Reply With QuoteI agree. Great ‘grab & go’ watch.
I have the very same as well as the original Ray Mears one.
Perfect for when you don’t feel the need to wear anything fancy.
Fancied a bit of an outdoors type field watch for myself for various family camping excursions the missus seems to be lining up for us. Any excuse.
Wanted something inexpensive, but tough, nice looking, not a G-Shock. Happened upon this, Citizen ProMaster Tough, and wondered why I hadn’t come across it before. For some reason the design really spoke to me - quite attractive in an austere kind of way, kind of like a Sinn 556a, but also quite quirky with the numerals, like an Air King is.
I picked it up for £200 on eBay, think they are £300 new. It has the eco drive quartz movement which is ideal for a quartz - you get grab and go and accuracy but with the added advantage of no battery, it’ll just run forever on daylight absorption.
It’s 40mm, although seems to wear smaller as the dial is small and compact with the bezel and chapter ring being quite wide. 20mm lugs. It’s thin, and it’s very light as it’s titanium. Sapphire crystal, screw down crown with 300m WR. It’s also highly legible as the pics show, with good lume so good night time legibility.
Basically an inexpensive, low maintenance, very durable, highly legible titanium field watch - an Explorer type watch that can be beaten up stress free! Thought I’d share as don’t recall ever seeing an article about one of these on here. Ta.
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I agree. Great ‘grab & go’ watch.
I have the very same as well as the original Ray Mears one.
Perfect for when you don’t feel the need to wear anything fancy.
I think these, and particularly the original “Ray Mears” watches, have long been a forum favourite. Having had both, the earlier models wear slightly smaller, but this latest version is still great, and an absolute bargain.
A little anecdote as to how tough they really are… I was on a rollercoaster in Germany in 2019, wearing one of these on a NATO, and managed to snag and dislodge a spring bar, causing the watch to come flying off my wrist. God knows just how far it fell on to concrete! When I came off the ride, and told the ride attendant, he produced it from his pocket, having seen it fall. A small dent in the case side was the only damage, and it was still keeping perfect time. Watches don’t get much tougher than that.
Haha, nice bit of character and back story added to the watch there. I think the model I’ve bought has now been superseded by an updated version, slightly smaller numerals and different hands - more conventional looking but I prefer this model for that very reason.Originally Posted by CaptainRockNRoll
Definitely a forum favourite in one guise or another, particularly the 'Ray Mears'.
I've had a few versions and almost certainly should have kept one...
(would happily buy back the GMT version)
I had a Mears for a long time.
Despite a lot of abuse (and I mean a lot), it shrugged off most of what I threw at it, ending up looking like this back in 2008 when I sold it.
Scuff at 2 on the bezel, small hole near 12, otherwise almost unmarked. Duratect is near-miraculous.
If they had ever done this watch with a decent dive bezel, I would still have one, despite the annoyingly small date window, which I would have no chance reading these days.
The slightly chunkier springbars that the Mears came with were also very good indeed.
D
Love mine and it's affected how I feel towards my other watches. It's pretty much my daily wearer but didn't last long on the bracelet as I couldn't get a decent fit. Wears well on a strap or nato and I just love the overall look of it. It's mostly matt, but the polished accents under the bezel ring, between the lugs and underneath the case size chamfers add a bit of class. Yes the date window is super tiny. The angled chapter ring leaves a smaller dial than 40mm would suggest - the case looks 40mm (and it is) but overall it wears a bit smaller.
It has left me thinking a field-style watch is really more of my thing these days than my divers.
Oh, and if you're lucky you can get a decent discount new - I managed 30% off which made picking up the bracelet version worth a try but doing it again I'd just get it on the strap.
Ant
Had one, sold it, missed it, bought this one....
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I don't wear mine too often.
Last edited by lewie; 6th March 2024 at 23:01.
Very readable,how is the crown rub?
It's a lovely watch, great allround piece, but all the old 'Made in Japan' models were far better executed, but still, for the money you can't complain.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Can any expert out there tell me what model reference the Ray Mears edition is ? I’ve drawn a blank
Thanks in advance
Hi Mark, this may help ? https://web.archive.org/web/20230926...omaster-tough/
Same. I love this style of watch, and am hugely tempted every time one comes up on SC, but OCD demands I have some means of timing stuff on a watch, and has caused me to hold off.
I had, and very recently sold, its near cousin - the Promaster Tough BN0211-09X - an absolutely faultless watch in hardened steel rather than titanium, but it just wasn't being worn, so rehomed it is.
I don't think you can get a better field watch for the money than these, indeed, given the intensely practical nature of such a watch, I'm not sure they can be bettered for any amount of money.
Since every new model seems to sell-out quickly, I'm baffled why Citizen hasn't expanded and proliferated the range a great deal more than it has - albeit they seem to be one of few companies worse than Seiko at promoting their wares...
Much appreciated!
I’ve had 2 of these, they’re awesome watches but just too big for me.. if they were slimmed down a bit it would look a bit more balanced..
Bought new by me from Citizen Uk with 10% discount,it has become a firm favourite .
Damn this place, toying with another now.
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That was the post I was looking for- these are so nice and I can’t resist them even though they wear too small for me
I have a PMD56 that needs some tlc inbound
My variant.
JJYEmulator works every time for me on a Pixl5 phone and headphones placed over the watch at near full volume.
At fun aligning the date and day yesterday.
I've bought and sold a few PMD56's and loved them...now I am without one reading this thread makes me want one again...bah !
If it had mb6, and better lume, that would be the perfect watch. Citizen won't make it.
I’d be happy if was larger
Tracked down the reference for this one - BJ9040-57E - now just need to find one.
(would happily buy back the GMT version)
The fairly often pop up on eBay - good luck
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