nAfter ages of selling my t-shirts and picture books on Amazon I have finally bought something from the site. I am really glad I did, so I thought I would share my experience here.
I have always used an analogue watch, but recently I have been having trouble reading the luminous hands on my watch at night. I decided it was time to go digital. After a lot of nerdy research I decided to buy a g shock mudman, because it looks cool. Here in NZ g-shocks, and everything else is expensive so I went to amazon. Pretty much all the well priced watches I saw would not ship to New Zealand. Also the reviews said the mudman has stiff buttons and a quiet alarm. So I widened my search to other brands. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the Seiko Men's SBEB003, SBEB005, SBEB001 and SBEB011. These watches were everything I needed and more. They were cheap too. The prices seem to fluctuate a bit, but these watches were originally priced at 300USD, so to get one for under $60 dollars is a steal. I chose the SBEB005. The watch is solar, it lasts 5 months on a charge. It arrives needing a charge. This is an ABC watch, Altimeter, barometer, and compass. These functions work really well. The best thing for me is that the watch achieves this without being oversized. It is tall, but not overly large. It has 3 alarms and a chime, which I love as it reminds me to stretch my back during the day when I am on my computer working. The watch is intuitive to use. I picked it up and set it, without looking at the manual. Obviously I needed to read the manual for the ABC functions. The strap is an interesting shape. It is thin and tapered. I found it comfortable but I may replace it with a nato strap at some stage. The lugs are 17mm, so a 18mm nato should squeeze in. I like nato straps because I like color. ( To revisit this, after a couple of weeks wearing this strap it is very comfortable and I am very happy with it.) |
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I chose the green and black watch because I like the colors. There are others to choose from, see below. You might notice some have a little triangle on the front at the top, while others have Mt Fuji. These Mt Fuji models are limited edition, numbered watches. I see watches as a tool, so paying extra for a limited edition did not make sense to me.
Seiko Men's SBEB005 Prospex Stainless Steel Watch with Black Band
- Round stainless steel watch with digital dial featuring three daily alarms, world time for 35+ cities, and power-saving functions
- 46.8 mm stainless steel case with hardlex dial window
- Japanese quartz movement with digital display
- Polyurethane band with buckle closure
- Water resistant to 100 m (330 ft): In general, suitable for swimming and snorkeling, but not scuba diving
to set custom HTML
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I found the barometer and altimeter are very easy to use. As with all watch altimeters you have to set in from a known elevation. I found the elevation of my house using google earth. I set it at home and drove inland for 2 hours, to an increased elevation of 600m today and the watch was correct within 12m. Pretty good considering the fast rise in elevation.
One advantage this watch has over other ABC watches is it also records speed of altitude change.
Finally the compass. It is also easy to use. I found my mobile phone can interfere with it, but only if it is very close, such as in my hand as I use this function.
The light at night is good, easy to read and works in all modes.
The alarm is loud enough to wake me. I set a second alarm, just in case, but I have not needed it.
I really have noting bad to say about this watch. Maybe if I had tried other ABC watches I would have more to say about things this watch lacks but I am a one watch guy and I love this watch. I have read people on a watch forum complain about a lack of countdown timer, for me that is not an issue. To be honest I think people on watch forums probably have too many watches to give any one watch a fair shot. If you want just one good watch, I recommend this.
One advantage this watch has over other ABC watches is it also records speed of altitude change.
Finally the compass. It is also easy to use. I found my mobile phone can interfere with it, but only if it is very close, such as in my hand as I use this function.
The light at night is good, easy to read and works in all modes.
The alarm is loud enough to wake me. I set a second alarm, just in case, but I have not needed it.
I really have noting bad to say about this watch. Maybe if I had tried other ABC watches I would have more to say about things this watch lacks but I am a one watch guy and I love this watch. I have read people on a watch forum complain about a lack of countdown timer, for me that is not an issue. To be honest I think people on watch forums probably have too many watches to give any one watch a fair shot. If you want just one good watch, I recommend this.