downer wrote:Just out of interest..... if you did the same trip again this summer, would you take the same, single watch?
Now that is a very interesting question, and the answer is probably yes. When you do this you carry your life on your back, so you are very tuned into travelling light. I took a smartphone with a 12mpx camera to avoid taking two or three chargers, and took only 3 base layers of Merino wool t-shirt, boxers and socks, washing them by hand on a daily basis - it sufficed. Toiletries, you buy small and replenish along the way. 10Kg in the pack is as heavy as you want to go, because you are going to be carrying 2 litres of water and sometimes food, and some of the mountains are a slog (serious hillwalking, though no climbing or scrambling). An extra watch would be a luxury I could probably do without. The Casio also served as an alarm and has an illuminator button.
I would certainly not take a watch on a leather strap: it can get hot and you get very sweaty. Also, your watch is very susceptible to knocks and dings in rough country. The only other watch in my collection I would consider is the Mako on its SS bracelet. I would wear it loose in the morning because it would tighten up by afternoon. The lume on that would be plenty sufficient as well.
I took the Casio reasoning that if it got lost or damaged it was no great loss. I came back home with serious respect for that watch!
P.S. It gained 2 seconds!