Field Watches · Page 16

What is a field watch?

From the beginnings of the wristwatch in the trenches of World War I to mass production in World War II, we tell you all about the field watch.The post What is a field watch? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Tool/Kit: Camping in Sweden with Lydia Winters and the New Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition

By way of a quick introduction, hi! I’m Lydia Winters, an American living in Sweden for the past 12 years. Come hang out with me and my sambo (a perfect Swedish word for a live-together partner), Vu Bui, as we explore the Swedish forest with the new Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition. I’m wearing the 37mm black dial on a bracelet and Vu’s wearing the 41mm white dial on the brown leather strap. There’s also a blue dial that I can’t wait to see in person. I didn’t grow up in a camping family… wait, scratch that, I didn’t grow up in an outdoors family, except for the beach. As a native Floridian, most of my outdoor life revolved around the Gulf of Mexico and the beach. Moving to Sweden 12 years ago began not only my work career but also my love of the great outdoors, but backpacking has stayed in the periphery of my comfort zone. It’s quite infrequent that Vu gets me to head out for an overnight trip. Luckily for him and me, I couldn’t resist a chance to take the new Khaki Field Expedition for an overnight adventure. So, off to the forest we went. Let the expedition begin! The post Tool/Kit: Camping in Sweden with Lydia Winters and the New Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Hands-On: The New Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition Makes Its Case As Your New $1,000 Watch

A new direction for the fan-favorite field watch.

Hamilton’s Khaki Field Expedition: A Journey Across All Terrains

Boldr Venture Blue Fuel

We road-tested the ultra-affordable titanium field watch for a fortnight to see if it lives up to the watch cognoscenti hype. The post Boldr Venture Blue Fuel appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

This New Citizen Promaster Altichron Can Read an Altitude Higher than the World’s Tallest Peak

Citizen has introduced a new Altichron to the Promaster family of watches. This series has always struck me as kind of gleefully over the top, even more than many of the crazy dive watches we talk about in these pages frequently. The whole idea behind the “Promaster” branding is to show Citizen’s prominence in designing watches that can take on land and air in addition to sea, but sometimes we get caught up in the dive watch aspect of it all given the importance of watches in that niche to the culture of contemporary watch collecting. The Altichron is, effectively, a souped up field watch made with mountaineering in mind, and it has a number of features that should make athletes who spend their time at higher elevations quite happy. For the rest of us, there’s still a lot of cool tech to gawk at, which is a perfectly acceptable way to enjoy a watch like this in my book.  The key feature of the Altichron is its altitude sensor, which allows for measurements up to 32,800 feet above sea level (Mt. Everest, for the record, is a little over 29,000 feet above sea level). Also, just in case you’re the multidisciplinary sort, you’ll get an accurate reading up to 300 meters below sea level as well. The altitude meter is read via an inner dial for the first 900 meters above sea level, and then via a subdial at 9:00 for higher altitudes. The Altichron is also equipped with an electronic compass that shows your heading via a gauge around the dial’s perimeter. The layout...

A Week In Watches, Episode 63: Geneva Watch Days Special

In the special edition of A Week In Watches, Zach Weiss and Blake Buettner sit down together to discuss some of the most interesting new releases from Geneva Watch Days, and more. From blacked out Doxas, to kind of blue De Bethunes, and a Eucalyptus Ressence, there were plenty of new watches to appreciate, including the joint Only Watch submission from H. Moser and MB&F. You can view more of our Geneva Watch Days coverage right here, and keep an eye out for more yet to come. Geneva Watch Days didn’t give us the only new releases last week, though. One of the biggest surprises, and a welcome one at that, was the new Seiko ‘Alpinist’ GMT Prospex references, which brings their 6R54 GMT caliber into the beloved field watch collection. It makes a whole lot of sense in this platform, even if it is a ‘caller’ style GMT, so we’re thrilled to see it makes its way over. This episode of A Week In Watches is sponsored by our friends at Shinola. To commemorate 10 years of American design and manufacturing, Shinola Detroit is proud to share this video that reveals the company and its employees as a team that can carve a distinct pathway forward with their own sense of, as they say, “timeless American design.” This cinematic video gives an insider glimpse of their watchmakers assembling timepieces, soaring views of the Detroit headquarters, and shares perspective on the past decade as well as Shinola’s aims for the future. Learn more about Shinola’s Timeless American ...

