# Four Tritium Watches - Brightness Compared



## Precise (Mar 27, 2011)

I owned three tritium watches, but none with a rotating bezel. So after a bit of review reading it seemed like Traser had the best reputation. There were lots of complaints about Luminox quality and one reviewer said Traser was "ten times brighter than Smith & Wesson".

So, when my Traser P6500 type 6 arrived today I immediately went into a dark closet with all my tritium watches. After about a minute I could see hands and dial markers on all except the Traser. On the Traser the hands were noticeably dimmer and the dial and bezel marks were not visible. I waited about five minutes, but even after the additional dark adaption time I still could not see the Traser dial or bezel marks.

I documented the comparison with my camera. Left to right are Smith & Wesson, Traser, Humvee and Truglo. Although the camera managed to capture a few dial lights for the Traser (10 second exposure), I could not see any with my eyes, I could only see the hands. Yet I could easily see the dial lights in the other three watches. 

Note that the Smith & Wesson and the Humvee in the top row only have tritium dial markers at 90 degree intervals. The Traser has a tritium capsule at each hour and one on the bezel. I even examined it under my microscope and verified that all the capsules are indeed there.

Fortunately I bought the Traser from a great dealer so I'm sure he'll take it back gracefully.

Alan


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## GatorJ (Feb 26, 2006)

If it's tritium you want, buy a Ball. Take a look at either the Night Train or the Engineer Master II DLC.


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## mikeynd (Dec 11, 2008)

I have 3 Luminox watches,and they all seem pretty bright to me..I sure wish all companies would switch to T-100 i hear it is even much brighter.


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## gaijin (Oct 29, 2007)

mikeynd said:


> I have 3 Luminox watches,and they all seem pretty bright to me..I sure wish all companies would switch to T-100 i hear it is even much brighter.


The T100 watch is in the lower right:










Definitely much brighter than the T25 watches visible in this group shot.

This is what it looks like in twilight:










HTH


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## 2BATTRANGER (Feb 7, 2010)

That style of Traser watch has been available for many years, maybe you bought a "New old stock" that is many years old and the tritium is fading??? Although I have an original Luminox Navy Seals model from 1996 that is MUCH better than this! You should have just bought the Luminox to begin with. I know there are a few complaints about Luminox quality but when you consider they have sold MILLIONS of watches that figures out to a VERY low percentage of problems! My guess is that Luminox sells 1000 watches to every one traser sells....I personally have owned 5 or 6 and only had one problem which I caused.


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## 2BATTRANGER (Feb 7, 2010)

You should send that one back (Traser) and get one of Deep Blue's reasonably priced AWESOME T100 divers! The older version of the day/night ops can be bought new for around $400 or used for just over $325.


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## Precise (Mar 27, 2011)

Regarding suggestions to get a T100 watch:

My prior three T25 watches are so bright at night that I don't want anything brighter. My wife already complains about them. I've considered giving the Traser a few nights use. Perhaps I'll (she'll) like its dimmer light.

As I mentioned in my post, I wanted a tritium watch with a rotating (and lighted) bezel and decided to try Traser. I currently monitor medications that I take at periodic intervals at night with a small lumed dive watch. But as you fellow addicts well know, we are always looking for an excuse to buy another timepiece.

With its slotted rim the Truglo bezel looks rotatable. But it's a fake, molded into the plastic case.

Alan


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## JoeTritium (Apr 23, 2011)

Precise said:


> Regarding suggestions to get a T100 watch:
> 
> My prior three T25 watches are so bright at night that I don't want anything brighter. My wife already complains about them. I've considered giving the Traser a few nights use. Perhaps I'll (she'll) like its dimmer light.
> 
> ...


I've had good luck with Traser, even the cheapo 5900 is bright. But for T25 watches, H3 Tactical has been the brightest I've seen. The MB microtec lumed watches should be the same, but there not!


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## Nalu (Feb 14, 2006)

As implied above, unless you know the age of the watches pictured comparisons don't mean much.


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## tacticalpen (Nov 8, 2010)

Precise said:


> My prior three T25 watches are so bright at night that I don't want anything brighter.


+1



Nalu said:


> As implied above, unless you know the age of the watches pictured comparisons don't mean much.


The brightness doesn't fall off very much in the first few years, so as long as they're less than ~4 or 5 years old, it's an ok comparison IMHO.


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## GatorJ (Feb 26, 2006)

Nalu said:


> As implied above, unless you know the age of the watches pictured comparisons don't mean much.


Age of the TUBES is the critical factor.


