I've owned the Timex Ironman 8 lap watch since August 96 and knock on wood, I haven't replaced the battery. Of course, I turn off the hourly "beeps" and don't set alarms on unless necessary to conserve battery life. Of the many watches I've owned, this has to be the best watch. I take pains to ensure that I don't break it by not testing it underwater, showering with it or banging it against things to test its durability. Hey, I'm not a watch tester so why throw your money down the drain to test it?

The main feature that made me buy it was the Indiglo. Being able to clearly "see" the time at night without any lights nearby was quite important to me. The Indiglo, at the time when it first came out, was a great feature to have. Rather than squinting in vain to see the time with those old, awful "backlight" watch, I could easily see the time against a pleasant background "glow" against the LED screen. I was amazed. But then, it was a revolutionary feature for the wrist watch when it first came out.

The watch has many features and being an owner of many watches with flimsy wrist bands, I decided on getting the "platinum" or silver colored one with metallic band. I didn't want to have to deal with the yucky feeling of leather or other materials against my wrist and then have to replace it should it break on me. It doesn't make sense for me to shell out $15 for a wrist strap. And it hasn't disappointed me.

The face of the watch has two lines of digits or letters. On the top left, a two lettered day of the week is displayed (MO, TU, WE, TH, FR, SA, SU), followed by the digit representing the month, and followed by the two digit date. Should the alarm clock be set, there is a symbol looking like sound waves that will show up on the top right corner and if the hourly beep option is set, there is a symbol looking like a clock that will show up underneath the alarm clock symbol. The second line of digits show the time (either 12 or 24 hour format). If you select the 12 hour, an "A" will show up on the left side of the second line for AM. There is no letter for PM. Under the face, there are two buttons located side by side. The left button shows the chronograph and the right button shows the set alarm time.

On the bottom left of the watch is a button for selecting the modes option. Pressing once will get the chronograph or stop watch that can originally show up to the hundredth of a second. If you are using the lap timer feature, pressing the lap button will stop the "lap" time momentarily for a few seconds, flashing the lap number on the bottom line and the "frozen lap" time (while the stop watch is still running) on the top line. Starting with the third lap, the total length of the stopwatch is shown on the top line while the actual time of the "lap" will be shown on the bottom line. The lap number will flash on the bottom line and alternate between the lap number and the total stop watch running time.

Pressing the mode button a second time will take you to the countdown timer option which beeps when the countdown is reached. This is a great feature to have. The countdown timer can either stop when the countdown is reached or can run continuously until stopped manually. I have used this feature a number of times, especially when conducting exams and uses it to notify the time remaining in the exam.

Pressing the mode button a third time will take you to the alarm option. The top line will show the set alarm clock. If you select the AM/PM clock, an "A" will show up for AM set time. The bottom line will show the current time. You select the hour and minutes by pressing the two buttons on the face of the watch.

The other two buttons located on the right side of the watch are for the Indiglo feature and for setting the time. The top right button will turn on the indigo colored back light for easy viewing in darkened conditions. The button right button when pressed for a few seconds will turn on the time set option starting with the flashing seconds.

As well, the Timex Ironman 8 lap watch has an option in which the Indiglo backlight will be turned on and remain on for a few seconds when any button is pressed. This is a nice feature for those who work in the dark and doesn't require frequent pressing of the Indiglo button.

My only complaint about the watch is that when running, the 8 lap option turns out not to be enough. I probably would have settled for the 50 lap option watch but then would have paid much more for that feature. For those who run marathons or do long distance training, 8 laps will most likely not be enough for you.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my Timex Ironman 8 lap watch for its battery life, durability, stop watch, countdown timer and Indiglo features. I have not had any problems with it so far and will highly recommend it to anyone who wants a reliable digital watch.

As always, thanks very much for taking the time to read and rate my review.

Recommended: Yes