Review of the Timex O.V.A. (Optimum Viewing Angle) Watch
Reffing, like soccer itself, is pretty simple in its requirements: you need to be there, know the Laws of the Game, and have the instruments to enforce it. The bare essentials of the later requirement are a whistle (to get people’s attention), cards (to administer misconduct, and in some places that can be flexible), a place to write down important facts about the game (including the score), and a watch (to keep track of the amount of time in the game).I’m pretty picky about watches, although my requirements are few: I want them to be comfortable, and I want to be able to read them easily. I’ve gone through several watches over the course of my days as an official, and a variation of the old standby is proving to be quite interesting.
The watch I’d love to wear is the OptimumTime Football Watch. This watch was designed for refereed: the watch face is huge, there’s a button for added time, and the default countdown time is 45 minutes. And if you get the cloth band like I did (I had to ask about for it – the normal band is the typical rubber you see everywhere), it’s very comfortable too. The downside, and I’ve verified this with two other people I know who either have or have had the watch, is it breaks down a lot. I went through a couple in less than a year, and even though it was under warranty I couldn’t trust it enough and it went into the bin.
For the last several years I’ve used a combination of Timex Ironman on my left wrist (also with a Velcro/fabric band), and an Addidas watch that apparently wasn’t supposed to be sold in the United States – how I found it in a now out-of-business sporting goods chain? I have no idea. But it’s been my favorite watch for years, because it was comfortable on my right hand.
The problem is, the watch bands are wearing out, and even after multiple washings, I’ll be nice, they reek. I’ve never had any watch last as long as the fabric bands, let alone with the type of abuse they get, but there you go. Unfortunately, you can’t get them any more because, as I said, they tend to smell horribly over time (and that time is pretty short). So, when I saw an article about the Ironman OVA watch, I was intrigued and purchased a watch.
Here’s the OVA’s gimmick: Instead of sitting on the top of your wrist, like a regular watch, it sits on the inside side of your wrist. The idea is that you cut out one of the two motions to view the time on your watch; instead of raising your arm and then turning your wrist and/or elbow, you just raise the arm and look at the time.
And it works. Moreover, it’s awfully comfortable sitting there, on either wrist. I found myself, after wearing it during training for an hour or two a day, getting annoyed with my regular day-to-day watch. I’m impressed.
The face of the watch is almost identical to the standard Timex Ironman. The two differences is the Start/Lap button is on top of the watch, instead of the bottom (strangely enough, it takes some getting used to), and the numbers are slightly slanted from left-to-right. The idea behind the slant is that it makes the watch more readable on your left wrist (which is where most people wear their watches); if you want a straight number, you don’t have to turn your arm – just bring it straight up. This, of course, means if you’re a referee who wears two watches, one on each arm, that the numbers are actually turned slightly away from you on your right arm. If you use your right-watch as your primary timekeeping device, this watch probably isn’t for you, but in my case, the right watch has always been my backup, so the comfort took a higher priority; the angle is not so much that it makes the watch unreadable, or even difficult – I really couldn’t tell you if it even helps.
What will help is when you’re running lines: when wanting to check the time on the watch, one need simply look down instead of look and then crook the flag.
There are two downsides to this watch: the first is the lack of a cloth band. I find cloth bands with velcro attachments much more comfortable, especially on hot days when swelling of certain areas (such as your wrists) is an inevitability. I’ve also found that rubber tends to chafe on those already uncomfortable days; Timex seems to have heavily vented this band, so we’ll just have to see what happens come the dog days of August. The other downside is the size of the face – because of the smaller surface area on the side of your wrist, the numbers are smaller (smaller than the standard Ironman); I haven’t noticed any issues either while training or in the few games I’ve used it on, but if you live on large faces, you may want to pass this one by.
Like all the stuff I’ve reviewed on this site, I’ve worn it, and will continue to, and if things change for me mid-season, I’ll alter this review as necessary. But for right now, I plan on wearing two watch that face each other when my arms go straight out.
Timex Ironman Triathlot O.V.A. Watch
Retail Price: $70.00, but you can find them for $45-60 at various online locations.
Pros: Comfortable, convenient, small learning curve in retraining where to look on your arm.
Cons: Smaller face, angled numbers may be a problem for people who wear it on the right wrist, molded wristband only.
A small cavalcade of watches:
The Coleman stopwatch from Target, which I bought this when I first started, probably for $20. Once I decided I liked reffing, it went into my bag as an emergency spare. Since then, it's only come out at Regionals when my OptimumTime Football Watch died.
The Timex Ironman Triathalon - if there's a standard stopwatch, this is it. It's comfortable, although the cloth band has really started to smell, despite washing it. The backlight broke early on, but I decided to turn it into a feature: if I can't read the watch, it's too dark to play.
I don't know how this Addidas watch made it to a U.S. sporting goods store, but it did, and I'm happy for it. Until now, this has been the most comfortable watch I've used on my right wrist. I've searched many times for a matching pair, but they all include shipping charges from Europe. The face is very big and readable, but on hot days it tends to turn black making it unreadable.
This is the new O.V.A. watch, from it's front (meaning your side) and here is the same watch from its side, or the place you normally look for the watch face.. You can see how it requires a little bit of readjusting your expectations on where the watch should be.
Here is the Ironman and the Ironman O.V.A. side-by-side. This picture shows the differences in the designs: you can see the slight tilt in the numbers on the O.V.A. watch, and the Start/Lap button on the top rather than the bottom of the face and the smaller numbers. And if it looks like the button is angled away, you're right, the watch face forms a "L" to stay on the top of your wrist.
“What will help is when you’re running lines: when wanting to check the time on the watch, one need simply look down instead of look and then crook the flag.”
What do you mean by this? I’m not really following you here.
Colin - 25 April '07 - 12:25
The placement of the watch is a little easier to see than a standard watch. I normally have to look down and crook my arm to get a good view of my watch, but with this one, I just need to look down.Your mileage may vary, however.
TheRef - 26 April '07 - 08:36
Just read your excellent review and noticed one small issue you might not be aware of. Your particular model of Timex OVA seems small because you are wearing the mid-sized variant of the watch. The full sized variants have much more legible screens, which are a closer comparison for the other ironman you pictured.Gabe Walsh () - 09 October '07 - 09:07
Interesting – I hadn’t seen a larger variant. Can you provide a link, so I can add it here?TheRef - 10 October '07 - 10:16
Hi Ref. Here you go:http://www.timex.com/gp/node/n/238517011..
The first two watches from left to right, in each of the first two rows are full sized OVA’s. Everything else is mid-sized. You can see a picture of yours at the end of the third row next to a full sized version. If you click on the individual models and look in the descriptions it will tell you the size of each watch.
I’m having a full sized one delivered and it should be here in a few days. Your review went a long way toward convincing me to try them out, thanks. I picked up the all black, full sized model (1st watch on the second row). If you want, I’d be happy to send you pictures after I get it. I also happen to have the same ironman you compared your OVA to (small world), so I can take a similar picture to yours. Let me know if you’d like that. Also, I’d highly recommend eBay as a source for these. You might have to look around a little, but the prices are consistently the best I’ve found (found mine for $35 shipped).
Good luck.
Gabe
Gabe Walsh () - 10 October '07 - 10:29