Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Looking for cold weather digital watch

Noticed that the REI Winter Sale has a number of Casio Pathfinder watches on sale. After having my cheap-o watch seize up at deer camp this year (when the tent got a little chilly one night), I'd like a high-quality digital watch. But, these Casio's--which frankly have bells & whistles that are duplicated by my GPS--only have temperature ratings down to 14 Farenheit. Not low enough.

Where do I find a nice cold-weather watch? I'd put up with the altimeter, thermometer, etc....because it would eliminate some of the things I regularly grab my GPS unit for.

Good question and I'm gonna see if anybody knows of a good cold weather watch. My experience with three different digital watches is that in moderate cold, say 25 to 20 degrees F, they quit working. The best one (Casio) would make it closer to zero F. All of them revived fine when warmed slightly.

I don't like to wear watch at night because so many of them have some kind of button to depress that turns on a light and if I lie on the button it runs the batteries down. Yet it quits working if left out in the cold, so I have tried various ways to keep it in my sleeping bag but not on my wrist.

Besides keeping track of how long till dark, etc, I use a stop watch a LOT when hunting, especially because I call nearly everything I hunt. I like to keep track of length of stand, time the length of sounds and silence, how long since I heard an approaching animal, etc.

A real outdoor watch should be good to -20 or lower.

Suuntos are good to minus 5. I think its more of a battery limitation then the watch though.

I've used my Timex Ironman watch on many hunts in the single digits to zero.

Where do you keep your watch? I wear mine sleeping so it's tucked in the sleeping bag. While hunting, it will have a few layers over it. I've never had a watch stop because it's cold.

I've had my Suunto down to around zero degrees fahrenheit. Mine usually ends up strapped to my pack shoulder strap or tent pole so I can get an accurate temperature measurement.

I wonder if a mechanical watch, perhaps an automatic would be any more reliable in very cold weather? or what about the Citizen Eco drives, which I believe are solar powered??

I checked out Suunto today. Nice stuff. Good down to -5. Only one problem: You have to be a bank robber to afford one.

You can snag the original models on ebay for cheap.

I have been rocking my vector for more than 10 years now. Its still going strong. Looks a little ragged but just keeps going.

Might look at the G-Shocks. I've had my G-Shock 5600E out in zero degree weather, exposed outside my coat. It's got a nice Old School Digital look to it, and isn't as bulky as some of the latest models.

Here's one passing a freezing test.
G-Shock

I've got a Pathfinder. It recharges itself with a solar cell so it is not a battery hog. It doesn't stop working at 14 deg F, that's just the limit of the built in thermometer. As it gets colder, the thermometer is less accurate anyway as your body temperature affects it more. Your better off pinning one of the small thermometers to the outside of your jacket to get a temp reading.
Mine is fairly slim and the altimeter/baro works well. So does the compass which was a surprise. It's very easy to use.

Mr. Pete E,
Our old Rolex (purchased over 30yrs ago) is an automatic and has proven to be reliable at -72 degrees below 0 (F). Of course, it was not removed from my wrist during such cold temperatures.
Best Wishes