When he introduced the Hiro, I thought, "wow, cushion base, domed crystal, solid day-date movement and 3D superluminova numbers. How could I go wrong at 99 bucks?"
As always, Christina made it impossible to say no to, as we made a deal for the head only and a 44mm version of the tritium Hercules, see my review of that watch in this part of the forum.
At 44mm, the mini Herc has all the same comments as the 50mm but more like one of you humans could wear.
So, the Hiro:
48xabout 12mm, domed crystal (not plexi), vintage diver vibe. Lovely heavy knurl screw crown and eye catching 3D arabic indices. Rail track 60 count chapter ring.
It wears great, looks good, feels good. Does not feel much like a 48mm, wears fine.
I fired it up, put it on, waited eagerly for darkness to fall.
It fell.
Along with my hopes.
If what follows sounds familiar, you too have owned a vintage Poljot 3133.
The lovely green 3D indices glow brightly. For a few minutes. At the end of the night (I usually am up before dawn) the numbers are still barely legible.
The hands glow moderately. For a few minutes. A couple of hours later, they are gone. It is telling that the lume on the crown logo goes longer than the hands.
This is a huge disappointment. Yes, the vintage vibe is great, remains a handsome beasty on the wrist. Wing could have easily at least made hands that would last as long as the numbers. His other offerings go all night. No, not the tritium, dipshits. The Superjet, DM42, and others have superlative lume.
It was a great experiment that Wing might improve on if there is a version 2.
The Great: Lovely vintage style, good size that wears well. Eye catching design details.
The OK: If you don't care about lume, this remains a good choice. As with the Hercules, the clear caseback seems kind of wasted on the plain workhorse movement. The current price is terrific and the options for purchase are lots of fun and well thought out.
The Bad: It is not bad. I just expected this to torch out like his other offerings.
All in all, I think this one is a trader.
-J
