# Marathon Tritium Watches



## amlim (Sep 22, 2005)

I am very interested in getting one of the Marathon watches which are sold by Countycomm. 

Any comments about this brand of watch? Which model is great to get? Any place where I can get them for a good price. 

Thanks.


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## Filament (Sep 22, 2005)

Pm sent...


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## jpfaff (Sep 22, 2005)

Marathon Watch Company is a well established Canadian company that has current contracts with the US Government. Two of their well known brands are the S.A.R. and the T.S.A.R. The big difference between the two watches is price and the movements. The S.A.R. will run you about $675.00 plus s.h. , whereas, the T.S.A.R. will run you $425.00. The S.A.R. has an automatic movement, meaning no batteries, the bodies movement supplies a capacitor that stores the energy. The T.S.A.R. has a well made quartz movement requiring batteries. The T.S.A.R. though has tritium vials that light on there own whereas the S.A.R. has Mariglo or a painted on version that needs to be charged by light to last. IMHO the T.S.A.R. is a better buy, where as a collector would prefer the S.A.R. for the automatic movement. One other thing to note is if you have a weak wrist these watches are not for you, because they are a heavy hunk of medal. Some places to buy them are www.countycomm.com, www.broadarrow.net, and where you can get new and used models is www.mwrforum.net.
Hope this helps Jason


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## slind1 (Sep 22, 2005)

I purchased a TSAR from Countycomm about 2 months ago and added the matching bracelet. Nicest watch I've ever owned. Jason is right though, the thing is built like a tank. I like the TSAR because of the tritium vials. The watch looks phenomenal in the dark. I've dealt with Countycomm on a few transactions and have no problems recommending them.

Kind regards,
Steve


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## SJACKAL (Sep 22, 2005)

Countycomm doesnt ships international to Singapore. But no matter, there are lotsa other places to get those watches.


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## BillG (Sep 22, 2005)

i bought one off ebay @ 8 mos ago. it's a stem wind watch....purely mechanical, w/ trutium vials. ran about $75. i'm wearing it right now. its smaller than the other 2. about the size of a seiko military auto. i love it


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## setherd (Sep 23, 2005)

Slight correction...the SAR uses the ETA 2824 movement and is entirely mechanical. the energy from a counter weight powered by the wearers arm motion (or hand winding it) is stored in a spring, not a capacitor.
both are great watches, from what I read the TSAR is a NASA issue watch now.



jpfaff said:


> Marathon Watch Company is a well established Canadian company that has current contracts with the US Government. Two of their well known brands are the S.A.R. and the T.S.A.R. The big difference between the two watches is price and the movements. The S.A.R. will run you about $675.00 plus s.h. , whereas, the T.S.A.R. will run you $425.00. The S.A.R. has an automatic movement, meaning no batteries, the bodies movement supplies a capacitor that stores the energy. The T.S.A.R. has a well made quartz movement requiring batteries. The T.S.A.R. though has tritium vials that light on there own whereas the S.A.R. has Mariglo or a painted on version that needs to be charged by light to last. IMHO the T.S.A.R. is a better buy, where as a collector would prefer the S.A.R. for the automatic movement. One other thing to note is if you have a weak wrist these watches are not for you, because they are a heavy hunk of medal. Some places to buy them are www.countycomm.com, www.broadarrow.net, and where you can get new and used models is www.mwrforum.net.
> Hope this helps Jason


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## SimplyJ (Sep 23, 2005)

amlim said:


> I am very interested in getting one of the Marathon watches which are sold by Countycomm.
> 
> Any comments about this brand of watch? Which model is great to get? Any place where I can get them for a good price.



I have the Marathon TSAR watch. It arrived to me from Countycomm in a flawless condition. Overall the body and worksmanship is very good. The tritium vials are bright enough to see in low to no light conditions. In a dark room I can clearly spot my watch from over 20 feet away. But don't expect to be able to read maps or anything like that using the tritium illumination. The trasers provide just enough glow to read the time and that's it.

My only other "beef" with the watch is that it is not as accurate as my Seiko or Bulova watches. The Marathon TSAR routinely loses about 11 seconds a month. My other watches lose only about one second a month. Otherwise I think it's a great watch.


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## nelstomlinson (Sep 23, 2005)

Countycomm sells a Marathon quartz watch with plastic case and tritium for $100 (see http://www.countycomm.com/GPDESCRIP.htm ). The TSAR and the SAR look like what I want, but that $100 model looks like the most I can afford.

