Sport Watches: Excellent Selections for by far the most Rugged of Athletes
Introduced in 1986, the model was a huge hit with athletes who were competing in the prestigious Ironman race in Hawaii. That’s right! The designer of the watch, John Houlihan, actually attended the competition and brought one watch for each of the 1500 athletes. It was the ultimate field test, and new model passed with flying colors. He sold all of the watches long before the race even started.
Encouraged by the brisk sales and glowing reviews, Timex executives decided to invest in the new market. Their first full line of sport watches included affordable electronic devices that were designed to meet the needs of both professional and amateur athletes. Twenty-five years later, the sport watch market is larger and more popular than ever. In this article, you’ll find out exactly what to look for in a reliable sport watch.
Who Buys Them?
While the original sport emporio armani montre was designed for and sold mainly to professional athletes, increased exposure and popularity has expanded the customer base. Today, just about anyone who leads an active outdoor lifestyle probably owns a sport watch. This includes runners, hikers, mountain bikers, skiers, climbers, kayakers and many, many others.
Features
Design features are fairly self-explanatory. An outdoor watch should, at the very least, be rugged and water resistant. Even if you are not a swimmer, it is always a good idea to find a watch that is water resistant up to 50 meters. You don’t want to have to worry about your watch when you are caught in a downpour or if you have to ford a stream. When it comes to the actual material, plastic watches are more popular because they are cheaper, but many of the best sport watches are made of metals like stainless steel. Since leather is more expensive and more easily damaged, a rubber wrist strap is preferable, especially if you are climber or hiker.
Sport Specific
Most of the people who purchase sport watches choose them because they intend to use them for a certain sport. As you might expect, essentially the most popular sport watch is the basic runner’s watch. This watch will let you know how long it took you to complete your daily run. Watches with more advanced features like distance, pace or speed are also available. These sport watches are called GPS watches.
For hikers, backpackers and kayakers, a watch with weather and navigational features is an absolute must. It is important to note, however, that many of the more advanced watches like the GPS and the adventure watch are much bigger and bulkier than standard watches. Therefore, it is important that you try them on and even test them out, if possible, before you buy. You don’t want to set out on a three day hiking trip only to find that the watch you have brought is more trouble than it’s worth.
Comfort
Essentially the most common mistake of consumers who have never purchased a sport watch is that they neglect to try them on before they buy. Perhaps this is because they believe they’re just buying another watch. And really, how uncomfortable can a traditional watch be?
But they forget that sport watches are not regular timepieces and that they will be wearing them while they move and sweat. Imagine for a moment that you are preparing for an upcoming marathon when your new sport watch starts to irritate your skin after the first mile. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it will be by mile five or ten?
Rubber and plastic straps are generally pretty comfortable. But most runners have owned at least one sport watch that had a stiff plastic strap that became incredibly uncomfortable when they perspired. If you do sweat heavily on your run, it is always a good idea to purchase a watch that has a strap with ventilation holes.
Display
It goes almost without saying that you should look for a sport watch that has a large, easy-to-read display. After all, you will be moving and sweating and you will only have time for a quick glance down at your watch as you run, bike or hike. You certainly don’t want to have to stop just to check your time.
Alternatives
Some of the more modern and advanced sport achat tag heuer carrera can actually transfer workout data to a computer. These watches are extremely popular with professional athletes who have to track their progress on a daily basis. Look for a digital timepiece that has a USB cable and one that comes complete with a corresponding software program.
Accessories
When purchasing a more advanced watch, please be aware that many of them will require accessories that are sold separately. For example, most GPS watches require a separate GPS pod to function properly.
Perhaps one of the most practical and functional trend in watch making history, sport watches can help make your life a little bit easier.
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