Before we go any further, I’ve heard it. I’ve heard the doubts and suggestions. I get it. I’m weird, and apparently, my body is too, because dating back to my middle school era, I’ve been Hell on watches. It started with a Tag Heuer from a friend of my dad who was involved in the European Tag Heuer racing team. A watch as a gift. It lasted two weeks. When the technicians took it apart, they said the inside had turned to dust. Then came the long list of other victims. Omega, Seiko, Timex, Casio(2 including G-Shock), Wyler, Garmin(2), and a wide range of other one-off knockoffs.
Don’t tell me to use my phone. That is the most soulless drivel I’ve ever heard. In fact, if this is how you tell time, I don’t even want to know you because it’s a horrible barometer as to your overall value to society at large. No, no, and no.
I like pens. I like paper. I like books. I like to write, and I like watches. I feel naked without something strapped to my wrist. (Except for a handcuff, which thankfully has only happened a few times.) I’m actually looking down at my new watch as I write this line. Give me a moment. Hang on. Almost there. Okay, I’m back. The Vaer C5 Tactical Field Solar is a beauty in its simplicity and black on black Chuck Norris-style design.(RIP) Cause remember, Good Guys Wear Black.
As some of you might know, this is not my first Vaer watch. I spoke about my first purchase here. This first watch is still going strong, on my wife’s wrist. She loves it. So I needed to let it go. Her beloved Timex finally broke. The metal holding the pin broke off, but she got ten years out of it. I wore her watch for three hours, and by the end, it was twenty minutes slow. “Take it off,” she screamed. “That’s my favorite watch.” I no longer have to prove to her there is “something” about my body.
The watch world is filled with amazing timepieces, incredible craftsmanship, and pioneering design. I like to watch from a distance, no pun intended, because spending big money on a watch doesn’t make sense for someone like me. My $1,000 Garmin just died. The most expensive watch I’d ever paid for. Never again. The other impressive thing is how many good watches don’t cost an arm and a leg. This new Vaer was $350, but my original idea was to purchase their even more tactical model, the C4 Tactical Field DLC Solar, which apparently is impervious to even Chuck Norris, coming in at $550, which is the upper end of my budget. I was stoked to buy the C4, but it sold out in a matter of days, and I was screwing around in Jamaica and missed the boat. (My Garmin died day one in Jamaica, and yes, I wore a broken watch for the rest of the trip.)
Vaer has nice packaging. This might mean everything to you, or nothing. For me, it’s part of the experience, and I do like nice packaging regardless of what product I’m buying. The watch comes with two straps. I chose the rubber strap and the single-pass black, which I just installed today. It’s super light and fits my tiny wrist like a glove. Yes, I have tiny wrists because other parts of my body are overdeveloped. Massively overdeveloped. Like my brain people, my brain. My only worry is that I’m such a dirtbag, I can imagine this band starting to smell before too long.
Anytime you buy a product, you are also buying the brand. Vaer is based in Los Angeles. They do some of their assembly in the United States, which again, might mean something to you or not. I also like that Vaer has an “Adventures” tab on their site, although I would like to see them build this out. I like this story in particular because it makes me want to return to Baja. Let me say this. Over the course of my life, a life I believe would rank nicely on the overall coolness scale, some of the most interesting people I’ve met are watch wearers. Okay, almost all of the most interesting people wear watches, both men and women. This is why I’d like to see them build out their adventure page, because there are a lot of great stories out there. Vaer is selling watches faster than they can produce them, so often this leads to not needing to build things out. I get it. A good problem to have.
My Seiko solar would turn on if I turned my wrist, and then the second hand fell off. My Omega crystal exploded after two days. The Tag turned to dust. The Timex, Casios, Garmins, and the rest just stopped. Some within twenty four hours, others lasted for weeks or months. I keep many of them as reminders of my past woes. Do I miss the flashlight on my Garmin? Yes, I do. I used it daily. But I do love the simplicity of the Vaer. Easy to read. Nothing fancy. No tracking my sleep and heart rate. I hope this watch lasts. I really do. I still like the C4, and I’ve been a total sucker for the Pepsi GMT but have never owned one, so maybe at some point I’ll go that route. Is my puny wrist too small for a steel band? Whatever watch works for you is great. I’m only sharing this because I know for certain that some of you are fellow watch lovers.
