tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
A couple weeks ago I received a lovely new Seiko field watch as a birthday present. I thought I would write a review in case anyone else is interested in this model. It is an SNZG09J1 to be exact - the "09" means it has the green dial and the "J1" means it was made in Japan (although apparently that might not actually be the case).
Note: this is not the stock strap. I put it on a brown Horween Chromexcel strap from E3 Supply Co. Awesome leather strap, by the way.
With a budget under $200, there were three main things I wanted - 1) automatic movement 2) classic field watch style 3) a green dial. The SNZG series of watches can be had for around $100 and pretty much met my requirements spot on. The SNZG's movement is famously robust and reliable. In the two weeks I've had it, it has kept excellent time. I haven't measured it down to the second, but its good enough for me. Unfortunately, the movement does not hand-wind or hack seconds. Although those would be nice features, I don't need to wind it manually since I wear it just about everyday, and I don't bother to set the time down to the second. As you can see, the dial is bog standard, easy to read, field watch - nothing fancy, no superfluous sub-dials or oversized stylized numerals. The 42mm stainless steal case is the perfect size and shape for my 8 1/2" wrist and has a nice bead-blasted finish. The crown operates crisply. Pull it out to the first position to quick-set the day and date and the second position to set the time. No fuss, no muss. I love the dark OD green color of the 09 version; it suites my Army background. The dial also has excellent contrast, making it very easy to read in low light. Plus, it has fantastic lume that shines like it's on fire for several minutes after its charged and stays easily readable for many hours. Without charging it overnight, I can still make it out in my dark bedroom when I wake up at 5 in the morning. I'm kind of on the fence about the thick chapter ring around the dial. On the one hand, it gives the watch a little different character than the Hamilton Khaki and other World War II-style field watches and adds some 3D interest to the watch face. On the other hand, I wish it were about half as thick and maybe beveled to make it less chunky. Nevertheless, I'm learning to appreciate the distinctiveness it gives the watch.
For those who aren't into green, the other dial colors in the SNZG series are quite nice too - cream, "air force" blue, and black. The black dial can be had with a bead blasted case like mine, a brushed case with matching bracelet, and particularly nice looking tacti-cool gunmetal case and bracket.
I did want to mention a couple competing watches that I cross-shopped before "suggesting" the SNZG09J1 to my birthday benefactor - the Seiko SNK805 and the Orient Defender. The SNK805 is the green version in the SNK series. It uses the same movement and costs about a third less than the bigger SNZG watches. However, at 37mm, the SNK is a touch small for my tastes. Also, I'm not a fan of the flieger-style dial (triangle at 12 o'clock with minute instead of hour markings). Functionally, the only real difference is the SNK has a water resistance of only 30m verses the SNZG's more robust 100m. (30m WR is watch industry speak for "don't even think about getting this watch wet") I will say that the SNK is probably the best deal in automatic watches, especially when they can be had on sale in the $50+ range. It would be a perfect watch to buy for my sons.
The Defender is another very interesting field watch that costs about the same as, or slightly more than, the SNZG. For those who might not know, Orient and Seiko are like the Chevy and Ford of affordable Japanese watches. Both are very comparable, and both have their fan clubs. The Defender is roughly the same shape and size as the SNZG - both 42mm. Also similar to the SNZG, its movement doesn't hack or hand-wind, and it has 100m WR. However, the Defender has a much more modern take on the field watch style. Although useless, its sub-dials for 24-hour and day-of-the-week look cool and give the dial a sophisticated vibe without being too busy. Functionally, the Defender's only advantage over the SNZG is its screw-down crown, which would be a reassuring feature for regular swimming or other water sports. On the downside, the Defender's day-of-the-week dial doesn't quick-set, making it fussy to operate. A couple of things different might have swayed me towards the Defender over the SNZG - 1) if the 24 hour sub-dial could be independently set to show a second timezone (it can't) or 2) it had a green dial version (the granite version is a unique brownish-gray - a very nice color that has a similar effect as OD green, but I really - really - wanted a green field watch). I could envision a Defender perhaps gracing my wrist in the future if the watch bug keeps biting, but for now, overall, the Seiko SNZG had a clear advantage for me.
