Why do military personnel wear watches upside down?

I didn't realize it was a military thing. And in fact, I don't believe it is.

I have seen people wear their watch "upside down", including made up women in fashionable attire that would be the polar opposite of the rough style the article is portraying. On the contrary, I looked at a few random pictures of soldiers and in most of them the watch worn the standard way, with the face on the outside of the wrist. In fact, I find the "upside down" way more "girly" than "manly", simply because I think I saw more girls do it than men.

For practical reasons, I guess there are advantages to both. But the "protect the watch" argument, I don't really buy it. It is situational. If you have your watch inside your wrist, you bang it when you have your hands on a table, when you pick heavy stuff, it may come in contact with stuff you have on your belt (tools, gun, ...), etc...

I suspect the article is just an ad. They want to sell a watch for "tough guys" and came up with that story.

Tried it just now. My wrist is now raised off my macbook, I feel my own pulse now, and the terrible clatter of glass scratching on aluminum can be heard as I type. But I feel so cool.

Former military here…I only ever did this a few times in very specific circumstances. I wasn’t infantry but when exercising that role I did do this a couple of times when on sentry for a long time or when in an OP (observation post). This was rare and only on exercise, I never needed to do it ‘for real’.

The reason I did it is whilst lying down or in very confined/concealed area it’s easier to turn your wrist to see the time, which passes amazingly slowly in these situations. If you imagine you arm outstretched in front of you it’s a lot easier to see the watch face if it’s on the inside of the wrist as you have to turn your arm much less.

I’m not sure I am explaining it adequately, but it these circumstances it’s definitely easier.

At all other times and in my normal role I never did this.

Regarding light discipline, many brands make military versions that are much harder to accidentally press the backlight or in modern tomes allow you to turn off the heartrate monitor lights. Also, we would generally wear long sleeves which would cover a watch in most situations anyway, even in hot climates. There was a gradual mover to 3/4 length or turned up sleeves during my time, when watches would then often then get covered by tactical gloves or sometimes even dedicated covers made to conceal a watch.

I thought upside down was a weird way to describe this.

I would call it wearing it on the inside of the wrist.

I didn't think it had anything to do with the military. I've always worn my watches this way.

In my opinion it's simply a more natural movement to view the face of the watch.

I know others who do it too who aren't associated with the military at all.

Ex-army here, combat medic. We do it for a few reasons.

1. Prevent the glass from getting scratched and shattered during movements.

2. Glass is reflective and the glint can make you stand out.

3. Reduce accidental button presses.

4. Easier to push out the arm and see the time when a rifle is being held in an aiming position.

5. Cultural reinforcement.

Not everyone does it, not even in high-speed units.

Check out Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921 watch with it's "twisted" dial to ease reading the time while flying or driving: https://www.vacheron-constantin.com/us/en/collections/histor...

i did this for a while (non military) and the entire reason was i found the motion to read the watch much more ergonomic. reading an "outside" watch requires twisting my arm or lifting my elbow in a somewhat uncomfortable movement. on the inside felt like an easier movement to read the dial.

If I didn't sit at a desk way too much I'd give it a shot. There seems to be some solid advantages.

This article fails to mention that watches were a lot smaller compared to the gigantic pieces of jewelry that dominate the 'military-themed' watches of today, and avoids many of the problems that people have mentioned.

Here's an example of an issued 'military watch' from from 1956:

https://thewatchspotblog.com/bulova-mil-w-3818a-bulova-cal-1...

It's only 32mm in diameter, compared to the advertised Smith and Bradley 'designed to be worn inside' which is 42mm, or the 'standard' size Garmin Fenix which 47mm. Many modern G-Shocks are larger still.

One thing I like about rubber/cloth bands is that they don't make noise or do risk doing damage when I'm typing at my computer. Wearing a watch on the inside is a non-starter for me for this reason.

I also like being able to glance down at my wrist and see the time. My wrist is rarely in the proper orientation for this to be possible if I were wearing my watch on the inside.

Lastly, I wonder if "raise to wake" would work in this orientation? It seems not to on my Garmin.

I tried with my Garmin instinct. It dangles like a cow's tit. How can I show off my cool watch if I hide it? I will remain a civilian no thanks.

Many runners also do it, because it breaks your arm rhythm less to look at the inside of your wrist than the outside.

>If your watch face is on the outside of your wrist, you have to lift your arm and turn it to see the time. This effectively doubles the width of your body, increasing your exposure.

That's a wide movement! Maybe they can learn some "arm discipline" to avoid doubling your width when reading the time?

Not military here, but I did this many times in day to day use --

1. To ensure fancy watches do not get damaged/scuffed while traveling on subways

2. To hide fancy watches when riding on subways where watch might signal me as a robbery target

Now, I just use Apple Watch and everything else sits in a locker. Sad.

Nurses wear inside of wrist to simplify taking heart rate, or at least they used to back when you actually had to count it yourself. Divers wear inside of wrist to avoid having to do an awkward posture change and instead just look down.

Only a single data point, but my father, who was Vietnam-era USMC in "special weapons," wore his wristwatches this way all his life. He never really said why other than that was what he learned in the Corps (he had never owned a watch prior to then). I always assumed it had some practical purpose in the field, but I'm not sure what that might have been.

My grandmother was a nurse and wore her watch on her inner wrist. I think it was common and protected it from getting snagged during her rounds. Now I don’t think nurses are usually allowed to wear watches in most hospitals.

I used to do this when bouldering and scrambling because otherwise rocks would scratch the crap out of the bezel and the crystal.

It's nice to know when sunset is happening when you're outside, after all.

1) It keeps you from busting the watch against something.

2) It keeps people from craning to try to sneak a peek at the time. (very irritating. can't a person just ask? anyways this is pre-smartphone era)

i wish i could wear my apple watch upside down. it is much easier and faster to get the time when worn this way, and it reduces repetitive wrist strain since rotating the wrist outward enough to expose the face require way less torsion than rotating it inward. also, the buttons and digital crown on the watch actuate way less frequently when my wrist is in flexion, i.e., when doing dips and military presses. however, the sensor and accelerometer readings are inaccurate in this orientation, so right side up it is.

Then why is the crown facing the hand? It makes no sense.

As an old SWO with 4.5 years of sea time, the limbs are constantly banging into things. Watches faces can be damaged.

And then you see a guy with a Mudman G-Shock worn like this and you wonder what he is protecting his watch from.

I wear them on my ankle, so I know what time it is when I cross my legs.

brooch or pendant watches for nurses are often upside-down, too

OT: the hand model on that photo needs a manicure.

can't say that my dad (RAF v-bomber captain) ever did.