[shrimants]

I've been having a ton of difficulty finding a watch. The featureset I'm looking for always seems to be just a bit out of reach of the current watch technology.

I was hopign to get a watch for 150 or less. I GREATLY prefer a silicon strap. I hate the nylon/leather straps because they wear down too quickly and start to smell bad, and metal straps never fit because i have skinny little wrists. The casio G-shock series all have Resin straps, which are extremely stiff and non "sticky", so the strap keeps getting loose. I hate the feel of the resin straps.

at the very minimum I need a watch that will tell me the Day, Date, and Time, and be extremely durable/scratch resistant. the next useful feature I would like is a countdown timer. I'd really like a digital watch if possible, and its got to look at least a little bit nice.

Over the last few days, i've liked everything about casio g-shock except the horrid feel of the straps. I've loved the look and feel of a couple of Pulsar watches:
http://www.amazon.com/Pulsar-Black-Leather-Bracelet-Watch/dp/B004ARSGEG/ref=pd_sbs_watch_8
http://www.amazon.com/Pulsar-PQ2003-World-Chronograph-Urethane/dp/B001L1RZO6

The only gripe I have about these two is that they seem so ridiculously fragile and scratch-prone. The glass/crystal on top makes a high pitched tinny sound if you tap on it, which leads me to believe that the glass is floating above the display, making it prone to shattering from impact. The watches I wear normally get pretty banged up, which is why I was leaning towards the g-shock watches.

The g-shock watches i've looked at all have similar properties so really its all about cosmetics when deciding between them. My only problem with g-shocks, as I said before, is the resin strap. It is so stiff and uncomfortable.

I've looked at fossil watches but they all will tell me JUST the time, and some will tell me the date but require manual intervention every month to keep the date correct, which completely eliminates the purpose of the watch telling me the date in the first place.

I;ve looked at timex and they are perfect feature-wise but SO ugly. and Armitron watches are just straight crap. my last armitron gained a full 1.5 minutes every week, and it was ugly to boot. Timex at least do what I need despite how ugly they are.

The other brands like Seiko and Bulova and especially Citizen were very nice looking but either had 0 functionality apart from just telling the time and/or the company was under the impression that the watch is worth more than my future firstborn in price.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I can't recommend a watch, but go visit the Poor Man's Watch Forum. It's for watches under $1k, and the members will point you in the right direction.

Also, I want to recommend the NATO or G10 watch band to you. Simple, comfortable, inexpensive, and secure. Perhaps you could slip a G10 onto a G-Shock and have a great watch.

Edit: Just noticed that West Coast Time has strap adaptors for G-Shock watches: http://www.westcoastime.com/gshocadcasfo.html

And yes, Nylon watch bands can get gunked up and smell. The good news is that a G10 can be taken off a watch fast. I soak it overnight in a glass of water with detergent in it, maybe some baking soda. Same works for my sandals with nylon straps.

 

[Borat]

There are G-Shocks with composite bracelets. You can swap a resin band for a composite bracelet on 5600's I believe.
 
Or you can buy a G-Shock with a stainless steel bracelet like this:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Casio-MTG900DA-8V-G-Shock-Atomic-Tough/dp/B00134L8XU
 
Then you just remove a few links until it fits your "skinny little wrists". 

 
 
I also have skinny wrists (~ 6.3 inches) and I typically have to remove 3-4 links on stainless steel bands.   
 
You can do this yourself with the correct tool or bring it to a watch repair place that will do it for you. 

 

[bhd812]

Quote:

I can't recommend a watch, but go visit the Poor Man's Watch Forum. It's for watches under $1k, and the members will point you in the right direction.

Also, I want to recommend the NATO or G10 watch band to you. Simple, comfortable, inexpensive, and secure. Perhaps you could slip a G10 onto a G-Shock and have a great watch.

Edit: Just noticed that West Coast Time has strap adaptors for G-Shock watches: http://www.westcoastime.com/gshocadcasfo.html

And yes, Nylon watch bands can get gunked up and smell. The good news is that a G10 can be taken off a watch fast. I soak it overnight in a glass of water with detergent in it, maybe some baking soda. Same works for my sandals with nylon straps.

A G-Shock would look and feel amazing on a Nato! I love Nato straps but just make sure you buy a high quality thick NATO!