Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Weekender Garrison Field Watch

Wow! This is a nice looking watch.. Just the right size for my smallish wrist. It's the same size as my dress watch, but much easier to read. The band is great, but my wrist size seems to be, right between the hole adjustments. Too tight or too sloppy. Only took me a few minutes to install one of my favorite 18mm SS bands. It's got a fine adjustment fit that feels real good on my wrist. I own a few other 18mm bands that I might try later on. I was a tad disappointed the second hand didn't line up perfectly with the marks, but after watching it go around twice, I got over it. The Lum is great. I was able to read the time (in total darkness) without my glasses. This is was not possible with any of my other watches. Even with my farsightedness, I can see the secondhand (in normal lighting conditions), well enough to take my pulse. With my glasses on, this watch looks like a work of art. I will be checking the time against nist.gov and will edit in the timekeeping results later. Hope I got a good one! Edit 2/11/2012 I found the RTC in the PC (after sync) is not 100% accurate, (varies a couple secs) so I've been using the clock in a GPS unit as my master reference. The GPS and the Fios cable box run exactly 3 seconds apart. (I'm sure the GPS is more correct). I've been watching the cable box roll over on the minute, right when my second hand moves past 12 o'clock mark. I'm not sure if this is normal for this type of watch, but after a couple of days, I figured there would be at least a second or two of error. So far, I'm not seeing any error at all. I'll post again, when I see the error. (There must be some error)! Edit 2/13/2012 The 3 second gap was stable, so I synced the watch to a GPS. Will try to upload a short video of how close I got it. This watch has still not shown any noticeable time error. Edit 2/27/2012 It's been two weeks since I posted the video. The Citizen is 1 to 1.5 seconds slow now. Right now it looks like it's going to slow, by 3 or 4 seconds a month. I'll re-synchronize to the GPS during the Daylight Savings change on Sunday, March 11 (Spring Forward). If the rate of error changes after that, I'll post again. Edit 3/25/2013 The watch is so accurate, I've stopped trying to follow the error. When the calender change occurs, I just have to tweak it a few seconds. It still looks great and I've only got one small scratch on the crystal. I have not worn my Casio Databank watch since getting this Eco-Drive. Update 8/16/2017 I wear this watch everyday, all day. The only time I take it off is when I'm sleeping or in the shower.. The crystal is still looking good. Not much wear at all. I really like not having to worry about the battery.. That's why I got my wife a 'similar' smaller version of this watch.. The calendar is small, she doesn't use it. So it only needs to be adjusted twice a year for DST.. Cheers, Rich

I completely do NOT understand the nay-sayers and their nagging critiques of this Citizen Eco-Drive. "The band is too tight (or too short.)" "The sweep second hand doesn't hit the marks within an atom's width." "The flat crystal is too easily scratched." "The luminosity isn't a neon sign like Indiglo!" "It's too ugly to wear in the Boardroom." "Why can't I set the day/date anytime I want?" "The dial face is so small it makes me look gay." I own a Hamilton Moon Watch, a Tudor Chronograph, and a Rolex Explorer II GMT. I bought the Rolex as a reward for myself in 1992 when I made Chief in the seagoing service and was still taking position star sights with a sextant. It has been my "daily driver" every day since ... except every three-to-four years when accuracy becomes erratic and I have to send it away to Rolex Dallas for a month for $750 service oiling, upkeep, and rehab maintenance. Now in the drawer waiting until I have funny funds for yet another service. Once I received this Eco-Drive with two-day Amazon+ free delivery I put it on my wrist in direct sunlight for a few hours, set the time, and away we went. Set the day and date within seconds once I was outside the 9PM - 4AM window specified by the manual. Never take it off now. For a watch in this price range you can't engineer a set of switching gears for day/date change that can also handle an owner messing around with the settings by pulling out the crown at the same time. So wait until morning to do it. What's the big deal? The luminous hands glow brightest just after you turn out the lights, which is perfect because at that time your eyes are still burnt out from staring at the LCD screen all night surfing Amazon reviews. When I wake up at 3:23:19 AM and my eyes have dark adapted again I can still see the hands including the sweep second hand. The Citizen canvas band is stiff until you wear it enough to break it in to the shape of your very own wrist, and then it sits very well when you wear it in Real Life® rolling your ulna and radius reaching for another beer. Just try to find the right-size jeweler's screwdriver to remove links from the Rolex diver's band to fit your wrist! (Even the damn band is multi-hundred$) I am not NFL lineman big, but 6'1" @ 200 lbs. and nobody has made whimpering noises at me for wearing this watch. This is the kind of tough, no-nonsense, utilitarian looking time utensil that Abercrombie & Fitch made back in the day when Hemingway was finding leopards on Kilimanjaro or pulling in bluefin off the Finca before they sold out and began outfitting punkers and 1%ers on Wall Street. The Explorer II crystal hangs out enough MMs from the stainless case that it had a noticeable chip out of it before a year was out and I learned how it catches every steel rail or rock outcrop in sight. The 24-hour bezel paint flakes off EVERY YEAR wearing it in salt water or just your shower. The Citizen fits close, feels light, and catches nothing. I am not sure of the press-fit crown and WR 100 meter rating, this is not an Oyster case and screw-down crown, but this is also not a $5,000 timepiece. I have not been swimming or diving with the Citizen. The quality of the rest of the watch is enough to give me confidence it will perform as advertised, and if it should not, I can buy another <$100. This budget watch is thousands of miles and light years and many dollars ahead of any of its' true competition. I don't want a rubberbound button-filled busy ultramarathon Ironman digital display gizmo. I want a tough good-looking analogue watch that keeps excellent time, and I believe the promise that the Eco-Drive will keep it going, and going, and going ... while the rest of the stable appreciate in value on their way to or back from service. I want a watch to tell me precise time, and maybe the day and date while it is at it. Not jewelry. Seriously, buy this watch.

