The face of a watch, like a person, often tells you quite a bit about what they are. Sometimes they're subtle and restrained, and sometimes their place in the world is writ large for all to see. The Casio Pathfinder, model number PAW1500T-7V is one of those "this is who I am, got a problem with that?" sorts of watches. After wearing it for a few weeks, I think of it as the go-to watch for the outdoors, especially if things are going to be tough: river rafting, long hiking trips, extreme sports and the like. It's probably the most capable and versatile watch I've yet seen. About the only thing it doesn't have is GPS:

Features of the Casio Pathfinder PAW1500T-7V include:

Casio seems to be gradually bringing the G-Shock and Pathfinder lines closer together. The first Casio Riseman was introduced back in 1997, but has been discontinued for some time. About three years ago, Casio introduced the G-Shock GW-400J which borrows from the Pathfinder line by integrating a thermometer. More recently, Casio announced the Ultimate Pathfinder (PAW1500) which, like the G-Shock line, is now water resistant to 200 meters (650 feet) rather than the previous 100 meters. And now Casio is reviving the Riseman line with the very strong Casio Riseman GW-9200.

Features include:

• New multi-band atomic timekeeping. Most of Casio's atomic watches are multi-band now, meaning they calibrate with atomic clocks in Mainflingen (Germany), Rugby (England), Fort Collins (Colorado), Fukushima (Japan), and Fukuoka (also Japan). But the Riseman GW-9200 goes a step further by also calibrating with the 77.5 kHz atomic signal in China, making it the first 6-band atomic watch I've ever seen.
• Solar powered.
• Water-resistant to 200 meters, or about 650 feet.
• Barometer pressure indicator and differential pointer (graph) with a range of 260 to 1,100 hectoPascals (millibars).
• Altimeter with a range of -700 to 10,000 meters, altitude data storage, and altitude differential pointer (ascent/descent graph).
• Thermometer with a range of -10°C to 60°C.
• Stopwatch with a resolution of 1/100th of a second, and a maximum capacity of 24 hours.
• World time with support for 33 cities.
• Countdown timer with a maximum of 24 hours (a nice improvement over the Pathfinders).
• 5 daily alarms and one snooze alarm.
• Time transfer function which allows you to swap the primary time zone with a secondary time zone (simplifying frequent travel between two zones).
• Electroluminescent backlight with automatic illumination feature (the ability to automatically illuminate the LCD by tilting the watch toward you).
• Dimensions: 51mm x 48.8mm x 15.9mm, and 60.9g.

All that is keeping the new Riseman from being a true triple sensor Pathfinder is the digital compass which, unfortunately, is one of my favorite features of the Pathfinder line. However, the GW-9200 is clearly one of the most sophisticated digital watches on the planet. It looks fantastic, and has some additional small improvements like the ability to view the date and day of week simultaneously. I just hope that, unlike the GW-400J, we will be able to toggle between metric and imperial units for things like temperature and barometric pressure, however I'm guessing not, and I'm guessing it will not be released in the US (though I will be very happy to be proven wrong).

The Casio G-Shock Riseman GW-9200 will be available on June 28th, 2008 and will retail for ¥27,000 which, as of today, is about $260.

Two years ago, I wrote an article called The Ultimate Casio Pathfinder in which I raved about the PAW1200 series. This was the first time Casio had combined their atomic and solar technologies with their famous Triple Sensor (digital compass, altimeter, barometer, and thermometer). A year later, I reviewed what I considered to be the new ultimate Casio Pathfinder — the PAW1300 — which is essentially the same watch in a significantly slimmer package. Today, I'm extremely pleased to introduce what even Casio is now referring to the Ultimate Pathfinder: the PAW1500 series.

In addition to being solar and multi-band atomic, having all the digital watch features you'd expect like multiple alarms, countdown timer, world time, and a stopwatch, and in addition to being a Triple Sensor, Casio has added three significant new features to the PAW1500 line:

1. Tide graph.
2. Moon phase indicator.
3. An additional 100 meters of water resistance for a total of 200 meters, or about 650 feet.

