If we go back to the beginning of times…well, to the birth of what we commonly define as being tool watches in the early 20th century, most of them, if not all, were rather affordable because they were tools and as such part of someone’s equipment. Soldiers, blue-collar workers, and adventurers who needed legible and reliable timekeeping devices to keep things organized and on time, not necessarily ornamented, decorated, or luxurious ones whose monetary value far surpassed their utilitarian nature. That is the type of watches I’m the most drawn to—straightforward tool watches and especially military ones—because they are the epitome of objects which were designed and manufactured to aid the wearer in doing something well and not as accessories to match one’s outfit for fashion’s sake. I do not care for the superfluous, but I do have a passion for the necessary. (Granted, we don’t need watches anymore but you’re catching my train of thoughts, right?) 

What is amazing in 2025 is to see brands solely dedicated to making the very type of watches most of us actually don’t need—tool watches that should in theory only be used by soldiers, adventurers, and blue-collar workers—and none of the genre people want to wear—dressy, elegant, and everyday watches which look good with this shirt and that jacket and make for a good conversation starter. But since we are in the business of collecting timekeeping devices and through them expressing our personalities and creative affinities, we might as well responsively indulge in our hobby. Thus brands such as Redwood exist and popularize the genre of affordable tool watches which most of us needed back then but which some of us still very much enjoy wearing today. We’ve looked at Redwood before, first through the Standard Issue Commando GMT and then the Tactical V3 Black. Two very straightforward and no-nonsense utilitarian watches just like I like them. 

Today we’re taking a look at a third model, the Pilot A-13 Solar, a remarkable self-explanatory type of horological device. 

Specifications 

Discerning watch journalists, YouTubers, and influencers get a kick out of defining a year as being the year of something unique. The year of integrated bracelet sport watches, the year of punchy-colored dials, and 2025 perhaps as the year of solar quartz watches. I wouldn’t disagree with the idea that there are indeed many quartz and solar-quartz powered watches being brought to market this year, but as a whole this trend doesn’t define the past twelve months of where the global watch industry has been. However, it is mostly micro and independent brands which are embracing this technology which is a good thing for us watch enthusiasts as we can acquire reliable and affordable tool watches right and left. Redwood makes two versions of the Pilot A-13, the solar quartz we’re taking a look at today and the Quad-Pulse which only means that the quartz movement has a sweep-seconds hand which strides along the dial more or less akin to a mechanical movement at four beats per second. The solar quartz Pilot A-13 retails for $219 USD which is quite nice already. 

At the heart of this affordable gem of utilitarian horology is the Epson (Seiko) VS37 solar caliber which comes with a stated monthly accuracy of ± 20 seconds and a 12-month battery life once fully charged. It comes with a date complication which Redwood didn’t bother removing because it would have made a $30-caliber cost double, so you have a ghost date position which shouldn’t be a worry as this is a set-and-forget type of watch. In other words, you set the time, give it a full charge, and you’re good to go for a year of use during which you will have surely recovered from the affront of having a pointless third crown position. Below the caliber there is a screw-down case back, and together with a screw-down crown the Pilot A-13 boasts an excellent 100 meters of water resistance. (I say excellent because it is despite how adamant some of you are that you need a 200+ meters depth rating.) On the hands, hour markers, and additional markings located outside of them we find generous applications of green-glowing SuperLuminova. 

Already we see that we get a lot of great specs for the asking $219 USD and things keep on getting better. For example, a flat sapphire crystal, a quality single-piece NATO-style nylon strap with brushed hardware to match the fully brushed treatment of the case, and the option to choose from one of 10 fastening systems when ordering your watch, from nylon straps indeed to rubber and leather ones, as well as a steel Bonklip bracelet. You do have to pay a little extra depending on which one you choose but at the most you will be dishing out $253 USD for the Bonklip which is really good. And lastly, let’s talk about dimensions: the Redwood Pilot A-13 is endowed with fine and modern dimensions for a tool watch in 2025. That is 40mm in diameter, 46.5mm lug-to-lug, 10.7mm thick, and a 20mm lug width. This means the A-13 wears wide but rather flat, even when worn on the NATO-style strap as seen in the photos here. These dimensions are indeed really good for a modern tool watch as it also weighs a comfortable 67g. 

