quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
What model did you have?

The SNE537P1.

I’m surprised that it wasn’t satisfactory. Looks like a nice watch.

If you want a stupid tough military watch, consider a Marathon GSAR.

https://www.marathonwatch.com/collections/watch

Every time I see an ad for a Luminox, I have wondered, "Why is it so damned expensive? It looks like a $25 Casio from Walmart. " After reading these comments, I am glad I never bought one.

2nd on the Marathon brand. I have had one for a few years and it has been a great watch. It has the tritium illumination that Marathon says will last up to 25 years.

Plus they have them on sale now

https://www.marathonwatch.com/...ariant=7514788200490

Second on Reactor watches. They are solid watches from a great company !

I bought one marked down two years ago. Upon receiving and reading reviews I sent it back for a refund.

I posted this pix here in April 2015. I have been wearing this one daily since I got it. I battery change. No fogging, gains 2-3 seconds per month. Lum is still bright. I purchased it directly from Luminox using their military discount. I guess I got lucky.

Mine fogged right away. It was repaired under warranty. I suspect the broken lug has compromised the seal. The band didn’t last a year. Replaced with a cheap Walmart rubber band that has lasted years.

Tritium isn’t overrated in the slightest imo. The lume that has to be charged sucks. Middle of night it is gone. Tritium is the same until it’s done. Which is a long time.

Luminox is a nice watch. If you get one without issue. Odds are better if you buy a different brand.

Japanese watches only for me, they've got the entire price gamut covered, and they just don't fail. my next watch will be a spring drive grand seiko.

Just to confirm, is the fogging you’re referring to when you make a transition from one temperature extreme to another? (As in, from cold AC to summer heat or vice versa?)

If so, condensation can happen with any watch. There’s air inside the case and a little moisture with that air.

If it’s fogging from submersion or wet environments, or just daily activities, yes, it could be a bad seal. Worth checking on either way, but thought I’d throw that out. Sorry about your watch frustrations!

Agree to disagree. I bought my first one in Bahrain in 2002. It went through 2 deployments, one trip to the repairman and been’s worn daily and abused by a multitude of miscreants.

I have owned quite a number of watches over the 60+ years since the first, including three Rolexes, and the Luminox is the only—the only—one in which condensation has ever formed on the inside of the crystal. And those watches were worn daily in diverse environments from the heat and humidity of Vietnam and Washington, DC, in Arizona for years, to –50° temperatures in northern Alaska. I have also been a photographer for nearly as long and used my cameras for decades in the same environments. Any fogging in those lenses? No.

The first time I noticed it with the brand new Luminox was after putting it on in my house and spending about 15 minutes driving to the range. When I got there I could hardly read the dial. And to reiterate, the company itself admits that such fogging is “normal” and not a warranty issue. My most recent watch purchase is a Seiko that I have worn many times under the same environmental conditions as caused the problem with the Luminox, and any fogging? Nope: None, nothing, nada, zip.

At one time when people were first using them to hunt dinosaurs, rifle scopesights were subject to fogging because of humid air being inside. In time, however, manufacturers eliminated that problem by filling the sights with dry nitrogen or other gases. There is no reason watch manufacturers cannot do the same, and probably do.

Suggesting that all watches are the same indicates that someone has been incredibly unlucky, or unwise, in his choices.

The fact that many, and perhaps most people have never had a problem with a product doesn’t change the fact that it can still have an unacceptable percentage of defects. If an expensive item failed for some reason for every buyer, it wouldn’t be on the market for long, and would probably never make it there in the first place. For those who have Luminox watches and are happy with them, I congratulate you on your good fortune, but not everyone is.

Never owned one, but not optimistic after continuing to hear such things. I’m not a huge fan of batteries, anyway. If the watch isn’t powered by the sun, the force, my chakras, etc., I’m less interested.

I picked up a GShock from Truong and am very happy so far. I like my Citizen, too, but should have gotten one with sapphire crystal.

If your watch fogs up by going from a hot room to cold or vice versa then your watch sucks. It’s normal for shitty watches. Besides which once they replaced the seal it hasn’t happened since.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
For those who have Luminox watches and are happy with them, I congratulate you on your good fortune ...

Thank you very much!

Here's a current review article on tritium watches:

https://nanadc.com/best-tritium-watches/

Lots of choices if you don't want Luminox.

I've had a few Luminox's over the last 10+ years (currently have two). No problems with them.

My wife's had two, again no problems.

Doesn't mean that someone can't get a bad one though. I will say, I don't think they are as "tough" or "durable" as my G Shocks... but they are O.K. for the price point.

I lucked out on mine - battery lasted 5-6 years - no other problems.

Now, the straps, on the other hand, suck. And I do mean SUCK.

After two broke from just average wear, I put a NATO strap on it and called it good.

I bought mine from David Truong many years ago, its been great.

The initial one did have a problem after 5 months. The watch stopped and the second hand bounced back and forth between two dial marks. It was immediately replaced and if I recall Luminox said they'd never seen that before.

The original battery lasted about 4 1/2 years. I learned that you'll see a second hand lag which indicates the battery is going bad. Its a good thing I got it in quick as the battery was leaking. Fortunately no damage done. I don't recommend doing it yourself as it is a dive watch and should be pressure tested once resealed. The local watch guy specializes in this and did it pretty cheap and in about 15 min which included a full cleaning.

His opinion was that a GENUINE Luminox was a great watch and other than leaky dead batteries he has never seen a major issue. Amazon and others sell something else, knock offs, or low quality and they have all sorts of issues.

I've never had a fogging issue and I've gone from hot tub to pool at hotels. I've also done some snorkeling with it with no issues. It's my daily wear and rarely comes off. I've also gone from being outside in -10F to inside at 72F with no fogging issues.

I will concede that the original straps only last about a year. I replaced it with a cheap sport watch one from Target years ago and its perfectly fine.

I'd say if your watch is fogging up you have some serious issues and hopefully would be covered under warranty.

quote:

Originally posted by usmc-nav:
2nd on the Marathon brand. I have had one for a few years and it has been a great watch. It has the tritium illumination that Marathon says will last up to 25 years.

Plus they have them on sale now

https://www.marathonwatch.com/...ariant=7514788200490

Hey gee, thanks! You just cost me $822.00+ after ordering a new medium dive watch! LOL...