I was looking for a basic black watch. One that didn't have useless design elements like a rotating bezel with compass headings. One that was sized more like mens' watches were before this fad of oversized watches took over. One that didn't have a busy dial with all kinds of extra sub-dials. One that was easy for my old eyes to read. You know. One that just kept good time. This Citizen watch met those basic requirements quite well. As others have noted, the buckle band that comes on it can't possibly be intended for a grown man. My wrists are not particularly large and I could only wear that band on next to closest to the end hole. And that was snug. The holes - those had shiny silver eyelets and so many of them that they went almost all the way to the watch itself. Tightened up that much a toddler couldn't have worn it. Those eyelets made this watch look like it could only appeal to an anorexic Goth girl. Not being an anorexic Goth girl I quickly replaced that band with a black quick release stainless steel band so this old man wouldn't be embarrassed to wear the watch in public. I only knocked one star off for that terrible band because it seems like almost all new watches skimp on their stock bands. I added a high intensity LED light designed specifically for fully charging solar watches, charged this Eco-drive up, set it and 3 days later (admittedly not very long) it is still accurate to the second with my time service synced pc clock. I love the way the date and time are set separately by having 2 pull-out positions on the stem. It's much faster than the single setting position of most date/time watches. As a basic affordable Eco-drive watch I'd buy it again. If it lasts as long as these watches are supposed to then I won't ever have to.

This is my 7th Citizen watch; it's the 6th one that I own with the Eco-Drive technology which is what has been keeping me coming back to Citizen. Mind you, I just got this watch, so I'm still in the honeymoon phase and my rating might change. However, my expectation is that it will keep just about perfect time, as do all of my Citizen watches. The first thing that I notice is that it does feel a little bit small - not too small mind you, but I do own some other watches that are bigger and so this one feels like it's down a size. If you are looking for a watch that feels 'BIG', this is not the watch for you. However, being a bit more compact, I'm also pretty certain that I won't be bumping it on every door jam that I pass, like I do with the bigger ones. I'm hoping that I can keep the crystal scratch-free because this one is not a sapphire crystal, and it's one reason why I almost didn't buy it. I've read some reviews where folks complain that the second hand on their watch doesn't line up *just so* with the markers on the watch - this watch seems to hit all of the markers about as close to perfect as one could reasonably expect from a watch at this price point. In fact better than some other watches I own at much higher price points. I do not think that this should not be one of your concerns if you are considering this watch. Why did I buy it, you might ask? It's just a classic looking watch, with the time, the day and the date. A watch that is super easy to read with numerals at every position except 12. What more do you need? With the advent of smartphones, I don't need a stopwatch, or a timer, or mutli-time zones, I just need a watch that I KNOW won't have the battery die when I'm on a trip. Or one that if I forget to pick up from the desk in my hotel won't be dead when I get back because the power reserve is now gone. I'm also a fan of watches that are rated at 100M for water resistance; I don't dive or scuba, however I don't want to be afraid of getting my watch wet, washing my hands, or jumping into a pool (or the ocean). This watch will do all of this, and probably flawlessly, if my other Citizen's are good benchmarks. If I have any reservations about the watch right now, it's the band. It seems durable and comfortable enough, I'm just not sure that I'm going to like it long-term. That's OK, I'll put a NATO band on it if I want to in the future. For now, I'm just getting the band broken-in and so far, so good. If you a fan of Citizen watches, and this one appeals to you and your taste, or as a gift for a special someone in your life, you could do much much worse that this watch I think. It's a good looking piece that seems to be built well and should last for years and years.

