Watches for a Remote Medic

Last edited 15th February 2023

A well known equation for determining the optimum number of watches you should own is n+1 where n is the number of watches you currently own. The same equation also applies to knives, shoes, bags, guitars and bikes. For some, the ultimate watch would be a classic icon like the Rolex Submariner, Omega Speedmaster, Breitling Avenger or Tag Heuer Monaco for others it may be brimming with functional technology like the Garmin Tactix Delta with its night vision compatibility and “Kill Switch” which deletes all data for when you are caught behind enemy lines.

Whilst these are undoubtedly impressive watches does that make them appropriate for the work of a Remote Medic?

Function

The function of a watch is simply to tell the time, so why are additional functions ranked so highly, especially if they are rarely used in reality?   Like any piece of equipment you need to differentiate its purpose; an aviator-style chronograph looks the business but for the purpose of telling the time, quickly and easily, a large uncluttered face is what you really need.

Is this being a bit pedantic?  Possibly for most, but knowing the time is essential in group management when pick-ups, drop-offs or Rendez Vous are agreed.  Recording the time is an important aspect of Incident Management.  Knowing the duration of a medical episode of a casualty (a seizure or chest pain, for example) is vital information required when handing over a casualty.

Look at this example of a 'cluttered' watch:  How easily could you notice the time 'at a glance' in low light, a blizzard or in a dusty or smokey environment? Or when you have been woken up in the early hours of the morning, bleary eyed and half asleep?

For this reason, a simple uncluttered design with a large face or display is always a more functional choice.

Day & Date

These are basic functions you should look for. When traveling it is easy to lose track of the date. If you don’t work a Monday-to-Friday week, it is also easy to lose track of days. When completing reports, which are legal documents, a date error is a cardinal sin.

Digital or Analogue?

A digital display is faster to process time (1) and modern digital watches are easier to read at a glance with their ‘true type’ fonts compared to old school LCD displays made up of four rectangular digits which can be harder to differentiate, especially when the battery is fading.

However, time calculations are faster and with fewer errors than analogue displays. (2, 3)

When assessing a rate - a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit - such as measuring resp or pulse rates, analogue displays are superior to a digital, numerical display (4). It is for this reason that even the most modern fighter jets such as the $79 Million Lockhead-Martin F-35, still use traditional dials with a sweeping hand across an arc to display critical metrics, albeit a digital representation on a screen rather than a mechanical gauge. (4, 5)

Counting pulse or respiration rates while staring at a digital display can be akin to trying to count whilst someone else is shouting numbers at you to throw you off track.

However, digital watches are much more resistant to violent knocks or vibrations than their delicate mechanical counterparts, especially with cheaper analogue watches.

In terms of accuracy, a cheap digital watch will always be mre accurate than an expensive analogue watch, certainly an automatic analogue watch. The Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) look for accuracies within -4/+6 seconds of loss or gain over a 10 day average before issuing the converted Swiss Chronometer certificate; so even a precision automatic watch could still lose or gain one minute over 10 days compared to its cheap digital counterpart.

Battery or Automatic?

A watch with a flat battery is of no use to anyone.  Analogue watches are available with automatic mechanisms, and therefore no battery to replace.  This is important if you travel extensively and are unable to find obscure watch batteries easily.

If you prefer the reliability of quartz movement (as opposed to having to reset your automatic watch if you only wear it occasionally) or don't want the added cost of an automatic watch some watches such as the early Suunto range and CWC military watches allow the wearer to replaced the battery in the field, negating the need for an experienced jeweler with specialist tools.

As functionality increases on higher end digital models, more are now dependent on rechargeable batteries requiring a charging station or cable to be brought with you on your travels. Without regular charging some models will only have a life span of a couple of days.

Illumination

When working in the dark, be it on a night exercise, in confined spaces or other low-light conditions, an illuminated watch is the only other function necessary.  A digital watch should have full-face illumination (remember old school digital watches from your childhood where the 'light' was a microscopic diode in the top left corner that only illuminated one corner of the face?).  

The ultimate illumination for an analogue watch comes from Gaseous Tritrium, a self-illuminating light source that is always 'on'.   Being able to view a watch in the dark without needing to press a button is a real benefit when your hands are occupied.  

One of the first brands to release this kind of watch was Traser who produce a fine range of watches, many of which are quite 'cluttered' with large bezels but the P67 Officer Pro is a great example of a simple, clean, easy-to-read face.

Price

There are two schools of thought here; do you invest in the best for longevity or choose the disposable option for pragmatism?

When we are choosing kit for work we will sometimes pay more for work items than we would for everyday items because we either need to rely on them to do our job properly or we need them to last longer given the amount of wear and tear they are subjected to.

Alternatively, we sometimes spend less on items for work because we know they are going to be abused, broken or lost.

A good benchmark of how much to pay for a watch you will be wearing in remote environments is “how much are you prepared to lose?”

Appearance

Is this even an issue? Absolutely. A tactical watch will make you look like a member of the military or law enforcement and there are places in the world where you do not want to be associated with either.

Having a luxury watch brand on your wrist not only identifies you as a potential target by criminals but displays of wealth can be culturally insensitive, especially when working in developing countries of areas of high deprivation.

Strap

Probably the least important factor but a factor nonetheless.  Metal straps are certainly hard-wearing but uncomfortable in extreme cold environments and a possible hazard when working near extreme heat.  

