[beamthegreat]

I've seen several people wear their watch backwards so they have to turn the palm up to check the time. Also, a lot of military soilders like to wear their watch backwards in a lot of movies/games. Is there any reason behind this? 

 

[appophylite]

Try it once and you'll notice that it is actually a lot easier to rotate just the lower part of your arm to see the watch if you wear it upside down like that - as opposed to having to rotate your arm and lift your shoulder to see it get a better view of your watch when it is on your wrist.
 
Another reason is some people do it to protect the watch. If it on the inside of your wrist, it is less likely to bang into things or get caught on things as you walk past.
 
A third reason is comfort. Some people, like my mother find it more comfortable to wear the watch on the inside of the wrist.

 

[MCC]

I've been told that it's easier for air traffic controllers to see the time without distraction when they wear their watch that way.

 

[marvin]

For manual labor, the outside of the wrist are more likely to get banged into the surroundings. Opposite often goes for desk diving as the inside of the wrist gets a lot more contact with the desk surface than the outside does with other objects.
 
Far as .mil usage goes, wearing a watch on the inside of the wrist has some technical advantages. The inside of the wrist faces the wearer when shouldering a rifle or when holding a pistol in the Weaver/isosceles stance and can be read without shifting too much. The illumination source, whether by tritium or lume, also faces the user instead of the outside world. The real reason might just be fashion (read: "everyone else does it" or "that's how the high speed low drag guys do it)" though.

 

[Confispect]

^ Sounds good to me.

 

[tjohnusa]

This is a holdover from older days when crystals were easily scratched. It was thought that this would prevent the crystal from scratches of normal actions. It would seem the newer crystals are much more scratch resistant so this may be a "wives tale" in regards to newer watches. I personally never wore my watch that way.....spend too much money on the things to hide them!

 

[appophylite]

Quote:

It would seem the newer crystals are much more scratch resistant so this may be a "wives tale" in regards to newer watches.

Crystals are only more scratch resistant if you go for more expensive sapphire glass and the like. Mineral Glass crystals still scratch the same way!
 
Personally, most of my watches close in on 40mmm or larger diameter so wearing a watch inside the wrist has never been quite comfortable or plausible. My sister and my mom can because they wear tiny watches.

 

[BlackbeardBen]

There's also watches that have the band shaped so that the face is on the inside edge of your arm.  I believe for a time Timex made these under their "Ironman" label, for triathletes and cyclists.
 
The benefit is that when you're cycling - especially when using aerobars - the sides of your arms & wrists are facing up, or at least towards you.  Twisting your arm isn't really practical; it puts strain on your wrist and negatively impacts your aero position.  It's also a better place to read when you're running.
 
Next time I get a HRM I'll probably try to get one of them, because they really are that much better for running and cycling.

 

[tclay]

I realize this is responding to a WAY old thread, but thought I'd post anyway.  My father always wore his watch backwards for this reason (as suggested here already): He was a B-17 pilot (see www.stormyweather.dk) and wearing his watch on the inside of his wrist allowed him to see the time while his hands were on the steering controls.  I wear my watch backwards, mainly to carry on that tradition out of respect and honor for that great man.  My son does that as well, as I hope his sons eventually do.  So for me, it's a tradition, as well as a practical thing.  

 

[RadioWonder737]

Much easier to read the time... Wear mine on the under side of my wrist...

 

 

[Claritas]

Easier to read surreptitiously but more likely to be damaged by being knocked against surfaces, so I stopped.

Solution: wear it the regular way on your dominant hand. You can often pick up a pen, act as if you're about to write something, and glance at your wrist.