Top watches for young men.

Last updated on December 20th, 2023 at 01:42 am

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun understanding men’s fascination with watches.  I couldn’t have cared less in my younger years, but now I’m beginning to respect a good timepiece a bit more.  Want a surefire way to stand out from the crowd of other young guys out there?  Wear a watch.  Like… a real watch.  It seems like 45% of our generation uses their phones to tell time, 45% use a smartwatch, and then there’s 10% of us who still appreciate looking classic. So, below, we’re going to dive into the top starter watches for young men, and we’re going to see how easy it is to elevate that style of yours.

Also, I’m by no means dissing the smartwatch.  As you’ll see, I have a Galaxy Watch 4 that I’ve been using for years to track my workouts.  They have their place.  But, when you want to make an impression, the last thing you want to do is look exactly like everyone else.  Smartwatches are fine for the gym, but you need some classic wrist action to wear out on the town. Below are my current 3 watches that I wear every week for different activities.  These are staples in any man’s wardrobe, and I fully intend to either update this list or post a follow-up article once I’m able to get some of those wishlisted ones ordered and shipped. 🙂 I’ll include some of those at the bottom.

One thing to note, I am not currently an Amazon affiliate. This post is just for general knowledge. One day I may dive into the affiliate world, but for now, this is purely to shed some light on some good timepieces out there!

For Work: G-Shock Men’s Tough Solar Black Resin Sport Watch

I’ve had this watch since I was 12 years old. It is HANDS DOWN the most affordable work watch that I have. I’ve worn it out on the farm, planting corn and cutting grass. I’ve worn it when swimming in the ocean. It’s even got some paint flecks on it from when we spent a weekend painting a barn one time (but that’s a story for another day.) It’s tough. Check out some of these specs fellas…

When I worked at the Wilds in the summer of 2022, this was the watch I wore every day. I didn’t have electricity to keep my smartwatch charged. I was sweating like a pig every day too. Whether we were hiking mountains, jumping in lakes, or playing Big Ball, this watch was on my wrist. It held up under all of it. And that was after YEARS of just wearing it about every day. It has a few dings on it, but it’s held up quite well. It tells time down to the second like it always has. At the time of this writing, Amazon has it on a deal for $76, but it goes for $130 retail. If you have no watch, this is the first one you need to get.

The rubber on this watch means it won’t pinch at the hair on your wrist. Because it’s waterproof, you can cover it in grease and dirt when you’re working on something, then just douse it in soap and water when you’re done. It’ll stay ticking when the power goes out, because of the solar charging. You can use it in the dark because it has a backlight. You can take it swimming, use it to time your laps at the track, or just to wake up in the morning. I’ve used it in every single one of these capacities at various times over the past 9 years, and it’s never failed. Get one.

For Health: Galaxy Watch 4

Yes. I know the Galaxy Watch 5 has come out. No, I don’t have one. Why? Because the 4 still works perfectly fine. Understand that with tech, you have incremental upgrades and major upgrades. Apple is a really good example of this. For instance, going from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone X was a major upgrade. A lot was changed. However, going from the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 15 was an incremental upgrade. They bumped the camera resolution a bit and built it with titanium. Whoop-de-doo. Big deal. I’ve never been one of those to stay up on the trends. The Watch 5 was an incremental upgrade from the 4, so I didn’t bother switching to it. The Galaxy Watch 4 is the first and only smartwatch I’ve ever had, and, until I find something that FUNCTIONALLY works better, I’m gonna stick with it.

Note that with smartwatches there are always a lot of addons and variants. You can get different onboard storage sizes (for storing music and such). They can have different types of glass, different charging speeds, and different operating systems. I use the Galaxy Watch 4 because I have a Galaxy phone. If you have an iPhone, do not buy this, as you will not be able to use it with iOS. Get an Apple Watch instead.

I highly recommend the 44mm variant. It’s a bit bigger, which makes it easier to read texts, change through music, and swipe through notifications on the AMOLED screen. I take calls, view texts, and set alarms with this watch. My one complaint is that the battery lasts a day and a half at best. Tracking workouts burn it down quickly, so I’ve made a habit of charging it every night with my phone.

The Watch 4 has sensors to calculate your body mass index (BMI), take EKG readings, and measure blood oxygen. It’s all pretty nifty stuff. Keep in mind that it will not be of the same quality as an official measurement taken on a machine designed specifically to measure those health numbers, but it is good enough to get a ballpark estimate.

I like having a smartwatch for convenience. No need to pull out my phone when I can read a quick text. Also, a light buzz on the wrist has allowed me to catch calls when I forget and leave my phone on silent. Also, the Find My Phone feature built into the watch has allowed me to locate my phone in general when I lost it… due to it being left on silent. Plus, being that I work a sedentary job, having a watch like this reminds me to get up, move around, and exercise daily. I’ve used all of its tracking features to create a game for myself regarding workouts and steps, which has kept me motivated for over a year now!

For Style: Casio Pathfinder PAW2000T-7V

I know it may be a bit of a hot take, but this is the main watch that I wear when I want to go a bit more formal. It looks a but geeky, but I like it. I inherited this watch from my Pops, so it holds a bit of sentimental value. It’s titanium, slim, and has a bunch of neat features that I can geek out on if I have too much time.

My father initially had a screen protector on it. I busted that up playing around one day when I was a kid, and thought I’d broke the whole watch. When he peeled off the screen protector and the watchface looked perfect again. It wowed me (and gave me a huge sense of relief), and I told myself I’d never use it as a work watch. I probably ought to buy another screen protector, but the watch itself is discontinued, so maybe I’ll just try my best to keep it in pristine condition.

Regardless, when it comes your formal watch, you want something either metal or leather. Rubber isn’t the move when you’re trying to look classy. Also, you want a slim watch. The Pathfinder above looks beefy, but because of how thin it is, and how it was designed with a contoured backplate, it molds to my wrist and works fine with my suits and flannels alike.

And, in the off-chance I have to go MacGyver on someone, I’ve got a timepiece that’s solar-powered with a bunch of neat tricks. There’s an auto electro-luminescent mode I can toggle. In this mode, a turn on the wrist that raises the watch parallel to the ground and then to an angle more than 40˚ will activate the backlight. So I can use the watch in the dark hands-free. There’s also a built-in digital compass, a barometer, a thermometer, and altimeter. Like I said… I can geek out a bit.

Since this is discontinued, you can see similar watches here and here

Honorable Mentions: MVMT

The Pathfinder is a bit on the high end price-wise if you’re just starting out. If you want some classy watches at a lower price-point, I like some of the MVMT watches. Some of their ads are a bit gimmicky, but the watches themselves are functional and tell time as they should. Also, they usually have analog faces, which is becoming less and less common on watches in this price range. Here are 3 which I’m pretty stoked about currently.

MVMT Blacktop Men’s Chronograph Watch

MVMT Classic II

MVMT Quartz Calfskin

So there you have it fellas. A couple good choices to hit the ground running with. Don’t get caught up in all the hype around luxury watches lik Pateks, Rolexes, Cartiers, and Omegas. Stick to the basics. If none of the watches above suit your fancy, get a Casio F91W-1. It’s considered to be “the essentials watch” by many different news outlets and review teams. It has a retro look, but I’ve seen plenty of people pull it off. Just please, don’t be that guy who pulls his phone out of his pocket when someone asks him what time it is. Get a watch.