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C-dub wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 6:17 am

LDB415 wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 1:57 pm

SigM4 wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 12:53 pm Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

I have the first version of this and it’s been great, extremely rugged and battery life is phenomenal.

I suggested the 2X Tactical for the built in light among other features a little ways back. No comments on it so far though. But you are right, it's a good option.

Sorry I missed that earlier SigM4.

I just took a look and that is also a great looking watch definitely in the price area I was hoping to stay in. My SIL is not really a hiker/backpacker, so I’m curious about the need for those useful features. It seems many of those features can be turned off if desired.

What’s the deal with the light? I’m having trouble finding any images or info on that?

After talking with a couple firefighter/paramedics at my hospital a couple days ago I’ve picked up that a second hand or display is important. Thankfully, all suggestions and watches I’ve looked at so far have this.

If you scroll down a bit you'll see a photo showing the light in use. It projects out of the bezel at the 12:00 position. I'm sure he'll probably have a good Surefire light, a good gift suggestion for anyone else you might want to mention it to, but at times he may need light and not have a third hand for the Surefire. He also may be doing a rescue in a wrecked car or some other situation at night with inadequate light where that might make a difference. It's shown and discussed a little bit on this page for the watch, https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/884585 Surefire also makes an excellent wrist light / watch combination. It is geared toward shooters / LE but is an excellent light for anyone really.

SigM4 wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 12:53 pm Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

I have the first version of this and it’s been great, extremely rugged and battery life is phenomenal.

I suggested the 2X Tactical for the built in light among other features a little ways back. No comments on it so far though. But you are right, it's a good option.

My favorite uncle was a watchmaker from the 60's through the 80's. If you brought him a teacup with every part of a watch in the morning, he'd hand you a watch keeping perfect (as much as is possible) time in the afternoon. He said if you have tons of money to waste get a Rolex, if you want the best accuracy get an Accutron and if you want the best solid and dependable get a Seiko. That was 40 years ago. Some of those have probably changed. I'm still good with my earlier comments too.

Here's an interesting suspect. Some of the features won't likely get used unless he enlists but on the interesting side it has a built in flashlight which might be useful dealing with some calls and it uses solar so it extends battery life whenever he's near a good light source.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/884414/pn/010-02805-13

G-Shock are tough as nails if you get one of the better ones and not one of the extra-cheap models. The really good ones cost as much or more than an Apple watch but other than once in a blue moon never run out of battery like the 'smart' watches. I don't have one of these and would like to as it would be wear and go and forget about it until I want to look at it and then in 3 years or so get a new battery.

Apple watch is great but requires constant charging. For his use that could be a drawback as it could run out of battery before he runs out of shift or a call comes in 3 minutes after it's put on to charge and has to be left behind as it's too low on battery. I've got an Apple watch and wear it for a few weeks at a time a couple times a year until I get too frustrated at having to constantly charge it.

You can get the top FitBit devices that sync and do most of what an Apple watch will do, cost half what the Apple watch costs, and have 2-4 times the battery life. That's still nothing to write home about but would last longer than any shift he would ever be on. I have one of these and wear it a couple of times a year for a few weeks until I get too frustrated at having to very frequently charge it.

Garmin also makes some top shelf smart watches that also have better (a relative term and not great in any case) battery life. I don't have one of these and suspect it would match my others.

Good luck figuring it out.