Sporty pocket watches
Q. Hello Gear Guy, I really want to buy my son a durable pocket watch. He found one in an antique store but it didn’t work. We want the type that flips open—do you have any ideas for a sporty pocket watch. Please help!
—Desperate Dad, Glen Mills, Pa.
A. Hi Dad, thanks for the question. I did some searching, but unfortunately I couldn’t find very many “sporty” pocket watches that also flip open. In fact, the only one I found was from Gunther Gifts (gunthergifts.com). They call it the Sport Watch with Compass, and it’s a flip-style pocket watch with a belt clip, compass, and key ring, and it retails for $33. I can’t vouch for its quality but it does look nice.
Alternatively, you might want to check out the Eagle Scout Hex Clip Watch from ScoutStuff.org. It runs for $70, and includes a stopwatch and flashlight on a carabiner clip. It doesn’t have a flip-top but is rather sporty. Finally, the most expensive and techiest option, is the High Gear AltiTech 2 ($150; highgear.com). It’s a carabiner-style pocket watch that you can attach to your pants or backpack which features an altimeter, compass, barometer, thermometer, stopwatch and more. I’m not sure you can get much sportier than that. Best of luck with your shopping.
Can anybody find a working source for the Eagle Scout Hex Clip Watch? I happen to own one, and love it. No other product comes close to it’s design, plus I’ve taken it to Philmont and dozens of other camps, faithfully hanging from my beltloop, and it has no visible scratches. I am afraid that I will lose it though, and just in case I wanted to make sure I had a source that I could buy a new one from.
Some pocket watches require a watch battery similar to a wristwatch that are small round slim batteries that are similar to the batteries needed to be put in a hand held calculator that people use in algebra class in school. Some pocket watches require no batteries and are self winding pocket watches that self wind themselves through mechanical watch mechanisms.