# Kinetic watches - any good? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766 "2004-12-27T12:14:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/1 "2004-12-27T12:14:10Z")
I’ve been looking at those Seiko Kinetic watches which charge themselves up from your frantic mastur- I mean, gentle hand movements as you type/walk/wave at friends with cheaper watches. Seems like a nifty idea, but is it really worth it? Do they actually last foreverish, or do the batteries eventually stop keeping a charge? Does anyone have one, and would they recommend them? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/2 "2004-12-27T15:17:17Z")
It’s not a new idea, they’ve been around for at least 30 years. They seemed to work just fine back then, but if you didn’t wear the watch for several days you’d have to re-set it. I don’t see watch batteries running out as being a series problem. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guy_incognito/32/3920_2.png) [@Guy\_Incognito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/3 "2004-12-27T15:18:51Z")
I gave one to my wife about four years ago for Christmas. She hasn’t had a bit of trouble with hers and she seems to love it. She has always had trouble with battery-powered watches and certain metals react badly with her skin. (Maybe the two problems are related?) Anyway, the particular model of Seiko Kinetic works out really well for her. I figure I’ll end up buying one for myself after my Timex bites the dust. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/4 "2004-12-27T15:21:59Z")
As **Telemark** points out they are no novelty. I had one many years ago and it worked fine - required nothing but the odd adjustment and ran for years without winding or batteries. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/5 "2004-12-27T15:30:18Z")
I couldn’t justify the cost of a Seiko so I bought a cheaper brand (Lorus) about 5+ years ago. It’s been absolutely brilliant. I say that because I have had no luck at all with battery driven watches but this one has easily outlasted any previous quartz watch I’ve owned. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/6 "2004-12-27T15:44:06Z")
I had one as a kid, it seemed to work fine. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/7 "2004-12-27T16:08:12Z")
I have a Seiko kinetic and it’s been going strong for about six years now. If you don’t wear it for five days or so you need to shake it a bit to get it going again. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/8 "2004-12-27T21:38:32Z")
Well, I’m sold. Thanks guys. The old ones were self-winding rather than self-charging, though, weren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinetic-watches-any-good/281766/9 "2004-12-27T21:38:45Z")
I had one for a while, but the big annoyance was having it wind down if I didn’t wear it for a few days (such as over a long weekend). I imagine this wouldn’t be a problem if (a) it’s your only watch, and (b) you wear it all the time.