Timex Expedition WS4 ABC Watch Review
First Impressions
Timex bills the Expedition WS4 as an oversized, multifunction dashboard for the outdoors. And that it is. With a square face – still very unique in the category – the Expedition WS4 delivers more viewable area than just about every other ABC watch. As a result, the Timex product can display the time in both digital and digital/analog formats, temperature, barometric pressure and weather forecast all simultaneously on the same screen. How’s that for a one-stop visual dashboard for what’s going on around you?
Features
The Expedition WS4 gets the ABCs right. Readings from the altimeter, barometer and compass were accurate and the watch was easy to calibrate. Weather forecasts in the center-left of the watch face were a little more problematic and required frequent adjustment.
The watch is made from a lightweight resin so despite its imposing physical size, the Expedition WS4 was more than half and ounce lighter than the Columbia Peak 15. The watch band is a stretch fabric.
Specs
Materials: Resin housing, fabric band
Weight: 3.125 oz
Watch Face Dimension: 2 x 1.75 in
Water Resistance: 165 ft
Other features include a chronograph which worked well in our tests. However, there is no facility for storing multiple runs. There’s a review function allowing you to see key metrics from your hike including max/min altitude, total ascent, total decent, barometric pressure, temperature, etc. There’s also an alarm, timer and calorie counter.
Fit
The Timex Expedition WS4 is a large watch, think dive computer big. The same is true for the watch band. Our sample came with a large stretch fabric band that was difficult to adjust. Putting the watch on was also difficult almost requiring two hands to feed buckles through the loop on the watch case. You may want to consider wearing the Expedition WS4 over the sleeve of your jacket or long sleeve shirt vs. next to the skin.
Final Verdict
The Expedition WS4 definitely fits the bill of outdoor dashboard. It’s large and very fully featured, able to cram tons of information onto a single screen and still be readable. If you’re looking for a watch that can brave the elements and be worn on the outside of a jacket sleeve, this watch might just be the one for you.