I really have to give Casio a lot of credit for adding precisely the right features to the Pathfinder line. It used to be that I had a hard time choosing a Pathfinder over a G-Shock day-to-day because I insist that all my Casio watches be solar and atomic. But then Casio made the Pathfinder line solar and atomic. I now wear my PAW1300 fairly often, but I still love the additional ruggedness of my G-Shocks. So naturally, Casio has made the new PAW1500 series more rugged by increasing the water resistance, and adding robust button guards.

There's one more feature that, in my opinion, really helps to make the PAW1500 the ultimate Casio Pathfinder. For the first time, the day, date, and month are all visible simultaneously. This may seem like an insignificant detail, but it means a lot to people like me who lead such hectic lives that it's sometimes hard to keep track of the day of the week, much less the month and date.

The new Ultimate Casio Pathfinder will be available in May in either black resin ($350), or resin with a titanium band ($400). You can bet we'll have a thorough review as soon as humanly possible.

View the Suunto X9i Photo Gallery

If you like your watches with long feature lists, have we got a watch for you! The Suunto X9i is a wrist-top computer, adding GPS to the usual laundry list of modern digital watch features. There's no question that the Suunto X9i is designed for the great outdoors.

Let's get right down to features. The X9i packs in:

• GPS navigation with a 12-channel receiver.
• USB data and power interface, with PC software and a free interface to Google Earth.
• Altimeter.
• Barometer.
• Thermometer.
• Compass.
• Three alarms.
• Stopwatch.
• Dual time (with good multi-time zone support).
• Rechargeable Li-Ion battery, good for about 500 charge cycles.
• Bitmapped high-res display with electroluminescent backlight.
• Waterproof to 100m or about 330 feet (but see below for more on this).
• Tough resin/plastic case with scratch-resistant mineral crystal.
• Integrated plastic strap with metal teeth, vented for warmer climates.

Last month, I had the opportunity to interview John Patterson, the owner and founder of Bathys Watch Company. This month, I had the privilege of reviewing their best selling automatic timepiece: The Bathys 100 Fathom.

The Head

The head of this watch is by far the selling point. It is fantastically well finished. The crystal is sapphire, slightly domed, and has an antireflection coating which glows blue in flashes of light. The real pièce de résistance is the ruthenium grey dial which has many subtle tones and is quite iridescent, flashing grey and brown. Although this is not the most popular 100 Fathom model (the black on black is their best seller), this dial is truly unique and like nothing I have seen on another watch. The markers on the dial as well as the hands are covered in superluminova, a paint that glows brightly in the dark. I wore the watch to "Live Free and Die Hard" and I can attest to its very capable luminosity which easily lasted the duration of the film. And then there's the stainless steel, black PVD-coated case which somehow both gives the watch a stealth appeal, and actually makes it stand out more than any of my more shiny watches. The PVD makes it scratch resistant and adds to the overall depth and quality of the piece. The caseback is also PVD-coated, and is engraved with a map of the Hawaiian islands. The watch is water resistant to 200 meters (about 660 feet, or roughly 100 fathoms, naturally), and is known to be very reliable in an aquatic environment as it was designed for divers and surfers.

I recently had the privilege of conducting an email interview with one of my favorite watch industry icons: owner and founder of Bathys Watch Company, John Patterson. In 2005, John Patterson created Bathys, a small watch company based out of Hawaii. Bathys started out small with very limited models, but has expanded so rapidly in the past two years that in 2007, they were invited to Baselworld (one of the biggest watch industry shows on the planet). In less than two years, Bathys Watch Company has gone from a single quartz model to three separate lines of automatic watches.

Bathys specialize in a very unique line of super tough dive watches: The 100 Fathom, The AquaCulture, and The Benthic. Bathys designs and creates watches with a rare passion for quality, ease of use, legibility, and customer satisfaction. They are a wholly cool company that brings a young fervor to the ancient watch industry.

The following is an email interview with the owner and founder of Bathys Watch Company, John Patterson.

View the Casio Pathfinder PAW1300-3V picture gallery.

