Gear Corner: Momentum Torpedo Dive Watch

An essential part of my everyday carry is a quality watch. I’ve worn a lot of different brands over the years, from the humble G-Shock to Luminox, and I’m a firm believer that a decent watch should work two ways- be both rugged in build quality for any environment, but also suit the situation its being worn in. You wouldn’t necessarily wear that old beater G-Shock to a wedding, just as you probably wouldn’t wear a Rolex GMT into combat. Not that people haven’t- it wasn’t that long ago that Rolex was considered a high end tool watch rather than a symbol of luxury. I prefer to wear analog watches these days that can fill a number of roles from casual dress to a hard life in the field, and literally anything in between. Not that long ago I found myself in need of a new EDC beater watch that still looked classy and didn’t scream tactical. I picked up a Momentum Torpedo, I found it can fill any of those roles with ease.

Momentum is a sub-brand of the larger and well known St. Moritz watch company from Vancouver, Canada. They’re well known for making rugged dive watches that run the gamut from high end luxury to more practical designs, with Momentum being their few-frills Japanese quartz line. But for an analog dive watch there’s a few design characteristics that brought me to it as a design and them as a brand.

The first thing is the design itself- the all-stainless bezel matches with the body of the watch and contrasting directly with the black face. It reminds me of the high end Sinn U1, which is one of the most unique watch models out there and it definitely looks sharp. On top of that its build like an absolute tank, on par with more expensive mid-range watches from Seiko or Steinhart. The face is incredibly simple with easy to read lines and a date window that is not distracting with an efficient, if not the brightest, illumination. Its advertised as being shockproof and waterproof to 200 meters, and while I won’t be diving that deep anytime soon, it’s been just fine swimming around lakes and in the ocean. The crown is located at the 4 o’clock position which keeps it out of the way of your wrist, something that I’ve always liked about the Seiko SKX series. Last, but not least, it uses a 22mm NATO watch strap that’s easily changed for the occasion.

So far I’ve been wearing it all summer and I’ve got no complaints. Its rare to find something this nice at its relatively low pricepoint. around $100, that’s not made in China- its built on a Japanese quartz movement and assembled in Vancouver. If you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive but rugged and classy analog watch, you could do a lot worse than Momentum’s Torpedo.

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17 Comments

  1. Anonymous August 16, 2019 at 14:58

    5

  2. Matt Bracken August 16, 2019 at 19:32

    That watch looks awesome. For the past few years I’ve worn a stainless steel automatic (self-winding) Seico day/date dive watch. It’s plenty rugged, but it gains 6 minutes a week! Every Sunday I reset it, then I mentally subtract a minute a day all week. Question: does the strap go behind the watch in a continuous loop, so that if one pin fails it won’t be lost? Is the glass face recessed so it won’t be scratched up dragging across things? Is it keeping good time? (Better than 6 minutes a weak at least!)

    • NC Scout August 16, 2019 at 20:12

      For as much as I appreciate a good automatic movement, the accuracy and simplicity Quartz wins, hands down. As far as it keeping time I check my watches every so often on WWV (10mHz) via HF. For those that don’t know, it’s broadcast 24/7 from Fort Collins, CO, with one tone per second and an announcement of the time at the top of each minute. So far it has had no loss in time for the past four months, which puts it ahead of my old and now retired Luminox.

      Both of the NATO straps pictured (the OD green one that comes with it and the Bond Submariner band) attach across the back of the watch to prevent loss in case a pin fails. The face is slightly recessed, and I’ve scuffed the bezel several times wearing it working and so far there’s no damage. The thing is a tank.

  3. MW-PREPPER August 16, 2019 at 21:25

    Great article. I’m looking at getting a Hamilton Khaki mechanical field watch. A little pricey, but some great deals online if you look around. Haven’t had a winding timepiece in over 50 years. I actually still miss that morning ritual after all these years! The Hamilton mechanicals have received great reviews & the quality is far better than in the past. No need to worry about batteries & the time reserve is about 27 hours. Plus, extremely accurate according to most owners. They’re very light, too. Overall, a lot of great field watches out there, Bertucci, Damasko, GPW, Marathon, Momentum, Seiko, Sinn, etc. Personally, I prefer a good analog watch with the same criteria you’ve mentioned. Very important topic, need more articles on it with useful info like WWV. Also, give readers a periodic update on your watch, too. For $100 sounds like you got a good deal! Many thanks & 73.

  4. Concerned American August 17, 2019 at 08:49

    Can you pull the crown and set the time w precision to WWV or USNO?

    Timely (heh) review for me. Thanks.

    • NC Scout August 17, 2019 at 17:39

      Yes you can. I wait until the turning of the minute and make sure the second hand is at the twelve.

  5. h0neyc0mb August 17, 2019 at 09:18

    I only use manual – automatics.

    My most common movement is a Seiko NH-35 24 jewel (21,600 vibs/hr) hackable movement. About plus 1.6 minutes / month gain. When new it they can be much more and require adjustments more frequently.

    I prefer it to be water resistant to 10 atm .. and non-tritium illuminated.

    Yes it’s not quartz accuracy. But it doesn’t require a battery either. And how many here need gps time accuracy on their wrist. Come on .. be honest.

    Here is an example of a simple field watch (that I own) ..

    https://countycomm.com/collections/mechanical-watches/products/titanium-field-automatic-watch-by-maratac

    I have this watch and a few more of the diver versions from’em ..

    e.g. ..
    https://countycomm.com/collections/view-all-watch-products/products/sr-35-diver-automatic-watch

    My background is .. US Navy submarine nuclear power operator, US Navy diver and then commercial airline (and corporate) pilot and a country boy.

    YMMV

  6. Boat Guy August 17, 2019 at 09:35

    I prefer my analog watches to not require batteries.

    • NC Scout August 17, 2019 at 17:41

      Ordinarily I do as well, but automatics both lose time and need adjustment over time. One may need a battery. the other, a watchsmith.

  7. johnyMac August 17, 2019 at 09:38

    I sport a Timex Expedition because of the analog face. Good watch but the leather strap sucks. I will swap out the strap by the fall.

    The G-Shock is pretty good too as you mentioned, NCS, I kept one in my sextant case to use as my navigation chronometer.

    Thx NCS for the timely review.

  8. Boat Guy August 17, 2019 at 09:40

    Also wearing a Seiko automatic which has been keeping time to perfection. Needs a new return spring on the start/stop button for the stopwatch function. Pretty sure my watch guy can do that.
    Gotta say “Red Cliffs of Zerhoun” inspired the purchase

  9. idahobob August 17, 2019 at 10:01

    The one problem that I see is that it runs on a battery. My preference runs to self winders.

  10. h0neyc0mb August 17, 2019 at 19:38

    I beleive I’m in a spam holding pattern.

    Thanks

    • NC Scout August 18, 2019 at 10:42

      Got it fixed Brother.

  11. revjen45 August 18, 2019 at 09:47

    My son gave me a Citizen Eco-Drive for Christmas a couple of years back, and I really like it. No batteries and great accuracy. I can’t say how it would work in the Sandbox or a deep dive, since such aren’t part of my activities, but it’s great for me.

    • NC Scout August 18, 2019 at 10:35

      Citizen uses a very good automatic movement. A friend of mine has that same model and has been wearing it daily for four years. Its a very classy piece.

  12. […] had a few people ask after the last watch review I did on the Momentum Torpedo if there was a lesser expensive, but just as capable option. […]

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