If a dive watch is a waterproof timepiece meant to travel under the water, a pilot’s watch is a highly legible timepiece meant for use in the cockpit, a field watch is meant for soldiers or explorers and a GMT watch is meant for tracking a second time zone…then what the heck is an “adventure” watch?
To our minds, it includes all of the above watches. Let’s say you’re setting out for some exploration — some outdoor escapades, perhaps of the variety approved of (or not) by your spouse — what kind of timepiece would you choose? Especially if the adventure involves more than one type of adventuring: Maybe there’s some water-based activity, plus some hiking at altitude, plus you’d like the ability to keep track of both local and home time.
Narrowing down your choice of wristwear might actually be harder than you think in this particular scenario. Sure, there are dedicated GMT watches — but there are also relatively affordable field watches with rotating 12-hour bezels that’ll do the job in a pinch. And as for dive watches, these are legion. But there are also digital watches with more than enough water resistance for diving, plus plenty of useful calendar and stopwatch functions for, say, travelers and pilots, respectively.
All this to say: There are tons of horological choices benefitting the modern adventurer, and they span a wide variety of types, price points and aesthetics. The following are some of our favorites, but the list is by no means exhaustive — which is why we’d recommend also perusing our guides to our favorite dive watches, travel watches, chronographs and more. And since we thought it might be helpful, here’s a brief rundown of the different types of watch categories included in this guide.
Types of Adventure Watches
Dive Watches: A wristwatch with a highly water-resistant case, a luminous dial and a rotating bezel for tracking elapsed time. Meant for SCUBA diving.
GMT/Dual-Time Watches: A watch able to track a second time zone, generally through the use of a secondary hour hand used in conjunction with a peripheral 24-hour scale.
Chronographs: A watch with subsidiary dials controlled via push-buttons that allow the user to track elapsed time.
Digital Watches: A watch powered by a battery that features a display — generally LCD or LED — and often includes myriad timekeeping functions such as stopwatches, calendars, etc.
Field Watches: A simple watch meant for hard use — often by soldiers — featuring either a three-hand display, or sometimes including a rotating 12-hour bezel for tracking a second time zone.
The Best Adventure Watches
Released in 1971, the original Rolex Explorer II was designed for spelunkers: The fourth hand, which was originally slaved to the main hour hand, was read against the watch’s fixed 24-hour bezel, thus giving a picture of daytime and nighttime hours. The modern version, however, is for more than just cave exploration: Because it features an independently adjustable local hour hand (like its cousin, the GMT-Master II), it can be used to track a second time zone. Available in white or black and housed in a large 42mm Oystersteel case with a matching Oyster bracelet, it’s the type of timepiece that’s meant for serious adventuring.
The Hamilton Khaki Field Quartz, starting at just $445, is one of the best buys in the watch world: Measuring 33mm or 38mm in a brushed stainless steel case with a sapphire crystal and a prominent, easy-to-manipulate crown, it features a highly legible dial inspired by the timepieces the brand once made for the U.S. military. And though you could opt for the hand-wound version, this battery-powered option is perhaps even more convenient. (Our advice? Snag for the black dial on a grey NATO-style strap for a tried-and-true military look.)
Think the Special Forces are rocking dusty old Subs these days? Well, maybe some of them are…but if you want a real 21st-century military watch fit for purpose, then remove a crisp $100 bill from your digital wallet and fork over for a G-SHOCK DW-6900. This affordable quartz timepiece is equipped with any and all bells and whistles an adventurer could possibly ask for: 200m of water resistance, an on-demand luminous screen, and all manner of timer, stopwatch, alarm and more. (Just be sure to cover its light-up display if you’re actually wearing it in the military.)
A modern take on Zodiac’s GMT watches from the 1960s-1970s, the modern Super Sea-Wolf GMT offers an affordable, mechanical travel watch with an independently adjustable 24-hour hand for tracking a second time zone. Featuring a bi-directional bezel with a subdued black/grey or a cool pink/white insert, it wears beautifully at 40mm, comes paired to a matching beads-of-rice bracelet with a butterfly clasp, and is powered by the STP 7-20 automatic movement built at Fossil Group’s movement manufacture. If you frequently find yourself on the road — or you do business internationally — a GMT watch such as this will save you lots of headaches.
