Gear Patrol

The seventh installment of our Staff Favorites series features Mr. Scott Packard. Scott is thoroughly defined by his 20 years of service as a Marine Corps infantry officer; you’ll see this clearly throughout his staff picks. But to imagine that this is his sole character trait is entirely foolish. He’s an excellent writer, enrapturing GP’s audience with Defense Journals and other articles packed full of ethos and well-studied logic. Scott’s also an active athlete (his favorite pastimes include bicycling, surfing, skiing and even, recently, motocross); a craft beer enthusiast who frequents many of the great tap rooms in his home of San Diego with his wife, who he says enjoys beer even more than he; a passionate cook; and a father and husband. He is, in short, the Most Interesting Man in the World’s older, wiser brother. We’re proud to have this experienced character on our staff. He’s proud of some awesome gear.

The primary goal in the manufacture of any watch is precision; there is scarcely a watchmaker, from Patek Philippe to Citizen, that would argue that fact. After all, the whole raison d’être of a watch is to tell the time — if it does that poorly, you might as well be wearing a charm bracelet….

Seiko watches have a long and impressive history: the company produced their first watches in 1924 and have continuously produced wrist watches till this day. While often exempt from the conversation about fine timepieces that is typically reserved for German and Swiss pedigrees, Seiko takes quality very seriously. While they now produce some parts overseas…

This article is Volume 2 in our special Icons series for Timekeeping, written by our guru Jason Heaton. In case you missed it, be sure to catch our first Icons article, Volume 1: Super Compressor Dive Watch. 1970 was a year of great ups and downs for the mechanical chronograph. The vaunted Omega Speedmaster helped…

The follow-up to our last Timekeeping feature (The Dive Watch, Deconstructed), Jason Heaton delves into the hallowed world of the Chronograph. There is no other type of watch that requires as much interaction from its wearer as the chronograph. Even at rest a chronograph dutifully waits, its sweep hand standing still, alert and vertical, inviting…

When it comes to Seiko, most of us have fond memories of the quartz watches we wore back in our high school — long before moving onto more expensive and complicated timepieces. Before making such a jump, we often start at more modest beginnings and as evident by their inclusion in our guide, Seiko is…

Editor’s Note: We’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about our EDC (everyday carry for the uninitiated); in large part because of one of our favorite Tumblers, EDC. If you’ve never been, head there if you want to kill an hour or two. While we already have our daily rigs sorted out reasonably well…

We feature a lot of watches and admittedly many of them cost a sizable amount. That isn’t about to change, but there are fine choices out there that don’t require nearly the same investment. Seiko is one of our favorite timepiece manufacturers (this author has two) – and the Sportura World Timer series is one…