The Green Canvas Bulova 96A102 – $81.14
and Black Canvas 98A102 – $106.25
You can get far on a good reputation. For men’s style, nowhere is that more clear than with J. Crew’s marketing & selling of Timex Watches. They look great and many swear by them despite the price, but reasonable alternatives exist for a fraction of the cost. For more, see our archive of similar looking watches that cost a whole lot less.
If it’s the vintage look of the J. Crew Timex that appeals to you, then the dial and hands on these Bulova canvas strap watches might be just as good if not better for half the cost.
They don’t come out of the box with a NATO strap, but the canvas bands have that same casual/tough look and feel, and they can be removed by anyone with a spring bar tool
*NOTE: if you are going to do this yourself, do it right. That means with a real spring bar tool, fully sober, and inside. Not with a razor blade, two beers in, and outside facing the back yard. It’s not worth slipping and launching the spring bar into the grass. Trust me on this one.
The diameter is 40mm and looks a little smaller. With of the band is 20mm so the J Crew straps should work on these. It does have an acrylic crystal, which is as cheap as it gets, and a disappointment for a watch that looks this good. But being that it was stuck at $150 full retail at Macy’s forever, and can now be had for almost half that on Amazon*, it’s hard to complain.
*Just the green
On the springbar tool:
I bought a $10 tool off Amazon. Too chunky and imprecise. I’ve since abandoned that tool and adopted the Xacto as my preferred method. YMMV.
This article just MADE my day! (and it’s my birthday no less!) I did this EXACT thing about 3 years ago. Bought the original Bulova Limited Edition HACK watch and immediately replaced the band with a dark red Zulu watchband.
Joe, or anyone, have you had any bad experiences with the NATO and spring bar?
I have a J Crew “NATO” on my Rolex, and it seems to always compress the spring bar and pop it out. At times it would only do one side, leaving the spring bar hanging in the strap and the watch flapping around, but once both sides failed at the same time and the watch fell to the ground.
This happened while driving somehow. Realized when I got out of the car and I was wearing a nato with NO WATCH. Then it fell out of my sleeve to the cement.
Nope, can’t say I’ve had that issue. Must be uh, your Rolex 🙂
Nope, can’t say I’ve had that issue. Must be uh, your Rolex 🙂
Joe, are you considering posting the LL Bean Vintage and Regular Field watches?
I’d say those two are at an affordable price (the Tritium one is a step up though), and pretty much fits the profile of an affordable, swiss-made, quartz military watch.
Joe, are you considering posting the LL Bean Vintage and Regular Field watches?
I’d say those two are at an affordable price (the Tritium one is a step up though), and pretty much fits the profile of an affordable, swiss-made, quartz military watch.
Remember to wear the correctly-sized strap. If it is too narrow, it may cause uneven wear on the springbar, causing them to bend or break. If you have an odd lug width, it’s better to go too wide than too narrow (ie, a 22mm strap on 21mm lugs). Also, check to make sure that you have springbars that are the correct diameter. If they have wiggle room in the lug holes, they are probably too narrow. They should sit firmly in the lug holes without any wiggle or give.
If I were you, though, I wouldn’t use a cheap nylon strap on an expensive watch. Better to stick with high-quality stainless, leather, or rubber.
Joe, I understand that watches are neat (I do like them too), but perhaps you’ve overdone it on the watch articles over the last few days. I read you every day, and honestly have been skipping 1/3 of the articles–mainly because at a cursory glance it seems very much like “been there, read that”. Only a slight critique/observation, I still love the blog.
This is part of a week-long series on affordable alternatives to the J. Crew Military/Field watches.
Thanks Andrew.
It’s impressive to me how many people “read every day” but still haven’t caught on that this is a week long segment.
Another great watch to consider in the same vein as the others is this:
http://www.amazon.com/Citizen-AT0200-05E-Eco-Drive-Chronograph-Canvas/dp/B000EQR6H0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1313034316&sr=8-3
It’s an Eco-Drive so there’s no need for a battery. Military inspired. Relatively cheap. I got mine for closer to $100 with a little searching. Lots of compliments on it as well.
Oops! My fault. Haha, must have missed the annoucnement.
Fair, but no need to sound snobby or condescending. There isn’t an announcement at the beginning of each that let the reader know that this is a week-long series (as Joe has done for other such weeklong events,e.g. Build a new wardrobe. As a result, it isn’t evident that these posts that are offering alternatives to the J. Crew MIlitary/Field watches were structured in the fashion that they indeed are.
Regardless, I’m entitled to my opinion, haha, and don’t really like the hostile environment that you sort of created. I much prefer how Andrew let me know, thanks.
I’ve added “week long series” into the headline field instead of limiting it to the preview text. Let’s all move on.