I thought, and felt sad imagining that honest tool watches weren’t fun for micro/independent brands to make anymore. And I mean straight-up utilitarian timekeeping devices that we watch enthusiasts can confidently take on any kind of adventure, not afraid of damaging them. I say this because as of late, brands seem more preoccupied being the first at something rather than being consistent in offering good quality tool watches. Whether it be finding rare dial materials or 3D printing cases made out of carbon fiber, more and more importance is being put in doing what is rare and that which “has never been done before.” Don’t get me wrong, I like novelty but it has to make sense and look coherent. I don’t want an alien-looking machine on my wrist, simply a tool watch that does what it's supposed to without unnecessary fanfare. 

So if like me you like solid, fly-under-the-radar, and legible tool watches then you are going to love today’s review. (Speaking here with great modesty of course.) I’ve had Raven on my radar for a few years because they make my favorite type of watches—I don’t need to spell it out, do I?—and that their prices are competitive given the specs and materials they use. The Trekker is one of the brand’s core collections and is defined as being the “ultimate everyday adventure timepiece.” Is that the case? Well, I can already tell you that Raven did quite a few good things to back up this claim and that this may very well be true. And that would be both from a spec and design standpoint. But you’re going to have to read the full review to find out for yourself. Sorry!  

Specifications

Whenever a brand, a reviewer, or enthusiast strings the words “ultimate” and “adventure” and “timepiece” together, just like one could say “the best tool watch to go anywhere and do anything,” I’m immediately curious to know why they would make such a claim. This should mean, in other words, that the model in question is made out of certain things that make it capable of withstanding various types of environments and climates, from dense urban life to tropical forest, from hiking in the winter to diving in the summer and everything in-between. It would be the type of watch anyone could reach for regardless of what she or he is doing. Are you going to save the world? Take a Trekker. Are you ascending Mount Everest this weekend? Grab a Trekker? Are you Christmas shopping on 5th Avenue? You need a Trekker. You know, that kind of tool watch. 

So the Raven Trekker is made out of “the good stuff” to make it capable of GADA’ing. It’s got a case made of stainless steel, a box sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating, generous applications of BGW9 on the hands and markers, strategically DLC-coated elements for extra resistance to scratches (the bezel and crown,) 200 meters of water resistance (screw-down crown and case-back,) a fully articulated stainless steel bracelet with screwed links, quick-release springbars, and a NodeX (from Nodus) built-in and on-the-fly micro-adjustment mechanism. Moreover, inside we find a premium Miyota 9039 caliber which beats at 4Hz and comes with 41 hours of power reserve. In addition to these incredible specs, the Raven Trekker is built like a tank and here I’m referring to the quality of the manufacturing and the tight tolerances found on the case, bezel, and bracelet. 

The unidirectional, 120-clicks bezel has some of the best action I’ve experienced in a while and makes me think of some high-end Swiss tool watches I’ve had the pleasure of getting hands-on experience with. Each click is firm and precise, the bezel is perfectly aligned with the hour and minute markers on the dial (something that is sadly not always a given in horology,) and there is not an ounce of backplay. The coin-edge pattern of the bezel is also perfectly machined and therefore easy to grip, so is the large 7.7mm crown. (I suspect the DLC coating makes it easier to grab and operate but I might be wrong.) All of this is to say the Trekker is solid and it feels so whenever I interact with the watch. It’s also comfortable to wear and fits my 6.5”/16.5cm wrist well thanks to the 39mm in diameter, 48mm lug-to-lug, 12.5mm thick and a 20mm lug width. 

Design

What fascinates me the most with this model is the dial design and its relation to the bezel. The Trekker is a tool watch and Raven specializes in tool watches which means we do have a legible time-telling apparatus that is high in contrast. White hour and minute hands paired with white printed hour markers, whilst the seconds hand is painted orange to match the color of the hash-marks painted on the minimalist minute track. The latter have a slight Old Radium look or I may have to get my eyes checked. I do appreciate the straightforwardness of the hands and markers as they indicate the Trekker means business. By their design, in other words, they remind me of ultra utilitarian German tool watches in the likes of Sinn and Damasko and are therefore very much into the philosophy of “forms follows function.”  

As indicated in my recent review of the Dryden Heartlander, I believe that the 3-6-9 dial layout endows any watch with an explorer vibe which would partially explain the name of this model. Though the presence of a dive-style count-up scale on the rotating bezel would indicate we’re dealing with a diver and not a field/exploration type of watch, at least according to the commonly agreed-upon horological design nomenclature. But I believe this type of complication is useful for this type of watch because we also need to be able to time things whilst exploring cities, mountains, and the countryside, and not only when sitting on the couch waiting for the pizza to show up. The bezel, therefore, adds a tad of extra useful functionality in addition to looking at home on this case and paired with this dial. (I really like the black-on-black theme.) 

So let’s talk about the case and bracelet now. The case has a classic design with ancestry going back to some earlier Rolex sportwatch models which I’m 100% ok with as it obviously works. (What is classic is what works so why change it?) The kicker with the Raven Trekker is the polished chamfer on the underside of the case while the main sections of the latter are fully brushed, adding to the utilitarian aspect of this model. The lugs are slightly imposing, rather long but narrow, drilled, and straight. The case design therefore supports the functionality and intended uses of the Trekker, so does the DLC-coated bezel and crown. The bracelet has a 3-link construction, tapers to 16mm at the clasp, and comes with the added functionality of being adjustable on-the-fly. 

The Heart of the Matter

At the heart of the matter is the fact that Raven created a good old tool watch the likes of which we don’t see often anymore. By that I mean a no-fuss, straightforward, and humble utilitarian piece of horology which was designed with a particular type of lifestyle in mind. That of explorers, adventurers, not necessarily reserved for those who only explore the great outdoors and nature’s best kept secrets, but also those who, daily, navigate urban jungles full of noise, people, and pollution. Yes, the Raven Trekker invites me to hike a mountain right now but my reality is that of a suburban human being. But, even though I’m not yet living close to nature—because that will happen one day—I like to be reminded of it by wearing a watch like the Trekker. 

And then comes the price conversation. $650 USD for this utilitarian beauty. I for one believe that six one-hundred bills + five ten-dollar bills is a good price for this watch. Yes, you will absolutely find watches with better specs for less, but what you won’t find for less is this particular dial design and how it perfectly works with the DLC-coated bezel and crown. As I often say, we cannot put a price tag on design and this statement also applies when looking at straight-up tool watches, not only those which come with singular designs. When I look at the Trekker and handle it, I can see and feel the tremendous amounts of time the brand put into perfecting their own vision for a good tool watch, an honest tool watch. And that's what we've got here. 

Conclusion 

The Raven Trekker won’t be for you if you’re looking for what is ultra innovative and different. But it will be for you if you are looking for a good toolwatch. My personal philosophy when it comes to life and watches is that the simpler, the better. Because what is simpler feels more natural, and what is natural is timeless. I like timeless and classic designs, not what is fancy, and I know for a fact that in order to have that—and to have a product that will last—you need to spend more than $200 regardless of where the watch is made or what it is made out of. Because more often than not, the less you pay the lesser of an experience you will have. You will get bored and move on quickly.

I don’t want to move on from the Trekker and if you want to move in with it (ah ah ah) then I suggest you take a look at the brand’s website to see the full range of what it has to offer. 

Thanks for reading.