Timex Ironman seems to be complete junk nowadays - is it just me?

I've never had this problem, and I've been wearing Timex Ironman watches for 3 decades. It might just be you.

P.S. I get mine at Wal-Mart.

Get them on amazon and pay the 4 bucks for the 3y warranty. Probably can get a similar deal at Target etc, in fact maybe more convenient if you can return to store and not deal with shipping.

Paid off twice for me in recent years.

Last one got waterlogged after 2+ years.

Prior one just died.

Warranty company just sent me a shipping label, then after a few weeks, a check saying yup, its broken!

No issues here and have been buying for 20 years now I think. Usually get them off amazon for cheaper now and the 50 or 100 lap version. I have noticed on the newer ones the piece that holds the loose part of the wrist band is more loose now which i find annoying.

Delta Variant of Covid wrote:

Get them on amazon and pay the 4 bucks for the 3y warranty. Probably can get a similar deal at Target etc, in fact maybe more convenient if you can return to store and not deal with shipping.

Paid off twice for me in recent years.

Last one got waterlogged after 2+ years.

Prior one just died.

Warranty company just sent me a shipping label, then after a few weeks, a check saying yup, its broken!

A warranty for a $40 watch? Ha! Listen to this:

I had a 100 lap Timex Ironman for 10 years and it was great. Had to replace the strap after a few years. Otherwise was great. Durable and accurate. I ran my first marathon with that non-gps watch and a pace band.

On a side note, running with a Garmin now, the one thing I miss is that my Garmin doesn't have a basic chronograph function. Sometimes I want a basic non-gps chronograph, the simplest thing for a sport watch, and it doesn't have that.

Had no problems with them for about 15 years, then nothing but problems.

When it came time to replace my "non-GPS runners watch" I was thinking about getting the Ironman. I had never owned one but have had other Timex products thatw ere very good. I ended up getting the Timex Expedition. It has pretty much all of the basic functions a runner needs. What I liked best was that it comes with a velcro wristband. Don't have to worry about the plastic band cracking (and it will) and breaking. I always hated trying to find a replacement band as sometimes they didn't match up with the width of the watch where the pins are located. No problem with the velcro!

I understand the general 'scam' of retail warranties but in this case I have learned they will pay off. These watches do not last forever. Now I've gotten 2 $4 watches instead of 2 $40 watches.

Besides 4$ is in the noise of the price from store to store and specific model to model.

I switched to the Casio 5600 and I love it. The stop watch feature let's you see the current time on the screen, so I don't have to cycle through the screens like on my old Timex watches. I used Timex for decades.

I found the Timex watches would break easier. I've had the Casio for over 5 years, it just got its first scratch, and it's still on the battery it came with. The bracelet is still holding up too. I would have replaced a Timex bracelet by now, for sure.

hobby jogging harry wrote:

I've never had this problem, and I've been wearing Timex Ironman watches for 3 decades. It might just be you.

Me too. OP is a contrary.

On a five-button Garmin (e.g. Forerunner or Fenix), if you press and hold the top-left light button for a few seconds, a menu of features will appear.

One of these is "Stopwatch" which allows basic timing and has a lap feature. Is this what you mean by Chronograph? There is also a "Timer" option.

Took me years to find these tools, as accessing them isn't obvious. I don't know how to access these tools on a touchscreen Garmin, but they are probably there.

Thread is a couple yrs old, but I had to reply. Your post made my night.. in a hilarious way! Finally trying to replace my Ironman, after 5 yrs of losing time! I wonder how many others are out there?? I even bought a used one from Ebay, thinking surely mine was just a fluke (got from Walmart). No, the ebay one was thrashed, as if somebody took their anger out on it, trying to fix it. The band was cut, the seal hanging out on both ends of back plate, even dark fingerprints on the digitizer.. jeez. Now I’m considering an Expedition. Never thought of paying attention to a watch warranty, but lessons learned. Thx for posting your experience!

I've been using the same Timex expedition that I mentioned in my post earlier (post #9) for about 4 years now. It works just as well now as the day I bought it. Love the durability of the Velcro wristband too.

I miss the old 90s design of the Timex Ironman. Start and stop for the chrono were right on the front. The new one is also bulkier. That said, I haven't had any problems with it in the couple of years I've owned it. Some things are lesser quality than they used to be, even with better technology now (largely because manufacturing has been offshored to China, which I'm sure is goin to be great in the long run).

I've got a Time Ironman now which needs a new band, but I cannot seem to replace the band. I've tried several watch stores and none has been able to make the replacement. Any suggestions?

I have a Shark Freestyle watch currently and have been quite impressed with the features on it. Very basic but then that's what I had with my old Casio.

They make universal nylon and Velcro sport watch bands. I got one from Target a few years ago. You definitely get one online on Amazon.

Try Wal-Mart, Target, and Amazon if those stores don't have a universal Velcro band. This is the reason I got the Timex Expedition.....the Velcro band. Tired of being in your same situation with a good watch but a plastic band that eventually breaks after a couple of years. Good Luck!