A Field Watch

I’ve been after a cheap field watch for ages, as a beater and as a simple watch for simple days. I’ve chased a few older ones on eBay, but they quickly price out of my comfort zone for a beater. So I ended up spending under forty quid on a Timex Expedition Scout in 40mm. (UK) (US+)

It’s battery powered – I would have rather had a manual wind – and the screen illuminates with a push of the crown, which doesn’t feel strictly necessary. It also has a loud tick! But nothing about it feels cheap, it’s solid and heavy and easy to read.

I’ve used smartwatches since the days of the Pebble, and they’ve become intrinsic to managing my working days. A smartwatch – and now I use Apple Watches – is a tool watch. But sometimes I want to leave my tools on the desk.