Something I find critical in my life is the ability to keep and manage time. I'm a master at missing appointments and running late if I don't keep a close eye on it - which is why I love wearing a watch. I've gone without one for a bit, since my last watch liked to spring open at inopportune times and also got in my way more often than not, but a recent series of events (OT, holiday sales, and the end of a steep monthly payment) allowed me to get a new one I've been drooling over for 2 years: the Casio Forester, Model 2632. Its my early Christmas gift to myself.

The watch retails in my area for an average of $49.95, but is packed with features. I've wanted a vibration alarm for a decade. It has it, and will do so twice every hour, for 10 seconds at any of the alarms you wish to set (a maximum of 5), and (when set) for 5 seconds at the first 00 or 30 minute mark whenever a favorable hunting or fishing time is entered. The vibration is strong enough to wake me from a dead sleep.

Moving on, the times for the fishing info are calculated through the "home site data" you program for your area that is included in the manual. The data is a combination of a Greenwich Mean Time adjustment (GMT - 5 for Detroit) and lat./ lon. Input. This is done after setting the correct local time, and will need to be adjusted as DST starts and ends. The combo of correct time and location sets a "moon phase indicator" which has a display on the watch face and a mode that will tell you the moons age. This data calculates and estimates when fish and wild game are likely to be most active.

Other modes for include "fish memos", which can allow you to save data on date, time, moon phase, and how much wildlife you harvested. Up to 40 of them. I think a stop watch is the only thing I've failed to mention.

Getting back to the main display, there is the time, date, day of week, moon phase, and a bar graph that circles it all. The graph is split into 30 minute segments, and has two modes. The first is "sunrise/ sunset". Noon is at the 12 o clock position for this, and midnight at the six, so "day" is at the top and stays clear. Its accurate, the sun has set every night within the first segment of the graph. The other setting displays the ideal hunt/ fish times, so the graph only displays in short blocks at various places. I can't yet attest to how helpful it is, but have anecdotal info that it is effective. The current time. as it is reflected in the graph, flashes in both modes as a visual cue. Finally, there is a row of fish (model 2805 is identical to my watch in function, but displays paws here, btw) that will vary in number as feeding times wax and wane.
The display is easily seen at night through the use of a backlight feature, it stays lit for 2 seconds.

The watch band itself feels pretty stout, and appears to be cordura nylon. The holes for securing the band to the buckle also appear to be melted to prevent fraying. I generally blow out bands pretty regularly, soit'll be interesting to see how well these holes and the pins hold up.

Given the number of features and its effectiveness thus far I'm much impressed. I can think of a number of ways its info could assist a prepper, and at this point, would recommend it to anyone interested.