Luggage/grad gift for plebes-to-be

techman89 said:
Any advice is appreciated.
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While I am also an incoming plebe, I have a few friends at the Academy. Something they all recommend (they are runners and general fitness obsessed people as most mids are or become it seems) are some sort of activity tracking watch. They tell me that they all use either an apple watch or a Garmin for that purpose as well as just having the benefits of a smart watch. I personally wear a Garmin Vivoactive 3 (when I'm not wearing a Seiko or something more classy) and it is a good day-to-day watch. Rugged enough to take a beating in hard workouts and versatile. For me, it has just enough of a smartwatch (notifications, calendar, music controls, weather, etc) as well as looking professional that its my daily driver.
 
Skipper07 said:
Bob and Judy are some of the nicest people I've met. My "overpriced" comment wasn't meant to be rude. Everything is overpriced in DTA :)

Now I want a roast beef sandwich.
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I want the one on the crusty Italian roll from Baltimore’s Little Italy, with melted Brie, Granny Smith apple slices and turkey. I think it’s The Annapolitan.
 
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techman89 said:
Regarding watches:
My plebe DD reports July 1.
I'm a 'watch guy', and have an extensive collection of all manner of watches, from analog and digital, mechanical and quartz, dress and sport, cheap to $$$. I'm pretty knowledgeable in horology.
DD has several watches I've given her, including dress watches she wears to recitals, church, formal events; digital (g-shock), and an Apple watch. She now wears the Apple watch most of the time.
Would getting any watch be worth it other than what she has already (Apple watch, G-shock)? I'd get her whatever would benefit her the most if it's different from what she has now. What about the Luminox (analog) line of watches?

As a final note; her older sister is a firstie at USAFA. When she entered USAFA, we got her a g-shock, but she never really ended up wearing it. Its her Apple watch most of the time. Just wondering if her plebe younger sister will end up doing the same...

Any advice is appreciated.
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Let your Plebe/mid tell you what she wants to have with her as she works her way through PS, Plebe Year and her upperclass years.

Much will depend on what she decides to get involved in. If she joins the Tri Club, it might be a specialty watch for that sport. Later on, her warfare specialty will exert the same influences. On deployment, she might take the most durable and leave everything else locked up at home. The military can be a very industrial environment. Watch types and brands also go in and out of fashion.

Of course, at graduation, you can get her the USNA Tag Heuer, with diamonds, with initials and class year on the back. 😉😉😉


The Tag Heuer USNA line is available through the USNA Alumni Assn.

www.mlahart.com

M.LaHart & Co. – Gifts of Distinction for America's Great Universities

M.LaHart specializes in University-Branded TAG Heuer and Movado watches, sterling silver cufflinks and charms, fine crystal, and memorable gifts for Alumni, Students, and Fans. Since 1996, M.LaHart & Company has been committed to offering students, graduates, alumni and their families with the...
www.mlahart.com www.mlahart.com
Search for Naval Academy.


50717002-5403-416F-8C62-72C506B8B634.jpeg
 
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Capt MJ: That's great advice. We'll see where her interests take her, and what impact that has on the best wristwatch for her needs. And, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to pick up that TAG for her in 4 years! :)

THParent: LOL
 
I know it’s old school, but I personally don’t trust apps that have access to my bank accounts. So our Mid has his own authorized user card on our Southwest Visa, to be used with permission of course. That’s a safe, protected option as well. And bonus: helps with earning points for free tickets!!
 
As a final note; her older sister is a firstie at USAFA. When she entered USAFA, we got her a g-shock, but she never really ended up wearing it. Its her Apple watch most of the time. Just wondering if her plebe younger sister will end up doing the same...

Any advice is appreciated.
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We have offered my 2C a G-Shock each year since entering the Academy. He has always declined & resorted to his Apple watch as his go to. Since she has both the G-Shock & Apple, she is probably covered and she can switch back and forth pending the event she is participating. Apple for regular daily activities in the classroom seems to be the norm.
 
Capt MJ said:
Let your Plebe/mid tell you what she wants to have with her as she works her way through PS, Plebe Year and her upperclass years.

Much will depend on what she decides to get involved in. If she joins the Tri Club, it might be a specialty watch for that sport. Later on, her warfare specialty will exert the same influences. On deployment, she might take the most durable and leave everything else locked up at home. The military can be a very industrial environment. Watch types and brands also go in and out of fashion.

Of course, at graduation, you can get her the USNA Tag Heuer, with diamonds, with initials and class year on the back. 😉😉😉


The Tag Heuer USNA line is available through the USNA Alumni Assn.

www.mlahart.com

M.LaHart & Co. – Gifts of Distinction for America's Great Universities

M.LaHart specializes in University-Branded TAG Heuer and Movado watches, sterling silver cufflinks and charms, fine crystal, and memorable gifts for Alumni, Students, and Fans. Since 1996, M.LaHart & Company has been committed to offering students, graduates, alumni and their families with the...
www.mlahart.com www.mlahart.com
Search for Naval Academy.


View attachment 5790
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love this watch!!! have to remember this!!!
 
Son was not Academy but is USNR and Merchant Marine. Hates Analog Watch (he is of the digital generation) and the only luggage he has used for eight years all over the world is a Sea Bag (Duffel Bag), a backpack and cargo shorts. A 2K watch doesn't work well in the engine room. Might even be considered a ring knocker.
 
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DH only wears his “USNA-branded” items like this to Alumni events, certainly never took them on cruise or into operational environments. My original suggestion was somewhat tongue-in-cheek because her admittedly horophile (is that a word?) dad had already gifted her with quite a collection of watches. She’ll know what to ask for if she needs anything in that department.