When I reviewed the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 about a year ago, I referred to it as "one of the most advanced digital timepieces in the world". Of course, it is also one of the biggest. The new PAW1300 takes all the same features and technology of the PAW1200, and fits it into a significantly slimmer package.

How much smaller is the PAW1300 compared to the PAW1200? The PAW1200, weighing in at 83 grams, is 64mm long, 48.9mm wide, and 14.4mm thick. The PAW1300 is a comparatively diminutive 60 grams, and 56.9mm long, 47.4mm wide, and only 11.5mm thick. Yes, we're only talking millimeters here, but with respect to something as small as a watch, every millimeter counts. To have taken almost a full 3mm off the thickness is really very significant.

I don't want to spend a lot of time going over the features of the Pathfinder PAW1300 since I've gone over them in detail in the review of the PAW1200. Rather, I'd like to defer to Watch Report reader Sam Tannous who related his experiences with the new PAW1300 in this email:

View the Yes Tati photo gallery.

I'm a big fan of Yes watches. I reviewed the Yes Zulu two years ago, and I have the black Kundalini which never fails to draw attention. So when I heard some time ago that Yes was working on an all-digital watch, the project piqued my interest. The Zulu and the Kundalini are stunning watches, but somewhat overpower my narrow wrist, so I hoped a digital Yes watch would give me the unique and innovative perspective on time that is the signature of Yes watches, but in a more appropriately sized package.

The Yes Tati is precisely that. By replacing the analog 24-hour hand that distinguishes the rest of the lineup with an LCD, Yes was able to remove an entire quartz movement and extra battery. The result is a much smaller watch which is just as unique as the other pieces, and with all the same functionality.

Although the Tati is designed for narrower wrists, I wouldn't go so far as to classify it as a ladies watch. While it certainly looks at home on a woman's wrist, the wide leather cuff (easily removable), especially on the black version, makes it appropriate for men, as well -- especially those of us who were cursed with a combination of watch lust and skinny wrists. The soft leather strap makes the Tati both light weight, and very comfortable against the skin.

Yes watches have some of the most interesting and expressive names of any watch brand, and the Tati is no exception. I expected Tati to refer to a distant mountain range, or perhaps the name of an ancient sun goddess, but it turns out that the origins of the name are even more interesting. Tati is short for Tatiana, Yes Watches CEO Bjørn Kartomten's daughter, and judging from my conversations with Bjørn, the inspiration for much of what he does.

If you are new to Yes watches, it's important to realize that they are not all about aesthetics. In fact, Yes watches were specifically born out of a desire to present a more complete picture of time by bringing together manmade horological concepts like hours, minutes, and seconds with nature's concepts of time like sunrise, sunset, and moon phases. It turns out that integrating these two words means cramming an incredible number of features into a relatively small case.

While I'm on the topic of GPS watches (I wrote about the new Casio GPR-100 GPS watch last week), Suunto just released software that allows you to plot your hikes on Google Earth. From what I can tell, it looks pretty straightforward to use.

The Suunto X9i has an "activity mode" which records data to what it calls a log file (aka, the watch's memory). The frequency with which it records location information is configurable, and, more than anything else, determines battery life (4-5 hours with a 10 second track log interval, and 12 hours with a 1 minute track log interval). You can then transfer your track log to your PC using a USB cable and an application called the Suunto Trek Manager (PC only, naturally). And now, using a new application called the Suunto Track Exporter, you can export data from your watch directly into Google Earth, which allows you to visualize your route with actual satellite imagery. Very cool.

You can find out more information on Suunto X9i and Google Earth integration, as well as download the free Suunto Track Exporter software, on Suunto's new Google Earth page.

I have a brand new Suunto X9i sitting on my desk right now waiting to be reviewed. I think this announcement just bumped it up in priority. As part of my review, I'll do some trekking through the wilderness of San Francisco and let you know how it all works.

Related Articles:

• Review of the Suunto X9i

Last March, I wrote about the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200, a very impressive watch which manages to pack multi-band atomic timekeeping, solar power, and three sensors (digital compass, altimeter/barometer, and thermometer) into a single package. The PAW1200 series was a landmark achievement for Casio since it finally brought together the convenience of both solar power and atomic timekeeping with the diverse functionality of the Pathfinder line.

