Setting out to find a trusty watch as a hiker was a larger endeavor than I had thought. Let me explain.

I wanted to find a watch that would do everything: one that was versatile enough to be both worthy in the field, and fitting for the office. Most of us have a 9-5 to fund our adventures and I do so in the corporate world. So, I set out to find the perfect everyday watch, and I held a few criteria in mind.

It needed to have an altimeter and an analog face; anything else=bonus. Now, go do a Google search and tell me what you turn up. I despise the look of plasticy sport watches. I found the Casio PAW5000 (about $450), which has an analog movement, altimeter, barometer, compass, and everything else under the sun (literally, it’s solar powered). But, look at it. It’s too techy, bulky and plasticy. I can’t wear that thing everyday, it’s not my style. Call me a snob, but it’s just not something I’d wear to a nice dinner, and for that price it should be. Casio also offers the Pro Trek Black Titan (about $825), which looks significantly better but is quite pricey.

Timex offers the E-Altimeter (about $200), but all it has is an altimeter, no compass, no barometer, etc. I’ve read reviews that it’s fairly bulky as well. One advantage with Timex is getting an 11 year warranty. Nice!

Then I saw the Tissot T-Touch Expert Pilot (about $600), and all of my dreams had seemingly come true. This watch has an altimeter, barometer, compass, thermometer, stopwatch, titanium case, sapphire crystal face (that’s the best for scratch resistance), water resistant to 99 feet, two year warranty, AND it’s Swiss made. Not to mention, it’s an analog movement with a little digital display, too. Perfect, I thought.

So, I saved my sheckles and deliberated about the decision for months, because that kind of mulah doesn’t come easy to me. My girlfriend pitched in too, because this was an anniversary present. Everything about the watch itself is great. The movement is great, the instruments are accurate, no complaints there. I am MOSTLY happy with my purchase, but there has been one major disappointment.

The leather band is a piece of shit. I have never used a curse word on this site, until now, but this makes me angry. It split where it connects to the titanium case, on both sides, and completely disconnected after 3 months of use. See the picture below:

A concession I need to make is that Tissot does not advertise this watch for trekking, but for pilots who would most likely be in a climate-controlled cockpit. I know that leather often does not perform well after it has gotten wet. I was careful not to get it wet, but it dipped into a river maybe twice? The watch itself claims to be water resistant to 99 feet…

There’s really no excuse for it to split like it did, and further, there is no excuse for it to be GLUED to the case BY A PIECE OF PLASTIC. That’s right. Premium components are visible, but a piece of plastic is hidden beneath the leather at a crucial structural point. That’s just bogus. Tissot will supposedly cover this under their warranty, but since I bought the watch off of Amazon (not an “authorized retailer”), Amazon’s warranty only covers the movement, not the strap.

I Gorilla Glued it back to the plastic and am hoping for the best. Go with a titanium band, and absolutely do NOT get a leather band. The failure was probably due to the original adhesive, but the leather has also wrinkled a bit. You’ll notice that the carbon fiber backing is not offered with the titanium band, which is most unfortunate.

You may be better off having two watches, one for dinner and one for the trail. My girlfriend posted a review on Amazon regarding the band, but I have seen no other criticism.

May I recommend this model as an alternative:

Tissot T-Touch Expert Pilot with titanium band

Here’s some other tips:

• The altimeter needs to be set before every outing, as it is a barometric altimeter and based on the weather.
• You can either use the altimeter or the barometer, but not both at the same time.
• Setting the “regional climate” will ensure more accurate readings from your altimeter and barometer.
• The thermometer is only accurate when it has been off of your arm for 15-20 minutes, otherwise it will be influenced by  your body temperature.
• Titanium is strong and light, but will scratch.
• You can set magnetic declination for the compass!
• Try the watch on in a store and play with the touch functions in person.
• The barometric units are in hectopascals (hePa) instead of inches of mercury (inHg) which is more commonly used.