This op-ed article was written by Jake Bush and originally published by our friends at Breach Bang Clear. It appears here in its entirety with their permission.

You should wear a watch. Cell phones as timepieces aren’t for people who do stuff. Dig in your pocket, pull out a phone and turn it on to check the time, and I’ll assume you can’t change a tire. Maybe you can… if you can find a YouTube video to show you how.

Dive watches are a great every-day-carry option for the following reasons:

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1. Dive watches are tough, water proof, glow well enough to see at night, can have a day/date function and a second hand. All you need to know.

2. The dive timer is a heck of a tool. From timing how long you have been stuck alone in the woods at night with a corpse holding down a crime scene in the dark, or how long you have been waiting for a wrecker, to timing how long til you pick up pizza for the shift, once you know how to use it you’ll wonder how you ever did without.

3. Seiko makes quality dive watches that can be had from $100 to $30K. In fact, a $100 second hand Seiko SKX007 is so awesome Stormin’ Norman Swartzkoff wore one on one wrist and a Rolex on the other when he was kicking ass and taking over whole countries.

That said Resco, Rolex, Sinn, Casio, and Citizen also make kick-ass watches.

4. An automatic winding mechanical Seiko isn’t gonna die on you because a battery went dead. How many times have you had a watch croak a few months after you bought it because it sat ticking on the shelf for three years before you bought it. Not saying there aren’t good options in the kinetic (electric driven, charged by motion), or solar, just saying batteries die. When a mechanical watch goes bad it gets fast or slow and usually you notice well before it screws you over.

5. It’s analog. Ever notice nurses, medics and some doctors wear analog watches? There’s a reason for that. The idea is when you are taking a pulse (count the beats over fifteen seconds and multiply times four), reading a digital watch and counting at the same time are two tasks that utilize the same part of the brain, making it easier to make a mistake. Which can be bad.

Don’t think so? Ever try to remember a number or count money when your buddy thinks its funny to yell out random numbers? Yeah… me too. I use mine for drug testing (Romberg), a lot. Works like a charm.

6. Slap it on a bracelet, NATO/ZULU strap, or rubber band and add a compass (Suunto Clipper or Prometheus Design Werx) and you have a tool that will help you master your world. Plus, you’ll look a little more like James Bond and a little less like the the hipster kid down the street who can’t change the tire on his Prius.

Editor's Note: What's your opinion about EDC timepieces? Let us know in the poll below.

Written by Jake Bush