not the most legible ones there are, as they're thin and
not very contrasting, but are fine most of the time
anyway.
When travelling, there are basically two functions I lack in a normal watch: Alarm, since wake up times can be very irregular and a second time zone, so I know what time it is back home. A chronograph function is also convenient.
Getting all of this in a mechanical watch certainly isn't cheap, but it could be done with two. Not a solution I favour, so digital was definitely the way to go. As I like to have an analog display too, I started looking around at analog/digital watches. I found the mid priced ones not good enough, and the good ones too expensive, so I started to look at the cheaper ones. At first I tried to get a G-Shock (G-100 or G-101L), but they weren't in stock here and you could get something similiar, smaller and cheaper.
This model has a small display showing either digital date and day display, the time, alarm, chronograph or a second time zone. This isn't more than I need and it's easy enough choosing the functions you don't even need the instruction booklet.
The illumination button backlights the whole face and the digital display and remains lit a few seconds after you release the button.
The analog hands can be set independently of the local digital time and both can be offset from the second time zone not just in even hours (which is a problem for mechanical "GMT" watches as there are time zones off by 30 or 40 minutes from the rest).
The hands are
not the most legible ones there are, as they're thin and
not very contrasting, but are fine most of the time
anyway.
It's water resistant rated for 100 m, which is good.
Being light and not large, it wears well.
I didn't like the original plastic strap at all, so I've replaced it with a 18 mm "tropical" braided nylon strap. The recessed springbars are of a standard type, so it's not a problem changing straps.
It's not exactly something I wear daily, but I won't hesitate bringing it on trips where it can come in handy. I already wish I'd gotten one like this years ago.
Document created 2002 Feb 20 by Urban