A Crushing Blow

Well sportsfans, today we all suffered a tough loss. Now most of you haven't had the pleasure of seeing my digital Dakota watch, but if you had, you would have been able to read it from across the room. If you're trying to picture it, close your eyes. Now think of the clock at home in your kitchen. Finally, put a rubber strap on it, and you have the Dakota A1797. I know that I seem to be critical of it, but I really enjoyed the watch. I bought it from Ranger Joes about a two years ago for $54. It still remains the same price. Despite getting some greif about the size of the watch's face, I truly did not mind it. The large face made it very easy to read at a quick glance. It also was visible within about 10 feet, which is a pretty good range. These large letters also come in handy when trying to read the watch at night and while using the digital compass. The digital compass may seem like overkill; however, from my experience, the ability to tell, within 5 degrees, what direction you are facing is priceless. To switch to compass mode, you only hold down one button for 2 seconds. The watch then displays the direction, referenced with an arrow, to the nearest degree. You may think that you would rarely use this function, but compared to pulling out a compass, pushing one button is much easier. It's not exact, but it is much easier. The other features provide exactly what you will need in a watch. The watch is completely waterproof to 165 feet. The large crystal watch glass is extremely tough. I wore this watch in garrison and in the field for two years, and the only thing that damaged the face was consistent use of 99% deet bugspray. That really makes me think about what it does to skin. Back to the watch- My Dakota watch had an easy to use alarm, stopwatch and settings for two time zones, perfect for someone deployed to a differet time zone. I strongly reccommend grabbing one of these watches. Granted they are twice as expensive as typical sport watches, but the digital compass is worth it. I will let you know how they honor the five year warranty.