Skip to content
Dial&Lug
Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533

Khaki Field vs Pioneer

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38 vs Timex Expedition Pioneer Automatic

Both are sapphire field automatics on 20mm lugs. One names its caliber, runs 80 hours and is 3mm thinner. The other is rated for twice the depth and costs a good deal less.

By Sawyer V. · Published

The short answer

Buy the Hamilton. An 80-hour H-10 you can look up, an 11mm case and a 38mm diameter make it the better watch to own and to wear, and it scores 8.6 against the Pioneer's 8.0. Buy the Pioneer if you need 200m specifically or the Hamilton is simply out of budget — it has the same sapphire and the same 20mm lugs for meaningfully less money.

Disclosure · Some links below are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not decide what goes on this page or in what order — here is exactly how that works.

Top pick

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533

Best for: The one to buy, and the better watch to still own in 2045

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533

8.6/10

Keep Score

Hamilton H-10, 80 hours, sapphire, 38mm, 47mm lug-to-lug, 11mm thick, 100m.

80 hours of reserve on a named caliber changes how you live with a mechanical watch. Put it down on Friday and it is still running on Monday, which no 40-hour movement manages.

$795.00 · View on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · Price as of October 11, 2026

Full write-up and the measured specifications are further down this page.

The Khaki Field is the default answer when somebody asks for a proper field watch, and the Expedition Pioneer Automatic is the watch that turned up and offered most of the same specification for less. Sapphire, steel, an automatic movement and 20mm lugs on both.

What separates them is not the dial or the brand. It is 3mm of thickness, 80 hours of reserve, and whether the maker will tell you what is inside the watch you are buying.

On our six published specifications the Hamilton wins by 0.6, which is narrow. The Timex closes most of the gap with a 200m rating that the Hamilton cannot match, and loses it again on a one-year warranty and an unnamed movement.

On prices: every buy button on this page reads its figure from the live price layer and stamps the date it was checked, or else reads "Check price on Amazon". No price is written into this text. Service figures quoted here are the manufacturers' own published rates.

How we picked

We have not worn these watches. What follows is what we checked instead, on documents you can open yourself — the same criteria, in the same order, on every roundup on this site. The full method is on the methodology page.

  1. 01Is the caliber named

    Hamilton states an H-10 with a Nivachron balance spring and 80 hours. Timex says "automatic" and publishes no caliber and no reserve.

  2. 02Thickness and fit

    38mm and 11mm thick with a 47mm lug-to-lug, against 41mm and 14mm thick with a 48mm lug-to-lug.

  3. 03Water resistance

    100m against 200m. This is the one line the Timex wins outright.

  4. 04Warranty term

    Two years against one. Timex's excludes the crystal, strap, case and battery.

  5. 05What is identical

    A sapphire crystal, a stainless steel case, 20mm standard lugs, and both on Amazon today.

Quick picks

Ranked on the Keep Score below — six published specifications, weighted identically on every page. The last row is the one we would not buy.

#WatchBest forKeep ScorePrice
1
Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533

Hamilton H-10, 80 hours, sapphire, 38mm, 47mm lug-to-lug, 11mm thick, 100m.

The one to buy, and the better watch to still own in 20458.6/10

$795.00

Check Price on Amazon
2
Timex Expedition Pioneer Automatic 41mm TW2Y87400

Timex Expedition Pioneer Automatic 41mm TW2Y87400

Automatic, caliber not published, sapphire, 41mm, 48mm lug-to-lug, 14mm thick, 200m.

The same idea for less, if you can live without the caliber name8.0/10

$459.00

Check Price on Amazon
—
Citizen Garrison BM8560-02X

Citizen Garrison BM8560-02X

Super Titanium, sapphire, 100m, 42mm, light-powered, five years.

Skip this one

Neither, if you would rather never wind anything7.2/10

$297.50

Check Price on Amazon

Prices as of October 11, 2026. Amazon pricing changes without notice — the figure on the listing is the one that counts.

Keep Score is arithmetic, not opinion — six published specifications, weighted the same way on every page. The formula is on our methodology page, so you can re-run it yourself.

