Emergencies usually occur at any time, usually without even a warning. This gives the great need to increase preparedness by having as much survival gear as possible. One of such gears is a tactical watch.

A single tactical watch can have many practical uses, some of them being specialized functions to aid survival in extreme situations. Different watches will have a combination of different functions, allowing you to choose only those that you are most likely to need. Below are some of the top features commonly found in most tactical watches.

Main features

Accurate time

The primary function of a watch should be to tell time though with current trends, that is slowly becoming one of the least considerations. Nevertheless, a tactical watch should be able to tell the time reliably and accurately. The time can be displayed in many ways such as in analog or digital format, and standards12 hour or military among many other combinations. You are also likely to find a full calendar and a sunset/sunrise indicator on a tactical watch, allowing you to have some sense of how time is lapsing.

Toughness

Tactical watches are built to withstand the elements, rigorous activities, and many other harsh conditions. You might also find some special features on the watch like high impact resistance, parachuting, and diving among many others. The materials used to construct the watch are of high quality with properties such as scratch resistant.

Compass

A compass is another main feature found in almost all tactical watches. The main purpose for this is to allow you to determine direction when you do not know where your desired destination is. It comes in quite handy when you get lost, perhaps during camping or a hiking activity. The type of compass may vary. Low-end tactical watches usually have simple compass points on a rotating ring, which is useful in just giving a general idea of direction.

High-end ones usually have either an actual button compass, which is integrated into the watchband or digital displays. Other tactical watches use GPS readouts to pinpoint your location and give navigation more precisely. Such allow for recording and sharing of location coordinates to facilitate rescue.