Looking for a multipurpose wristwatch for an upcoming expedition? Freestyle has a couple watches that might just be exactly what you are looking for.
Mariner Tide Watch:
If you enjoy boating on the open ocean, scuba diving, fishing, surfing, or even driving along a coastal road, you will definitely want to take a closer look at the Mariner Tide Watch by Freestyle. As its name suggests, this watch gives you tide direction, time and height for 150 beaches worldwide (for the full list, download the PDF from Freestyle) as well as sunrise/sunset times. This is all shown on a nice large display. So, this watch is definitely not made for those with petite wrists. For its large size, I must say it is quite comfortable to wear and the band is made of a very soft yet durable silicone. It is also water resistant down to 100 meters: a depth that few of us scuba divers (let alone landlubbers) will ever reach.
I found the interface to be well labeled and fairly easy to figure out compared to most watches. I have not yet found the need to download the PDF manual to learn how to operate its functions. Speaking of functions, the Mariner Tide watch has a few more tricks up its sleeve besides just showing you the tide and time. It also has the following features as well: alarm, dual time, chronograph, countdown timer, heat timer, and a cool night vision backlight. On top of that, it also has what Freestyle calls “Hydro Pushers.” These pushers can be pressed under water to a dynamic water pressure (not water depth) of 3 atmospheres.
My favorite part of this watch is its ability to show the tides as a graph over time and how you can scroll forward and backward in time on the graph to graphically see the shift in the tides, which is much more effective than if it only displayed the tide time data as an alphanumerical readout.
If the changing tides of the ocean are ever going to play a role in your travels, then this would be the watch to own. It is well-built, easy to use, confortable to wear and looks good to top things off. I highly recommend it.
Navigator 3.0 Digital Compass Watch:
Not a scurvy ocean going sea dog? Freestyle has a more appropriate adventure watch for you landlubbers out there, The Navigator 3.0. This outdoors-oriented wristwatch will do more than tell you what time it is. As its name suggests, the coolest feature is its ability to help you navigate by showing you which way north is with its built-in digital compass. This paired with its rotating bezel will allow you to mark headings, bearings, adjust declination and calibrate the compass sensor. On top of all that, it is water resistant down to 100 meters just like the Mariner Tide Watch.
The Navigator 3.0 is not nearly as bulky as many of the digital compass watches on the market. It is very lightweight, and the rubber watchband is quite comfortable as well. However, this watch is lacking a few features that have become fairly standard on digital compass watches. These missing features include: altimeter, barometer, and thermometer. There is one upside to these other sensors not being included in the Navigator 3.0 though: it drops the price to about one third what the competing watches go for. So, if you don’t need these other features and all you really want or need is a digital compass, then this is a great option to save some money and get exactly what you want.
As for the other features included in this watch, most are fairly standard, such as: chronograph, laps, 3 alarms, timer, and 2 interval timers. The blue backlight is pretty cool looking as well. All these features were fairly easy for me to figure out, but I would have preferred it if each of the buttons had labels on them. Oddly enough, there are labels for each of the buttons, but they are on the back of the watch and thus not visible while the watch is being worn. This could potentially make the learning process a bit more difficult for some users.
In my testing, I found the digital compass more than accurate enough for navigation in the backcountry. Just make sure you are trained on map and compass navigation before you trust any compass with your life.
In conclusion, I found the Navigator 3.0 Digital Compass Watch to be a very effective, affordable, and reliable form of backup navigation. It’s definitely worth taking a closer look at.
Mariner Tide Watch
Colors: Black, White/Blue, Yellow/Black, & Blue/Red Made in China
Price: $100.00
For more information, visit the following link:
http://www.freestyleusa.com/mariner-tide-red-blue.html
Navigator 3.0 Digital Compass Watch
Colors: Blue/Black, White/Black, Brown/Black, Orange/Black Made in China
Price: $66.50
For more information, visit the following link:
http://www.freestyleusa.com/sport/navigator-dk-blue-dk-lt-blue.html
The Tech Examiner 