Celebrating 25 Years of the Sinn 356

Sinn is a cult brand with a unique quality (ok, several) – each of their watches also has a cult following. Are you a 556-head? A U1 kind-of-guy? No? How about a 103-fiend? Or, do you like the 70s vibe of the 144 the most? No matter what, there’s a Sinn line you can geek out over, as over the years each line has had several to dozens of variations and special editions created under it. But, there’s been one model that has felt somewhat ignored over the last several years. A line that is actually a bit of a favorite around at Worn & Wound and on my perennial “someday I’ll pick one up” list – the 356, Sinn’s most compact automatic chronograph. At 38.5 x 46mm for a long, long time, the 356 was one of the smallest automatic, or even mechanical, chronographs you could find for a reasonable price. Powered by the venerable Valjoux 7750, it blended a classic military pilot chronograph layout, one that pulled from Type 20s and the like, with a case that felt more like a field watch in its size and stripped-down appearance. The result was rugged, understated, and altogether charming. Check out our review from 2014. While variations of the 356 exist or have existed, including different crystal options, a stunning model with a salmon stamped-guilloche dial, and an elusive 12-hour UTC model, it’s not a line that has gotten much attention recently. This is why today’s announcement, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 356 with three new models, is so exciting. To ...

Hamilton Khaki Field Titanium

If you're looking for a lightweight and reliable field watch, you can't go wrong with the Hamilton Khaki Field Titanium.The post Hamilton Khaki Field Titanium appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Archimede Celebrates their 20th Anniversary with a Special Edition of their Outdoor Protect

I will always have a soft spot for Archimede. Fun fact: an Archimede chronograph was the first video review I ever shot for Worn & Wound. This has always been a brand that offers a noticeably higher quality product than many of its competitors within its price point, largely riding on the strength of the incredibly well machined Ickler cases. Now, for the brand’s 20th anniversary, they’ve issued a limited run of their popular Outdoor Protect sports watch with a hardened DLC case and a small Easter egg that drives home the “outdoor” theme of the hybrid sports/field watch.  While Archimede is known primarily for their traditional pilot watches, the Outdoor line veers into a style more in line with funky sports watches from the 1970s. The case has a lugless design and gentle curves, and is one of those designs that just looks like it’s going to be comfortable when you get it on your wrist. Over the years, Archimede has updated the Outdoor in various ways, offering new case sizes, and adding a chronograph complication, but the basic gist of the watch has always been simple, sporty legibility with just a little bit of 1970s funk. The “Outdoor” moniker underscores the watch’s durability and the intention behind it: to be used as part of an active lifestyle. They didn’t call it the “Office” for a reason.  For the new limited run of Outdoor Protects seen here, Archimede has sand blasted the case, which measures 39mm, with a black DLC coating that gives the ...

Hands-On: the Vero Smokey ’44

Just a few short weeks ago, Vero introduced their officially-licensed Smokey the Bear watches that were inspired not only by the bear himself, but the era in which he came into existence. Today, we’re taking a look at the Smokey ’44. It’s inspired by the military watches of the 1940s, blended with a wildfire-themed color palette and a depiction of the friendly-but-stern bear right at 12 o’clock on the dial. This officially-licensed piece of Smokey swag is a great representation of both Vero as a brand and what Smokey the Bear stands for. Vero isn’t all talk either, being that 10% of all sales go directly back to the US Forest Service for conservation efforts. Let’s take a closer look, and remember - only you can prevent wildfires. $450 Hands-On: the Vero Smokey ’44 Case Stainless steel Movement Seiko NH38A automatic Dial Black, textured Lume Green SuperLuminova Lens Sapphire Strap Leather + canvas Water Resistance 120 meters Dimensions 38 x 46mm Thickness 12mm Lug Width 20mm Crown Screw down Warranty 10 years Price $450 Case Clocking in at a comfortable 38mm, the case of the ’44 wears really well on my 6.75” wrist. There’s nothing overly notable about the case, and I say that in a good way. It’s a straightforward field watch with a sturdy case that inspires confidence that it’ll stand up to whatever you want to throw at it. With 120m of water resistance, the ’44 has more than enough protection from H2O for a swim and then some. I like how Vero c...

