 |
PM |  | |
Quote | | |
Reply | | |
Full Topic | |
| Joined: | Tue Sep 1st, 2009 |
| Location: | Charlotte, North Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 5332 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
After wearing two Patriots and inspecting them the past few days, I wanted to share my first impressions. They only represent my personal opinions and don’t read more into it than just that. Those who know me know I am pretty honest and courteous.
The case is cool looking, not great but looks good. The SS finish is good, nothing great and in par with watches costing 1/3 and ½ its price. Some may find it small, the lugs don’t do much to make it wear bigger, but for me it is ok in size. I have a 7” wrist for reference. The lugs look a little odd to me but I love the hex screw bar, they make changing straps a breeze.
The bezel looks good and is kept simple which I like. No ash marks all over and some will fins the 12hr bezel useful to track a second time zone I suppose. It turns with firm clicks and authority but is not tight, I like it a lot.
The dial just looks very good but could be better with smaller font, especially for the word PATRIOT. That blue is not my favorite but it suits the watch in my opinion… again would be better with smaller font I think, much better. The big contrasting indices are well done, and make the watch very legible in my opinion. Their blue lume really looks cool but is not super bright, nothing major, doesn’t bother me that much. I love the hands, they fit this dial and the watch real well IMO.
The movement may be durable, I am sure it is, but so are others so I still don’t quite understand why this one was chosen and especially at this price point. I mean come on… the movement does not even hack! I find that very annoying J The crown is wide in diameter but narrow and not the easiest to grab when screwed in. It wobbles just a tad but no biggy but most of all it is just rough to screw in, which is just unforgiveable at this price. I know it is not just my watch, my other one (DLC) was the same and others have experiences that same roughness. Just the way it is and I guess some will say it is part of its charm. To me at 1400$ I expect more.
Comparing it to older Benarus Sea Devil and Boschett Cave Dweller at 450-550$, I feel these watches case finish was at least as good as the Resco Patriot’s, they had better WR and a proven Myota mvt which were very accurate for me and reliable and non hacking too. And now one can get a real nice Moray II and Remora for 500-600 with the new hackable Myota mvt!
At 1400$, I can get a Zixen Nitrox II and have enough for another nice watch.. The Zixen is much better finished IMHO, has a better dial, comes on a bracelet, has a ETA 2824 mvt….. At $1400 I got a gently used Anonimo, Omega SMP, Doxa 5000.. heck at 950$ I got a vastly superior Korsbek Oceaneer with the ETA 2892 mvt, killer hand/dial combo, great crown operations…. Also a Fortis B42…. So even for the price of a used Resco 900-1000$, one can get an amazing watch superior to it in many areas…
Overall I would say that the Patriot is just a real cool looking watch and wears really comfortable, but to me is just way overpriced for what it is and its looks can’t quite make up for it, even if I buy it used well under the $1400 price tag new. I love wearing it but the jury is still out on whether it’ll stay in the collection or I’ll sell it to use the $ for something of higher quality and specs.
I hope I did not offend or piss off anyone but I want to provide honest feedback, some facts and my opinion…. Reviews can’t always be all positive. I do find the watch very attractive, mostly due to its dial and hand combo I think.
Thanks for reading,
Brice
Sorry for the cell phone pics.