Plastic or rubber straps aren't susceptible to such hazards and their weakness can be a strength; there is something comforting in knowing that if you got your strap caught on something you could release yourself with a sharp tug, albeit at the expense of possibly loosing your watch rather than loosing your hand because of an indestructible watch strap.

Our favorite strap is the webbing buckle (sometimes referred to as a 'NATO strap' ) or velcro 'sports' straps.  The weakest point on any watch is the sprung pin that holds the strap in place, if one of these breaks with a traditional two piece strap you will lose your watch.  As a webbing or velcro strap is one-piece that passes through both watch pins if one pin breaks your watch is still attached to your wrist.

There are a vast number of aftermarket straps for Apple, Samsung, Gamrin and Suunto smartwatches. For my relatively chunky Garmin Tactix Charlie, I have put this on an elastic strap; I found that not only exercising or working in hot environments, my wrists swell slightly (especially when swinging my arms around) the elastic strap keeps it super comfortable without having to continuously readjust a buckle but moreso, because of the size of the watch, I found I kept catching it on things; putting on or taking off a rucksack for example. The elastic strap has quite a bit of ‘give’. Previously I had knocked the watch off my wrist several times by catching it on things. When working with ‘spirited’ young people in the judicial system I always wore a very cheap watch on an elastic strap.

Best Watches for Remote Medics

The Disposable

The wonderfully named Casio W-86-1VQES.  An unobtrusive, uncluttered, full face illumination watch with alarm and waterproof to 50m. And available on every high street for less than £15. 

No rotating bezel, no 1/60th second chronograph, no tachymeter, not waterproof to 300m with screw-down crown and nitrogen escape valve but...it tells the time well and allows you to keep your Alpha Male watch for Sunday Best.  

This is the watch I wore when working in very dirty environments or when I worked with individuals with challenging behavior.

This is the watch I am not afraid of losing.

A word of warning, however, the strap is very small; opening up to only 20cm circumference on the last hole.  A cheap 18mm width NATO style or velcro strap will be needed if you have large wrists.

The Field Watch

If you don’t want to look like you’re in primary school, a Field Watch ticks all of the boxes above borne from the military need for the ability to tell the time and calculate timing decisions quickly and clearly this style of watch typically features a clear uncluttered face with numerals rather than dots or batons, a prominent 12 o’clock marker and may also have the date and day.

That is it.

Simple.

There are so many watches of this design now but my favorite is the Bremont MBII - it is a thing of beauty and completely practical, but it does come with a heafty price tag. Previous models which are now discontinued feature either day and date or a 24hr GMT hand; both variants can be found second hand.

For a more reasonable price, consider the Seiko SNZG15J - a very similar design and looks perfectly civilised with a 22mm leather NATO strap (as opposed to the metal bracelet supplied).

Note: The J determines it is manufactured in Japan. SNZG15K are more commonly available and cheaper. the K determines they are made in South Korea with a cheaper mechanism.

The Utilitarian

This design is essentially a ruggedised Field Watch often advertised as a Divers Watch, but a common issue with Divers Watches is the oversized bezel - required for adjusting with gloved hands, which reduces the size of the watch face.

The Elliot Brown Holton has an exceptionally bright Super Luminova luminosity, a large, clear, uncluttered face, is purposefully built and is now one of my favourite watches. It is available with a quartz movement (although the battery is not user-replaceable) or, for a little bit more, and my preference, an automatic version.

The Seiko SNZG17J is the same design as the SNZG15J but in all-black and, unlike the 15J, the 17J also has luminous numerals as well as the hands and markers. Not as good but a reasonable, cheaper alternative to the Holton.

Note: The J determines it is manufactured in Japan. SNZG17K are more commonly available and cheaper. the K determines they are made in South Korea with a cheaper mechanism.

The Multifunctional

If I am working in a mountain environment there are a couple of additional functions I want; altimeter, barometer and compass.

These are now basic features on many outdoor watches with most being rammed with additional functionality including GPS, Heart Rate, Bluetooth phone connection, VO2 Max and SpO2 and so on….

With additional functionality comes additional battery use.

I have been using a Garmin Tactix Charlie for a number of years for training but when working abroad I prefer Suunto range: The Suunto Core and Suunto Essential are the few watches with replaceable batteries ( CR2032 ) negating the need for packing additional chargers or, worst case, losing your charger.

The Suunto Essential and Core have exactly the same functional specifications but the Essential is twice the price of the Core due to its construction materials of a ceramic and stainless steel case with sapphire glass versus the more economical aluminium and composite case and a mineral glass of the core. Compare the differences here.

References

1. Goolkasian P. Park DC. (1980). "Processing of visually presented clock times". Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 6(4). 707–717.

2. Van Nes FL. (1972) “Determining temporal differences with analogue and digital time displays.” Ergonomics. 15. 73-79.

3. Goolkasian P. Bunting M. (1985) "Calculation of time differences between pairs of clock times". Acta Psychologica. 58(3). 219-224.

4. Weinstein LF. Ercoline WR. Evans RH. Bitton DF. (1992). "Head-up display standardization and the utility of analog vertical velocity information during instrument flight". The International Journal of Aviation Psychology. 2(4). 245–260.

5. Wright SJ. (2013). "The Human Factors of Cockpit Transitions Between Analog and Digital Displays". Thesis, Master of Science. University of Otago.

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