If you’re looking for an adventure watch that does just about everything other than your homework, you’d do well to place an order for Citizen’s Promaster Air Skyhawk. Though it’s got significant wrist presence at 45mm, you won’t mind when you’ve got access to atomic timekeeping, world time in 43 cities, a 1/100th-second chronograph, a perpetual calendar, a dual-time display, two alarms, a countdown timer, a UTC display, a power reserve indicator…do we even need to go on? All this information is available via an analog-digital screen, and you get 200m of water resistance, to boot. (It’s also pretty darn cool-looking, in our humble opinion.)
Descended from a watch designed for pilots, parachutists and other military personnel, the Marathon SSNAV-D is an ideal wrist companion for someone who truly needs to put his watch through its paces: At 41mm in diameter, its case features an asymmetric design that protects the crown, short lugs and a bi-directional bezel with easy-to-grip scalloped edges topped with a 12-hour insert for monitoring a second time zone. The black dial with its 24-hour scale boasts luminous tritium tubes for extra bright glow, while the included three-piece rubber strap is perfect for use in sweaty (or downright aqueous) environments.
Back in 2019, Seiko released a contemporary take on the ref. H558-5009, the ana-digi watch worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in both Commando and Predator, known affectionately within the industry as the “Arnie.” Measuring 47.8mm in diameter, it’s still positively gigantic — and still ideal for hunting aliens in the jungle. If it’s more run-of-the-mill adventuring you have in mind, however, the SNJ-025 is perfectly well-suited: With a rotating dive bezel, a luminous analog dial and a digital dial offering power reserve, stopwatch, chronograph and plenty of other indications, it packs quite a punch, while 200m of water resistance makes it a functional SUBA companion.
Machined from black carbon, the Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono ref. 25827KN-0001 blends classic Tudor design language with modern materials and a cool, largely monochromatic aesthetic. Designed in the livery of the brand’s Pro Cycling Team, it features red accents throughout its dial — largely in the form of a neat tachymeter scale surrounding the dual-register chronograph display and throughout said display’s totalizers. Powered by the brand’s in-house Tudor cal. MT5813 automatic movement, it packs a 70-hour power reserve and date functionality and comes paired to a comfortable single-piece black fabric strap.
Bremont’s robust Trip-Tick case has been reworked into a slimmer format on the modern Altitude MB Meteor, a high-flying pilot’s watch with an internal rotating bezel and a dual-crown design reminiscent of vintage “compressor”-style divers. Crafted from lightweight Grade 2 titanium and fitted to a matching H-link bracelet, it’s powered by the Bremont cal. BB14-AH, an automatic movement mounted to a special shock-absorbing rubber mount. Its dial, meanwhile, is surrounded by the aforementioned rotating elapsed-time bezel and boasts luminous Arabic indices and a useful date window at 3 o’clock.
If you’re looking to go adventuring on a budget, you might wanna try the Q Timex GMT. At 38mm wide in stainless steel and paired with a matching multi-link bracelet, it wears like a vintage watch — but its melding of the classic bi-color 24-hour bezel with an affordable quartz movement makes it ideal for those who aren’t prepared to drop serious dough on a single timekeeper. (Yet.) Beneath its acrylic crystal is a black dial with plenty of nods to a certain coronet-logo brand, but the charming tonneau-shaped case gives the Q Timex GMT a look all its own. (It’s also available in other colorways on a rubber strap, if you prefer.)
Since 1957, the Omega Seamaster has been a go-to tool watch for divers, soldiers, (fictional) spies and just about anyone else who takes water resistance seriously. The modern incarnation comes in myriad forms, but the cool ref. 210.32.42.20.04.001, with its white “wave” dial, helium escape valve and black rubber dive strap, presents a no-frills, summery adventure watch that can transition beautifully from the beach to the mountains. Powered by the Omega Master Chronometer Calibre 8800, it’s one of those rare pieces that never goes out of style. (It can also be had on a matching multi-link bracelet for a bit more dough.)
A simple and straightforward field watch for the adventurer, the Modello Due UC2 is part of Italian microbrand Unimatic’s permanent collection. (Unlike many of their pieces, which are limited-edition collaboration watches.) Nevertheless, its 38mm stainless steel case — which is water-resistant to an impressive 300m — is individually numbered on its caseback, while its vintage-inspired dial is coated liberally in Super-LumiNova to ensure nighttime legibility. Powered by the reliable Seiko NH35A automatic movement and paired with a black nylon two-piece quick-release strap, it’s an incredible value at roughly $658.
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