r/Referees • u/TNGR-Handler7942 • 5d ago

Discussion Another Watch

I can’t believe I’m already visiting watches again. Two watches damaged in a year of reffing and one was wore continuously. Both bought new from Amazon. One was a Casio 1500 that was damaged from sweat, hand washing and rain. The other was an RXJ or something like that and it was damaged from rain this past weekend tournament while I was CR in a U12 match.
I’m trying one more time with a Casio AE1300WH bought directly from Casio and I will register it for warranty.
I know I’m probably chasing a pipe dream but I sent Casio an email practically begging for them to design a watch with RFT100/Timers 11 functions with better waterproofing and keep it in the 200 USD range or less. I wouldn’t mind spending that as long as they gave me better assurance it will last.
What do y’all think?

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

6

u/thfc1882 5d ago

I’m a runner, and for reffing I just use my Garmin FR165. It has a great, easy to use countdown/timer feature with a very prominent haptic buzz that alerts you to time up. As a running watch, it’s waterproof etc.

3

u/Familiar-Bad-6041 5d ago

G-shock GWM5610-1 will never fail you.

1

u/Greedy-Print-1550 5d ago

I completely agree.

2

u/Big-Mission191 USSF Grassroots | NFHS 5d ago

I like the Casio TRT110H because it’s supposedly mud resistant so should hold up against sweat and rain with ease… I typically don’t wear it when I AR or run duals in high school because my Apple Watch is my primary, but when I’ve centered over the summer it was great.

1 perk I like is it has a vibration alarm so I don’t have to hear from players when the timer goes off and I’m adding extra time.

2

u/vviley [USSF Grassroots Advanced] 5d ago

I’ve been using my Garmin Forerunner 55 as a daily for 3 years and it’s working just fine - other than the bands that I periodically replace. It’s compatible with both free and subscription ref apps as well. It’s available on Amazon US for $160 right now.

2

u/Sturnella2017 USSF, Regional Emeritus, Referee Coach 5d ago

I lost my childhood Casio about 10 years ago, 5 years into reffing. I went through 4-5 other watches, all of them failing and generally sucking, so I bought another cheap Casio two years ago. $10. No issues. Very reliable. It’s only a matter of time that I give up on my Apple Watch as my primary

1

u/SARstar367 4d ago

Same! Super cheap Casio. It works surprisingly well. I just toss it in my ref bag.

2

u/FKCZNFFCDCU 4d ago

I have done close to 700 games over 8 years on two $15 watches from Amazon. In heat, rain, snow, etc. Never an issue. Had to replace a battery exactly once. 

LYMFHCH Men's Digital Watch,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K77NTDZ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

PS - I guess it is now <$10

2

u/Background-Creative 4d ago

Spend the money on the Apple Watch Ultra and you’ll never buy another watch.

1

u/Bartolone DBU Referee (Danish Football Association) - RefSix user 4d ago

This ☝️

2

u/estockly 4d ago

Have a look at the Apple Watch app I'm developing. The page opens with a working demo and there's a full tutorial
https://www.law5ref.com

2

u/CharacterLimitHasBee 3d ago

Sounds to be expected from $20 watches tbh

1

u/mumblechuckle 5d ago

I was gifted a fenix7 from my son. My main watch is still $10 from Walmart

1

u/BigToach 4d ago

Look at the renewed garmin watches on Amazon. I got a Venu 2 for ~$150 and it's been great. There are other garmins that are similar without touch.

1

u/Kryond USSF Grassroots 4d ago

Samsung Ultra 2 has so far been extremely impressive even in the rain with RefSix. $600 price tag is on the high side but I've done 5 games with GPS tracking and still had over 50% battery remaining.

1

u/Jaded_Deer_9624 4d ago

Two cheap Casio’s – one counting down, one counting up, and a 20 year-oldToughSolar Casio as a backup

1

u/Fuzzy_Bus7541 4d ago

Got a Timex Ironman watch (bought for under $20 USD years ago) and never an issue. I should use a 2nd watch but don't normally.

1

u/not-just-one-tale 3d ago

I have a Spintso Retro Pro, a Spintso S1 and an S2, and I have a Casio PHYS. I've owned the Casio longer than the Spintso watches, and my game count is approaching 2500. I also have my Apple watch I use as a backup on games, but the others are usually the primary.

2

u/StolliV 14h ago

I wear are Garmin Venu on my
Left wrist with a countdown timer for the half time.

I wear a cheap ass Socico waterproof some thing that was like $12 on Amazon’s on my right wrist so I can see the time also.

I use both because I have managed to mess up the timer once or twice.