Initially developed in collaboration with Kelly Air Power Base in 1986, the Marathon Navigator is commonly considered one of many darlings of the business, as permits house owners to get their fingers on a real mil-spec watch, which comes from a model that primarily creates merchandise to satisfy authorities contracts. Through the years, the Navigator has advanced, though current enhancements have been accompanied by increased costs, and the present Marathon Navigator now finds itself in a extremely aggressive class. So, what precisely has modified on the fan-favorite Navigator, and is it nonetheless the attainable business darling that first gained the hearts of fans?
Whereas the very first Marathon Navigator watches had metal instances, the mannequin was up to date to function a composite case within the Nineties, and whereas Marathon has extra not too long ago revived the stainless-steel Navigator as a premium enthusiast-driven possibility, the traditional model nonetheless encompasses a plastic case with a chrome steel heart part that homes the motion. That mentioned, whereas the unique plastic Navigator was solely obtainable in black, Marathon now affords the mannequin in three completely different colorways that embrace black, sage inexperienced, and desert tan, with the latter possibility being the model that’s featured right here. Moreover, whereas the dials fitted to all three variations are black with white markings, Marathon affords the Navigator in each date and no-date codecs, together with just a few completely different choices that relate to dial markings and the addition of army department insignias.
Crafted from sand-colored Fibreshell, which is a kind of high-impact composite, the case of the Marathon Navigator measures 41mm in diameter by 13mm thick (or 11mm when measured from crystal to caseback), and it has 20mm lugs with an total lug-to-lug profile of roughly 48mm. As this can be a correct mil-spec watch, mounted bars are mounted into the lugs, which signifies that pass-through straps can be your possibility with regards to appropriate third-party replacements. Regardless of largely being constituted of plastic parts, the Marathon Navigator doesn’t really feel low cost in any sort of capability, though I’d hardly say that it exudes a way of premium high quality, and the general impression is purposeful and utilitarian, however on no account is it even remotely luxurious or refined.
The mannequin reviewed right here is the second era of the plastic case Marathon Navigator, particularly the reference WW194013DT-0112 (Army NSN 6645-01-699-5584, for individuals who are curious), and together with the extra colorways which can be obtainable for this sequence, the second-generation Navigator watches are characterised by three key updates. Somewhat than being constituted of acrylic, the crystal is now a chunk of flat sapphire for extra scratch resistance, and the unsigned push/pull-style crown is now constituted of sandblasted stainless-steel to extend its sturdiness. The third key replace pertains to the caseback, and the stainless-steel snap-on caseback (full with the compulsory mil-spec wall of textual content) now options an easy-access battery door that may be opened utilizing a screwdriver, knife, and even the sting of a coin.
Most fans will welcome these additions, though this second era of the Marathon Navigator is barely heavier than its direct predecessor, and the present plastic case Navigator weighs roughly 40 grams (not together with its strap). Water resistance for this era of the Navigator is available in at 60 meters, which ought to be enough for many types of each day contact (in any case, this can be a pilot’s watch), and surrounding the crystal is a bidirectional composite bezel with white recessed numerals and a small luminous tritium tube embedded inside the inverted triangle on the zero marker. Whereas the bezel encompasses a 12-hour scale, it additionally consists of particular person minute markings for the primary 20 minutes, and this enables house owners to make use of the Navigator’s bezel for monitoring quick intervals of elapsed time.
Whereas the bezel itself is actually useful and an integral a part of the Marathon Navigator’s design, the motion of its movement does depart a bit to be desired. The bezel is in the end of the friction-fit selection, though there’s a faint and considerably mushy ratcheting motion that may be felt throughout operation. Moreover, whereas there’s actually a enough quantity of rigidity to make sure that the bezel gained’t simply be knocked misplaced, the strain is quite uneven, and it may well generally be a bit tough to rotate. These difficulties are additional exacerbated by the uneven form of the case, which protrudes on the right-hand aspect to supply safety for the crown, and whereas I’m personally a giant fan of this case profile, it does make it barely tougher to grip the outer rim of the bezel.
In need of implementing some sort of sturdy ratcheting mechanism, the Navigator’s bezel was at all times destined to be both too unfastened or too tight, and I’d personally quite have a bezel that’s barely tough to grip versus one that’s always being knocked misplaced and diminished to nothing greater than a glorified fidget spinner in your watch. Provided that the Navigator’s 12-hour bezel is primarily meant to show a secondary timezone, the truth that it’s barely arduous to function isn’t truly all that a lot of a disadvantage throughout real-world use, though it does function a reminder of the watch’s common lack of refinement, particularly when in comparison with the pretty exact ratcheting movement that may be discovered on different watches at this worth level.
Provided that the design of the Marathon Navigator is predicated on army specs, its dial holds zero surprises, with a matte black floor, crisp white printing, Arabic numeral hour markers, and glowing tritium gas-filled tubes serving as extra indexes alongside the periphery of the dial. The white-finished syringe handset additionally receives a pair of tritium tubes set into the hour and minute hand, whereas the tip of the seconds hand is completed vibrant pink for added visibility and distinction. On the date-displaying variations of the Navigator, a calendar window is added on the 4:30 place, and whereas the vast majority of the tritium tubes glow inexperienced, the tube positioned on the 12 o’clock location glows orange to assist supply a transparent orientation of the time in whole darkness.
