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I love my dumb watches

gary.onl

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Re: I love my dumb watches

#61

Post by mingus88 »

imiric wrote: post #54
HoldOnAMinute wrote: post #52

Here is my recommendation for a watch that is somewhere between a dumb watch and a smart watch. https://www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.GW-9400-1/ Casio Rangeman GW-9400 Series It is solar powered and has a lot of passive sensors including a thermometer, barometer, altimeter, and compass. It sets the time from a radio signal. It is everything-proof. This is my "zombie apocalypse" watch.

It's a shame that 60% of it is reserved for gaudy plastic branding rather than for showing useful information. Casio keeps pumping out these G-SHOCK clones, but I wonder who's buying them? I haven't seen one in the wild since the 90s.

They’re popular. They release gshock collabs with various design firms all the time, and they sell out quickly

Just in the past year they have released collabs for stranger things, back to the future and Pac-Man. Not to mention all the streetwear versions.

Re: I love my dumb watches

#62

Post by maratc »

HoldOnAMinute wrote: post #50
hellcow wrote: post #46

To the author I’d recommend a Casio Oceanus. The same tech as a G-Shock (solar, atomic, Bluetooth) with the polish of a Grand Seiko at 20% of the price. Better to get one in Japan as the US retailers charge a lot more. Found that I prefer mine over watches that cost 5x as much.

Looks nice. $4,800 USD https://www.casio.com/us/watches/oceanus/product.OCW-SG1000C...

Here's a basic one: https://www.sakurawatches.com/casio-oceanus-ocw-s100-1ajf

Titanium, atomic clock sync, solar powered, $368.

Re: I love my dumb watches

#63

Post by jazzyjackson »

raldi wrote: post #43

I don’t understand how you can say a smart watch isn’t, on top of all the smart features, also the best watch there is when it comes to keeping time. It keeps perfect time, always, even over DST changes, even when you change time zones. You never even have to set them! Also your Apple Watch is defective if you have to charge it all night. I’m up to my third, I always wear it while I sleep, I only charge it when I’m g…

There’s keeping time, and then there’s keeping time without me babying it making sure it never dies, but yes having an internet uplink is a very good way to be on time to the second.

I also like the GShock G-LIDE with Bluetooth to set the time from the phones, but then you can put the watch on airplane mode and not worry about it for a few years. It adjusted for DST without uplink by knowing the date and location. It’s got sunrise and sunset without internet too.

https://www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.GBX-100S-1/

Re: I love my dumb watches

#64

Post by mingus88 »

bubblethink wrote: post #28
ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #3

Not sure he researched his options well enough. The Garmin watches that use a MIP display only require a charge about once a month, probably even less if you turn off the Bluetooth, which gives him the other thing he wants, no distracting messages relayed from the phone. Battery life is potentially even longer for the models with solar charging. I also find the reasoning in " Why track your sleep at all? If you’ve ha…

Because there isn't much that is actionable with sleep tracking. You can lose weight if you have sleep apnea, and anecdotally people claim that not drinking helps, but you don't need a watch to tell you that. With blood pressure, you get on losartan and see the results immediately.

I don’t see how there is nothing actionable from sleep tracking.

If I have a week of bad sleep scores I don’t go for a long run on the weekend. I don’t indulge in things I would otherwise do, and I make an effort to get off a screen and to bed earlier until I get a solid 8 hours of sleep

Re: I love my dumb watches

#65

Post by ubermonkey »

I have both a fancy smartwatch (first-gen Ultra, which is still a great piece of kit) and a severalness of old-school mechanicals from both fancy makers (Rolex, Omega) and decidedly more approachable makers (most recently Traska).

Having a watch on that's just a watch is a lovely thing. Having a watch that tells time with springs and gears is super fucking cool to me. And in 2026, it's nice to have zero notifications if that's what you want. But they all have their place.

Working at home, at my desk all day? I'm almost certainly wearing an old-school watch.

Riding my motorcycle, I'm 100% wearing the Ultra for a host of reasons (easier phone unlocking, fall detection, etc).

Re: I love my dumb watches

#67

Post by jwrallie »

Reducing the cost of looking at a notification from taking something out of your pocket to just glancing at your wrist sounds like a superpower. I immediately jumped in and was an early adopter of smart watches back when the original Pebble was released.

Turns out being interrupted by a buzzing in your pocket gives you much less information to be distracted with than being delivered the actual message directly, and it was terrible for my mental health.

Mechanical watches are cool and look great but for most days I just use a Casio A158WA. It’s small and weight almost nothing and has a battery that could be measured in half-decades.

Re: I love my dumb watches

#70

Post by andai »

throw0101c wrote: post #19

See perhaps the essay ‘The Last Quiet Thinkg’ by Terry Godier on his Casio (and tech generally): * https://www.terrygodier.com/the-last-quiet-thing

Modern technology is the embodiment of anxious attachment.
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