# REVIEW : ISOBrite by ArmourLite



## tacticalpen

*
DISCLAIMER : Yup, I'm a watch AD. When it comes to certain brands, I'm biased (ie. Omega, Hamilton, ArmourLite, etc.).

MSRP:* $500
*Movement:* Rhonda 715 Li / Swiss Quartz - 10 year battery life
*Complications:* Date
*Case material:* Carbon reinforced poly resin
*Case size:* 47 mm
*Case height:* 13 mm
*Dial:* Black
*Water resistance:* 20 atm / 200 m / 600 feet
*Strap:* NATO / Silicone-Rubber
*Crystal:* Sapphire
*Options:* NATO strap, rubber strap, bund leather band

Purchased - 5/2012.

With the proliferation of tritium illuminated watches over the past few 
years, it's really hard to find something that stands out. Luminox, 
Traser and a handful of new brands seem to be carving chunks out of the 
"tactical tritium watch market" but there aren't really a lot of 
differences between them. They tend to use poly cases, mineral crystals 
and basic tritium illumination. Luminox and Traser are the staples here 
but Smith & Wesson, UZI, ****ECH, and Caliber seem to be popping in 
at the bottom end of the market as well. So what's so special about the 
ISOBrite?









First of all, for those unfamiliar with the ArmourLite brand, their 
primary claim to fame is that they've licensed a tougher, mil-spec 
version of Gorilla Glass which is commonly found high end PDAs and 
applied it to watches. Makes sense, the stuff is exceedingly durable 
and very scratch resistant. In fact, the flavor ArmourLite uses is 
claimed to be virtually shatterproof and almost impossible to scratch.

For their first carbon / poly cased watch they went a bit more 
traditional. The ISOBrite seems to get it's name from the T-100 tritium 
illumination. First thing I noticed about the watch is that holy crap, 
it's so bright! I have a few of the standard T-25 tritium illuminated 
watches in my collection (once you go tritium, you'll be spoiled for 
life) and couldn't believe how much brighter the T-100 tritium vials 
are. Subjectively I'd say that we're talking 2x - 4x as bright as the 
regular tritium watches.









Next up, they went with sapphire. I talked to Ashley, the owner, and he 
said that using the ArmourGlass requires a completely different case 
construction and they decided that for their first lightweight watch 
they would use a more traditional design. Since the sapphire crystal is 
often considered top grade in durability anyway this makes some sense.

The ISOBrite is a serious looking piece of gear. The H3 tritium 
illumination system stays legible even in complete darkness without 
having to "charge" the illumination. With the T-100 variant the thing is
bright enough to be seen from space. Alright, that might be a slight 
exaggeration but it's pretty bright. By looking at the case construction
you can see that this isn't just a dainty desk diver, it's meant to be 
to be worn and take a licking.

General observations:

I like big watches and this one doesn't disappoint. With a diameter of 
47mm, there's no denying the fact that it's bigger than most normal 
sized sport watches. Still, the ultra-light case material also makes the
watch feel smaller than the dimensions first suggest even though the 
face is quite large. It has a good feel to it.









The watch is comes in a nice black faux-carbon case with red stitching 
(very chick) with both a silicone-rubber strap and a high quality NATO 
strap. The straps are quite large and designed fit on the wrist directly
or over a diving suit. With a 22mm lug width you can also slap on any 
standard strap you desire.









Features:

Hours, minutes, seconds and date and uni-directional graduated divers' 
bezel. WR 200m with a double o-ring sealed crown. In addition, the watch
uses the Rhonda 715 Li long-life movement which has a claimed 10 year 
battery life. I'll probably lose or break the thing before I even need 
to change a battery. It's a nice feature though as I don't have to worry
about corrupting the water tight o-ring when changing batteries every 
other year.

Bands / Straps:

Both the NATO or rubber strap are large 22mm pieces but very 
comfortable. On my not-so-massive 6.75" wrist I was actually using the 
third to last hole on the silicone-rubber strap. The strap has a nice 
soft feel but didn't have a "rubbery" smell to it. The NATO strap was 
comfortable and really has a nice quality feel to it. It's not just a 
flimsy piece of nylon, this is a really nice strap and I'm surprised 
that it's just included in the package.