Comments 12
I’m a minimalist, but can become irresponsibly capitalistic when it comes to watches. I own that little field watch you’ve got as well, among a dozen others. It’s one of the things I just can’t stop buying.
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I fear this is my path too. I can see getting the C4 and the Pepsi, for no reason whatsoever.
I loved reading your thoughts about Vaer watches. Something else we share in common : wearing an actual watch, not using the phone to tell time. I had a Tag Heuer since the 90’s that my stunt mentor gifted me. That is until I had a medical procedure where the facility decided to steal it out of my bag. So, I’m back in the market to replace that classic timepiece.
Author
My father had a Rolex Submariner that disappeared after his death. Still rankles me. Love you Hannah!
Thats a great looking timepiece! Wear in good health Dan.
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Thanks brother. Canada approved.
I recommend you read this: https://www.terrygodier.com/the-last-quiet-thing
Wow! Thanks for that link. I searched high and low for a washing machine without computer settings.
I finally found one that has manual dials that click, but sadly it has one electronic push button, the one most likely to fail, the start button. It does not beep when it is done, thankfully. There is enough random beeping at our house. That being said, I do like my apple watch (cheapest version). I was able to scrawl a note to my husband on my watch while sitting in the chair at the dentist, and it has helped me to get better sleep, by pinpointing that if I read before bed, I get more deep sleep, and longer sleep than if I watch TV or look at my phone. (Book good for brain!)
Teenagers today have trouble reading a regular clock face and reading cursive writing. (I worked at a high school, and saw the evidence first hand.) Finally I have marketable skills as a senior citizen!
Author
Wow, WHAT a site. And so true. I do do a lot of riding, running, hiking, etc, so knowing that data is interesting at times, but not needed.
A book, a pen, a journal, a watch … but no Spotmatic with Fomopan… I guess there are limits…..
I have same problem with watches… have half a dozen
around in creative disrepair … I’ve been told not to wear them
on my right wrist ….maybe I should wear one on both ..,.
And speaking of pens, which you were not, do you use a fountain pen? Try a budget TWSBI… comes with a maintenance kit and a small tanker of oil —-I mean ink—so you can write and sketch all day on one fill.
I don’t get watches at all. I’m baffled that an analogue watch would need instruction. You don’t want to know what my first thought was as I read “Understanding your Movement” in the instructions.
I’d wear the ones gifted to me as a teenager. Mostly cheap Timex or a Swiss Swatch thingie. Then I didn’t wear a watch for a long time, because I just knew what time it was to within a few minutes either way. Then I started having to catch airplanes for work, and I NEEDED to know what time it really was, to the minute. So I started wearing a watch again.
Then when I was swimming lots I’d wear a digital watch because the time told me how many laps I’d done. Plus it had a heart rate monitor for running. My wife gave me a big clunky heavy thing, and when the battery died I stopped wearing it, and haven’t worn a watch since. And pens. There are many in the house and they are all interchangeable. I grab whatever is closest and if it doesn’t work I throw it away. Yes, I know, I am a Philistine. At least I’m keeping a journal relating to the film project, and I’m not a victim of camera GAS.
Oh, and what is it with the word ‘tactical’ as part of the description for a thing? One of the things that drove me off social media was a barrage of ads for the tactical bearskin hoodie. I guessed it was a compensation thing for men that couldn’t afford a Ferrari.
Author
It might seem crazy but it’s not, at least if you are “into watches.” The screw down thing is a thing. People flood watches because they forget. I’m sure it’s a safety thing about reminding people to check before paddling out at Pipeline. I too had the Garmin for years, and it’s nice to know this or that but not mandatory. The tactical thing is real, but has been abused like everything else in our world. Tactical does have meaning depending on what you are describing. Watches, maybe, hoodies, not so sure.