But even though they got it all into a single package, the PAW1200 wasn't exactly the nicest package. I reviewed the PAW1200-3V, a big green resin model which engulfs my narrow wrist like a python. I'm ok with the size of the watch (all that technology has to go somewhere), but I felt like the material (plastic all around) left some room for improvement.

Enter the PRW-1100YTJ-1JF. The Protrek PRW-1100YTJ-1JF steps it up a notch by wrapping up all the features of the PAW1200 series in a very cool black titanium case with a synthetic sapphire crystal on top. Why is titanium good? Tough and light. Why is sapphire good? For all intents and purposes, it's scratch proof.

Admittedly, I have never owned a Casio titanium and sapphire watch, so I can't vouch for the level of quality. In other words, all titanium cases and bracelets, and all sapphire crystals, were not created equal. It's intriguing, however, to see Casio fitting their toughest watches with some very tough materials.

Of course, the news can't be all good. The PRW-1100YTJ-1JF is not available in the US (hence the "J" in the model name) since most Americans aren't interested in paying $450 for any type of watch, much less a Casio. But the true Casio aficionados have their sources. If anyone out there has a titanium Casio with a sapphire crystal, let me know what you think of the quality. Otherwise, I'll be forced to buy one myself in the name of product research.

Additional Resources:

• Review of the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200
• Review of the Casio Pathfinder PAW1300-3V
• The PRW-1100 home page

View the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 picture gallery.

I've been waiting for this watch for a while now, so it's a real pleasure to finally have the opportunity to review it. The Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 is what I've referred to several times as the ultimate Pathfinder, perhaps the ultimate Casio, and certainly one of the most advanced digital timepieces in the world.

What makes the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 series special is the fact that it brings so many features together into one watch. I'll get into plenty of detail on each individual feature shortly, but most notably, the PAW1200 series is the first to bring together the triple-sensor functionality of the Pathfinder line (compass, barometer, and thermometer), atomic time calibration, and solar power. I have several solar-powered watches, several atomic watches, and a few triple-sensor watches by various manufacturers, but the PAW1200 is the only watch that I know of with all of these features. And as if that isn't enough, the PAW1200 series is what Casio calls a multi-band atomic watch, which means it will calibrated with almost every atomic clock in the world (details below).

I was going to wait and write about the new Casio Pathfinder PAW1200T-7V once it was actually available, but I've been getting so much email about this watch that I figured I'd better go ahead and break radio silence. Last summer, I made a post entitled The Ultimate Casio Pro Trek (Almost) which described a watch I've been waiting for for a very long time: a solar atomic Casio Pro Trek (called Pathfinder here in the US). The "Almost" portion of the title referred to the unfortunate fact that it was only compatible with Japanese atomic clocks. Casio has finally come through for us Yanks, however, and according to this press release, the PAW1200 series will not only work with the US atomic time signal, but it will actually be sold here in the US, as well. Good for me, bad for my Japanese connection who won't make any money off me this time.

I haven't seen the final specifications on these watches yet, but I would expect the following features:

• Atomic timekeeping (obviously).
• Solar powered with at least a 20-month power reserve, maybe better.
• Thermometer which will actually convert the temperature into fahrenheit.
• Compass.
• Barometer.
• Barometric altimeter.
• World time with support for at least 30 cities pre-programmed.
• Stopwatch.
• Countdown timer.
• 5 daily alarms.

I love the idea of vibrating alarms. I think a vibrating alarm on a watch makes as much sense as a vibrating ringer on a mobile phone. Unfortunately, if you want a silent watch, you don't have a lot of choices. Some options that come to mind are the Tissot High-T, the Tissot Silen-T, the Casio G-Shock GW-400J, and now the newest addition: the Casio G-Shock GL-7500HD.