01

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533

Best for: The one to buy, and the better watch to still own in 2045

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533

8.6/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
2.5/2.5
Water resistance
1.1/1.5
Warranty
0.7/1.5
Strap standard
1/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.8/1
$795.00 · View on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · Price as of October 11, 2026

80 hours of reserve on a named caliber changes how you live with a mechanical watch. Put it down on Friday and it is still running on Monday, which no 40-hour movement manages.

11mm thick on a 38mm case with a 47mm lug-to-lug is the most versatile footprint on this page. It fits under a cuff, it fits a small wrist, and it does not look like a tool watch pretending to be a dress watch.

Hamilton names the H-10 and specifies a Nivachron balance spring, so parts, service intervals and antimagnetic behavior are all things you can look up before you buy. Two years of cover is modest but it is double the Timex.

100m is the limit and it is the one place the Timex beats it. For swimming and showering 100m is ample; for anything beyond that the Pioneer is the better rated watch.

Mechanically identical to the Murph and usually cheaper, because it does not carry a film's name. 47mm lug-to-lug on a 38mm case is a genuinely versatile footprint.

Manufacturer specifications for the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533
MovementHamilton H-10, automatic, Nivachron balance spring
Power reserve80 hours
Case38mm stainless steel
Lug-to-lug47mm
Thickness11mm
Lug width20mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance100m
Warranty2 years

Specifications read from Hamilton product page, H70455533.

02

Timex Expedition Pioneer Automatic 41mm TW2Y87400

Best for: The same idea for less, if you can live without the caliber name

Timex Expedition Pioneer Automatic 41mm TW2Y87400

8.0/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
2.5/2.5
Water resistance
1.5/1.5
Warranty
0.35/1.5
Strap standard
1/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.2/1
$459.00 · View on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · Price as of October 11, 2026

Sapphire, 200m and 20mm lugs for well under the Hamilton is a real offer, and the 200m rating is genuinely better than the Khaki Field's 100m.

Timex publishes no caliber and no power reserve. That means you cannot find out what an overhaul costs or whether an independent watchmaker will take it on, which is the specification this site weighs most heavily.

14mm thick on a 41mm case is a lot of watch next to an 11mm Hamilton, and the one-year warranty excludes the crystal, strap, case and battery. It is the better value and the worse watch.

Sapphire and 200m for the money is real. What Timex does not publish is the caliber — which means you cannot look up what an overhaul costs before you buy, and that is exactly the number this site exists to check.

Manufacturer specifications for the Timex Expedition Pioneer Automatic 41mm TW2Y87400
MovementAutomatic (caliber not published by Timex)
Power reserveNot published
Case41mm stainless steel
Lug-to-lug48mm
Thickness14mm
Lug width20mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance200m
Warranty1 year

Timex's one-year warranty explicitly excludes the crystal, strap, case and battery.

Specifications read from Timex product page, TW2Y87400.

Skip this one

Citizen Garrison BM8560-02X

Best for: Neither, if you would rather never wind anything

Citizen Garrison BM8560-02X

7.2/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
1.4/2.5
Water resistance
1.1/1.5
Warranty
1.5/1.5
Strap standard
0.3/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.4/1
$297.50 · View on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · Price as of October 11, 2026

It fails this page because it is not mechanical, and because Citizen publishes neither its thickness, its lug-to-lug nor its band width — three absences on one watch.

It is here because it answers the same brief without a movement to service: Super Titanium, sapphire, 100m and five years of cover, with no battery to change and nothing to wind.

Our Garrison against the Timex Field Post Solar page sets the two light-powered field watches against each other properly.

Sapphire is the upgrade the 37mm Chandler never got, on a Super Titanium case with Citizen's five years of cover. Citizen publishes neither the thickness, the lug-to-lug nor the band width for this reference, so try it on before you commit to 42mm.

Manufacturer specifications for the Citizen Garrison BM8560-02X
MovementCitizen E101 Eco-Drive, light-powered
Power reserveNot published
Case42mm super titanium
Lug-to-lugNot published
ThicknessNot published
Lug widthNot published
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance100m
Warranty5 years

Citizen's five-year limited warranty excludes the power cell, case, bracelet and strap.

Specifications read from Citizen Watch product page, BM8560-02X.