So anyway, there's my overlong review (sort of) of the Seiko SNZG and quasi-comparo with other field watches on my radar screen. If anyone else has experience with any of the these watches or other types of field watches, I'd love to hear it.
Note: this is not the stock strap. I put it on a brown Horween Chromexcel strap from E3 Supply Co. Awesome leather strap, by the way.
With a budget under $200, there were three main things I wanted - 1) automatic movement 2) classic field watch style 3) a green dial. The SNZG series of watches can be had for around $100 and pretty much met my requirements spot on. The SNZG's movement is famously robust and reliable. In the two weeks I've had it, it has kept excellent time. I haven't measured it down to the second, but its good enough for me. Unfortunately, the movement does not hand-wind or hack seconds. Although those would be nice features, I don't need to wind it manually since I wear it just about everyday, and I don't bother to set the time down to the second. As you can see, the dial is bog standard, easy to read, field watch - nothing fancy, no superfluous sub-dials or oversized stylized numerals. The 42mm stainless steal case is the perfect size and shape for my 8 1/2" wrist and has a nice bead-blasted finish. The crown operates crisply. Pull it out to the first position to quick-set the day and date and the second position to set the time. No fuss, no muss. I love the dark OD green color of the 09 version; it suites my Army background. The dial also has excellent contrast, making it very easy to read in low light. Plus, it has fantastic lume that shines like it's on fire for several minutes after its charged and stays easily readable for many hours. Without charging it overnight, I can still make it out in my dark bedroom when I wake up at 5 in the morning. I'm kind of on the fence about the thick chapter ring around the dial. On the one hand, it gives the watch a little different character than the Hamilton Khaki and other World War II-style field watches and adds some 3D interest to the watch face. On the other hand, I wish it were about half as thick and maybe beveled to make it less chunky. Nevertheless, I'm learning to appreciate the distinctiveness it gives the watch.
For those who aren't into green, the other dial colors in the SNZG series are quite nice too - cream, "air force" blue, and black. The black dial can be had with a bead blasted case like mine, a brushed case with matching bracelet, and particularly nice looking tacti-cool gunmetal case and bracket.
I did want to mention a couple competing watches that I cross-shopped before "suggesting" the SNZG09J1 to my birthday benefactor - the Seiko SNK805 and the Orient Defender. The SNK805 is the green version in the SNK series. It uses the same movement and costs about a third less than the bigger SNZG watches. However, at 37mm, the SNK is a touch small for my tastes. Also, I'm not a fan of the flieger-style dial (triangle at 12 o'clock with minute instead of hour markings). Functionally, the only real difference is the SNK has a water resistance of only 30m verses the SNZG's more robust 100m. (30m WR is watch industry speak for "don't even think about getting this watch wet") I will say that the SNK is probably the best deal in automatic watches, especially when they can be had on sale in the $50+ range. It would be a perfect watch to buy for my sons.
The Defender is another very interesting field watch that costs about the same as, or slightly more than, the SNZG. For those who might not know, Orient and Seiko are like the Chevy and Ford of affordable Japanese watches. Both are very comparable, and both have their fan clubs. The Defender is roughly the same shape and size as the SNZG - both 42mm. Also similar to the SNZG, its movement doesn't hack or hand-wind, and it has 100m WR. However, the Defender has a much more modern take on the field watch style. Although useless, its sub-dials for 24-hour and day-of-the-week look cool and give the dial a sophisticated vibe without being too busy. Functionally, the Defender's only advantage over the SNZG is its screw-down crown, which would be a reassuring feature for regular swimming or other water sports. On the downside, the Defender's day-of-the-week dial doesn't quick-set, making it fussy to operate. A couple of things different might have swayed me towards the Defender over the SNZG - 1) if the 24 hour sub-dial could be independently set to show a second timezone (it can't) or 2) it had a green dial version (the granite version is a unique brownish-gray - a very nice color that has a similar effect as OD green, but I really - really - wanted a green field watch). I could envision a Defender perhaps gracing my wrist in the future if the watch bug keeps biting, but for now, overall, the Seiko SNZG had a clear advantage for me.
So anyway, there's my overlong review (sort of) of the Seiko SNZG and quasi-comparo with other field watches on my radar screen. If anyone else has experience with any of the these watches or other types of field watches, I'd love to hear it.
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