The Casio GL-7500HD is a watch intended for water sports, the idea being if your swimming, surfing, water skiing, etc., you're not likely to hear an alarm. Additional water-related features include a tide graph and water resistance to 200 meters (about 650 feet).  Here's the full feature list for the Casio GL-7500HD:

• Vibrating alarm.
• Tide graph.
• World time (preprogrammed for 28 cities).
• Three daily alarms and one snooze alarm.
• Countdown timer.
• Stopwatch with a resolution of 1/100 of a second.
• Automatic calendar.
• Water-resistant to 200 meters, or about 650 feet.

As far as my own personal G-Shock collection goes, I usually don't bother with anything that isn't atomic and solar anymore simply because I think those are two very useful features that Casio has really implemented well (see the Casio G-Shock GW-400J). But if your criteria is less stringent, and your priorities are a tough, inexpensive watch with a vibrating alarm, The Casio G-Shock GL-7500HD looks like a very good fit. And it is readily available in the US for only around $80.

I've been waiting for this watch. I'm a big fan of the Casio Pro Trek line, especially since they went solar, and even more so now that they've gone atomic. That's right: an atomic solar Casio Pro Trek. That makes for quite a list of features:

• Atomic timekeeping. That means this watch is automatically calibrated through radio waves transmitted by an atomic clock.
• Solar powered. Solar cells around the face keep the watch's battery charged, and a sophisticated power-saving function will keep the watch going for up to 20 months with no light. (It seems every time I write an article about a solar Casio, that number gets higher.)
• Thermometer. The temperature range is from -10° to 60° Celsius.
• Compass. Direction is indicated by a second LCD that hovers above the main one. Very cool effect. The Casio Pro Trek supports magnetic declination correction for true north as opposed to just magnetic north. (See my review of the Tissot T-Touch for more information on magnetic declination.)
• Barometer. Atmospheric pressure can be measured in the range of 260 to 1100 hPa (hectoPascals). Barometric trends over the last 30 hours can be displayed as a graph.
• Altimeter. The altimeters on Casio Pro Treks are barometric altimeters which means they work, but you have to know how to use them. See my review of the Tissot T-Touch for more information.
• World time. Keep track of a second time zone (30 cities supported).
• Stopwatch with a resolution of 1/100th of a second.
• Auto-repeating countdown timer. After time and date, the most useful function a digital watch can have.
• 5 daily alarms, and an hourly time signal.
• Battery power indicator.
• Signal strength indicator (for the atomic function).
• Electroluminescent backlight.
• Available with a resin case and strap, or in all titanium.

View the Casio G-Shock GW-400J photo gallery.

When I first saw the new Casio GW-400J vibrating watch, I knew I was going to have to get my hands on one. You see, I'm very in to vibrating watches. Not because I'm some kind horological pervert, but because they make so much sense. Ever since a got my Timex Internet Messenger some six years ago or so, I've always felt that digital watches should have vibrating alarms. What good is it having multiple daily alarms, programmable alarms, auto-repeating countdown timers, and an hourly signal if you can't hear them because they are so faint, or because you live in a world where you don't want your geeky watch attracting attention?

Not only was I tempted by the Casio GW-400J's vibrating alarm, but it's even solar powered. And atomic. And it has a countdown timer. True, it's goofy looking, but I just named all my favorite digital watch features, and it's very unusual to find them all in one place. Besides, big black plastic Casios appear to be in right now, at least in San Francisco where I live.

Before I get into my review of the Casio GW-400J, here's a list of features:

The new Seiko Milemarker is an interesting combination of modern and classic technologies. On the modern side, the Milemarker has a 10 year battery, perpetual calendar, and an extremely accurate quartz movement which deviates less than 20 seconds per year (yes, that's per year, not per month). The more classic technologies include a map wheel and a manual compass.

The map wheel works by allowing you to trace routes along any map that has a scale, then calculate the distance between the two points. Not exactly a GPS, but then again, no batteries or satellites required. The compass works in conjunction with the 24-hour hand and the rotating bezel. Point the 24-hour hand toward the sun, and the 12 o'clock position will be pointing roughly north. This is definitely a watch for hikers and orienteers who like to do things the old-fashioned way, but with a certain amount of style.

