definitely waterproof to about 30 feet deep - I've tested it snorkeling. The best thing is the strap - this nylon strap is much more comfortable than usual watch straps. There are a lot of nylon straps out there -- I think I prefer this one more than most of the others. the Velcro allows infinite adjustment, unlike straps with holes like a belt. And the way they did the looping of the band around itself seems to work really well. Better than another velcro strap I had many years ago ("the band") which was similar but didn't loop around itself the same way. This one is better - quicker and easier to put on and more easily adjustable.
E**Y
Great watch but not like the old Camper
The watch is great but the deduction of two stars is a comparison to the old style Camper in the photo (right, with black strap.) This version is thicker and much less comfortable with the thick, stiff band that can't be easily replaced. I returned it, but I would recommend it as a good looking, durable, light-weight watch. Unfortunately it's not a good substitute for the old version with the slimmer profile and light but durable nylon strap.
L**L
Fit
This is a nice watch,worth the money. The strap velcro.
Trustpilot
1 week ago
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