Timex Expedition WS4

An Easter Sunday tradition on a nearby island is to watch the sun rise from the highest point on the island, and hope to see the sun dance. So I decided today should be one of my hiking watches.

The chosen watch is by the Timex watch brand, and part of their Expedition line of watches.

It has probably the most comprehensive LCD display of any of my watches, having a dot matrix area (for time and mode description), two areas for numbers (both of which are also set-up to do letters), an LCD dial display, and a part with pictures of weather conditions.

The weather conditions icons are from the barometer part of the watch, as the changes in pressure can be used to predict the weather, and this is shown on the watch. Below the icons usually lies the temperature of the watch - but as with most watch thermometers, it's badly affected by body temperature. The pressure sensor is also used for the altimeter, and the watch can show graphs of a walk, store data on a journey, have alarms at a set altitude, or just your altitude on the display.

The last hiking function is the compass, which I think is gyroscope based rather than magnetic (as you have to calibrate north). On this mode, the LCD dial points as a compass, and it also shows heading in text and degrees. The LCD dial usually shows the time, but the number of LCD segments can only show changes of two minutes.

There are still even more functions in the watch. It also has a chronograph, timer, dual time, and alarm!

The model number is WS4, and on the back there are two numbers - M810, and the serial number. I guess the WS stands for Wide Screen, as the watch is known for it's widescreen dashboard display.

It is a well sealed watch (50m water resistant), but has a battery hatch on the back. It takes a CR2430 battery, and is the first watch I've come across with that big battery - 24mm by 3mm deep.
The model originally came out in 2009, but is still available today at a cost of around $120-150 (although it seems that this colour is no longer available). The instruction manual pdf can be found at the Timex website.