Features of the Seiko Milemarker include...

The Swiss Army ST 5000 is one of the most sophisticated and unique digital compass watches I've seen. First of all, there's a small LCD above the 6 o'clock position which displays the user's numeric heading (I have a Casio ProTrek with a digital compass that displays your heading, but my Tissot T-Touch does not). It will also display magnetic north in addition to the wearer's bearing, and allow you to lock that bearing into memory in order to keep you on track. There is a 5-point LED system which will indicate any necessary course corrections, and since it uses LEDs (light-emitting diodes) rather than LCDs, you can use the system to navigate in the dark. The watch has a rotating inner bezel which is divided up into 360 degrees in 15 degree increments, and there's even a built in spirit level (a little bubble encased in liquid) to help you keep the watch level in order to optimize precision.

The folks over at Wrist Dreams have picked up on the new vibrating Casio G-Shock GW-400CJ-1JF marine sports watch. I was just commenting the other day on how Casio is really pushing the limits of digital watches, and as if to prove my point, they announce one of the most interesting and feature-rich digital watches I've ever seen. The most unique feature of the GW-400CJ is that the countdown timer, alarm, and time signal can use a vibrating alarm rather than an audible one so that it can be effectively used in high winds, while in the water, or in other situations where it's difficult to hear faint high-pitched beeps. The other thing that really caught my attention about this watch is the sheer number of features they packed into it:

• Waveceptor. That means this watch is automatically calibrated through radio waves transmitted by atomic clocks. Works in both Japan and the US.
• Tough Solar. Solar cells around the face keep the watch's battery charged, and a sophisticated power-saving function will keep the watch powered for up to 19 months with no light.
• Water-resistant to 200 meters, or over 600 feet, which makes it suitable for diving.
• Thermometer which measures both air and water temperatures between about 14 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Tide graph.
• Moon phase indicator.
• Vibrating alarm.
• World time supporting 32 cities in 30 time zones.
• Stopwatch with a resolution of 1/100th of a second and a max time of 100 hours.
• Four alarms.
• Countdown timer. Goes up to 60 minutes and has an auto-repeat function.
• Automatic calendar.
• Electroluminescent backlight.

A truly amazing watch. Read the press release in English, thanks to Google's translation tool. The Casio GW-400CJ should go for around $225, not counting shipping from Japan, and a generous tip for your Japanese connection.

I didn't even know that the HighGear Summit watch existed until I discovered this review over on WetDawg. If you're in the market for an outdoor sports watch with an altimeter, barometer, thermometer, and compass, this looks like it might be a viable and affordable option. The HighGear Summit sells for about $149, and appears to be available at most stores specializing in outdoor and hiking equipment. The author makes the following observations about his new toy:

• The Summit is a big sucker. As sure as if you’re walking a five legged dog, someone is going to remark on it. Seven out of ten people you meet will point out the big watch on your wrist. The conversation value is high.
• The Summit is the largest faced of HighGear’s models, but I like the way it feels on my wrist (and I have a small wrist). In fact it’s the most comfortable watch I’ve ever worn.
• Another feature tied in with the barometer is the weather predictor. In both the time and barometric modes it shows a little icon of sun, cloud or rain, suggesting what you might expect in the half dozen hours ahead.
• The thermometer was used little, but worked fine when you took it off. Or left it on and subtracted ten degrees.
• The chronometer [he means chronograph] is fine and I use it when training. The alarm is handy, of course. I would have liked a count down alarm as well.

Check out the full article for more details. The review caught my eye because I am a big fan of the Tissot T-Touch which offers a great deal of the same functionality (check out my Tissot T-Touch review for details), but in a much smaller and more attractive package, and with a scratch-proof sapphire crystal. I wore a T-Touch when I first moved to San Francisco about two months ago to help me get my bearing when walking the city, but that's about as outdoorsy as I get these days. I also recently received a similar new stainless steel and titanium Casio Protrek which I will be reviewing shortly. I still need to put it through its paces, but at first glance, it appears to be a nice combination of functionality, affordably, and visual appeal (compared to the old Protreks and Pathfinders). Stay tuned.

