During my time in the service I came to appreciate the comfort, utility and versatility of the USGI Poncho Liner, affectionately known as a woobie. It is nothing fancy. It is basically just quilted nylon blanket with polyester filling. It is thin, compact, useful, light weight, works well, it can get wet and it dries quickly. It is a beloved piece of gear. A woobie is often described as a sort of security blanket, thanks to its comforting characteristics. People become very attached to their woobie. They recognize it as theirs, even though they all look basically the same. My woobie was M81 Woodland or Woodland BDU pattern but the original was just plain olive drab green. Now they come in many more colors and patterns.
Casio makes a watch that is simple, lightweight, thin, useful, water resistant, comforting and easy to grow attached to. The legendary F-91W. They even make a version in olive drab green, the F91WM-3A. It is a favorite at my house and I have seen many of them on the wrists of military personnel. Why? Because it does everything you need and nothing else. It tells the time, the date, the day of the week. It has 12 and 24 hour time settings which is handy in the military. It has a light so dim, you will maintain light discipline and not give away your position. Enough light to read it, just barely. It has an alarm and a stopwatch. Best of all, at less than twenty bucks, it is ultra affordable.
My kids all love the OD green Casio F91WM-3A. We currently have at least 6 or 7 of them. We have lost a couple more of them at school. My kids can tell them apart and each knows which one is theirs. My kids love all the little tricks or hidden features. Holding down the button on the right side for a few seconds will show the word CASIo on the dial. Supposedly it is an authentication verification feature, so you know you didn't spend your hard earned cash on a fake. If you push all three buttons at the same time, it does a LCD test. One of my kids did that and didn't know what they did and had a little bit of a tear in their eye thinking they bricked it. The joy on their face when I pressed any button and restored it was a fun sight to see. Then I explained that is a way to test the display and the way to do it by pressing all three buttons. Then I showed them the way to turn it off by pressing any button. It was fun to bond over watch features. Pretty sure they used up a year of battery life showing everyone they know those two tricks.
I really like the F-91W, in all of its variations and I personally have three of the F91WM-3A variant. One that is all original on the resin strap and that strap doesn't really work well for my wrists. I have one that has the strap upgraded to a Vario Oiled Leather Moss Green Watch Strap made for the Casio AE1200WH World Time Watch. It fits nicely on my large 8.25" wrists. It is 24mm wide at the watch, similar to the Casio resin strap and is similarly notched to fit the 18mm lugs. It tapers down to 20mm at the buckle. The Casio resin strap tapers down to 16mm at the buckle. I much prefer the wider Vario strap. I wish it was a little longer with my big wrists, but for most it will be perfect. I another F91WM-3A that I took a file to and opened up the hood over the lugs. I put it on an 18mm Olive and Black Mélange Perlon strap from Wrist Candy Watch Club. This also fits my 8.25" wrist but at 18mm wide, but I wish it was wider. I really love 22mm Perlon straps. I also wish I had black PVD buckles for both of those replacement straps. I will upgrade those in the future.
It is a fairly simple watch. It lists water resistant as a feature both printed on the dial and engraved on the stainless steel back. Many have tested the limits of the water resistance. While some have failed, most were surprised by how good it was. Unfortunately that limit is not clearly defined so test it at your own risk. Casio's website used the icon of washing hands, not swimming or diving. The case back also indicates that the Casio F-91W uses a 593 module. The module number will help you find the find the users guide. In the users guide I found this helpful bit of information "NOTE: THERE IS NO WAY unit components can be damaged or malfunction, due to misoperation of buttons. If confusing information appears on the display it means entry sequence was incorrect. Please read the manual and try again." My kids have validated that information time and again. One of my kids found the all three button LCD test on their own and thought they bricked their watch. They were super happy to learn that was a feature and the F-91W was still operational.
Recently one of my kids hit the walk while running around a corner in a over zealous game of tag. They somehow managed to stretch the buckle on spring bar so it was an extra 1/8 of an inch wide, yet it was still holding everything together. A quick wiggle and squeeze and it all popped back into place. If you need a watch that is tough enough and accurate enough for military use, and strong enough to handle just about everything kids can throw at it, then the F-91W is a great choice. It is also the foundation of a affordable watch collection. Something you can set all the rest to. A modern classic with loads of style. I bet you have one already but if you don't, treat yourself!
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