Wristwatch Review: Armitron Stainless Steel Watch (Model 20/5481SV)

One of the cooler looking Armitron watches that I picked up there year is the Model 20/5481SV. It's a diver-style watch with a fixed bezel. I picked it up at Burlington for about $20.

Armitron Stainless Steel Watch (20/5481SV)

Watch Features

The all-metal construction of this watch gives it a business-like demeanor which is commendable. It looks more expensive than it actually was.

Watch Construction

Most of my Armitron watches of late feature all stainless steel construction. The case, bracelet, bezel, and caseback of this watch  are all made of stainless steel. It has a flat mineral glass crystal. The watch has 50-meters (165-feet) of water resistance. 

Armitron Model 20/5481SV Caseback

One flaw with this Armitron is that I have to press extra hard on the clasp to make sure that it has snapped securely shut. I suspect that this may be a flaw with my individual timepiece, but it is something to be aware of.

Armitron Model 20/5481SV Bracelet

Watch Design

The design of this watch really lets the steel show. Most of the watch is finished as flat stainless steel. However, the crown, the case sides, and two thin strips are trim that flank the center links of the watch are polished to a nice shine. On the dial, the hour batons appear to be white lume set within shiny metal circles. The date window and numerals at 12, 6 and 9 o'clock are also outlined with shiny metal. The hour and minute hands have inset strips of lume.

Watch Dimensions

This Armitron watch shows well on the wrist with a 43mm case that is 10mm thick. The metal bracelet fits my wrist, but like some other Armitron watches, it is snug. 

Overall Impression

Overall, the Model 20/5481SV from Armitron is a very cool looking watch and an outstanding value for $20. You can check out Armitron Analog Watches for men here on Amazon.

Watch SIghting: Bass Pro Shops Quartz Watches

This weekend my travels brought me to the Bass Pro Shops store located in Duluth, Georgia.  While I was shopping for other things, my journey through the store did take me past a display of inexpensive Bass Pro Shop-branded watches.

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World Store - photo by Michael Barera [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

I had to stop and take a few spy photos so that you can see some of the inexpensive watch options available there.  The display square in the store shows five watches that can be found for $19.99 each at Bass Pro Shops.  Unfortunately, only a couple of these watch styles were available when I visited the Duluth, Georgia location.

The first style that caught my eye was the this militaristic camouflage dial watch with tachymeter.

The next watch to catch my eye was this silver-dial quart watch.  It gets middle of the road reviews on the Bass Pro Shop website.  The negative reviews point to the quartz watch simply running out of the juice.

The third watch is a simple watch with a diver-style bezel.  It's a basic watch with a nice solid look and a metal band.  Again a fairly good value for $20.

If you are shopping for someone who is into BassPro shops and the outdoors, a watch like this is not a bad deal.

Seven Great Men's Watches for Less Than $30

Bargain Watches that Make Great Stocking Stuffers

Many watches deliver excellent value for very low prices. These inexpensive watches are the perfect buy for Christmas stocking stuffers, office party gift exchanges, or birthday bonus gifts.

[This is reprinted from my Yahoo Contributors Network articles.  However, most of the watches mentioned are still great deals and are still less than $30.]

While most watch enthusiasts focus on expensive, luxury, watch brands, many low end watches offer high end features and deliver excellent value for very low prices. At low price points, watches really make the perfect Christmas stocking stuffers, office party gift exchange, or birthday bonus gifts. Here are seven really nifty watches that cost less than thirty dollars.

1. Casio Men's Digital Watch (W-201). Shown here on Amazon the Casio W201 is a capable little watch that offers all the expected digital functions in a retro 80's style package. The W-201 provides the time, date, dual time, 12/24-hour time display, stop watch with split times, an LED light for night, and even 50-meter water resistance. When people think of a digital watch, they probably envision this exact model. While this watch is a rather small band, the W-201 remains the perfect nostalgia watch gift for older nerds and geeks. [Amazingly, as of August 2025, the watch still costs less than $30!]

Casio W-201 on Amazon

2. Timex Expedition (Model T18581). The Timex Expedition watch series is the backbone of the Timex watch line. The watches are available in a variety of forms from low end to high end. At every price point, the Timex delivers good value. If you are looking to stay under $30, check out the camper Timex Expedition. This classic military-style watch has a black face and black strap that will satisfy any low budget commando.

Timex Expedition

[As of August 2025, this Timex is still available on Amazon.com and is regularly available at sale prices. If you need a bang around field watch, you can find the Timex Camper here on Amazon.] 

3. Mossimo Digital Watch. Mossimo is a designer and design firm with close ties to Target. Mossimo has many innovative watch designs and they all retail for about $20 at your local Target store. I particularly like the Mossimo Digital Watch. However, you can find many Mossimo Watches at Target.

Mossimo Digital Watch

4. Casio Forester. If you are ready for adventure, but don't have a big budget, check out the analog Casio Forester (reviewed here). It's a rugged, well protected, watch with an internal backlight and a case that fits into most camouflage schemes.

A Casio Forester

[As of August 2025, the Casio Forester is still available on Amazon.com for less than $30. If you are ready to set out into the deep woods, you can find the Casio Forester here on Amazon.] 

5. Casio Telememo 30 World Time Ana-Digital Watch. If your adventures are more jet set than jungle, check out the amazing Casio WorldTime Ana-digital watch. It has a data bank for storing phone numbers and can display multiple timezones. Plus, it has a ten year battery and very cool retro-futurist styling for a low budget timepiece. [As of 2024, this watch cost a little more than $30, but it was still inexpensive on Amazon.com.]

Casio Telememo

6. Precision by Gruen Diver Style Watch. Kohl's offers a series of "Precision by Gruen" watches for less than $30. I particularly like the Diver-style watch with a rotating bezel. If you swap the cheap velcro band for an inexpensive rubber watch band like I did, this watch will look like a million dollars. It offers a great diver-style look in a bang-around watch. However, I wouldn't go in the water with it.

Precision by Gruen

7. Casio HD-Series Men's Analog Watch. The Casio HD-Series watch presents a rich, golden, champagne-colored, face for shoppers on a beer or soda budget. Once upon a time, you could find this watch for less than $20 at Walmart, the Casio HD-series analog watch offers an amazing 10-year battery, a date window, luminescent hands and markers, and an endlessly fascinating face.[Update 2025:  Available here on Amazon, the Casio HD-Series watch is still a long lasting watch and still costs less than $30.]

A Casio HD Series Watch

These watches certainly show that there are a lot of cheap watches that look great and offer cool features. Each of these bargain watches would fit into a tight gift-giving budget.

[This article was updated with new photos and links in 2024 and again in 2025.]

New Watch Brand at Walmart: globlu

On a recent excursion to Walmart, I noticed a new watch brand:  globlu.  These watches sell for only $11 and they have dial lighting system similar to the famed Timex Indiglo system.  As my watch boxes are overflowing, I didn't buy or try any of these watches.  However, they might be a good choice for a bang around watch.

To activate the dial light, you simply press the offset "pusher" button at the 1 o'clock position.

Sometimes I think Walmart just puts these low prices out in order to push name brand suppliers like Timex, Casio, and Armitron to keep prices low.

In terms of style, these watches are pretty generic.  However, globlu watches are an interesting option if you are in the market for a low cost watch.  With the holiday season approaching, they also might make a good stocking stuffer.