Your watch is always a helpful tool, but it can do so much more than just tell time. In uneasy situations, it can be useful to have a watch that does a lot, which can sometimes be the difference in defeat and survival. Luckily, finding a watch with incredible features, like a built-in compass, a self-charging battery, LED flashlight, or GPS capabilities, has never been easier. If you frequent the outdoors or often find yourself in tricky situations, don’t risk it without a great survival watch at your side. Before you buy any old watch be sure to carefully consider your options. These newest watches definitely pack a lot of the latest technology into a small, stylish accessory. To help you choose, here are the 12 best survival watches you can get your hands on right now:
Casio G-Shock Gulfmaster Survival Watch
Casio has lead the watch game for quite some time, and this G-Shock Gulfmaster survival watch offers the premium quality you would expect from the established brand. This watch has several features that are useful when you are hiking, camping, or out enjoying nature. Triple sensors help you accurately measure direction, atmospheric altitude and pressure, as well as temperature, to help you keep a check on your environment and get you where you need to go. This watch is water resistant and offers several premium functions, including tide graphs and moon data. You can also enjoy all the basic watch functions, like several alarm settings, a stopwatch, and keeping up the world time. Time is reliable due to Japanese Quartz movement. The watch has a digital interface which makes it quick to read and easy to adjust. This watch band is made of quality practice and the watch is coated to make it shock resistant, helping it stand up against nature in the toughest situations. You can get this watch in two stylish colors, including black and blue.
Casio G-Shock Rangeman
This watch is another great Casio design that offers years of durability and can help you find your way in the toughest situations. The watch features a triple sensor, including a compass to help you keep direction, a barometer to measure atmospheric pressure, and a thermometer for accurate, real-time temperature readings. This watch is the watch that never breaks, constructed with free fall endurance up to 10 meters and 10 bar water resistance. The battery life is good for up to ten years as well. The G-Shock Rangeman features 6 Band Atomic timekeeping that is always accurate. The sensor button takes you immediately to the watch’s sensory functions and is covered by a durable metal cover that protects it from fall damage. This watch features a durable, thick band and is available in several colors, including a military green option.
Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster
The Citizen Eco-Drive features all of the necessary basics, including an adjustable rubber band with secure buckle closure, an easy to read analog dial with rotating bezel, and accurate Japanese Quartz movement to help you keep time. However, this watch is so much more and earned its way onto this list because of its more superior features. This includes being water resistant up to 1000 ft. This watch never requires a battery and is fueled by light, so you never have to worry about battery drainage. Its constructed from highly durable stainless steel with a stylish silver tone. The 48 mm stainless steel case and mineral dial window help protect the watch face from damage too, no matter what you put it up against. This watch is a perfectly stylish way to keep the time and date in any tactical or day to day situation.
Casio G-Shock Gravitymaster
Casio designs a super survival watch with this aviation-inspired chronograph watch from the G-Shock series. This watch features analog time, with two subdials and a digital window that displays date. The watch features a compass to keep direction in tactical situations and a built-in thermometer with accurate, real-time readings. Enjoy other base features, like a stopwatch and multiple alarm settings. The LED display and backlight helps you easily read the watch even at night. The watch features a 2 cm adjustable band and is water resistant up to 1000 ft. Japanese Quartz movement help the watch remain accurate over time and the mineral glass dial window resists scratches and damage in tough times. This watch is another option from Casio that is just as tough as it is stylish, and comes in an all-black design with green accents.
Surefire Luminox Wristlight
This Surefire Luminox Wristlight may be the most useful part of your wardrobe in tactical situations. Whether you find yourself out in the wilderness in the dark or you’re just searching for a lost item in your car at night, the powerful flashlight built into this outdoor wristwatch is sure to save the day. The light has three different levels for unique situations, including 300, 60, and 15 lumens. An easy ambidextrous push-button toggles the light on or off quickly which makes it super accessible in emergency situations. The rubber wristband is durable and features a buckle closure that is secure and stylish. This Luminox watch features self-illuminating dial for easy readability even in low light situations. The watch is constructed from lightweight aerospace aluminum that will hold up years. The watch has an analog display with large, bold markings. No need to worry about a dead battery either, since the watch is fully rechargeable and has a digital LED gauge to let you know when the battery is low. The solid black aluminum finish is incredibly stylish and will look great with your tactical gear and everyday casual wear alike.
Timex Scout Chronograph Watch
Timex really takes the cake with this incredibly stylish and functional chronograph watch. The watch face is secured with a mineral dial window that is scratch resistant and watertight. In fact, the watch is waterproof up to 100m, which makes it perfect for swimming or snorkeling, and harsh or wet weather conditions. The watch utilizes Japanese Quartz movement to keep it on track, displaying accurate time all day long. The watch face features one large analog dial to tell the time and three small chronograph subdials. The stylish leather band is genuine and available in several neutral colors with contrast stitching.
Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Nighthawk
The Promaster Nighthawk by Citizen is just as stylish as your everyday watch but has all the features you’d desire in a survival watch. The watch is constructed from durable stainless steel and features a silver tone adjustable band with a secure fold-over push-button clasp. Citizen also utilizes Japanese Quartz movement to sustain absolute accuracy. The handy tool offers you a lot of information in a pinch and features a date window, dual-time display and a slide rule bezel on the inner ring. The stainless steel case measures up to be 42mm so it will look great on any wrist, big or small. The mineral dial window is scratch resistant and will hold up to the toughest situations, producing a watch that is meant to be worn wherever you go. The Promaster Nighthawk is water resistant up to 200 meters, so you don’t have to worry about rain or other inclement weather conditions.
Suunto Traverse Alpha
Suunto went completely rugged with the Traverse Alpha watch. The stainless steel watch features a knurled bezel that is unique and looks great both day and night. The durable strap is made from quality nylon material and features a triple loop fastener for extra security. This watch has a slew of neat features useful in any tactical situations, like a built-in LED flashlight, moon phase and sunrise information, and a barometric graph. Advanced GPS features are great for hunting or fishing, including shooting detection that marks the GPS location and time every time you fire a weapon, point of interest markings to let you easily track your favorite spots, and topographic maps that help you plan your trip. The Traverse alpha also includes a digital compass to help you find your way. The watch face is made from premium sapphire crystal glass that is scratch resistant and appropriate for tactical situations. Plus, Bluetooth technology allows you to connect this watch to your smartphone to receive information about incoming calls and messages. This watch is easily a suitable option for any outdoor adventures and is available in five different stylish colors.
Seiko Kinetic Wrist Watch
There’s definitely a convenience to a watch battery that doesn’t ever die. However, solar powered watches can be risky in survival situations, since the sun isn’t always a factor. Luckily, this kinetic watch by Seiko has a battery that charges itself without the help of the sunlight. The battery charges off of your kinetic energy, meaning the watch powers up as you move your arm around during the day. This heavy-duty watch has a Hardlex Crystal glass dial that is scratch resistant and is water resistant up to 100 meters, which makes it suitable for fishing, swimming, or severe weather conditions. The stainless steel case will hold up to rough daily wear, and the watch face displays an easy to read analog clock with bold markings, a backlight function, and a date function. The Seiko Kinetic Wrist Watch features a brushed stainless look that is neutral and pairs well with both casual wear and tactical gear.
Casio Pathfinder Multi-Function Sports Watch
Casio packed a slew of helpful functions into this sleek wristwatch. The digital watch features bold numbers and a backlight that makes it easy to read in any situation, light or dark. The watch also has several features specifically useful to the outdoors and tactical situations, like a barometer and altimeter, a thermometer, and low-temperature resistance. The solar-powered watch offers six months of battery on a full charge, so there is no need to worry about the battery dying during dark periods. The battery saving function helps extend this life even further. The watch also has several features helpful for keeping you on track and on time, like five alarm settings, a world time feature with 31 time zones, automatic calendar with digital date read, a countdown timer and a 1/100-second stopwatch. The watch features a 51mm stainless steel case with a mineral dial window with scratch resistance and is water resistant up to 100 meters. Casio designed this watch with Quartz movement to produce a watch that is always accurate. The watch is slim but features a rugged aesthetic that will look great with your tactical gear.
ETEVON Air Force Waterproof Watch
Etevon designed this stylish watch in honor of the Air Force. It features a large, round watch face, a plane emblem compass, and wing-shaped watch hands. The watch is built to be tough, too, which makes it a great option for a survival watch. It features scratch resistant acrylic crystal glass for the window and a maximum capacity Maxcell battery that provides up to two years of battery life. The watch strap is made from premium silicone and is anti-skid and tear resistant. The watch features a 1/200-second stopwatch, multiple alarm settings, and is water resistant up to 98 feet. The watch is great for sports and other outdoor adventures, and is shock resistant and features anti-frost performance for use in cold climates. The watch also features a digital read calendar and dual time settings for keeping up with several time zones. The unique watch comes in solid black, which accents the bold white markings beautifully.
5.11 Tactical Field Ops Watch
5.11 is known for top-quality, durable field gear, and this watch doesn’t fall short of expectations. The watch is built from high-density polycarbonate and features a durable, tear-resistant polyurethane wrist band. The comfortable band features an optional extender that lets you easily wear the watch over clothing or gloves and is resistant to extreme temperatures, making it perfect for cold climates. The watch features several useful features for tactical situations, like a digital read clock and digital compass, both with LED backlight option for easy use in dark settings. The watch also features day and month, a second time zone setting, several alarm settings, a chronograph, countdown timer, and an hourly chime. The stainless steel case is waterproof up to 100 meters, and the mineral glass display is scratch resistant and features an anti-glare coating for use in extremely sunny areas. The watch features a heavy-duty battery that offers up to 45 months of power. This stylish, ballistic grade sports watch is all black with blue and orange contrasting accents.