Design

One might think there isn’t much to chat about when it comes to the design of tool watches and oftentimes well, that’s true. But the few words one might have to spare about a pilot watch is only due to the straightforward nature of this genre of watches. Though Redwood did a wonderful job adding little design tidbits here and there to make this model a compelling and affordable package. (More so I would add than the Commando and Tactical models mentioned in the introduction which is due, again, to the very own nature of these watches.) The Pilot A-13 therefore is inspired by iconic aircraft instrument designs of the 20th century, as the brand indicates on its website, which means legible gauges found on dashboards to indicate fuel reserves, air speed, and altitude for example. As you can imagine, these instruments had to indeed be extremely legible inside the tumbling cockpit—and I would add deprived of superfluous ornamentations—which explains why the A-13 was designed the way it was: legible and to the point. 

What it comes down to is this: a set of large Alpha hands complemented by large real estate for lume in their middle and black surrounds, and a needle-shaped seconds hand mostly painted black as well but featuring a long lumed tip. Painting the hands this way conceals them just enough to make the rest of the dial more legible, especially when it comes to the seconds hand which only needs to be visible near the seconds markers on the outer edges of the dial. The Arabic numerals for the hour markers are also large and painted in a slightly condensed modern font, entirely made of luminescent material which makes them highly legible day in and day out. They are further placed atop the solar cell which hides beneath the dial, the latter being semi-translucent to let the light in to be captured by the later piece of technology, which gives the dial a glossy-like sheen which looks quite nice. (In my experience dials of solar-quartz watches generally appear a bit dull so kudos to Redwood for making it so lovely.) 

Moreover, we find the typical pilot-style minute track painted on a raised rehaut which is composed of lumed dots and rectangles highlighting the hour markers, an inverted triangle at the twelve, accompanied by smaller numerals painted in yellow marking the 5-minute increments, and otherwise dashes for the minute. Designing the minute track in this way and laying out the dial so that the hour markers hug the former makes the Redwood Pilot A-13 really easy to read and gives the solar cell plenty of space to catch the ray of natural or artificial light. The dial is then framed by a fully brushed case, fixed bezel, and mid-sized crown (6.3mm in diameter) which perfectly suits the utilitarian nature of this model. The case, however, is not deprived of tooly charm for it is composed of massive faceted drilled lugs, slab-sided flanks, and a deceptively tall side profile made so because all the metal you see is brushed and the bezel dramatically slopes down towards the mid-case. For $219 USD you get a lot of watch, a lot of watch indeed. 

The Heart of the Matter

However much one can love straightforward tool watches, one must admit that most of us don’t need them, just like only a few of us actually need watches in the first place. But we choose to wear watches to stay on track with the day, to be organized and on time, and of course to express our personalities through them. Thus there are folks like you and me who appreciate the purpose-driven and standardized nature of tool watches which tended to be and remain in some cases affordable, as we saw with the Redwood Pilot A-13. And if you are a human who does need a watch for work, then I would be thrilled to recommend any of Redwood’s wonderfully affordable and solidly built tool watches as the Canadian brand (yes they are) has assembled a comprehensive catalog of great tool watches. So at the heart of the matter is the fact that Redwood continues to celebrate its love for good, robust, and affordable purpose-driven watches and to keep the tradition of making simple but effective tools alive. 

If you don’t care for the superfluous and the luxurious, then Redwood is for you. 

Conclusion

Earlier I mentioned that the Canadian brand also offers the Pilot A-13 in a Quad Pulse variant with a sweep seconds hand. It does. But this model is a tad larger than the Solar we looked at today, coming with a 42mm diameter, 48.5mm lug-to-lug, and 10.6mm thickness. And both the Solar and Quad Pulse also come in Sealth modes with DLC-coated cases. So you have a total of four options to choose from for your next tough and brain-free pilot's watch and so I suggest taking a closer look at the entire line-up on the brand’s website. For this little amount of cash, you cannot go wrong. 

Thanks for reading.