Most Definitely Meet Your Heroes - Marathon Navigator
Oh boy, here I go fawning over a pilot’s watch again. Did y’all really think I wasn’t going to pick up a watch specifically designed for Air Force pilots ensuring dominance in the sky over foreign lands? You should know better by now.
HUA
I've wanted a Marathon Navigator since before I got my first “real” watch. Yeah, I had the Nighthawk, but I wanted the real deal. I wanted a watch that had been there and done that, and had the t-shirt to prove it. Remind me to tell you about the coolest veteran t-shirt I’ve ever seen, it’s worth it.
The Navigator was built in the mid-80s at the request of Kelly Air Force Base, TX, for a practical, cost-effective watch that could be issued to airmen requiring a dependable timepiece. Marathon has been crafting watches for the military since its founding in 1941 and was an easy choice when the AF needed quality timekeeping instruments. It saw action from the wrist of many a flyboy over the Persian Gulf and continues to be the watch of choice for many pilots, navigators, and adventure-minded individuals.
I bought my Navigator in July of this year, and, once again thankful for my Prime membership, was more than excited when it showed up days later on my doorstep. I was over the moon, opening the packaging, and finding my new watch in all its rugged, mil-spec glory. That jubilation quickly soured, however, when I picked the piece up.
You know how Moonswatch owners complain that it feels like a kids’ meal toy? Yeah, that was about my thinking of the fibershell case. The bezel action was worse than my 1980s Vostok. The tritium, which I’d been positively pining for, wasn’t anything to get excited about in terms of brightness. Don’t even get me started on the strap. I was crestfallen, disappointed in my most expensive watch purchase at the time, and heartbroken that my hero had failed to live up to my expectations. Sure, it had “U.S. GOVERNMENT” on the dial, a high torque ETA movement, and actual military pedigree, but I didn’t care. My hero wasn’t cool enough for me. My disappointment in the Navigator directly led to my purchase of a Sangin Kinetic, and I thought I’d let it sit in my watch box to collect dust until I found someone else to foist it upon.
I did, however, commit to the Navigator before my hype watch with sapphire glass and obnoxious lume showed up. I wore the watch to work a few times a week, and I realized how much I appreciated lume that didn’t require “charging”, and was always on. I realized how much I enjoyed a nondescript piece that didn’t blind myself or those around me with glare from a well-polished bezel. Sure, the bezel action still isn’t great, but I use that mainly for walking my dog. The Navigator didn’t need to impress me, and didn’t need to be the flashy hype piece that got me an extra 12 likes on Instagram. It’s a jobber, and jobbers don’t have to brag to know they’re special.
It’s too trite to be told never meet your heroes. Leaving your heroes on a pedestal where they can never be less than perfect is unfair to them as much as it is you, leaving them permanently out of your reach. Accepting our heroes’ flaws enriches our relationships with them, and makes them more relatable; even if your hero is a timepiece.