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## Andy the Squirrel (Sep 13, 2009)

I have a Brand New Marathon Navigator and it glows brightly all night. I think most of the tritium tubes come from the same place so they are going to be similar brightness with the size of the tubes, number of tubes and age being the biggest factors.


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## mike_123850 (Jun 4, 2006)

Wouldn't you also have to take into account the size of the tube or shape of the tube? For instance, the Deep Blue has long skinny tubes which appears to present more surface area to the eye and throw off more glow over a larger area. Whereas the others have shorter tubes, which exposes less area to their glow and consequently less glow to the eye. So, possibly Deep Blue has found a better tube size/shape/geometry to maximize what our eyes see. Longer narrow tubes as opposed to shorter squatier tubes, possibly even the same surface area and amount of gas for both types of tubes, just better visibility for the longer skinnier ones.

Mike


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## Cleans Up (Jun 14, 2010)

Cool pics. sorry to see the weak traser. I agree with prior posters that the t-100's are without a doubt the brightest I've seen in any setting. If sheer puch is what your looking for the non-flat tube t-100 takes the cake


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## Precise (Mar 27, 2011)

I can't fault Traser in general. My dealer swapped the dim Traser for Traser classic and it is my brightest tritium watch.


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## karlito (May 26, 2010)

Glad it worked out in the end. From the original pic, it looks as though the Traser trit tubes, or window openings were the smallest of the lot. This is the most likely reason for the dim lights.


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## bigbondjing (Jul 17, 2009)

Precise said:


> Regarding suggestions to get a T100 watch:
> 
> My prior three T25 watches are so bright at night that I don't want anything brighter. My wife already complains about them. I've considered giving the Traser a few nights use. Perhaps I'll (she'll) like its dimmer light.
> 
> ...


I could've swore I was the only one doing this. Using a Seiko Diver watch to monitor meds at night...now finally ordering a tritium watch so I can see the time better. Just haven't figured which Tritium to get. Just need it reasonably bright and under $400.


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## Precise (Mar 27, 2011)

bigbondjing said:


> I could've swore I was the only one doing this. Using a Seiko Diver watch to monitor meds at night...now finally ordering a tritium watch so I can see the time better. Just haven't figured which Tritium to get. Just need it reasonably bright and under $400.


 I've since bought a Tawatec E.O. Diver. The plastic case is very light and comfortable -- especially with the Maratac cloth strap I put on it. I bought it used here on WUS and the bezel was cranky, but it pops off easily and I've fixed it. It is now my favorite nighttime watch.

I think this plastic model is more comfortable than the pricey titanium version (which is heavier and thicker).

Alan


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## Techno (Feb 12, 2011)

I have an older Traser (I bought it when they first came out, probably 15 years ago?), and pretty new Luminox 1404 (except they were discontinued when I finally tracked mine down; it's a cool blue-faced yatching watch) and Sottomarino Lucciola (a Precision Time captive brand, also now discontinued, but available with tritium, sapphire, rotating bezel, nice metal bracelet and screw-down crown for $99 new on eBay). Age does seem to be the primary consideration in brightness on T25 tubes. And it isn't that minor a drop-off in one year. Not a _relevant_ drop-off, but still one you can easily see in an A/B comparison.


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## phishrunner (Mar 23, 2012)

I recently purchased a new Luminox Recon Point Man and I am really pleased with it's brightness. I have a n older Luminox 3001 that is roughly 8-10 years old, beat to hell, and it is just slightly dimmer. I dont need them to be any brighter.


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## heebs (Nov 9, 2008)

For comparison sake, here's a shot I took a few years ago with some tritium pieces of varying age (1991, 2005, 2008) and a Maraglo piece. The SAR was charged with an LED flashlight and this photo was taken right after.


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## vkimo (Jul 8, 2013)

gaijin said:


> The T100 watch is in the lower right:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What models is this? It looks amazing.


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## gaopa (Dec 6, 2008)

I had a couple of the Deep Blue diver models with T100 tritium tubes. The watch looked great and the glow fantastic, but the watches were too big and too heavy for me. I wish DB made a watch in the 40-42 mm case size. Here is one of mine. The DB watches were not in my collection long. Cheers, Bill P.


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## Precise (Mar 27, 2011)

Yes, I like the looks of the Deep Blue, but they are too heavy for me too.
This Isobrite is not as good looking, but very light in plastic.

https://www.watchuseek.com/f74/tritium-divers-isobrite-t100-compared-tawatec-t25-726479.html

There is also a T100 plastic watch called Air Force One.

Best,

Alan


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