Once in a while we are forced to question what we understand a field watch to be. And what it is could have changed since the first battlefield-destined wristworn timekeeping devices pointed their noses outside factories and into theaters of war during the first global conflict of the 20th century. Back then, and through the 1980s (roughly,) field watches were military-issued and/or styled timekeeping devices with a rugged appearance, the most legible handset/marker combination you could find on the international horological market, and a profound lack of complications. To many, field watches were and still are the epitome of purpose-driven horology for they only fulfill one function—to tell time—and do so efficiently and with no fanfare. Which is why we watch enthusiasts have been consuming so many of them, and for brands to keep churning them out so long. And over the past decade, we have seen a few novelties come from microbrands which support the well-being of this type of watchmaking through the ages. 

Some of the most noteworthy examples of these are the Dryden Heartlander Solar 38mm, Sphaera Meridian, Formex Field V2 Basalt Gray, and the RZE Urbanist just to name a few. Each and everyone of them did two things very well: propose their own unique design language inspired by that of the most iconic of field watches without veering into the homagy; combine their proprietary aesthetics with good specifications and relatively attainable price tags. For you might be of the opinion that a good field watch doesn’t need to require you to jeopardize your financial stability to acquire one, nor do I think that it should, for they were—at the very beginning of their existence—tools, not luxurious ornaments. Today we are going to direct our attention to a brand that has understood and mastered the formula to make good and unique utilitarian watches a long time ago: Astor + Banks. Recently, the American brand released its vision for a modern field watch in the excellent Terra Scout collection. Too good as it turns out. 

Specifications 

The unfortunate and ugly elephant in the room should be addressed right away: the Terra Scout is such a compelling horological offer for a contemporary field watch that it attracted the unfortunate attention of the greedy and emotionally fragile Scout Motor Company which felt that Astor + Banks’ collection of mechanical wristworn timekeeping devices was a trademark infringement of an enormous car manufacturer’s vehicles which forced the brand to put the release of the Terra Scout on hold. The problem was that A + B had already produced and pre-sold the first batch of Terra Scouts and decided to ship them anyway to the first batch of customers with the name “Terra Scout” thus printed on the dial. The next batch will have a different name, however what it is hasn’t been made public yet. Regardless of Scout Motor Company’s baseless claim, Astor + Banks will make the Terra Scout return because, as we’re about to see, it’s a little gem of utilitarian horology which deserves to spend a whole lot of time in the spotlight.

You may be familiar with Astor + Banks of course and already be aware of the brand’s unique talent to combine singular aesthetics with good levels of manufacturing and finishing and even better specifications, thus making some of the most intriguing and interesting sports/tool watches on the market today. Personally I reviewed the Fortitude Pro for Mainspring a while back and the Sea Ranger M2 Black for Fratello in early 2025. Again, two incredibly solid and holistically spec’ed out timepieces both of which constituting perfect candidates for a go-anywhere-do-anything timepiece. (Simply put: a watch.) And the Terra Scout, as it won’t come as a surprise to you, is endowed with the same potential, looking at everything that constitutes its technical data sheet and design. Starting with the case, as our tradition commands: a sandblasted 316L stainless steel chassis measuring 38.5mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, 12.4mm thick including the crystal (10.4mm without,) and coming with a 20mm lug width. Pretty much ideal. 

Inside this perfectly sized case Astor + Banks joined in the new microbrand tradition to reach for LaJoux-Perret to power the Terra Scout, in the form of a G100 which ticks at 4Hz, comes with a whopping 68 hours of power reserve, and is regulated in-house to run at ± 8 seconds per day. To that A + B added a soft-iron cage to protect the Swiss made caliber against magnetic fields up to 20,000A/m, and added a custom ring date module so that knowing what day of the month it is won’t ever impede the time-reading experience. Astor + Banks also thought about water resistance, as there is 200 meters of it thanks to a screw-down crown and case-back complemented by Viton gaskets, all-scenarios clarity of the time-reading experience by way of a boxed sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating, and of easy nighttime legibility by applying generous quantities of two-toned BGW9 lume on the hands, hour markers, and ring surrounding the dial. Look at the lume shot below and you will instantly understand how good it is! 

Design 

Indeed, and as always, the American brand went above and beyond to make a solid tool watch which can be had for the reasonable sum of $875 USD with all of the aforementioned good things considered. I have seen other microbrands and small independent ones charge much more than this amount for models which are creatively less inspired and technically not as generously spec’ed out as the Astor + Banks Terra Scout is—please don’t get me to talk about Swiss powerhouses! And creative the Terra is, and singular it looks indeed which we’re going to talk about right now. You might be deeply attracted to brands which have found ways to create their own design language within an ocean of brands which strive to climb the ladder of independent watchmaking and make the news on the world’s most prominent online watch magazines, however doing something unique is rarer than one might think (regardless of a brand’s success) And this is an area in which A + B excels at. And I’m all for singularity in design as you might already be aware of. 

