Taking inspiration of the incredible power of the twin afterburners of the F-22 Raptor that light up the night sky, Isobrite has released the Isobrite Afterburner, a line of limited edition T100 Tritium watches that will also light up the night. They were kind enough to send me a couple versions of the Isobrite Afterburner and I like what I see. Lets check them out.
The Dial
There are two dial options for the Isobrite Afterburner, matte black and blue. I was able to spend time with both and I am very fond of that blue dial. Both dials have a great three dimensional look to them. The hour markers are large and flat and protrude a good way into the dial. The minute indexes taper down from the bezel down the the face of the dial. Adding even more dimension is the fact that the hour hand is flush and lines up with the hour makers but the second hand site much higher. Normally I would not be crazy about the spacing of the hands like that but on this dial it totally works. The hands on this watch are mounted to a very reliable Swiss Rhonda 715Li movement that has a 10 year lithium battery.
The Case
Constructed out of lightweight carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate, this watch is tough but extremely light. The whole watch with strap only weighs 3 ounches. Protecting the dial is a scratch-resistant anti-reflective treated sapphire crystal. Water resistance is a respectable 200 meters or 660 feet. The 60 click bezel is very solid with no play at all. The crown is a no-nonsense simple push down crown and each click of the crown is very solid and tight.
That Lume!
Now this to me is the best part of this watch. The lume on this watch is the best I have seen. The glow comes from tiny glass vials filled with tritium gas, which is an isotope of hydrogen. These vials are coated with a phosphorescent paint wich react with the tritium gas. The most common tritium watches use T25 tritium tubes which have 25 millicures of tritium gas. On the Isobrite watches they use T100 tritium which has 4 times the amount of tritium gas. This creates two great things. The watch glows four times more brightly and it also last twice as long. Most t25 tubes will glow up to 25 years but the t100 tubes can glow up to 50 years. The intensity of the glow will start to drop off half way into that life cycle but that’s still a pretty long time. The example photo above shows the Isobrite T100 Afterburner compared to a Luminox T25 watch. It very obvious how much brighter that T100 is.
The Strap
I was very impressed with the strap on this watch. This is a silicon strap but unlike most of the silicon straps this is not a lint magnet at all. Not sure how they did it but nothing sticks to this thing. Its extremely soft and very comfortable. I have worn them all day long and with the softness of the strap and the light weight of the watch I hardly notice it on my wirst. Included with the watch is a pretty cool NATO strap also.
Overall Impression
The Isobrite Afterburner surprised me. I am not normally a fan of quartz watches, I don’t even own one. After I received these watches and saw how well they were made out how much the T100 tritium glows I would totally own this quartz watch. This watch is very solid and it feels that a lot of attention was put into the details of this watch. Retailing for $525.00 USD I feel this is not a bad deal for a well built tritium watch. You can check these out at armourlite.com.
Review Summary
- Brand and model: Isobrite Afterburner
- Price: $525.oo
- Who’s it for? Tactical watch lovers.
- Would I wear it? Sure would, I love tritium.
- What I’d change: Would like an automatic version.
- The best thing about it: That bright tritium glow.
Tech Specs from Isobrite
- Illumination: Swiss-Made T100 tritium markers
- Functions / Features: Date display
- Movement: Swiss-Made Ronda 715Li quartz
- Battery Life: 10-years (lithium)
- Crystal: Scratch-resistant sapphire with anti-reflective coating
- Case Diameter: 47mm
- Case Thickness: 14mm
- Case Material: Carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate
- Caseback: Stainless steel engraved plate fixed with 4 security screws
- Bezel: Unidirectional ratcheting diver bezel with two tritium elapsed minute markers
- Crown: Double-gasket push-in with side shields
- Water Resistance: 200m / 660ft / 20atm
- Band Material: Silicone
- Band Width: 22mm
- Band Clasp: Stainless steel buckle with logo
- Weight: 3 ounces
