I have my great grandfathers pocket watch. Dated back to 1880. Not really something I carry around but it's real special. I keep in on the fireplace mantle in a glass display case. Off subject but what the hell. Carry on.
Love my Apple Watch for working out and everyday life, but not even considering taking with me for more than a day trip due to battery life. Sucks because I love how easy it is to use and I’m a total Apple fanboy
Tried a Suunto Traverse Alpha Stealth for one season, but found I hardly used it so now it’s in my gear graveyard box. Not sure if it’s obsolete yet but free to anyone who might want it. Edit - watch now gone
Bought a Garmin 5 plus because it was about 1/2 the price of the 6. . . I love it and wear it everywhere. Tracks every activity imaginable, 100% waterproof, and typically lasts 5-7 days on a charge for me depending on what I'm doing.
I use apple watch except for long backcountry trips, then I use garmin mk1 basically a fenix 5 on a scuba model. Apple’s screen is easier to read and more comfortable to wear
I’m still using my old garmin fenix 3. Battery lasts a week with 3 1-hour long cardio sessions using GPS. I don’t use Bluetooth anymore so I can save the battery. I have had it for 5 years, so you can only imagine how good the fenix 6 would be
Casio Protrek triple sensor is what I wear every day. Casio G-shock is a decent option for something cheaper that just works. A less bulky, but still durable option is a baby G-shock.
If you want a smart watch, some flavor of Garmin or Sunnto. Last I looked a Garmin Fenix 6 would have been my choice, though an Instinct would cover most of what I would use it for. I wear a watch every day and rarely take it off (as in there is probably less than 2 hours a year where my wrist does not have a watch on it) having to charge a watch is not something I want to fool with and my phone works well for training. As I have seen a brown bear where I run (and have black bears wonder through my yard), I have a chest pack on anyway, so don't really notice a phone in it. If not for that, I would give more thought to dropping the money on a GPS watch for training, though it still would not live on my wrist.
I'm still using a Fenix 3 as well. I ahve been very happy with it, but my battery s starting to struggle. Will be getting a 5 or 6 one of these days. Coros is definitely intriguing due to battery life, but have heard mixed reviews on customer service and data sharing.
A buddy recommended the Coros Apex watch. Bought one for my GF a year ago and she loves it. The app is user friendly and does all a person could want. Used it for tracking some hikes in UT recently and it worked great.
I stray from time to time but keep coming back to g shock. My fit bit and Apple Watch weren’t capturing heart rate accurately especially at high output and for some of my workout stuff (lifts with wrist wraps) watches were no good. I also tried a couple of sunto compass watches over the years but they never seemed to hold calibration.
gshocks just run. I treat myself to a new one every few years when the case gets beat up. I think i have 3 currently and the oldest is +15 years old.
in full disclosure, I use my phone for some watch functions like timing workouts and stuff.