Side by side

Read from the Hamilton product page for H70455533 and the Timex product page for TW2Y87400.
Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38Timex Expedition Pioneer Auto
MovementHamilton H-10, Nivachron hairspringAutomatic — caliber not published
Power reserve80 hoursNot published
Case38mm, 11mm thick41mm, 14mm thick
Lug-to-lug47mm48mm
Lug width20mm20mm
CrystalSapphireSapphire
Water resistance100m200m
Warranty2 years1 year, excludes crystal, strap, case, battery
Published service priceNone in the USNone
Keep Score8.6 / 108.0 / 10
Read from the Hamilton product page for H70455533 and the Timex product page for TW2Y87400.

What 80 hours is actually for

A 40-hour automatic is a watch you have to wear. Take it off on Friday evening and by Sunday morning it has stopped, so Monday starts with resetting the date. An 80-hour reserve removes that entirely — the weekend simply does not reach it.

That is the practical half. The other half is that Hamilton tells you the number at all, along with the caliber and the hairspring material. Our Powermatic 80 versus Seiko 6R page covers the long-reserve movements in detail, and watches with a long power reserve ranks them.

3mm of thickness is more than it sounds

11mm against 14mm does not read as much on a page. On a wrist it is the difference between a watch that slides under a shirt cuff and one that catches on it, and on a 38mm case against a 41mm one the Hamilton is the smaller watch in every dimension that exists.

If your wrist is under about 165mm, this is not a close call — see watches for small wrists, where the 38mm Hamiltons do well and nothing 14mm thick does.

Where the Timex genuinely wins

200m against 100m is not a marketing number here, because both are real ratings from makers who publish them. If the watch is going snorkeling or getting worn in the sea regularly, the Pioneer is the correctly specified one and the Hamilton is not.

It is also a great deal cheaper, and the sapphire and 20mm lugs are identical. For a first automatic that will be knocked about, that combination is defensible — our best field watches under $500 page puts it in context.

Which to buy

The Hamilton, if the budget reaches. You are buying a movement you can look up, a reserve that survives the weekend and a case 3mm thinner, and those three things are what you notice in year five.

The Timex if it does not, or if 200m is a requirement rather than a preference. Just go in knowing that nobody will tell you what is inside it. Seiko 5 versus the Hamilton Khaki Field covers the other obvious alternative at the Timex's price.

Questions people actually ask

Is the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto worth the extra over the Timex Expedition Pioneer Automatic?

For most buyers, yes. The Hamilton has a named H-10 caliber with 80 hours of reserve, an 11mm case against 14mm and a 38mm diameter against 41mm. It scores 8.6 to the Timex's 8.0. The Timex wins only on water resistance, where its 200m beats the Hamilton's 100m.

What movement is in the Timex Expedition Pioneer Automatic?

Timex does not publish it. The product page states only that it is automatic and gives no caliber and no power reserve, so you cannot check parts availability or service cost before buying.

Which is better for a small wrist?

The Hamilton, clearly. It is 38mm across, 47mm lug-to-lug and 11mm thick; the Timex is 41mm, 48mm lug-to-lug and 14mm thick.

Can you swim with the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto?

Yes. It is rated 100m, which covers swimming and showering. The Timex is rated 200m, which additionally covers snorkeling and regular sea use.

Sources

Every specification and figure on this page came from one of these documents. Where a manufacturer does not publish something, the page says so rather than filling the gap.

Read next

Timex Expedition Field Post Titanium Automatic 41mm TW2Y90900

Best field watches under $500

Five field watches in the under-$500 tier, and the one to skip.

Hamilton Khaki Field Murph 38mm H70405130

Best automatic field watches

Seven automatic field watches ranked, including the thinnest mechanical here.

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm H70455533

Seiko 5 vs Hamilton Khaki Field

The Seiko 5 field watch against the Hamilton Khaki Field, specification by specification.

Seiko Prospex SPB453J1

Best long power reserve watches

Six automatics that survive a weekend off the wrist, ranked on what else they get right.

Hamilton Khaki Field Murph 38mm H70405130

Best watches for small wrists

Eight watches under 48mm lug-to-lug, with the measurement that actually decides fit.