Rating:

NATO Strap - Good.

Rubber Strap - Very good.

Case:

Though on the large side (at 47mm dia.), the uni-directional bezel has a
nice look with clear and readable font. It actually has two tritium 
pips at both the 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions. It also seems very
secure so I don't think it'll have the issues that some of the ****ECH 
watches I've read about which had issues with the bezel popping off.

The carbon reinforced poly resin construction of the case makes it 
considerably lighter than if it was manufactured from steel or even 
titanium but there's a little added weight due to the sapphire crystal 
so it's a tiny bit heavier than a standard Luminox. Supposedly this 
material is stronger and more impact resistant than the fiberglass resin
used in other watches but I haven't tried putting it to the ArmourLite 
hammer test that they show on their steel cased watches. The case back 
is held on by four screws at the corners and seems very secure.









The case is fitted with a massive sapphire crystal. This is a big deal 
for me. I've had pretty good luck with mineral crystal watches but 
inevitably they all scratch at some point. On the other hand I've got 5 
year old sapphire crystal watches that still look like new.

Rating - Very Good.

Legibility:

The tritium filled hands, hour markers & locator dot on bezel are 
easily read in low/no light situations, and underwater. The addition of 
military time in smaller white numbers on the outside of the larger 
numbers is a great addition. The T-100 tritium illumination is just 
amazing; the difference is just that big. Deep Blue has a T-100 watch 
and after seeing difference can see what the big deal is about.

The date window is located between the 4 and 5 o'clock and is also functional.

Rating - _AWESOME_!

Movement:

The ISOBrite uses the Rhonda 715 Li long-life movement which is supposed
to have a 10 year battery life. I'll probably lose or break the thing 
before I even need to change a battery. It's a nice feature though as I 
don't have to worry about corrupting the water tight o-ring when 
changing batteries every other year. Plus you're going to save a few 
bucks by not having to get it serviced every few years.

Rating - Excellent.

Accuracy:

This watch averaged a +1 seconds per week gain over a test period of one
month, with regular weekly use. Being a Swiss Quartz movement, I 
wouldn't expect much different. I do wonder if it stays this consistent 
over the full 10 years of the battery life but I imagine it'll be a 
while before I find out.

Rating - Excellent.

Comfort:

Even though the watch is large, the light weight make it an easy wear. I
would prefer a different crown placement, possibly at the 4 o'clock or 
10 o'clock since I wear the watch on my left hand, but it's not a 
bother. The crown doesn't dig into your wrist and the low overall weight
mean little "watch fatigue", I never feel like having to take the watch
off during the day to let my wrist breathe. The illumination is 
fantastic but was almost a little too bright when I went to the movie 
theatre to catch "Ted" this past weekend. Even my friends commented that
they could read the watch for 4 seats down. It's not blinding and 
you're not going to use it instead of a flashlight, but it is bright.

Rating - Very Good.

Drawbacks:

• Crown - rated to 200m means it solid but a screw down crown would have
been nice although all the polycarbonate case watches (ie. Luminox, 
Traser) seem to use the push-down crown now.

• Size - I like it but at 47mm it might be too big for some folks. The light weight helps a lot though.

Value for money:

At a MSRP of $500 this isn't a cheap watch. Still, you can find it for a
bit less and you really are getting a lot of watch for your money. The 
T-100 tritium illumination isn't cheap and is very hard to find. If you 
like stellar illumination, the watch has it. The build quality and 
tolerances seem excellent and ArmourLite is known to make virtually 
bomb-proof watches. The 2 year warranty is excellent and they take it 
seriously

You're not going to run into many people with the same watch, which is a
plus for me. The bright T-100 illumination and large size means that a 
lot of people will come up and ask about the watch. If you like subtle, 
this ain't it.

Rating - Excellent


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## thegorilla

Thank you for the great in-depth review! I am trying to decide between this and the TAWATEC EODiver MKII, and I think the T100 is the deciding factor. Is it easy to read the ISOBrite when going from sun to darkness? I really want a tritium-illuminated watch, but it's hard to give up that first 10 minutes or so where the brightness of lume is matched with my eyes' acclimation to dark.