The dial is something I have been anxiously waiting to tell you about, for it seamlessly combines two singular-looking set of complications, each of which has been perfectly designed and executed. First, there is the time-telling ensemble composed of the traditional A+ B modernized Dauphine handset covered with matte black paint, where the seconds hand’s tip is finished with a bright orange accent. They are paired with a suite of Arabic numeral and baton hour markers arranged in a sandwich construction placed on the same plane as the circular section of the dial on which the brand name and some literature are printed. Beyond and above the hour markers we find a circular ridge, with a simple minute track printed on its inner-facing side, and four long arched lumed elements recessed within it, complemented by an inverted triangle at the twelve. The northwest and southeast elements, along with the triangle, glow a neon green at night, while the other two shine bright ice blue matching the color of the hands and hour markers. 

Moving back in, we find the ring date complication made of 31 machined apertures through which an orange accent aligns with the bright date numerals printed in white outside of it. Because the triple-level dial main was covered with a deep black paint, all sets of markings easily pop from the dial, even the sandwiched markers entirely made of luminescent compound. But while the dial is something I definitely had to write home about for it is unique and well executed, Astor + Banks seems to have wanted to keep things simple when designing the case which is to me a good thing. (Making the case as bespoke and unique as the dial would have created a visual kerfuffle.) As we know, it is made of sand-blasted steel which naturally tones down how much real estate it commands on the wrist. But its overall shape was kept rather classic for a field/sports watch: slab-sided flanks, a perfectly knurled and signed 7.2mm screw-down crown, meaty lugs beautifully drooping down towards the wrist, a thin fixed bezel, and a plain case-back. 

Thus, as much as the Terra Scout is technically comprehensive, visually it is as bespoke as any other model from the brand and remains as financially accessible as all of its other collections which is what makes Astor + Banks stand out within an over-crowded market. 

The Heart of the Matter

I hesitated for a long time about what kind of subtitle should preface this review, trying to come up with something intelligent that would best describe what makes the Terra Scout stand out and worthy of your attention. Because there are many reasons which should drive you to go on Astor + Banks’ website to learn more about it. But however good this model is, and how badly I would want to add it to my personal collection, it is unfortunate—so unfortunate—that part of the publicity created around the Terra Scout was generated by the greed of a giant car manufacturer which decided that the new field collection of a micro watch brand was worth their time and energy to become the target of a lawsuit over potential trademark infringement. The Scout Motor Company (a revival of an older brand by the way,) sells a truck called the Terra, so the Scout Motor Company Terra Truck, which semantically has nothing to do with Astor + Banks Terra Scout. This is as silly as if a watch brand would have trademarked “Field Watch” and sued another one that made a “Watch Field.” 

Anyway, this problem just illustrates something we should remind ourselves of on the daily: that there are many petty folks and companies out there shooting rockets into each other’s feet to gain an extra buck. I’ve been reviewing Astor + Banks watches for a while and they are nothing short of extraordinary. So it seems that the giant car manufacturer somehow felt that the Terra Scout was too good to be true and shouldn’t make it to market. Luckily, Astor + Banks is fighting and holding the line, which is why it decided it will ship the first batch soon and make a second one with a new name on the dial. Wouldn’t it be funny if it were to pick “Traveler Scout?” (Check Scout’s website for context.) 

Conclusion

It seemed impossible for me to write about the Astor + Banks Terra Scout without mentioning what is going on with the car idiots. But looking beyond that, let us refresh our minds as to what this model is and what it can do for you: it looks like its own thing, legible and unique, offering a compelling combination of a multi-layered dial on which a sandwich construction and ring date complication symbiotically cohabit. It is further complemented by specifications which defy the most iconic of Swiss models in that price category, for it offers a great caliber heavily protected against magnetic fields, superb nighttime legibility and a satisfying light show to boot (the two-toned lume looks like Light Sabers swooshing around at night,) a scratch-resistance boxed sapphire crystal, and 200 meters of water resistance. It ships with a leather-backed canvas strap and a rubber one, both equipped with quick-release spring-bards and sand-blasted hardware. 

The Terra Scout also comes in four versions: black and white on sand-blasted cases and a black version on a DLC case for $875 USD, and a white dial + desert sand Cerakote® limited edition variant for $1,195 USD. Keep an eye on what’s going on with the Terra Scout by signing up to Astor + Banks’ newsletter.

Thanks for reading.