Does anyone have any experience with those plastic cases? Might the case last as long as the tritium, with moderate use? The blurb says:

``_Case is nylon/fiberglass composite; very durable, nearly indestructible. _''

The ``nearly'' in ``nearly indestructable'' gives me pause. I've had the pins pull out of plastic watch cases before.

Thanks,
Nels


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## BIGIRON (Sep 23, 2005)

The composite case Marathon is my everyday watch. It gets lots of bangs and manual labor type abuse. It's scratched up, as would be expected, but I have no concerns about the case breaking or the pins pulling loose. The pins are heavy solid stainless, not the spring loaded type. Mine has a 2000 manufacture date and the tritium tubes are still plenty bright.


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## amlim (Sep 24, 2005)

nelstomlinson said:


> Countycomm sells a Marathon quartz watch with plastic case and tritium for $100 (see http://www.countycomm.com/GPDESCRIP.htm ). The TSAR and the SAR look like what I want, but that $100 model looks like the most I can afford.
> 
> Does anyone have any experience with those plastic cases? Might the case last as long as the tritium, with moderate use? The blurb says:
> 
> ...



same case for me. the TSAR looks great and I love it... but nah.. I can't afford it.


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## BillG (Sep 24, 2005)

dupont zytel...aka nylon/fiberglass.....is virtually indestructible. this is NOT plastic.

i have that on a number of knife handles, and let me tell you it is tough!!

you will break your wrist before breaking this stuff.

i defy ANYONE to break it by hitting it with a hammer one time!


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## bucken (Nov 26, 2005)

Can anyone recommend... Is the Marathon suitable for a small wrist, or might it be considered to be a BIG watch? Anyone know approx. diameter?


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## bubbacatfish (Nov 27, 2005)

bucken, check the third post for links, any of those sites will tell you just about anything you want to know.

p.s. While I haven't had my TSAR too long, I LOVE it, without a doubt the nicest watch I've ever owned (thanks Filament!).


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## cy (Nov 27, 2005)

been wanting a TSAR or SAR lately.


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## GarageBoy (Nov 27, 2005)

Now theres a GSAR, which is the tritium SAR in auto movement


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## Peter Atwood (Nov 27, 2005)

I'm wearing the GSAR right now. I love this watch! There is no light condition that I have found that I can't easily read the time. Mine provides enough illumination that I can see the glare reflected off a closed door on pitch black nights so as not to bump into it.


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## HighLight (Nov 27, 2005)

Be sure to check the manufacture date if purchasing these from ebay because the tritium may be starting to go dim. Also there is a new Marathon Navigator which now comes with a date feature. IIRC this feature was added at the request of military police. I wear a Luminox and I find the constant glow of the tritium great.


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## alberto (Nov 28, 2005)

The cases on the Marathon watches are not plastic but a lightweight hard carbon composite. The backs are stainless steel. It contains tritium vials that are very bright, even in low-light conditions. 

I've had mine (wearing it now) for a couple of years and I've replaced the battery once, gotten a few minor scratches on the crystal, had to clean the nylon band a couple of times, and had one tritium vial to come loose from a number position. It's been my everyday work watch and has kept perfect time. I'll buy another from countycomm.com when it finally goes.


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## darkzero (Nov 28, 2005)

alberto said:


> had to clean the nylon band a couple of times


 
What do you use to clean/wash the nylon band with? I've got a MB-Microtec H3 watch and I can't completely get the band clean. Whenever it gets wet it still smells. 

I ended up buying a zulu 4 buckle band for it and I'm loving the watch all over again. I'll never switch back to the old band but I'm curious on how to clean it good.


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## Peter Atwood (Nov 28, 2005)

Probably an hour long soaking in a bucket of water with a tablespoon of bleach will do it.

BTW, I have a very small wrist and I find the GSAR to be fine on it. It's a very tall watch and is quite heavy but it's comfortable.


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## TooTall (Nov 28, 2005)

darkzero said:


> What do you use to clean/wash the nylon band with?



What works best for me is to run the watch band through the dishwasher. I have a basket in the top rack so it won't get loose. I have done this to Zulu bands and other NATO bands. Just make sure you take it out before the drying cycle starts.

TooTall


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## alberto (Nov 29, 2005)

Yeah, I just use dishwashing liquid soap to clean the nylon band. Works great for me.


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## darkzero (Nov 29, 2005)

Will bleach discolor the band? The band is black.

I'll dry the dishwasher method, sounds good. 

