# Field Watches for Hiking and Camp: Solar, Lume and Water Ratings Compared > Analog and solar field watches for hiking and camp from Timex, Citizen and Casio, compared on the water rating, lume, power source and strap each maker lists. - Source: https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking - Publisher: WildProofLab (https://wildprooflab.com) - Published: 2026-10-01 - Category: blog - Tags: field watch, hiking watch, solar watch, Timex Expedition, Citizen Eco-Drive, Casio, water resistance, camping - Method: picks chosen from Amazon listings and brand specs; not hands-on tested; current Amazon prices are on the page; content checked 2026-10-01. - Quick answer: The Timex Expedition Scout is our pick for day hikes and camp: a backlit dial, luminous hands, a 24-hour scale and a nylon strap. Pick the Citizen Garrison if you never want to change a battery, or the Casio Forester for a 31 g resin watch with a light. ## Key takeaways - Read the meters as a pressure rating, not a depth: Casio rates 5 bar for swimming and 10 bar for skin diving, and Garmin warns an activity can create more pressure than the rating. - Solar and Eco-Drive watches still have a battery; it recharges from light, and Casio quotes about 8 months on a full charge in the dark. - Buy the nylon or rubber strap version for wet trips; the leather-strap versions of the same watches are for dry days. ## Products (chosen from listings, not tested) 1. **Timex Expedition Scout 40mm, Black Dial, Green Fabric Strap** (details: https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B00HYUSWPE) — Buy it if you want a light, readable watch for trails and camp; skip it if you swim or paddle often. - Pros: INDIGLO backlight plus luminous hands, per the listing; 24-hour scale on the dial and a date at 3 o'clock; Nylon strap; 50 m (165 ft) water resistance - Cons: Battery quartz; the listing gives no battery life; 50 m is the lowest rating here 2. **Citizen Eco-Drive Garrison Field Watch, AW0050-82E** (details: https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B016R90WIW) — Buy it if you want a field watch that runs for years on light alone; skip it if you prefer a fabric strap on the trail. - Pros: Eco-Drive: charged by any light, per Citizen's listing; Luminous hands and markers, day and date, 100 m water resistance; 5-year limited warranty, per the listing - Cons: Stainless steel bracelet, heavier and colder on the wrist than fabric; 43 mm case 3. **Casio MTP-S120L-1AV Solar Analog, Cloth Band** (details: https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B07TDGW8WR) — Buy it if you want solar power and a cloth strap in one watch; skip it if you read the time in the dark. - Pros: Solar; about 8 months from full charge until the hands stop, per Casio; Screw-lock case back and 100 m water resistance; Day and date display; 72 g - Cons: Casio's spec sheet lists no luminous hands or light; Push-in crown, not screw-down, per Casio's listing for the series 4. **Casio Forester FT500WC-3BV, Nylon Band** (details: https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B004EFQZTM) — Buy it if you want a light watch you can forget you are wearing; skip it if you want solar or a metal case. - Pros: 31 g with a resin case, per Casio's spec sheet; Amber LED light with afterglow; 100 m water resistance; About 3 years per battery; hook-and-loop nylon band - Cons: Resin glass rather than mineral glass, per Casio; Two batteries to replace (watch and light), per Casio 5. **Citizen Eco-Drive Weekender, AW1150-07E, Rubber Strap** (details: https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B008OC18JS) — Buy it for canoe trips and wet hikes; skip it if you want a smaller watch. - Pros: Eco-Drive light charging, per the listing; Luminous hands and markers; 100 m water resistance; Black rubber buckle strap, per the listing - Cons: 44 mm case, the biggest on the list; No day display A field watch for hiking needs four things: a dial you can read at a glance, a light or lume for the tent, a water rating that covers rain and the odd river crossing, and a strap that dries. Everything below is analog, two to three hands and a date, and runs for months or years without a charger. **How we chose:** we picked from makers' spec sheets and listings sold by Amazon.com, checked on October 1, 2026, and have not tested these watches. Many watch listings on Amazon come from third-party sellers who may be grey-market, without the maker's US warranty; we left those out. ## What the water rating on a watch means Watch water ratings are a pressure test, not a promise for any depth. [Garmin's water rating definitions](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/legal/waterrating-definitions/) put 5 ATM at the pressure of 50 m of water and 10 ATM at 100 m. Garmin also warns that a watch may let water in if an activity creates more pressure than its rating. Casio's [watch care table](https://support.casio.com/global/en/wat/manual/3513_en/AHNISYnjjhfqfn.html) turns that into uses. A watch marked only "water resist" handles hand washing and rain. Five bar adds swimming and water work. Ten bar and up adds windsurfing and skin diving. None of them is for scuba. None of these listings names the test standard behind its figure; ISO 22810 is the international one for water-resistant watches. Read the number by the maker's own table. | Watch | Water rating | Light or lume | Power | Strap | Sold by | Amazon price | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | [Timex