A year or two ago I bought a watch from Amazon when it was on sale for 1/2 price. It was a dandy watch, worked perfect, but it was *huge*, and pretty heavy. It was also pretty flashy, and I'm not. So I wound up only wearing it for "dressy" times, e.g., like church. Finally, the battery died, and I decided I didn't like the watch well enough to go to the expense of buying a new battery and the hassle of putting it in. So I decided I would buy a new watch that (1) wasn't as big, heavy, and flashy as this one, and (2) didn't have a battery - I hate messing with batteries. So I started researching watches, and when the next Amazon watch sale came along, I found a lovely *automatic* (we called it "self-winding" in the "old days") Seiko in the "military-inspired" minimalist style was that I was looking for. I *almost* bought it, but the rating was a flat 4.0/5, and there were enough negative reviews about stopping working and other problems that it gave me pause. In addition, I doubted that a self-winding watch would work reliably for someone like me who doesn't wear a watch all the time. So I did some more research, and discovered that there was a 3rd class of watches - solar-powered!! And the "solar" supposedly means any kind of light. I found this Citizen watch that looked almost exactly like the Seiko that I liked and almost bought. It was about 85 bucks, which seemed reasonable, esp. for a watch that didn't require me to buy a battery or even to walk around...lol I've had this watch for about 32 days now. I love the look, and it is keeping perfect time. I still only wear it when I go out (i.e., not around the house), and I've been leaving it in the kitchen where there is usually natural light during the day, plus bright artificial light on and off. So far it has worked fine. I did have to charge it under bright light for something like 12-15 hours initially, so I just left the kitchen light on overnight. I suppose some would say that cost me maybe a quarter, but I can live with that. The strap is of decent quality, albeit a bit stiff (I'm sure that would have loosened up with wear), but I just didn't like having to futz with securing the strap ever time I put it on (yes, I'm old and set in my ways). This was solved by one of the major life lessons I got from my dad. Along with teaching me how to determine the model year for 50s and 60s Fords and Chevys (back when they *didn't* all look alike, and when unveiling the new model Chevy was an actual event in my small town), and warning me to "never buy a used car, you're just buying somebody else's problems", my dad introduced me to the Spiedel Twist-O-Flex watch band. When he bought me my first watch when I was around 12, the first thing we did was take off the band that came with it and replace it with a brand-new Twist-O-Flex (yes, we had to take out several links to get it to fit my thin young wrist). Heck, I didn't even know you could take the band off a watch, much less change its size !!! This watch has an 18mm aperture (or w/e you call it where the band attaches), and an 18mm Twist-O-Flex fits it perfectly. The only negative would be the dearth of documentation. Other than a little folder with a few lines in about 30 languages, I was referred to a web site for info on charging and setting, etc. This is standard in the 21st century, but it still chaps me a bit. I won't apologize for the length of this review. This is the kind of review I like to find when I am considering buying an item, so this is just "do unto others" for me. Keep it up, Jeff B., you are doing a great job !!! P.S. I added a couple of pics with the new band, mainly to practice with my new Kindle Fire...:)

