- [Adam] Today, the Bertucci A1-R Field Comfort watch.
Bertucci is a US company, known for field watches.
With the A1-R, they’ve gone to lot of effort
to develop a field watch encompassing traits
of traditional military issued watches,
and with modern USPs.
The result is an incredibly practical, strong,
and unbelievably lightweight field watch.
I’ve lived with my Bertucci A1-R Field Comfort Watch
for a little while, so I can make an informed review
with real-world user feedback.
For those that like to see the box contents,
and packaging, I did take time capture this
for you upon delivery,
even though I was super excited
to just get this watch on my wrist.
Some specs and help line number, warrantee info,
and the Bertucci pooch are printed on the box.
This man-proof shrink wrap almost defeated me.
I like the simple cardboard box.
I purchased the watch myself, no one sent it to me,
I spent my own money.
You can buy one from the same place I did
using the link in the video description.
If you use the link and make a purchase
I can make a small fee at no extra cost to you.
Ignore the dust and speckles,
they’re not visible to my naked eye,
but show up under studio lighting.
My screen protection film fell off,
I guess I’ll have to go burst
some bubble wrapping instead.
If you had any concerns of buyers’ remorse,
forget about that immediately.
The first thing you will defiantly notice
as you get ahold of this, is how surprised you are
at just how soft and silky the strap feels.
More about the strap in a moment.
The watch looks fantastic and even better
than in the retailer’s pictures.
This was my pick of the range from Bertucci.
For a field watch,
the most important starting place for me,
are the dimensions.
Many field watches of WWII
would have had a case diameter of 32 to 36mm.
We got anthropometrics better many decades ago.
Unless you have arms like a powerlifter,
nowadays many of us look like we’re 10 years old,
wearing our dad’s watch.
And I understand the aesthetic of a big watch
appeals to a lot of people, so that’s cool.
But for a field watch, I need it to be comfortable
and useable for outdoors use.
A watch I’m not going be conscious of wearing,
or bash against everything I walk past,
with a big clumsy, oversized case.
The Bertucci A1-R offers
that desirable 36mm case diameter.
That’s a good sized watch for an actual human.
There is a 40mm DX3 model if you like this style,
but really do need a larger case size.
But, before you assume the 40mil may be better,
stick with me,
because that may be the wrong decision.
The watch case is designed to pass a zulu style,
or a single pass strap through.
Commonly, these are a little thicker
than a nato style strap.
So, you get room to do that,
which extends the lug-to-lug measurement.
And, unlike a two-piece strap
that would articulate immediately down
from the watch pin pivot point,
with this comfort nylon strap,
we see you get this arc kind of shape,
extending further outwards.
Both those things considered,
the watch wears a little like a regular 40mil
on a two-piece strap, at least in this direction.
If instead, you’d started with a 40mil case,
you may find the strap is a bit sticky-out and unwieldy.
For reference, my wrist is seven inches.
I think this would suit up to an eight-inch wrist.
Lug-to-lug here,
is 44.8 on a more accurate offscreen measurement.
The case thickness, I get 10.1.
And you can add 1.7mm to that
for the single-pass strap that it sits on.
The diameter measures 36mm dead.
Lug width is 19mm.
Next, take a look at the US patented unibody case.
This is where we get some innovation and ruggedness.
I’ve heard the watch case described as “plastic”,
and then suggestions it should cost less.
Maybe they should have written something
more elaborative than just poly-resin
on the case back.
Actually, it’s fibre-reenforced polycarbonate,
which is a polymer composite
that’s a little too special to just dismiss
as any old plastic.
If you laminate polycarbonate for example,
that’s how you make bulletproof glass.
You can take a piece of polycarbonate
and fold it double on itself without breaking it.
Here’s that same test with a cheaper plastic type.
The fibre-reenforced polycarbonate
we have in this watch case
will be even stronger than regular polycarbonate.
And, this is a big chunk of that material,
also encompassing fixed strap locators
to complete what Bertucci describe
as their Unibody case.
Fixed strap bars, by the way,
is another common authentic design spec
of military watches.
The crown is set at four o' clock,
so it doesn't fig into your arm.
This fibre-reenforced polycarbonate
manages to pull off the appearance
of a more expensive steel PVD coated watch case.
Apart then from being a really care-free watch
that I don’t have to worry about damaging,
the other benefit of the watch case material choice,
is the weight-saving properties.
Officially 1.16 oz or 33 grams.
Weighed here at just 32 grams.
In fact, that’s including a very plush watch strap.
Let’s weigh the case on its own.
Just 17 grams, or about two small boxes of matches.
The benefits on wrist are incredible.
I can’t feel the weight of anything at all
resting on my wrist,
which really does give an unrivaled comfort level.
My normal choice for hiking or scrambling
or general outdoors use
are normally one of my G-Shocks,
which themselves are very light.
But, they were made immediately redundant
after getting the Bertucci A1-R.
On long runs, (birds chirping)
I find my Bertucci more comfortable
than sports type watches with resin straps
that can be itchy and sweaty.
I frequently grab the Bertucci for my nighttime walks.
Being a field watch,
we have a very high contrast black dial
versus white numerals and white hands,
making it easy to read in low-light conditions,
even when the lume is not charged.
The crystal is described as a scratch resistance,
R-Type mineral crystal.
Mineral being less reflective than sapphire,
makes it a good choice for a field watch,
and makes it a good shatter-proof option.
You have 24-hour markings,
popular with US-style military watches.
I love that they did the seconds hand in red.
There’s no date complication to clutter the display.
Plus, if you don’t know what day it is,
you probably don’t need to know what time it is.
Start with the day, work forwards.
The movement is an all-metal, Japan-made Quartz.
The battery has a three-year life expectancy.
Which matches the Bertucci warrantee
on the watch, incidentally.
Bertucci suggest you can pull the crown out,
to conserve battery life
when the watch isn’t in use for an extended periods.
So, maybe I can do better than three years?
With there being no date to set,
it would only take a moment to reset the time.
Oh yeh, watch band.
This is Bertucci’s G–Type Comfort-Webb band,
as supplied with the watch, 19mm.
Alternatively, available with a Field Drab
or Field khaki color strap.
People rave about the outstanding quality
you get with a Bertucci watch strap.
It’s a woven blend of nylon and other fibers mixed in,
giving a smooth feel and matt finish.
It’s a generous thickness, making it feel premium,
and has heavy-duty stitching.
This is 10 1/2 inches long with 12 adjustment holes.
This big keep loop looks fantastic,
and more importantly is something I appreciate
when putting the watch on.
It’s easy to thread though.
I don’t have to fight with the strap,
like on some watches, to bend it to go through.
You get a high-quality, matt finished,
stainless steel buckle.
I notice that the Bertucci doesn’t roll around my wrist
like most of my watches annoying do.
I think it’s because it’s quite sturdy here.
It’s kind of flat with a fair bit of rigidity
around this part of the strap.
Even if I wear it one notch too loose,
it’s always seated correctly on my wrist.
The Bertucci is a really easy watch to live with.
I think the Bertucci could easily retail
at around 50% more.
The closest watch I’d compare it to
would be the Marathon GPQ Maraglo.
That’s their General Purpose Quartz model,
with a similar kind of aesthetic
and has an impact-resistant lightweight fibershell.
It looks similar in design,
but the Bertucci is a fraction of the cost.
And, the price point of the Bertucci
encourages me to use it as my daily beater watch.