For 2021, Timex has not only reintroduced the Expedition collection (now known as the Expedition North), but has transformed it into a slightly retro-style military field watch collection. The market has plenty of watches in this category, but these new Timex watches are worth talking about primarily because they look so nice and cost so little compared to a lot of the competition out there. aBlogtoWatch introduced the Timex Expedition North collection here when debuting the most expensive piece in the Expedition North collection, which is a collaboration model known as The James Brand x Timex Expedition North 41mm Titanium watch (aBlogtoWatch hands-on here). Now we go in a different direction by showcasing the Timex Expedition North Field Post Solar 41mm watch today.
Fans of military watches and vintage Timex products will immediately notice familiar design elements, such as the style of the dial. This collection is, indeed, meant to celebrate Timex history, but in a way that in my opinion is particularly fashionable and well-priced. The Expedition North collection has a fair number of models already, and this particular piece has both the 41mm-wide case (there is a smaller 36mm-wide version of the Field Post Solar, as well) and contains a solar-powered quartz movement. Light-powered watches are useful and desirable in a “field watch” context because they blend autonomy (not needing a battery replacement) with the accuracy of quartz. Indeed, the dials will need to be exposed to light regularly in order to keep the battery charged, but overall the satisfaction people have with solar-powered tool watches of this ilk is rather high, in my experience.
Even at this very humble price point, you can tell that Timex’s Milan-based design team focused on a lot of important little details. Let’s start with the case which is 41mm-wide in steel and water-resistant to 100 meters. It isn’t just natural steel but is given an attractive semi-aged gunmetal style finishing that I happen to admire a lot. But if you don’t like the particular tones of the reference TW2V03700JR “Gunmetal/Green” version, Timex has other colors of the Expedition Field Post Solar to choose from. The khaki green military tone of the dial is matched to gray-colored markers, as well as cream-colored luminant on the hands. The lack of stark black or white tones (aside from places such as the date disc) is smart because those colors are rarely pleasing to the eye, even if they offer excellent dial contrast and legibility. That means Timex isn’t just making a reliable tool watch, it is very much going for a fashion-forward approach. At the end of the day, this will just help the brand sell that many more watches.
The green dial does allow light to pass through it in order to hit the photovoltaic cell that sits right under it. That said, you don’t really see a transparency effect most of the time, which, in my opinion, is a good thing. I was actually rather happily surprised to see that at this just-over $150 price point, Timex was able to include sapphire crystal for the watch. That’s uncommon since most watches at this price point have mineral crystals that offer much less scratch resistance. Timex is flexing the full weight of its manufacturing and design power in this watch, which looks great and also offers consumers so much relative value.
The 41mm-wide case is 12mm-thick and sits a bit high but comfortably on the wrist combined with the included green nylon NATO-style strap. Timex makes a point to remark that the strap is produced from recycled nylon, which is notable if that is important to you.
Outside watches from brands like Casio, very few timepiece companies produce “enthusiast-grade” watches at price points this affordable. That makes Timex and the few companies like it ideal sources for watch consumers on a budget or who are just starting out and want to take it slow. Even veteran watch wearers such as myself can enjoy something like the Expedition North Field Post Solar as a general-purpose outdoor watch that doesn’t sacrifice style but also doesn’t make you worry too much about cosmetic blemishes, etc.
The Expedition North collection from Timex includes a variety of interest movement options including mechanical, multi-function quartz, and solar-powered quartz. The prices and overall themes of the Expedition North are highly oriented for mainstream consumption, but as a timepiece enthusiast, it is hard to ignore the many little design elements and features that have more serious collectors in mind. That’s just one of the things Timex has been doing very well today, and it is nicely manifested in products such as this. Price for the Timex Expedition North Field Post Solar 41mm watch is $159 USD. Learn more or order at the Timex website here.