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## tacticalpen

In my opinion the T100 is the way to go. It's just so much brighter than the T25 that there's really no comparison. Ideally, I'd love to see a watch with _both _T100 *and *Superluminova but from what I hear that would be expensive.

Right now, there's nothing better than T100 for non-fading tritium illumination.


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## thegorilla

OK, thanks! 
I completely agree! All of those white bits around the GTLS tubes, as well as the numbers and intermediate hash marks on the dial, and all printing on the bezel could be Superluminova! I work in an office and go play outdoors with my watch so it needs to be tough and visible, but I don't care really if it 'gives away my position' tactically, as long as I can read it. It would be easily be worth an extra $50 or so to me personally.

I found a comparison over at: https://www.watchuseek.com/f74/tritium-divers-isobrite-t100-compared-tawatec-t25-726479.html and asked a similar question. I've realized that I like the TAWATEC better for everything except the illumination.

As a dealer: Do you think the build quality and durability of both are equivalent? I've heard many good things about TAWATEC customer service, but not much about Armourlite, hopefully because not many people need to contact them .


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## tacticalpen

Let me put it this way, I used to be the US distributor and AD for ****ECH and after a year we dropped them. The problem wasn't with the watches (except for the dreaded bezel popping off the case issue on the E.O. Diver), it was with the company and their lack of service, honesty and follow through. Their good customer service is from their ADs, not from them directly. Since I have nothing else nice to say, I just won't say any more. 

I've been dealing with ArmourLite for less than a year but so far they've been rock solid. They're pretty new but the guys running the show really seem to care about establishing to good reputation in the industry. I've only had one issue so far and they replaced the watch no questions asked and as an AD I can't really ask for more than that. They also seem open to feedback which to me is good sign.

Really, time will tell but I think they're off to a good start.


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## cal..45

Interesting looking watch and fortunately one of the very few with a no-nonsense Lithium battery (anything else sucks). Not sure if I like the red crown, I guess I had to wear the watch for a while to decide. Absolutely sure that I don't like the date position - just terrible implented as with (almost) any other watch I have seen with date windows at 4:30. Why can't they make a watch with a classic 3 o'clock date position, better yet with date AND day. Other than that, I guess there is not much to dislike on this one. The 100T vials are certainly a plus as well but I have to see a T-100 watch yet in the flesh.


cheers


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## thegorilla

Thanks for the insight into the companies. A 2-year warranty isn't worth much if the company won't honor is or it costs you more in time and hassle than a new watch.


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## thegorilla

On another note - do you think it would add to the readibility to add som C3 lume to the numbers and hands? 

Since this would be my first >$100 watch, I'd like to wear it everywhere: Are there any 22mm bands that might look a little more formal, like steel/PVD or maybe a matte plastic? I've searched here, Amazon, and a couple other places, but mostly just found rubber/silicone or nylon web. Maybe even another brand's band? 

Sorry for all the questions, I'm trying to learn a lot!


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## Chris B.

Over the years, I've had quite a few lightweight resin watches: Luminox, Traser, and Tawatec. Although not resin, I also owned an Armourlite briefly, mostly because I was intrigued by the crystal. It was a "catch and release" for me because I constantly had problems with the non-traditional screw-in lug bars... they kept coming loose, and all of a sudden my watch was on the floor... very disappointing.

I have been enamored with this new Isobrite but for even at a discounted price of just under $400, that's WAY too much $$ to pay for, what is essentially a Tawatec with T100 tubes. And, like cal..45, I'd prefer a 3 o'clock date window... but would also prefer a 4 o'clock crown.


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## tacticalpen

thegorilla said:


> Are there any 22mm bands that might look a little more formal


Take a look at a buffalo grain bund leather strap. They look pretty sharp.


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## tacticalpen

Chris B. said:


> I have been enamored with this new Isobrite but for even at a discounted price of just under $400, that's WAY too much $$ to pay for, what is essentially a Tawatec with T100 tubes.