Of course, the Casio Overland only appears to be available in Japan (aren't all the coolest Japanese watches?), but if you have some strings over there, they might be worth pulling to get your hands on one of these. In my opinion, the Casio Overland is the nicest looking solar Waveceptor to date. Here's the skinny:

• Tough Solar. Solar cells in the dial keep the watch's battery charged. I have a couple Casio Tough Solar watches, and I've found that this system works remarkably well.
• Waveceptor. That's Casio's way of saying that this watch is automatically calibrated through radio waves transmitted by atomic clocks. The Casio Overland works with 40kHz and 60kHz signals which are intended for use in Japan, however the atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado broadcasts at 60kHz, so it will work in the US. (Watch Report reader Victor Shiff has pointed out that although the frequency is the same, the time code is different, so this watch will not work in the US. Bummer. Thanks, Victor.)
• Alarm.
• Water resistant to 100 meters (330 feet).
• Battery charge warning function. I'm not sure how this works, but I'm guessing the second hand starts jumping in two-second increments to indicate that the watch's power is low.
• Power saving function. If the watch detects that it is in the dark for an extended period of time, it will stop to conserve power.
• LED illumination. That means it uses a small LED (probably bluish) to illuminate the dial. LED illumination is much brighter than electroluminescent, and is what Casio is using now for analog watches.
• Perpetual date, meaning it doesn't need to be reset after months with fewer than 31 days.
• Metal case. Available with metal bracelets or nylon straps.
• Retail is approximately between $165 and $250.

Thanks to the magic of Google, here's an English version of the Casio Overland product page.

View the YES Zulu watch photo gallery.

It's not unusual to see cool new features and functionality packed into digital watches these days: MP3 players, infrared remote controls, cameras, compasses, flashlights, PDAs. Telling time has even become secondary for many watches by companies like Casio, Timex, Suunto, Fossil, and dozens of small new high-tech watch manufacturers. What is unusual, however, is to see a new and innovative high-tech watch whose primary function is not only to tell time, but to do so in traditional and even ancient ways. The YES Zulu watch combines fine Swiss quartz movements with Japanese microchips and complex algorithms to provide the most complete and comprehensive picture of time that I have ever seen in a watch.

The YES watch philosophy is that time is more than just 365 days in a year, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute. Although that is how most of us experience time day to day -- and indeed, YES watches do capture the concept perfectly well -- there are other cycles and rhythms that play very important roles in our lives, whether we choose to acknowledge them or not. Most notably, sunrise and sunset, moon rise and moon set, solar noon, high and low tide, and lunar phases -- all of which (and more) the YES watch captures and conveys.

Timex recently introduced three new models to their line of Expedition compass watches. What sets these new watches apart from the other Timex Expedition compass watches is that they use a fourth analog hand as a compass needle as opposed to just indicating your heading numerically. And they look quite nice, as well, with stainless steel cases and either a stainless steel bracelet, or one of two leather straps. Features of these new Timex Expedition watches include:

• 4th hand compass needle.
• Declination adjustment. Enter the magnetic declination (the angle between magnetic and true north) of your location, and the watch will calculate true north for you.
• Bi-directional rotating bezel.
• INDIGLO backlight.
• Quick-date function. These watches do not have perpetual calendars, so after months with fewer than 31 days, the date needs to be adjusted. The Quick-date function allows the date to be set quickly and easily.
• Stainless steel case.
• Water-resistant to 100 meters (10 BAR, 10 ATM, or 330 feet).
• $100 for the model with the stainless steel bracelet, $95 for the two with leather straps.

If you're looking for a nice looking, affordable compass watch, look no further than the new Timex Expeditions. TIMEX.COM is even offering free shipping on all orders over $75 right now.

Additional Resources

• All Timex Expedition watches.
• The Timex Expedition 40721.
• The Timex Expedition 48751.
• The Timex Expedition 48741.

View the Tissot T-Touch photo gallery.