Expedition Scout 40mm](https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B00HYUSWPE) | 50 m | INDIGLO plus luminous hands | Battery | Nylon | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | | [Citizen Garrison AW0050-82E](https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B016R90WIW) | 100 m | Luminous hands and markers | Eco-Drive light | Steel bracelet | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | | [Casio MTP-S120L-1AV](https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B07TDGW8WR) | 100 m | None listed | Solar | Cloth | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | | [Casio Forester FT500WC-3BV](https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B004EFQZTM) | 100 m | Amber LED, afterglow | Battery, about 3 years | Nylon, hook-and-loop | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | | [Citizen Weekender AW1150-07E](https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking#product-B008OC18JS) | 100 m | Luminous hands and markers | Eco-Drive light | Rubber | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | The Casio figures come from Casio's spec sheets; the Timex and Citizen figures from their Amazon listings. ## Lume, backlight or both A backlight shows the dial on demand; lume glows on its own after the hands have soaked up light. In a tent at 3 a.m. you want one or the other. The Timex has both: the INDIGLO button lights the whole dial, and the hands are luminous, per the listing. The Citizen Garrison and Weekender have luminous hands and markers. The Casio Forester has an amber LED with afterglow, per [Casio's Forester spec sheet](https://www.casio.com/us/watches/casio/product.FT-500WC-3BV/). The Casio MTP-S120L is the gap. [Casio's MTP-S120L spec sheet](https://www.casio.com/us/watches/casio/product.MTP-S120L-1AV/) lists no luminous hands or light. Skip it if you check the time in the dark. ## Solar, Eco-Drive or a battery Solar watches still have a cell inside; light keeps it topped up. Casio says the MTP-S120L runs about 8 months from a full charge until the hands stop, so a week in a dark pack is no issue. Citizen says Eco-Drive is "powered by light, any light" and never needs a battery change, per the Garrison listing. The Timex and the Casio Forester run on ordinary batteries. Casio quotes about 3 years for each of the Forester's two cells, one for the watch and one for the light. Which to buy comes down to whether you mind a battery change every few years. A solar watch removes that chore; a battery watch is lighter and simpler. ## Straps for wet days The strap matters more than the case on a wet trip. A nylon strap like the Timex's or the Forester's hook-and-loop band gets wet and dries again. The Weekender's rubber strap does not soak up water at all. Leather-strap versions of the Timex Expedition and Citizen Eco-Drive watches sell next to these. We would keep those for dry days. The Garrison's steel bracelet copes with water, but it is cold against the skin on a winter morning. If you plan to swap straps, check the lug width first. Casio's Amazon listing for the MTP-S120L series gives 22 mm. ## The Seiko 5 Sports Field, and why it has no card The Seiko 5 Sports Field series is a popular automatic field watch, but every listing we found on October 1, 2026 came from a third-party seller, not Amazon.com or Seiko. Buy it from Seiko or a dealer Seiko lists, so the warranty is not in question. Related: [layering for cold-weather hiking](https://wildprooflab.com/blog/layering-for-cold-weather-hiking) and the [rainy camping trip checklist](https://wildprooflab.com/blog/rainy-camping-trip-checklist). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Can I swim with a 50 m field watch? Briefly. Timex's listing for its Expedition Metal Field, with the same 50 m rating, says it suits short periods of recreational swimming but not diving or snorkeling. For regular swims or paddling, pick a 100 m watch. ### Is a digital ABC watch better for hiking than an analog field watch? It does more: altitude, a barometer and a compass. An analog field watch is lighter, simpler and usually cheaper, and it never needs a sensor calibrated. See our [storm alarm watch guide](https://wildprooflab.com/blog/storm-alarm-barometer-watches) for the ABC side. ### Do I need to keep a solar watch in the sun? No. Casio's Amazon listing for the MTP-S120L series says its solar cell charges from "even faint light from fluorescent lamps." Leave it face-up near a window between trips rather than in a drawer. --- *WildProofLab is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.* ## Sources - garmin.com: [Garmin's water rating definitions](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/legal/waterrating-definitions) - support.casio.com: [Watch care table](https://support.casio.com/global/en/wat/manual/3513_en/AHNISYnjjhfqfn.html) - casio.com: [Casio's Forester spec sheet](https://www.casio.com/us/watches/casio/product.FT-500WC-3BV) - casio.com: [Casio's MTP-S120L spec sheet](https://www.casio.com/us/watches/casio/product.MTP-S120L-1AV) --- Last updated: 2026-10-01 Canonical URL: https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking How to cite: "Field Watches for Hiking and Camp: Solar, Lume and Water Ratings Compared", WildProofLab, https://wildprooflab.com/blog/field-watches-for-hiking (checked 2026-10-01). Disclosure: as an Amazon Associate WildProofLab earns from qualifying purchases. Safety information summarizes public guidance and is not medical advice.