With regards to lume efficiency, the radioactive tritium gasoline will enable the dial and fingers of the Marathon Navigator to glow constantly for as much as 25 years, and identical to different watches that use tritium tubes for his or her luminescence, the Navigator’s show is much much less vibrant than what you get from one thing like a diver that’s drenched in Tremendous-LumiNova. Moreover, the tubes themselves are the usual spherical selection, quite than being the additional giant bar-shaped model like what may be discovered on the opposite watches, such because the Traser P68 Pathfinder Automated T100 and the ProTek Sequence 3000 subject watch. Whereas I do want that the minute hand was barely longer and reached the markers of the minute observe, the mil-spec design of the dial mixed with its use of tritium tubes ends in a show that’s extremely legible in all lighting situations.
Powering this second era of plastic case Marathon Navigator watches is the Swiss ETA Caliber F06 high-torque quartz motion, which affords a battery life of roughly 68 months and consists of an end-of-life indicator, the place the seconds hand will advance in four-second intervals to inform house owners when it’s time to change the battery. Whereas the mechanical purists on the market will inevitably be disillusioned by way of a quartz motion, the ETA F06 is in the end a extremely sensible possibility for a rugged army timepiece, and for the reason that unique Marathon Navigator from the Nineteen Eighties was particularly designed to be a quartz watch, using a regular battery-powered motion is in the end true to the mannequin’s design specs and historical past.
Looped by way of the mounted lug bars of the Navigator is a tan-colored ballistic nylon strap, and Marathon offers its clients two completely different selections when buying the watch. The usual possibility is a single-piece, pass-through-style strap, whereas paying a small premium will get you the NATO model featured right here, which incorporates sandblasted stainless-steel {hardware} and a chunky signed pin buckle. The standard of the NATO strap is actually a step above the usual pass-through strap, though given the pretty low price of manufacturing a nylon NATO, it might be a pleasant contact if Marathon merely included this upgraded strap on all of its second-generation Navigator watches, quite than forcing consumers to pay a premium for it.
On the wrist, the light-weight construction of the Marathon Navigator makes it a pleasure to put on, and the truth that there’s nothing valuable about it signifies that house owners can benefit from the Navigator because the utilitarian software watch that it was meant to be, quite than worrying in regards to the scratches and scuffs that accumulate from each day use. Admittedly, manufacturers like Luminox, Traser, and ProTek all produce military-style tritium tube watches that objectively supply a extra refined total bundle. Nevertheless, the no-frills design of the Marathon Navigator feels strictly useful, and I wrestle to consider one other model that higher embodies the true ethos of the military-issued watch. With that in thoughts, the query that continues to be for the person purchaser is whether or not you need the precise watch that will get ordered by governments and equipped to army models, or when you would like one thing a bit extra elevated by way of its total design and building.
Watch fans usually glorify the idea of “military-issued” however this not often serves as a testomony to superlative high quality. Army-issued watches are actually rugged and useful, though it’s essential to keep in mind that price can also be an enormous issue with regards to securing army contracts, and whereas superior choices at all times exist, they’re usually accompanied by costs which can be too excessive for governments to justify the extra expense — particularly contemplating that they are going to be putting orders for 1000’s of models, and lots of can be misplaced or broken throughout lively responsibility. Regarding the complete “military-issued” idea and authorities contracts usually, I’d wish to remind you of a well-known quote by astronaut John Glenn, who was the fifth individual in historical past to achieve outer area and the primary American to orbit the Earth.
“I assume the query I’m requested probably the most usually is: ‘Once you had been sitting in that capsule listening to the count-down, how did you are feeling?’ Effectively, the reply to that one is simple. I felt precisely how you’d really feel when you had been on the point of launch and knew you had been sitting on high of two million elements — all constructed by the bottom bidder on a authorities contract.” — John Herschel Glenn Jr.
In a vacuum, the Marathon Navigator is an absolute house run of a watch, and it’s ideally suited to be an individual’s carefree, grab-and-go timekeeping companion. Nevertheless, the present era of the Navigator is kind of a bit dearer than what the model was charging for its predecessors, and also you at the moment are a retail worth of $420 USD for the least costly possibility and $480 USD to get your fingers on the mannequin featured right here, which is the date-displaying model that comes with the premium NATO strap. Whereas this nonetheless locations the Navigator firmly on the inexpensive aspect of the spectrum, this budget-friendly business darling now finds itself in a extremely aggressive worth class with various alternate options that arguably supply a extra refined total bundle. With that in thoughts, few watches can rival the respectable army heritage of the Marathon Navigator, and whereas it not represents fairly the identical worth proposition, it’s nonetheless among the finest methods to get your fingers on a correct mil-spec watch that’s legitimately used for lively responsibility. For extra info on the Marathon Navigator, please go to the model’s web site.
