My new Marathon

[cedargrove]

For the past month I’ve been searching for a good watch for camping and hiking. My criteria were as follows:
- good scratch resistance (brushed SS and sapphire crystal)
- good water resistance
- crown guards/screw down crown
- good lume (through the night)
- preferably automatic (rather than quartz)
- date was nice to have (but I preferred not to have a magnifier)

One of the finalists was the Marathon GSAR - actually the MSAR, which is the GSAR with a red maple leaf appliqué on the dial. A recent thread here on TRF convinced me this is the watch I had to have.

I immediately contacted Jim Madrid and was happy to hear that he still had the maple leaf available. I ordered it late in the day two days ago, and it arrived today before noon. Jim was a pleasure to work with – very helpful and extremely responsive. He even threw in a matching Zulu strap.

I love this watch. It truly is the perfect outdoor watch for me.

[dddrees]

Nice watch Rich, Congrats.

[wokafu]

Great watch to have witout any doubt...Looks better on the rubber though..

[Dan Pierce]

Big congrats, Rich! Every collection should have one.
dP

[mdtddd2007]

nice...congrats...

[belk7]

Very, very nice. I believe that you won't regret the purchase.

[escorto]

Marathons are fantastic! They really are built like a tank and the tritium tubes lume looks amazing.

[TSW]

Love Marathons, Congrats!!

[cedargrove]

Thanks everyone.

I woke up at 4AM and remembered to check the lume. Easily readable. Final item on my criteria checklist - check!

[usbzoso]

there is no lume on this watch ... its tritium tubes ... you do not need to charge them like regular lume, tritium is a radioactive substance as it breaks down this produces light ... half life is about 10 years so after that time it will no longer glow in the dark ... nice watch ... i considered getting one but its just too huge for my wrist

[Frogman4me]

Big congrats, I remember your thread and I posted my SAR. I agree Jim is a top notch gentleman. Wear it well!

[cedargrove]

Originally Posted by usbzoso

there is no lume on this watch ... its tritium tubes ... you do not need to charge them like regular lume, tritium is a radioactive substance as it breaks down this produces light ... half life is about 10 years so after that time it will no longer glow in the dark ... nice watch ... i considered getting one but its just too huge for my wrist

Correct, the lume is tritium tubes. I've always used the term 'lume' generically – this might be incorrect.

I was told the tubes would glow for about 20-25 years – this is consistent with a 10 year half life. They consistently give a good source of light through the night.

I was pleasantly surprised with the size of the watch. It is not as big as it looks in pictures. The bezel diameter is the same size as my GMT IIc at around 41mm (excluding crown guards/crown). It’s just under 14 mm off the wrist which is good (slightly higher than my Milgauss). I wouldn’t wear it under a dress shirt cuff, but it’s definitely not too tall for hiking.

The bezel grip is beefy, as is the crown. I imagine this is by design – very easy to grip when your hands are wet and cold.

It truly is perfect for what I want. I love it.

[cedargrove]

Originally Posted by wokafu

Great watch to have witout any doubt...Looks better on the rubber though..

Thanks.

I like the zulu strap for camping - if I bang it hard and break a springbar, it'll still stay on my wrist.

I'm not a big fan of rubber, as it pulls at my arm hairs, but the stainless steel bracelets that are available for this watch look just as solid as the watch. I'll probably invest in one of these for weekend wear.

[cedargrove]

A couple of lume shots.

[vukotab]

You really can`t miss with Marathon!
Great watch, congrats!

[nolawis]

Unbeatable at that price point.