I ordered this watch from Amazon and it arrived before the estimated delivery date. I love the watch, and it looks much better in person than in pictures on the web. Quality is very good and the hands line up perfectly. The luminova is evenly applied and lasts longer, actually all the way through the night, which I didn't think would be the case. The only feature I don't like is the canvas band, which I found uncomfortable. I'm sure it's fine for others, but still a black leather band for less than (...)(any jewelry store or online store) compliments the watch very well, and it no longer looks like a 'weekend watch'. One small point about the Eco-drive that some other reviews I've read overlooked: Citizen Eco-drive models DO have a battery. The solar cell stores energy in a rechargeable mangenese-titanium battery. The battery should last a very long time according to Citizen engineers who project that even after 20 years the battery should retain 80% of recharge capacity (on their website), but only time will tell... no pun intended. Speaking of time, the watch is pretty accurate. I've had the watch for one month and during that time it has lost less than one second when compared to the US national time ([...] In sum: this is a very well constructed watch that I feel is worth the money. 10 Year UPDATE: Just realized that I missed the 10 year mark several months ago. At 10 years the watch still works perfectly. The solar cell is maintaining the state of charge on the rechargeable manganese titanium lithium battery. I haven’t been wearing the watch much the past year, so I put it on my dresser where it gets about 10 minutes of sunlight through the window each morning. I haven't yet seen the low charge indicator (the second hand jumps in 2 second increments to indicate low state of charge). At that point the battery is supposed to have enough capacity to run the watch for only 4 days, which I think represents a 2% state of charge - based on full charge running the watch for 6 months - just a guess. Note: the low charge indicator just means that you need to put the watch under a lamp or in sunlight to recharge. After 10 years, the conclusion is that this watch and its solar charging mechanism is durable and very well constructed. In the attached photo you can see my 10 year old watch getting it's daily dose of morning sunshine. UPDATE: After 11.5 years, still going strong. And for those who are interested, the solar cell stores energy in a rechargeable battery, not a capacitor. Visit Citizen's website for more details on the Eco-Drive.

This is my everyday watch. I like the eco-drive. Just let it get a little sun every once in a while and you never have to worry about winding or batteries. This is a smaller watch but for a field watch I want small and light weight. Like many have said the band is the downfall of this watch. Some might like it but I don’t. Stiff and uncomfortable. The metal around the strap holes is a cool idea and look nice but make the band hard to adjust. It’s either too loose or too tight. This wasn’t a big deal for me because I intended on putting a leather strap on the watch. Overall a really good watch and easy to read. Perfect for everyday and being out in the wilderness.

I ordered thinking this watxh would be a step up better suited to for my job Its a good looking watch and its size, colors & strap design checked all the boxes. The first time I put it on I knew it was going back. The rivet holes in the strap forced it to fit either too tight or too loose. Both we're uncomfortable and it isn't likely to stretch enough for it to fit how I like my watches to sit. Additionally the watch doesn't feel like watch similarly priced watchs should in my opinion. Where the strap meets the case it has large gaps making it look cheap feel flimsy and unlikely to hold up to day-to-day bumps

Não sou de avaliar, mas essa peça mereceu. Relógio lindo, pequeno, robusto, ótimo acabamento e qualidade construtiva. Comprei receoso, pois os design Citizen não me impressionavam. Tive uma ótima surpresa, pois o relógio é lindo e de muita qualidade. Nota máxima.

Its a perfect daily beater, great legibility, solar powered, and it goes well with many different straps!!

Amazing watch for price. Does everything I ask of it.

I don't usually think too much about my purchases - if I like something I need and can afford it, I get it. I don't like how smart watches quantify every aspect of one's existence, and I only started wearing a watch after I inherited an old Eco-Drive from my father a few years ago. Unfortunately, it became erratic after some seawater damage, even though I got the water damage repaired by an authorized Citizen service center. I found I really missed the watch while it was with them, so I needed a new one. Looking for a replacement took me deep down the online horology rabbit-hole and I ended up buying a bargain vintage mechanical winding watch for special occasions, and this as my zero-maintenance everyday one. This watch somehow feels a lot better on the wrist than in it looks in pictures. I was very worried about how awkwardly the crown-guards seem to stick out of the case, but it looks perfectly natural when it's worn. The strap it comes with is, as many other reviewers have said, absolute garbage. I ordered a replacement at the same time as the watch because I knew I didn't want it. But even if you like the military aesthetic of the green canvas, it's terribly uncomfortable with the widely spaced holes making it virtually impossible to adjust to the right size. I tried my best to like it because I felt bad about how much I despised it, but I just couldn't. What I love about the watch is how easy it is to read. Even the day and date window needs no more than a glance from my 40 year old screen-damaged eyes. The watch is very light, and with a comfortable strap, I can barely feel it on me. It's arguably a little thick for a quartz watch of it's diameter, but the light weight sort of makes up for it. Speaking of the case diameter, I wouldn't recommend it for wrists larger than my 165 millimeters (6.5 inches) unless you're actively seeking the vintage pilot watch look. But if you are doing that, then you probably want a watch that's more authentic to the genre. I hope this helps your decision.

Received the item original as advertised though the box/packaging looks old and a little beat up