Women's Guide to Gifts for Their Guys ~ Timex Expedition

*If you're anything like me, you have a hard time trying to buy a gift for the men in your life! My wonderful husband has written a series or editorials with ideas of great gifts for guys this Father's Day season. This is the first in a series of ***. Enjoy!*

I love hiking, biking and any outdoor activity in general. I also love watches. But nature, on the other hand, feels no pity or remorse for any structure or machine constructed by man. Yes, it's true... nature holds my beloved watches with no higher regard than anything else man made. And nature is a cruel, heartless force. Nature doesn't cease its essence of freezing cold darkness, blistering heat waves, sand-blasting winds, soaking rain, tree-splintering snow, raging rivers and the oxygen deprived heights of mountain peaks just because you're wearing your favorite watch that day. In fact, nature is trying to kill us all. Nothing is sacred. Anything made can be unmade. Survival is the ultimate challenge of humanity vs nature.

This being the case, when in nature I don't brandish anything on my wrist that is less about function and more about art. Not that I don't love my watches that put style above function. I do. But, when I'm hiking or biking, function takes precedence over all. It has to... and I love it.

So, where do I turn when the “rubber meets the road”?

To my Timex Expedition.

Timex makes every range of current watch styles, from fashionable to functional so don't think of them as a “one trick pony”. They're not. The Expedition series just fits my needs. And when I say it fits my needs, what I really mean is “exceeds my expectations”.

My Expedition has climbed with me on top of mountains, swum with me through icy rivers, scaled sheer rock faces, clawed through freezing snow, and plunged into the bleak blackness of the earth's gaping maw; caves. It has never failed, never broken, never quit. I've gone as far as I could and my Expedition was ready for more. I quit long before it ever did.

Why Timex?

There are a lot of options out there in the watch world, so why Timex? I believe the question is better stated, “Why anything else”? Many people would bring up the much-loved Casio G-Shock as the go-to for adventurers. In many ways they're right. The G-Shock is tough, fairly inexpensive, and disposable.

While modern advances in technology and plastics are all well and good, I find metal to be more my style. I love metal, especially stainless steel. Where plastic can sometimes feel easy, dull and boring, metal has a story. Metal must be pulled from the earth, often requiring men to delve into the deepest parts of her foundations to forcibly remove the valuable ore from her greedy, rocky grasp. Man has been mining and shaping metal for thousands of years. Metal has a story; a soul. Plastic just doesn't quite have that.

The G-Shock is also digital, barring a few models. I find no joy in looking at yet another digital, computerized screen on my wrist. We are bombarded by technology constantly. It's exhausting and irritating. Sometimes I want to look at something analog. I enjoy looking at my watch and imagining the plethora of tiny cogs ever turning in unison for the simple task of showing me the time. Analog watches are a brilliant achievement of man. It took great effort and time to construct something so incredible complex just so a person could have the luxury of knowing the time of day. Most people don't realize what it takes to make a mechanical or quartz watch work nor appreciate the accomplishment that it is. They're too busy playing with their “smart” phone.

As for the functional reasons I love my Expedition; I've never had one fail by defect. Yes, I've smashed them, but never has one failed outside of my own fault. When one does fail it doesn't break the bank. I can send it in to Timex for repair or simply replace the watch without thinning out my wallet.

Another reason I love my Expedition is the Indiglo function. Lume paint is great until you're underground for hours and it runs out of charge. Indiglo is always ready. Short of a dead battery, it doesn't quit. Having a back-lit watch just makes sense for excursions like these.

If your husband or boyfriend is an outdoorsman, the Timex Expedition should be in his repertoire. You won't regret it.

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