I tried washing it (scrubbed with a brush) with Tide, tried cold and hot water. Seems to be clean but if it gets wet it has this weird foul kinda odor that smells like sweat or something but as soon as it dies, no smell at all.


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## GarageBoy (Nov 30, 2005)

I think it's the nylon it self. Leave it be


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## Jumpmaster (Nov 30, 2005)

GarageBoy said:


> I think it's the nylon it self. Leave it be



No...nylon does have a smell of its own but smells entirely different when infused with sweat/dirt and not cleaned.

I read a tip somewhere to just leave the watch on (if it's waterproof, of course...) and shower with it on. That way, the soap/shampoo helps clean it and it won't stink when it gets wet. I did this for 6 months throughout basic training and AIT and my zulu band never smelled bad...works fine...

JM-99


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## SJACKAL (Nov 30, 2005)

My Natos will smell after a few months, then I would wash them with light detergent and warm water. Good as new everytime.


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## BF Hammer (Dec 1, 2005)

I clean stinky nylon watch straps in my normal laundry. I just remove the strap and safety-pin it inside of a pocket of a pair of jeans or shorts. A pin on the buckle and another through a buckle-hole on a NATO strap holds it securely.

If you use liquid fabric softener on the rinse cycle it double de-stinks the strap.

Wish I could cure stinky leather straps though.


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## SJACKAL (Dec 1, 2005)

Hmmm, will boiling leather straps get rid of the smell?

Leather straps starts to stinks when it got wet frequently either from sweat or water, my guess is that the bad smell comes from bacteria on it.


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## darkzero (Dec 1, 2005)

Great tips fellas, thank yous! :thumbsup: (and sorry for hijacking the thread)


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## AESOP (Dec 2, 2005)

alberto said:


> had one tritium vial to come loose from a number position. .


 
Alberto, 
I have had the same thing happen to me, how did you repair it?

Michael


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## Canuckle (Dec 14, 2005)

SJACKAL said:


> Countycomm doesnt ships international to Singapore. But no matter, there are lotsa other places to get those watches.



Such as . . . . . . (waiting intently for an answer.....)

I'm all ears for this one....!

;-)


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## SJACKAL (Dec 14, 2005)

Try Howard Max at 

www.westcoastime.com


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## bubbacatfish (Dec 14, 2005)

Canuckle, as SJACKAL said, there's West Coast Time, there's also www.broadarrow.net (for TSAR & GSAR maybe SAR too, don't remember) & someone named maloja sells them regularly on ebay as well. I got mine right here on the B/S/T though (Thanks again Filament!!!).

p.s. I'm in Canada too, I feel your pain...


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## SJACKAL (Dec 14, 2005)

Locally in Singapore, there is www.gnomonwatches.com for some military styled watches.


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## Sigifrith (Dec 29, 2005)

nelstomlinson said:


> Countycomm sells a Marathon quartz watch with plastic case and tritium for $100 (see http://www.countycomm.com/GPDESCRIP.htm ). The TSAR and the SAR look like what I want, but that $100 model looks like the most I can afford.
> Does anyone have any experience with those plastic cases? Might the case last as long as the tritium, with moderate use? The blurb says:
> 
> ``_Case is nylon/fiberglass composite; very durable, nearly indestructible. _''
> ...



I've got one of these. It's a Type F with an Oct 1998 date on back. The "Crystal" is the weakest link. It scratches very easily. The watch is still very easy to read in the dark, but is definately dimmer than my new Luminox.

I'd buy one tomorrow as a beater watch, but be careful of swinging your arm around in a tight space, or you'll scratch the heck out of the plastic "Crystal".


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## cy (Dec 29, 2005)

been looking for a deal on TSAR, but anyone that has one in stock sells for same price.


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## SJACKAL (Dec 30, 2005)

The advantage of acrylic crystals is that you can polish them if the scratch is not too deep. I had done it many times with a diamond coated jeweller's cloth.

I had seen watch servicers polish them with high grit sandpaper (like 2000grit maybe) followed by a drop of Brasso finished off with a soft cloth. The end result is like new.


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## Sigifrith (Dec 30, 2005)

SJACKAL said:


> The advantage of acrylic crystals is that you can polish them if the scratch is not too deep. I had done it many times with a diamond coated jeweller's cloth.
> 
> I had seen watch servicers polish them with high grit sandpaper (like 2000grit maybe) followed by a drop of Brasso finished off with a soft cloth. The end result is like new.



Thank You!!! I was going to send mine back to Marathon. I'll drop by the jewelers next week, & see what they can do.


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