In Review: Armitron Wave Ocean Plastic

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a number of brands making use of of plastic made from plastic waste cleaned out of the oceans. Some have been more expensive, and some have been more affordable. If supporting that effort is of interest to you, but you’re on a budget, the new sub-$100 Armitron Wave Ocean Plastic line will be of interest to you.

What is it?

The Armitron Wave is a watch that gives a chronograph look (with the pushers and subdials) without actually being a chronograph. The subdials instead give you a 24-hour indication, day of month, and day of week. Of course, the bigger draw here is that use of ocean plastic.

Surprisingly, the strap is not made from the ocean plastic, but instead relies on other recycled materials. This strap feels like any other nylon strap you’ve handled, in case you were wondering. So, where is the ocean plastic featured? That’s what makes up the case and caseback, friend. So, a fairly sizable chunk of the material used in the construction of the quartz watch.

How is it to wear?

Despite coming in at a 40mm measurement, the Armitron Wave is very, very wearable. In fact, once our review samples came in, they basically disappeared onto my kids wrists, and they found them comfortable. Sure, they looked a little oversized to my finely calibrated eyes, but they liked the look.

Once on the wrist (no matter the size), you’ve got that chronograph look, of course. Since those subdials are just additional information, it’s all about telling the time with the main handset, and that’s a cinch. In the two colors we checked out, there was a sharp contrasts from dials to hands, and even in the dark, you’ve got some lume to help read the time (though it does fade fast).

What would we change?

For a basic watch, the Armitron Wave gets a lot of things right. The color scheme – particularly these with the bright white cases and color-matched dials and straps, are perfect for summer. What we’re less sold on is the chronograph look. We’re not fans of things pretending to be something they’re not (except Transformers and chameleons), so keeping this a true three-hander look would be the route we’d suggest.

Secondly, the Armitron Wave only has a 50m WR rating. That’s ok, but for something that’s all about the ocean, seeing some work put in to bump it to 100m (so you could swim with the watch) would be perfect, especially for summer. And hey, drop those extra pushers, and sealing things up would seem to be a simpler proposition.

Who’s it for?

As we mentioned at the outset, the Armitron Wave is definitely for someone who wants to support this use of recycled plastics (not to mentioned the more eco-friendly packaging they’re using), and has a smaller budget. At $95, this watch is firmly in the affordable category. Past any of that, if you’re just looking to add an occasional pop of color to your wrist, that’s another reason to consider one of these watches. Even the more conservative colorways – while being darker – still make use of color. You can check out the four options directly from armitron.com

Details from Armitron

Created using recycled ocean-bound plastic from Tide Ocean Material SA, the Wave collection is a stylish homage to our beautiful oceans. Available in four colors, Black, Navy, Orange, and Teal, each Ocean Plastic watch comes in a sustainable box made from recycled fibers and includes a natural organic cotton pouch insert.