The 10 Best Survival Watches
This wiki has been updated 23 times since it was first published in May of 2018. Telling time by the Sun and finding your way using the stars are both essential skills when it comes to surviving off the grid, but it's also OK to let modern technology do some of the work, too. Whether you're hunting, hiking, or simply want to prepare yourself for the unexpected, these survival watches come packed with features to help you in any outdoor scenario. When users buy our independently chosen editorial choices, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Luminox Recon
2. Seiko Prospex Land Series
3. Casio G-Shock Rangeman Solar
Editor's Notes
September 11, 2019:
In updating this list, we wanted to take a hard look at the previous list's choices to determine that they offered more than just timekeeping in a survival situation, and that they were the top of a company's lineup (or at least that they slotted into a prefect balance between price and performance) in the survival category. That's why we updated the Mudmaster and Pro Tek models from Casio to a superior Mudmaster and the company's Pathfinder, which is a slightly more capable option than the Pro Tek, with a rotating compass bezel on a slightly more compact case.
And on the topic of bezels, there were two things that the Citizen Nighthawk had going for it: solar power and a slide rule bezel. Well, half the watches on this list boast solar power (which isn't particularly useful in a cave or the arctic in winter), and Citizen's slide rule bezel is both more complicated and less useful than the original slide rule bezel developed by Breitling and perfected in their Navitimer series. So, we swapped out the Citizen for a Navitimer. It's a shame that there aren't more automatic watches that offer survival features, but this is one of them.
At the end of the day, analog systems will win out in a survival situation, as they have fewer complications to either drain a battery or suffer damage from shock, extreme temperatures, etc. That's why the Lumivox ended up at number one. It boasts a simple compass that doesn't rely on any electricity to function, as well as a bezel designed to help you track your walking pace to determine both how far you've traveled and how far you have to go before you can find shelter.
4. Breitling Navitimer
5. Casio G-Shock Mudmaster Black-Tone
6. Casio Pathfinder Triple
7. Suunto Traverse Alpha
8. Lumivox SureFire 2211 WristLight
9. Casio G-Rescue Classic
10. Suunto Core All Black
Daniel Imperiale holds a bachelor’s degree in writing, and proudly fled his graduate program in poetry to pursue a quiet life at a remote Alaskan fishery. After returning to the contiguous states, he took up a position as an editor and photographer of the prestigious geek culture magazine “Unwinnable” before turning his attention to the field of health and wellness. In recent years, he has worked extensively in film and music production, making him something of a know-it-all when it comes to camera equipment, musical instruments, recording devices, and other audio-visual hardware. Daniel’s recent obsessions include horology (making him a pro when it comes to all things timekeeping) and Uranium mining and enrichment (which hasn’t proven useful just yet).