Out of Office: The Wandering Bezel of the Seiko Land Tortoise

Tool watches are, as the name suggests, utilitarian by design. When I bought an SRPG13, the green Seiko Land Tortoise with a compass bezel, I thought I was purchasing yet another tool watch with practical non-timekeeping functionality. After an overnight family backpacking trip, I’m not convinced my field watch is the useful tool I tried to force it to be. The Land Tortoise is a tool watch- in the sense that it’s technically capable of tasks beyond displaying the time. True North can be found with any analog watch by pointing the hour hand at the sun, bisecting the angle between the hour hand and the sun to find South, and then locating the opposite point to identify North. A compass bezel is an enhancement that allows the wearer to mark North after finding it. This summer our family of four is section hiking the entire Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail; A 50 mile peak to peak path through New Hampshire’s backcountry. What better place to put this tool to the test than on the first section of the trip? The day before our first overnight section, as I organized gear, sprawling out sleeping pads, a tent, trekking poles and various knick-knacks across our living room floor, I made sure to put on the SRPG13. I pictured standing on a mountain top, getting the kids set up with a celebratory lunch, lining up the hour hand, and then bisecting with ease. With a real compass in my pack, I was excited to check my accuracy.  Two miles away and 2000 feet above the parking lot whe...

Lang 1943 Field Watch Edition One: Competitively Priced and Approaching Perfection

Lang 1943 is not a homage, it stands its own ground and can best be summarized as a beautiful tool. The first thing that the team at Lang 1943 got right was the proportions. A diameter of 39mm is spot on, particularly when the thickness is just 8.40 mm. This results in a timepiece that is comfortable to wear, large enough to be easy to read, but not overly bulky that it hinders movements.

So You Want To Change Your Watch Strap? Here’s what you’ll need

One of us! One of us! One of the first forays into watch enthusiasm is changing out the stock strap to something a little bit more your style. Sure, the OEM straps are fine, but there’s a whole world of aftermarket offerings that can totally switch up the look and feel of your watch. The best part? It’s quick and easy to do, and you only need a few key tools to get the job done right. Whether you’re popping your new dive watch off the bracelet and onto a nato, or switching over that field watch from the cheapy faux-leather strap to something more premium, swapping straps is a fun way to get even more out of your current collection of watches. This guide breaks down some of the essentials you’ll need to get started, so let’s jump in. One of us! One of us! One of the first forays into watch enthusiasm is changing out the stock strap to something a little bit more your style. Sure, the OEM straps are fine, but there’s a whole world of aftermarket offerings that can totally switch up the look and feel of your watch. The best part? It’s quick and easy to do, and you only need a few key tools to get the job done right. Whether you’re popping your new dive watch off the bracelet and onto a nato, or switching over that field watch from the cheapy faux-leather strap to something more premium, swapping straps is a fun way to get even more out of your current collection of watches. This guide breaks down some of the essentials you’ll need to get started, so let’s ...

Hands-On: Monta Goes Green To Say Farewell To The Triumph

An earth-toned limited edition field watch.

Field of Dreams: LANG 1943 Field Watch

Three Pilot’s Watches for Any Budget - Windup Watch Shop

Pilot Watches are an excellent option for everyday wear. They’re bold, legible, and have some serious history behind them. Right up there with the field watch, Pilot watches are iconic military-style watches which have carried over into the civilian world extraordinarily well. There are a few classic elements that make a watch a pilot’s watch, the most notable being a triangle index at 12, a large and legible hand set, and a case that rides on the larger side. Today, we’re highlighting three picks from the shop that scratch that pilot watch itch at any budget. Under $500 is Seiko 5 Sports’ SRPH29, at right around $1000 is the Laco Paderborn, and in the $2000 range is Oris’ modern take on the pilot’s watch. Let’s dig in and take a closer look. Pilot Watches are an excellent option for everyday wear. They’re bold, legible, and have some serious history behind them. Right up there with the field watch, Pilot watches are iconic military-style watches which have carried over into the civilian world extraordinarily well. There are a few classic elements that make a watch a pilot’s watch, the most notable being a triangle index at 12, a large and legible hand set, and a case that rides on the larger side. Today, we’re highlighting three picks from the shop that scratch that pilot watch itch at any budget. Under $500 is Seiko 5 Sports’ SRPH29, at right around $1000 is the Laco Paderborn, and in the $2000 range is Oris’ modern take on the pilot’s watch. ...

Best Field Watches for Trails, Work, and Everyday Life

Reviewed and tested for real-world use, these field watches balance tool-watch toughness with everyday usability on trails or on the job.