The Tissot T-Touch is the wilderness lover of the Tactile family which currently consists of the High-T, the Silen-T, and the newest member of the family, the Tissot Navigator 3000. You might not guess just from looking at it, but the Tissot T-Touch feels just as at home in the woods, in the mountains, or on long treks as it does in the office or at a cocktail party. The T-Touch combines good looks, rugged functionality, and impressive innovation in way you rarely see in the watch world.

Features of the Tissot T-Touch

• Touch crystal. I love showing this feature to people for the first time because they are almost always completely amazed. Like the rest of the Tactile family, the T-Touch has a touch-sensitive sapphire crystal. Rather than jamming repeatedly on a mode button, simply activate the crystal with the right center button, then touch the crystal in one of seven different areas to change modes, or to return to the default time mode.
• Compass. The Tissot T-Touch's built-in compass can measure magnetic north as well as calculate geographic north.
• Thermometer. The range of the T-Touch's built-in thermometer is -10 C (15 F) and 60 C (140 F). (If you're in an environment which significantly exceeds that range, you should be more concerned about your life than your watch.) It is accurate to about 1 degree C (1.8 F), and the resolution is .4 C (.7 F).
• Barometer. The range of the built-in barometer is 300 hPa (hectoPascals), and it is accurate to + or - 3 hPa. The resolution is 1 hPa.
• Altimeter. Wherever you have a barometer, you usually have an altimeter, as well, since it is possible to calculate altitude by measuring atmospheric pressure. The range is -400 meters (-1300 feet) to 9000 meters (29,500 feet) with a resolution of 1 meter (3 feet).
• Chronograph. Resolution of 1/100 of a second, maximum time of 9:59':59". The T-Touch's stopwatch can record a single split time.
• Alarm. The alarm is a daily alarm -- nothing special -- though it is nice and loud, which I really like. The only thing I don't like about the alarm is that the only way to set it is by incrementing or decrementing minutes which can get a little tiresome if the time you want to set it to is 12 hours away. Fortunately, the minutes do speed up the longer you hold down the buttons (there are three different speeds) which makes it better, however I would rather be able to set the hours, minutes, and meridian separately.
• Analog and digital displays. The LCD can be configured to display the time or date, or data from one of the other many functions. The analog portion of the watch is even used to convey different types of information depending on the mode. (More on the watch's hands below.)
• Dual time zone display (unofficial). This is not an official feature of the Tissot T-Touch, meaning I guess you're not really supposed to do it, but there is a process you can go through to synchronize the analog time with the digital should they ever fall out of step with each other for any reason. If they can be synchronized, I hypothesized, they can be un-synchronized. And indeed they can. During the synchronization process, when the instructions tell you to line the hands up precisely at 12:00, simply add your second time zone's offset, and suddenly you have watch capable of displaying dual time zones.
• Bidirectional rotating bezel. The bezel contains the four compass points rather than numbers so it can be used to orient a map.
• Semi-perpetual date. That means the T-Touch does not have a pre-programmed date function. Rather, it knows how many days are contained in each month, and can generally do a pretty good job of keeping track of the date that way, but gets tripped up between February and March. The instructions say, "For February it is necessary to reset the date when it is only 28 days" which at first I thought must be a typo. According to those instructions, the watch always assumes that it is a leap year, and adds an extra day to February. I tested the watch to see if this was actually the case, and discovered that this was indeed the watch's behavior. A little strange, if you ask me. If I were designing a watch without a pre-programmed date function, I would assume that every year was not a leap year and give February 28 days since leap years only come along every four years (unless the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400). Anyway, this is a minor point, but something Tissot might want to consider changing in the future. The point is, if you get yourself a Tissot T-Touch, make sure you check your date every year around March 1st.
• Metric and American units.
• Water resistant to 30 meters. (3 ATM, 3 BAR, or 100 feet).
• Luminescent hands. (No backlight for the LCD.)
• Quartz movement. For all of you who got here by doing a search on Google for "Tissot T-Touch battery," it takes a Renata CR 1632 which should last about 12 months. I know that seems a little short, but consider all the features it's expected to power.
• 42 mm in diameter, 150.36 grams.
• 2 year warranty.