There are all sorts of survival shows out there that show a number of skills of how to get away in situations that usually mean almost certain death for other mere mortals. This includes stuff like ‘How To Make A Paracord Bracelet‘, which is a survival type bracelet that some people wear around, just in case they need to tie something up!
But I’ve come across something that does away with the hours of trying to making one from scratch – and that’s just to have a paracord bracelet included in your watch band! Anyway, Alexander from Webbem Watches asked me recently if I was interested in road testing one of his paracord band watches which are meant to cop a hiding from travellers/adventure junkies who like the rugged side of travel.
I thought why not? I do enjoy risking my life doing travel insurance testing activities from time to time!
Anyway, if you’re part of generation Google and you have the attention span of a gold fish and just couldn’t be bothered reading this entire silly article, here is my dot point summary of what I like about the Webbem Traveler Watch:
- It’s built like the proverbial brick s*%^house/outhouse (this is Australian slang for ‘tough’) because of it’s marine grade steel (316L) and sapphire glass construction. It looks and feels like this watch could cop a bashing for years!
- It actually looks good thanks to the classic styling!
- Simplicity – nothing wanky or over-complicated about it. You’ve got other devices to help you out with that!
- The watch with paracord strap is actually quite comfortable to wear, especially in hot climates (where I’m from) – and there is 24 metres of it if you really need to use it in a survival situation, like constructing a shelter, or maybe a raft, or possibly tying up some bad guy.
- The U bolt connection on the band means someone would have to saw your wrist off to steal the watch off you. It doesn’t look like it’s going to fall off your wrist any time soon.
- Value for money based on what you get for your dollar (all watches are well below $US200 at the time of writing), such as the use sapphire crystal glass on the watch face. High specs, low price point compared to many other watches on the market.
Anyway, here is the slighty longer blurb about the watch.
Webbem Watches – Why lean how to make a paracord bracelet when Webbem has already made one for you?
Anyway, this watch is ideal for the outdoors kind of person or adventure traveller. I would wear this if I was going on a long term trek in the wilderness. Funnily enough, if you’re the Bear Grylls type and you feel like testing out your survival skills by showing the world on how to eat something unpalatable to survive, this is just one market of the Webbem watch. Their quote is ‘a watch designed to help you survive, rather than out survive you’. But it would also suit those who live in the urban jungle who want something a little bit different from their watch.
You don’t want an over-engineered watch that will happily continue ticking if you’re run over and killed by a tank! A working watch is no good to you if you’re dead! The aim of this watch is to help you out in one of those survival situations, for example, when Tom Hanks was the only person to survive a plane crash only to be marooned on a remote island for a few years.
The paracord straps can be unraveled to give up to 80 feet (24 metres) of usable cord, which is a great feature and not available on most watches.
So in a survival situation, what can you use the paracord band for?
- Tie stuff down or together. Or maybe tie someone up if you’re that way inclined
- Build a rudimentary shelter to protect yourself from the elements
- Use it as a fishing line
- Use it as a rudimentary bow if you are trying to create fire with a couple of sticks
There’s been many a time where I’ve thought to myself ‘I need some rope’, and this is an easy way to solve that problem! I wasn’t game enough to actually unravel the cord in a non-survival situation because I probably wouldn’t kn0w how to put it back together, but I can see how the cord could be applied for a number of sticky situations!
The watch comes in two versions – the Overlander, and the Traveler, both which have classic styling so that it won’t date like the latest crap sounding boy band.
The strap is very comfortable because it lets your skin breathe because it’s woven. No sweaty or sticky feeling! The strap can be rinsed in warm water and air dried to keep it clean and comfortable. You could probably rinse it when you go diving or snorkelling because it’s water resistant to 100 metres.
Humans can’t really survive over 100 metres and you probably won’t dive down anywhere near that far, so I like the all-round capability of the watch. Also, the strap is not going to fall off your wrist unless someone chops your hand off, because the watch strap is held together with a U bolt! Haven’t seen that before in a watch! I can’t see pickpockets having any success in terms of trying to steal this one off you in a crowded market!
And because the watch is constructed using sapphire crystal and 316L stainless steel, it can be given a flogging and still look good. A lot of watches under $USD 300 don’t use these materials. As an added bonus, the case the watch comes in is lightweight and waterproof so you can use this to store other sensitive stuff in it on your travels.
Of course if you are going on a true “expedition” then you need the right equipment, but for most travellers I’ve met on the road, your phone is going to give you what you need for 99.9% of the time in regards to the geek functions! So basically, the Webbem is something that that not only tells the time, but help you survive rather than out survives you when you’re well and truly off the beaten path.
Anyway, some other offbeat uses I’ve thought of could possibly include the following:
- If you’re into making citizen’s arrests, you could tie up some thief or other bad guys until the police arrive
- Try your own paracord rodeo and rope up a running cow in no time!
- Take the watch to a James Bond movie audition and show how it could be used to theoretically immobilise or permanently take out the baddy spies!
- Tell the time when you’re falling and screaming from an extreme bungee swing
- Tie up an insanely big load on your motorbike
- Use it to reinvigorate your love life. Just use your imagination!
Disclaimer: Yes, I was kindly provided this Webbem watch, but all opinions are my own!
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