there are good citizen ecodrive watches, in titanium that are solar powred quartz movements, 200M/660Ft water resistant and can take a serious beating, and usualy obtainable for under 250 bucks,
Let's see ...
Tough - soldier proof . . . check
Analog . . . check
Clear and simple - time and date only . . . hmmmm
Water proof . . . 200M - check
Not crazy expensive . . . check
" though I know you get what you pay for" . . . Not necessarily
You've already ruled out G-Shock? They make analog models which meet your criteria, except that they probably have more bells and whistles than you are looking for. Still, from a functional standpoint, I doubt you'll find anything more durable, and they are extremely accurate.
Just a thought.
If you want a watch for shock producing work no mechanical watch is appropriate. No matter how thick the case the mvmt is basically all the same. Do yourself a favor and get a Casio G Shock.
Some good suggestions here.
Two that I was thinking about myself were the marathon and the CWC dive watch. Does anybody have any "real world experience" with these? They both are made for military issue, and make a big deal about that, but these days I'm not so sure.
Is it possible that "military issue" just means "made to a price that is low enough so that it can be economically replaced when the soldier breaks it"?
Once upon a time British SAS divers were issued Rolex Subs. They were replaced by the CWC when it was decided that the Rolex was too expensive. Even if it is "nearly" as good as a Rolex Sub, for the price I would be pretty happy.
My daily wear watch, for the record, is an Omega SMP. It is a pretty tough watch and built well. It is getting kind of scuffed up, though. And every time I smack it into something hard (this happens too much) my heart skips a beat and I have to stop what I am doing to check it is OK.
Ideally I'd like a watch similar to that one but not as expensive. And tougher? Well, one can hope.
At only $100.00 (I paid), it may be too low of a range for your tastes, but it seems darn tough.
Marathon watches. The only official watch of the US Military, and Canadian Search And Rescue (SAR) teams. A Canadian company, while the watches are made with Swiss ETA movements. A tough NO nonsense watch company, that charges a fraction of the price of a Breitling, with the same movement inside.
http://www.youtube.com/user/countycomm#p/search/1/JyEOpM8zIY4
http://www.marathonwatch.com/products/item/watch-wrist-divers-automatic/
http://www.chronoworld.com/new/product_details.php?product_id=189
http://www.countycomm.com/Watches.htm