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>But anon, I don't like any of the watches in this thread? What do I look for?
Don't fret, I'm here to explain some basics. Not going into /fa/ territory here, as I'm sure a lot of us WANT functionality over looks.
>Basics
Crystal material (glass/ dial cover/ clear bit).
Acylic is plastic, for babby watches. Hardened mineral/hardened crystal mineral is/should be your minimum when sorting watches. Can break under extreme stress, and can scratch over time. Most modern watches have this. Sapphire crystal is where the price bumps up. Rated at a 9 on the MoH scale, this is the best material commonly used in watch faces. I've had watches for years with regular crystal faces that are fine.
>Features
You don't need GPS unless you're going off trail. You don't need that crazy SOS feature your buddy's watch that was made in Switzerland has. Bare minimum suggestions for /out/ quality? Glowing hands/digital backlit, day indicator. It's important to know when the sun will go down, and how many days it has been since you left your car/drop off spot.
>Movements
Bwaaah, automatic, manual, quarts, shared technology wireless charging bfldjsfdslfaeh!
Quartz AKA "battery powered" is fine. Quartz watches will be digital or analog, and are fine. Almost all of my watches are Quartz, and are the most affordable.
Automatic (gravity, kinetic) watches are charged by the motion of movement, aka wrist swinging. On the low end, 30 rotations of the swingy bit in the watch will power your watch for 30~ hours. Unless you plan to set up a base camp, take off your watch for an ENTIRE day, you'll be fine. Price jumps up from quartz to automatic.
Mechanic/manual time! The fanciest of watch movements. These watches (often) require you to turn a dial to charge a spring. On some models they can charge in the way an automatic does (wrist movement). Mechanical watches are going into /fa/, sometimes require maintenance, and are generally more sensitive to abuse.
tl;dr Buy a timex/casio/seiko.
