I need a watch..

Will, (good name)
This doesn't really answer your question but I wear my Polar S150 in the pool and it works great. I don't have to stop to take my HR. It also has all the clock/stopwatch/lap functions of most fitness watches. I think I paid around $89 for it, refurbished from PerformanceBike.com. I would suggest shopping around at the places linked from BT for a discount. It kind of depends on your price range. I'm not sure what you mean by "inexpensive" and what your preferences are for brands or quality. You might consider spending a little more than you normally would because this will be one of your most important training tools for years to come and it's cheaper to buy what you need for the next few years than to buy something that you'll outgrow by the end of the season and have to buy another one.

I also use a Timex Ironman 200-lap watch, which is what I keep track of my laps with. I haven't learned to use all of the S150's functions -- if I did I probably wouldn't need to use the Timex. As it is, though, the Timex keeps track of all my lap splits, max and average lap speeds, and has so many functions I will probably never seriously use them all. I actually don't remember what I paid. I bought it over a year ago at Target. I'm pretty sure it was less than $80.

Mike

For a simple watch I picked up a Timex Ironman 30-lap watch for $25 at Target. I use it for recording my laps and splits for all 3 sports.