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The Best Tactical Watches for Actual Use in the Field

We explore what makes a watch “tactical” and pick out some of our favorites you can own now.

collage of three tactical watchesAmazon, Military Watch Company

By Oren Hartov

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What makes a watch “tactical?” Does it have to look stealthy? Does it need to be digital or analog? Does it have to give the user readings in temperature and barometric pressure or feature a compass?

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Truthfully, there’s no definition of what constitutes a “tactical” watch. Many of the timepieces used by men and women in the military or in police departments have a certain rugged look to them. Still, any watch that can fulfill the needs of a professional working in the aforementioned fields could conceivably be considered appropriate for “tactical” use. That said, “tactical” apparel and gear of all sorts is now “tacticool” and has a strong appeal to many in today’s civilian culture (though some consider it problematic), and watches easily fit into this image.

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The Best Tactical Watches

Below, we’ve outlined some of the best options for tactical watches currently available, some of which were chosen from personal experience in the military. Whether you’re active military or police yourself, or you simply want something to wear while angling, hiking or hunting that’ll stand up to the rigors of the field, we’ve got you covered.

Best Overall Tactical Watch: Casio G-Shock GW6900-1

  • Movement: Quartz
  • Diameter: 50mm
  • Water Resistance: 200m

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. A longtime favorite of military personnel, this familiar G-Shock features 200m of water resistance, an ultra-durable resin body, a multi-function alarm, 1/100-second stopwatch, hourly time signal, auto calendar, and 12/24 hour time formats. Though you can get all that for even less money we recommend the modest upgrade shown here with solar charging and satellite synching.

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Best Affordable Tactical Watch: Timex Command Shock

  • Movement: Quartz
  • Diameter: 54mm
  • Water Resistance: 100m

Crafted in a mold similar to that of the G-Shock, the Timex Command Collection of watches is built to take a beating. Water-resistant to 100m as well as heavily shock-resistant, they feature Indiglo light-up dials, durable metal and resin cases and stopwatch and countdown timers.

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Best Upgrade Tactical Watch: Garmin Tactix

  • Movement: N/A
  • Diameter: 51mm
  • Water Resistance: 100m

Packed to the gills with tactical features, the Charlie is geared toward military and law enforcement professionals, though anyone can of course take advantage of all that it has to offer. With navigation, health tracking and even Jumpmaster features, this may be the ultimate tactical watch.

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Casio Pro Trek Tough Solar PRW-3510Y-8CR

  • Movement: Quartz
  • Diameter: 53.4mm
  • Water Resistance: 200m

G-Shock isn’t the only tough, feature-packed watch line coming from Casio. Some might argue that the Pro Trek family is even better suited to the likes of outdoor activities because that’s what it’s built for — and, yes, that also perhaps makes it appropriately “tactical”, especially in an all-black execution. At the very least it’s got all the functionality and looks you want in a tactical watch with myriad sensors, compass, solar charging and more.

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MWC P656 Titanium Tactical Series

  • Movement: Seiko NH35A automatic
  • Diameter: 42mm
  • Water Resistance: 300m

A little tank on your wrist (though not the dressy/elegant Cartier kind). If all you need is the time and date, this thing will survive almost anything you can throw at it. The tritium tubes provide illumination so bright you’ll be forced to cover the watch on night exercises, should you go on any. Aquatic sabotage on the agenda? You can even take it diving.

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Marathon Navigator

  • Movement: ETA FØ6 high-torque 3-jewel quartz movement
  • Diameter: 41mm
  • Water Resistance: 60m

Originally produced for pilots and parachutists, the Marathon Navigator was recently upgraded with sapphire crystal. We field-tested one of these bad boys and we can assure you, its fibershell case, quartz movement (with date or no date) and 12-hour bezel held up perfectly well.

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Luminox Original Navy SEAL 3001

  • Movement: Ronda 515 HH6 quartz
  • Diameter: 43mm
  • Water Resistance: 200m

One of Luminox’s earliest models, and one that spurred much of its success, was built for the US Navy SEALs. It’s a dive watch that’s made to be as tough as you’d want a watch for elite military special forces to be, with a carbon-composite case and tritium tubes for illumination. The design and collection evolved over time, but the original design has been reproduced again. It doesn’t get more “tactical” than this (unless you opt for the “blackout” version).

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Traser P99 Q Tactical

  • Movement: Swiss quartz
  • Diameter: 46mm
  • Water Resistance: 200m

“Tactical” is even in the name! But that’s what you should expect from the brand Traser, the watchmaking division of the company that makes the tritium gas tubes used in almost any watch that features them. Traser specializes in watches for the likes of police and military, and this collection is made to be especially stealthy.

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  • Movement: N/A
  • Diameter: 51mm
  • Water Resistance: 100m

Packed to the gills with tactical features, the Charlie is geared toward military and law enforcement professionals, though anyone can of course take advantage of all that it has to offer. With navigation, health tracking and even Jumpmaster features, this may be the ultimate tactical watch.

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Marathon Anthracite Large Diver’s Automatic (GSAR)

  • Movement: ETA 2824-2
  • Diameter: 41mm
  • Water Resistance: 300m

An all-black, automatic, tritium-lumed dive watch with an extra-grippable bezel and crown that ships on a rubber dive strap? It doesn’t get much more tactical than that. Marathon’s long history of designing and building specialized military watches should put you at ease.

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What Makes a Tactical Watch?

So what are some common traits that many of these watches tend to exhibit? Here are a few that come to mind:

Ruggedness: A watch that can’t stand up to the rigors of the field is useless to a professional soldier, police officer, outdoorsman or woman, etc. Shock resistance, water resistance and scratch resistance are key to a rugged watch.

Reliability: Whether quartz-powered or automatic, a tactical watch needs to work. If you look down and your battery is dead, or that sweep seconds hand is no longer sweeping, the watch is useless.

Stealth: While a tactical watch doesn’t need to be black PVD-coated or feature a matte finish, any minimization of reflection is a good thing, at least in a military environment. This is why some militaries require their soldiers to cover their watches.

Legibility: A watch that can’t be easily read, whether analog or digital, provides little utility to the user.

Extra Features: While not strictly necessary, modern digital tactical watches often provide stopwatch functionality, timers, temperature readings, etc, which can be extremely useful in the field.

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