Not really, you'd have to compare it to the Mk II to be accurate since the ISOBrite has a sapphire crystal where as the regualr EO Diver is just a mineral crystal, plus the ISOBrite comes with 2 bands instead of 1 and the 10 year Li battery movement. Really, the price difference is about right to cover the T100 versus T25 tubes so with the movement and second NATO band it's quite reasonably priced (that and the company actually stands behind the product).

That said if it was all about getting the most bang for the buck we'd all be wearing a $30 Timex from Target.


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## Chris B.

thegorilla said:


> On another note - do you think it would add to the readibility to add som C3 lume to the numbers and hands?
> 
> Since this would be my first >$100 watch, I'd like to wear it everywhere: Are there any 22mm bands that might look a little more formal, like steel/PVD or maybe a matte plastic? I've searched here, Amazon, and a couple other places, but mostly just found rubber/silicone or nylon web. Maybe even another brand's band?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions, I'm trying to learn a lot!


You should check out Deep Blue's hard rubber bracelet with removable links (BRAND NEW !!!! PU Bracelet -Individual Links with screws "Deep Blue" Logo - Accessories). I've bought them for a couple of my "tool divers" and they are very attractive, completely adjustable, and don't added weight to the watch like a true steel band would.


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## thegorilla

Thank you both for your suggestions. I will go off and do more research and not hijack this thread anymore.


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## xLucky

I think the thing I dislike most about this watch is how it says ISOBRITE on the dial....looks like crap, other than that the watch looks great I think, and I'd buy it if it weren't for the logo..Silly I know


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## gabstok

Great review, thanks for the info. The watch looks awesome.

So I'm pretty new around here and my experience with tritium watches is non-existant, but I feel I have a valid comment. 

If this is supposed to be a tactical watch, is brighter really better? tacticalpen wrote that you could see this from outer space. Of course this is an exaggeration but his point is that it's really friggin bright. 

Bright enough to ruin your night vision? Bright enough to give away your position? I'm not being realistic? Ok , how about bright enough to be a nuisance in a movie theater? 

Yes I understand that a huge majority of buyers are not going to use this while engaging an enemy but it is a consideration for me. 

I think I'd be more interested in the watch with the orange colored tritium, something that's less bright and closer to the red light spectrum. 

Just my opinion. 

gabstok


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## cal..45

Gabstock,

I don't have any personal experience with T-100 tritium watches but I have currently - and had quite a few in the past - a T25 tritium watch. Based on my experience and real-world tests it is nearly impossible to spot a T-25 at a distance of 10 meters, in total darkness, even if you know where to look with the dial faced directly toward you. At a distance of 15 meters the watch is literally invisible. The glowing tip of a cigarette can be seen for several hundred meters though. I've never conducted such a test with NVG's but I'm willing to bet that the whole "gives away your position" stuff belongs into the urban legends library, at least this goes for T25 tubes. Is brighter therfore better or or worse? I don't know because the lack of comparison, but I do know that I find T25 totally sufficient for nighttime activities and that I prefer my digital watches with a rather subdued backlight (preferably with negative illumination) over any super bright LED-flashlight like illumination. 


cheers


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## therabbitssing

Thanks for the review tacticalpen, I've been eyeing this for awhile. This thread has brought up the only two two things I disliked about the watch...the red colored crown and the isobrite logo. I am still on the fence about it as a whole.


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## tacticalpen

Yeah, I've had mine for a bit and both don't really bother me that much. The crown I actually like, I dig the accent it provides and the smooth edges.

The logo baffles me a bit but I do like the play on words thing, ISOBrite = Is So Bright..... I guess it's not any worse than many other watch logos. At least the colors match the rest of the watch.

The thing actually keeps growing on me the more I wear it but obviously everybody has a different reaction. So far customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and I haven't seen a single quality issue so that's means a lot to me.

I never realized what a big difference the sapphire crystal makes but it _*really *_does. That said I wouldn't mind seeing one with an ArmourGlass crystal but I understand that it would bulk up the watch a bit so maybe sapphire is about right.


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## gabstok

That's good info. Thanks .45.


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## rjs

It looks great and thanks for the detail on the watch.


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## tacticalpen

I just ordered the Deep Blue PU Bracelet and will see how it works with this watch. Might be pretty cool.