I wouldn’t want a $2.5k been-there watch in an engine room either! Watches/time-keepers/smart watches, what kind, how many, when worn, are very individual to the person and their own preferences. It’s always interesting to discuss.
 
An Apple watch was a hit for my DS. It proved to be quite useful for crew training and workouts and just about anything else his iPhone can do, without the phone.
 
I’m a fan of Tag Heuer — nice, classy, old-school watches that still work in today’s casual world. Was glad to see those USNA watches are quartz and not automatic. Otherwise, if they sat too long between wearings, would require constant resetting and winding. Not to mention the inherent inaccuracy of autos.

Still, a nice possible graduation gift. Maybe not for everyday wear or on deployment, but a nice memento courtesy of mom and dad. Nothing wrong with that.
 
For those in the know, accurate timekeeping is critical to celestial navigation (an art that is rarely used operationally, but P3 Nav's had to keep current and take celestial fixes on a regular basis). The P3 original had a very expensive and difficult to repair analog clock for that purpose, but the Navy realized that the same accuracy could be achieved by issuing all Nav students a very cheap digital watch. (The digital watches were fairly new in the early 80's). My $5 issue watch was just fine for my entire squadron tour. I agree with CAPT MJ ...keep the good ones for dress ashore.

THParent said:
100 points awarded for the use of horology in a sentence on the SAF.
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Gotta admit, I had to look the term up ... I thought it had something to do with WestPac cruises.:oops:
 
Old Navy BGO said:
For those in the know, accurate timekeeping is critical to celestial navigation (an art that is rarely used operationally, but P3 Nav's had to keep current and take celestial fixes on a regular basis). The P3 original had a very expensive and difficult to repair analog clock for that purpose, but the Navy realized that the same accuracy could be achieved by issuing all Nav students a very cheap digital watch. (The digital watches were fairly new in the early 80's). My $5 issue watch was just fine for my entire squadron tour. I agree with CAPT MJ ...keep the good ones for dress ashore.


Gotta admit, I had to look the term up ... I thought it had something to do with WestPac cruises.:oops:
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when I was serving as Nav, my cheap digital was far better than the chronometers that my people were required to keep wound and compared. Thus I used my cheap digital for celestial until we got the first transit SATNAV unit which was not always accurate position wise but the system time was accurate to a MUCH more exact level then anything else we had access to. At that point, I would set my digital by the SATNAV time every week or two and kept using the digital for celestial.
 
Back in the day, my pilot friends loved the ROLEX Perpetual (gold) time piece but weren’t that in enamored with the price ($$$$). It actually looked nice with a flight suit and many wore it in uniform. They looked cool shooting their RELOX (I was on his six!) while “hand talking” through their maneuvers in the debrief. Sailors in the know can tell a real ROLEX from the knock off “RELOX” that is easily found in Thailand and other ports in Asia. This is good port visit knowledge to have. I never wore a RELOX. I was a CASIO guy and in the Akihabara electronics district in Tokyo one could buy three or four digital watches and still get some sushi afterwards. Can you tell the difference from a real ROLEX from a RELOX (aside from the obvious misspelling)?
 
WT Door said:
Back in the day, my pilot friends loved the ROLEX Perpetual (gold) time piece but weren’t that in enamored with the price ($$$$). It actually looked nice with a flight suit and many wore it in uniform. They looked cool shooting their RELOX (I was on his six!) while “hand talking” through their maneuvers in the debrief. Sailors in the know can tell a real ROLEX from the knock off “RELOX” that is easily found in Thailand and other ports in Asia. This is good port visit knowledge to have. I never wore a RELOX. I was a CASIO guy and in the Akihabara electronics district in Tokyo one could buy three or four digital watches and still get some sushi afterwards. Can you tell the difference from a real ROLEX from a RELOX (aside from the obvious misspelling)?
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Good story. DH and I bought matching fake Rolexes as a joke during a port call in Hong Kong I joined him at. About 5 months later, they both died at exactly the same time.

The Breitlings seem to go in and out of favor with aviators, but they are more for social wear, I think.

The fake Rolexes are usually much lighter, have no ticking sound, and the winder is fancier-looking, but as I recall, the giveaway was usually the tiny bit of magnifying lens right over the date window, that is too expensive to duplicate.
 
WT Door said:
Back in the day, my pilot friends loved the ROLEX Perpetual (gold) time
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Capt MJ said:
The Breitlings seem to go in and out of favor with aviators
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I do recall one of my Companymates, who was a Navy Diver, commenting about how the standing joke at Panama City (Niavy Dive School back then) was the divers could always count on some nice, big watch when salvaging aircraft .
(Yes, somewhat morbid humor, but that was pretty commonplace then).
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Capt MJ said:
Good story. DH and I bought matching fake Rolexes as a joke during a port call in Hong Kong I joined him at. About 5 months later, they both died at exactly the same time.

The Breitlings seem to go in and out of favor with aviators, but they are more for social wear, I think.

The fake Rolexes are usually much lighter, have no ticking sound, and the winder is fancier-looking, but as I recall, the giveaway was usually the tiny bit of magnifying lens right over the date window, that is too expensive to duplicate.
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My sons and I used to like getting "Fauxlexes" and Faux Breitlings on Canal St in NYC and I still have one of the Breitlings somewhere. The really cheap fakes don't have functions other than a basic movement but the next level up had stopwatches, etc.

The son who is a submariner liked my SWO watch and I had to get him a Submariner version.

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