Purpose driven gear is something that always accompanies me whenever I am on an outdoor adventure. My gear always includes a knife, small hand saw, flint, water, flashlight, screwdriver, small notebook, pen, compass and a few other key items that may or may not be used. I always like to be over prepared than not but all the gear I carry is purpose driven. One of the most important pieces that I carry is a watch. Timing is absolutely everything in my opinion. This time of the year it is extremely important when relying on the remaining daylight when the hours of light per day is shortened dramatically. I rely on time even more so when I am on an unfamiliar trail, when there is only one way in and out. I’ve been relying on the Boldr Field Medic for my timing needs on my hikes this month.
If I’m going on a longer mile count hike I try to only travel with essential and purpose driven gear. I don’t want to expel energy unnecessarily by carrying unneeded gear. Energy conservation and pacing techniques are as important as what I carry with me. The Field Medic watch in very lightweight and very compact. It comes in at 38mm x12.2mm with a titanium case which means the FM is compact and lightweight. The watch easily gets lost on the wrist with prolonged wearing. What I mean by lost is that this watch is so lightweight and comfortable that you lose track of it until you actually need to rely on it. That is a great detail for a watch to have especially when you are in an environment when the temperatures are extreme. When you are layered up to protect yourself from the cold, a lightweight, compact watch is definitely your friend. I typically will wear my watch around the outside of my jacket to limit exposing any skin to the bitter cold. The FM comes on a nato style strap and is long enough to strap it on the outside of a jacket. The flip side of the cold coin is heat and wearing a oversized, heavy watch isn’t ideal. Again, the weight and size of the FM makes it an ideal watch no matter what the temperature is.
One of the days I was wearing the Field Medic on a hike the weather dramatically changed from partly sunny to cloudy with 70mph wind gusts, with pea sized hail changing over to rain, thunder and lightning. Though I was phased by this because I had to take evasive action to avoid the falling trees and tree limbs, the Field Medic handled itself un-phased. The lugless case design allows the watch to hug the wrist without any overhang whatsoever. This detail also allows the FM to wear slightly smaller than what the dimensions state. The screw down crown and the button pushers don’t interfere with wrist range of motion nor do they dig into the posterior side of the hand. Comfort is important but function is even more important and the crown and pushers function with precision. The size and the design of the crown allows the wearer easy grip/operation for unscrewing/screwing, and for setting the time. I find it frustrating and an inconvenience when a crown is designed undersized. You should never have to struggle to grip/operate a crown or a bezel, no matter where you are using your watch or in whatever conditions.
So is the model name just a name or is there a reason Boldr called this a field medic? The obvious detail is that it’s a field watch, a valuable tool that is relied upon by the wearer for basic survival purposes. Yes that is on the extreme side, but certainly a possibility. Yes that’s the field side of the watch in a nutshell but what about the medic side? If you breakdown the details on the dial from familiar details Vs. unfamiliar details. I want to tackle the unfamiliar details first. I am referring pulsations/respirations. What does this mean in terms of function of this watch? I will explain this simply as Boldr explained it to me. You can count off heart and respiratory rates quickly by using the precise graduated scales on this dial. So going back to my extreme statement of survival, using this scale can save valuable time as opposed to taking these vital signs the traditional way. Traditionally, taking a pulse rate is done by counting each beat within 60 seconds. You can do this by counting the beats in a 15 seconds and then multiplying that number of beats by 4. Which is a quick way to get the number of beats per minute but it’s not the most accurate way. The field medic watch uses a 30 seconds count that gives the wearer a more accurate reading.
To use the function of taking vital signs you activate the chronograph(top pusher) and count the specified number of beats, stop the chronograph (top pusher) document the numbers where the central hand is pointing which will be pointing to the required measurements in counts per minute. The function of the watch is precise when starting the central second hand, stopping it and resetting it which can be done by the bottom pusher. The dial is small, proportioned to the size of the case, more important that proportion is legibility. Thankfully the Field Medic dial is legible this is because of well thought out design details. The brushed finished hour and minute hands are coated with lume allowing for reading even when conditions are less than optimal. With a matte black dial backdrop the orange central second hand, the 24 hr sub dial and the hand on the 60 minute sub dial, are all easily read because the orange color. The orange stands out against the black dial. I found this helpful when glancing at the dial from an arms length distance when my hand was occupied. This is especially important because when you are in a situation when you are taking vital signs in the field often enough both your hands are occupied and you aren’t able to have your wrist close to your eyes. The date window located at the 6 o’clock position is also quite visible with it’s white wheel and black printed numerals.
The Field Medic is a well executed piece that is an example of a quintessential tool watch. A watch that can be relied upon in the field, whether you are a first responder, a nurse, a respiratory therapist or a person interested in tracking your vital signs during exercise. It’s a handy tool to have strapped to your wrist. The Field Medic is a well designed and thought out watch that functions without flaw and wears without physical obstruction. It retains a relatively compact size at 38mm x 12.2mm teamed with the lightweight titanium allowing the watch to be worn with comfort in all environments and weather conditions. The 44mm lug to lug measurement allows the watch to hug the wrist without overhang. This can be seen quite apparently by the lug design alone due to the “under-mount”/recessed lug style. It handled itself perfectly during a thunderstorm with pea sized hail and massive wind gusts and it also handled itself in doors when taking vital signs on a patient. I know that it would increase the price of this piece but I would love to see a mechanical version of this watch someday. The Field Medic is a nice value at $299 usd. This would make a good gift option for the healthcare worker in your life especially with Christmas/holidays approaching.
The Field Medic is a comfortable and fun watch to wear. I found myself playing a lot with the chronograph functions. It’s great for fidgety person like myself who also has a great love of gadgets and EDC. I definitely recommend this watch my fellow healthcare workers. It’s been an unprecedented year in healthcare, the toughest year that I have ever experienced in both working in healthcare and in my personal life, as it had been for everyone throughout the world. This isn’t just an isolated thing that a few people in a certain location is dealing with, the entire globe is affected by this pandemic. We are all in this together and I want to thank you all for escaping with me for this review. Thanks for reading, thanks for the support and thanks for the friendship. Be safe my friends.
Thank you for the entire amazing team at Boldr. 🤝❤️🤝
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Case: 38mm Titanium Case
- Movement: Japanese SII VK64
- Water Resistance: 200m (660ft) / 20ATM
- Crown: Screw-down crown with custom embossed BOLDR logo
- Dial: Printed matte dial with Japan Superlume
- Hands: Custom hands with Japan Superlume
- Lens: Flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Strap: Nylon NATO strap with custom titanium buckles
- Case Thickness: 12.2mm
- Lug size: 20mm
- Lug to lug: 44mm
- Case Back: Screw-down caseback with embossed limited edition designer artwork
- Drilled lugs
Time to Blog Watches 