As for intensity of the lume, it's not flashlight intensity at all. You can see a flashlight or cigarette quite a long ways out but tritium lume just doesn't seem to carry that far. I personally don't think that anything brighter than T100 will be necessary but it does look cool. I'm used to the T25 lume on most watches and find that the T100 is brighter but not annoyingly so. That said... nobody's shooting at me either (well, not since high-school anyway).

I did have a ****ECH with the Sniper Red tritium and while I really liked to color, it just wasn't bright enough. I had brighter tritium envy.
= )


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## bogus83

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I'm curious about the lack of a screw-down crown. Has anyone tested an ISOBrite for extended periods underwater? That's about the only thing stopping me from ordering one.


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## NorbertusSC

I have this one on order. I noticed that there are so few wrist shots on the internet. When was the ISOBrite introduced?


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## dinexus

NorbertusSC said:


> I have this one on order. I noticed that there are so few wrist shots on the internet. When was the ISOBrite introduced?


I think I started seeing them pop up in the Internet conscious around Summer 2012... Official release might have been earlier.


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## armourlite

Since the Isobrite watches use a polycarbon case, we used a push crown. It is not necessary to have a screw crown to maintain water resistance. The push crown on the Isobrite watches was designed to maintain the stated water resistance of 200m.

We are aware of many scuba divers who constantly take their Isobrite watch on deep dives.



bogus83 said:


> Sorry to bump an old thread, but I'm curious about the lack of a screw-down crown. Has anyone tested an ISOBrite for extended periods underwater? That's about the only thing stopping me from ordering one.


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## Santercruz

Ok so the New Armourlite Isobrite Eclipse was delivered yesterday ahead of planed release date.

I've owned several TAWATEC's Luminox, Traser.... This is my favourite to date!!! And by quite a big way!!
The stealth look and finish is great.. but it doesn't stop there.. There are others out there that on the surface look similar... But then when the dark comes the magic happens!! The lume on the hands and markers is awesome!!
There is one reason people buy this type of watch.. The 27hour readability.. This is the hands down best day to day take any crap you can throw at it, T100 out there!
I went for the 9 o'clock crown, as that is what is the most comfortable for a left wrist.. It comes with a similar light pattern to the TAWATEC'S ICS which is simply a great system for instant marker recognition.. The colour format is different with the Eclipse opting for green rather than blue on the 1-11 minute markers and blue at 12. Blue hour and orange minute.. All works very well.

I can't recommend this watch enough.. Comes supplied with a spare NATO ZULU strap.. Very nice touch especially as it happens to be my strap of choice.. The standard fitted rubber strap it ridiculously comfortable though.
I just opt NATO because if you pop one pin playing you don't lose your timepiece..

Posting from a phone and new to this, can't find an option to post pictures.. When I find out how I will.


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## armourlite

Hi Santercruz: We're happy to hear you received your Isobrite Eclipse. Thank you for the informative review.



Santercruz said:


> Ok so the New Armourlite Isobrite Eclipse was delivered yesterday ahead of planed release date.
> 
> I've owned several TAWATEC's Luminox, Traser.... This is my favourite to date!!! And by quite a big way!!
> The stealth look and finish is great.. but it doesn't stop there.. There are others out there that on the surface look similar... But then when the dark comes the magic happens!! The lume on the hands and markers is awesome!!
> There is one reason people buy this type of watch.. The 27hour readability.. This is the hands down best day to day take any crap you can throw at it, T100 out there!
> I went for the 9 o'clock crown, as that is what is the most comfortable for a left wrist.. It comes with a similar light pattern to the TAWATEC'S ICS which is simply a great system for instant marker recognition.. The colour format is different with the Eclipse opting for green rather than blue on the 1-11 minute markers and blue at 12. Blue hour and orange minute.. All works very well.
> 
> I can't recommend this watch enough.. Comes supplied with a spare NATO ZULU strap.. Very nice touch especially as it happens to be my strap of choice.. The standard fitted rubber strap it ridiculously comfortable though.
> I just opt NATO because if you pop one pin playing you don't lose your timepiece..
> 
> Posting from a phone and new to this, can't find an option to post pictures.. When I find out how I will.


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