Monta Announces a Triumph with a Military Green Dial, and the End (For Now) of their Beloved Field Watch

Monta surprised Windup Chicago attendees this weekend with the surprise unveiling of a new colorway for their popular Triumph model. The Triumph is the brand’s take on a classic military field watch, so the new green dial feels like a natural choice for the way it evokes uniforms and other military iconography, and brings an even more tool-like feel to the Triumph.  The Triumph has been around since 2017 and is one of the longest standing Monta references. When it was introduced at Baselworld that year, a sunburst green dial was among the variants on display. This new version is a very different take on the color, however, with a more pronounced olive tone and a lacquer finish. Hands, hour markers, and Arabic numerals are all in a crisp, high contrast white, with the hands and markers at 12, 3, 6, and 9 given a rhodium plating for increased legibility.  Aside from the new dial, this is the same Triumph that Monta fans have come to love over the years. It features the same top notch finishing that Monta has always been known for, which in the case of the Triumph means a case that’s entirely brushed, except for thin chamfers on the bracelet, bezel, and lugs. The case measures 38.5mm in diameter and is just 9.7mm thick, but still has a full 150 meters of water resistance thanks to its robust construction and screw down crown.  The military green dialed Triumph is a limited edition of 95 pieces, and is now available for pre-order at a price of $1,700. It’s also worth ...

[VIDEO] Missed Review: The Seiko Alpinist SARB017

We all have unique origin stories about the watches that got us into the hobby, or the watches responsible for pulling us in deeper. As varied as those stories surely are, the overlap of appearances by a certain handful of watches is likely quite high. While not universal, I’d wager that the highest percentage of overlap is among Seiko watches, stuff like the SKX007, the 6139, and the Alpinist SARB017. Each of those references make appearances somewhere along the early stages of my own journey, and this Missed Review will focus specifically on that last one, the Alpinist SARB017, a watch that’s easy to take for granted these days. There was a time, however, when this watch had a near mythic appeal. In some ways, it still does.  The Alpinist holds an interesting place in Seiko history, and while the name may no longer exist formally, it still holds a tremendous amount of equity when it comes to Seiko field watches and their enthusiasts. The name itself dates back to the early ‘60s with the Laurel Alpinist and Champion Alpinist, though it wouldn’t appear on a modern design until 1995 with the so-called ‘red Alpinist’ SCVF references designed by Shigeo Sakai. It is this design that would set the template for the 2006 SARB references, and the current Prospex Land watches which no longer employ the Alpinist nomenclature. $700 [VIDEO] Missed Review: The Seiko Alpinist SARB017 Case Stainless Steel Movement 6R15 Dial Almond Green Lume Super Luminova Lens Sapphire Stra...

CWC Watch Review: The Mellor 72

A quick hands-on look at the vintage-correct CWC Mellor 72. Check out the review for specs, pricing, photos, and more.

Circula ProTrail “Old Radium” Limited Edition: Reimagining the Field Watch

A review of the Circula ProTrail “Old Radium” Limited Edition. A refined take on what collectors call a "field watch."

Exploring the History and Durability of the Marathon TSAR

A quick review of the the Marathon TSAR dive watch. This is a truly mil-spec piece that sees real service across the world today.

The Three Watch Collection for $5,000: Reader Edition - Chris Antzoulis

Editor’s note: This 3 watch collection for $5,000 is brought to us by Chris Antzoulis, who you may know on Instagram as @PoppingCrowns, who gives us a well reasoned, and well diversified trio of watches that aren’t short on personality. We love the mix of tones and colors, as well as the subtle details that remain to be discovered.  You can make your submission to the Three Watch Collection – Reader Edition by filling out the form right here. What was the most embarrassing phase of your life? Think about it…but, I’ll go first. I was (and still am on the inside) an emo kid. I listened to Yellowcard and Saves the Day, played in a band called Autumn’s Disaster (a disaster indeed), wore all black all the time and applied my mom’s eyeliner before playing shows. I wanted to highlight the heartbreak. Adult Chris has gained some perspective. In order to see color we have to embody it in a purposeful way. I view watches as an extension of my personality, and an intentional piece of an outfit’s design (my favorite piece). I’m no outdoorsman. My dive watches are lucky to see a pool, field watches would be perplexed by a hike up a mountain, and if you tell me you use your chronograph for more than just timing things in the kitchen for funsies, then I dub you a liar and a scoundrel!  I don’t NEED tools; I am capable of being enough of one on my own, to then also have to wear one on the wrist. Joke’s aside, my choices for a three-watch collection under $5000 are...