For those of you who aren’t familiar with Lum Tec allow me to share a bit of information about them with you!

“We are a family run, USA based company devoted to bringing you the best quality watches on the market. Our parent company Wiegand Custom Watch, LLC. has built watches for thousands of customers around the world as well as designed, improved, and built watches for many other well known brands. The LÜM-TEC brand is the showcase brand for Wiegand Custom Watch, LLC, demonstrating what we are capable of producing. LÜM-TEC watches are made with only the best available materials and components and are all hand crafted by our team of professional watchmakers. Chris Wiegand – President, takes extreme pride in every watch we produce.”

If this watch looks familiar, you might know it from Last of Us, the watch Joel wears. Here are some of the specs of this Super Combat titanium watch.

Assembled by hand in Ohio
45mm width excluding crown
24mm lug width
Forged and heat treated full titanium case
Threaded see through sapphire caseback
Bead blasted finish for increased surface hardness
Anti-fingerprint coating applied to case finish
Double curved sapphire crystal with military grade anti-reflective coating
Swiss ETA 6498-1 Rhodium movement (handwind) with blued screws, Geneva stripes and polished gears
Typical power reserve: 46 hours
Regulated in 6 positions to +/- 3-5 seconds/day accuracy or better
Anti-Shock movement mounting system
300 meters/990 ft. water resistance
Matte black coated brass dial
Diamond-cut hand set
MDV Technology® dial and hands with 30 layers of X1 grade C3 Super-Luminova®
Screw lock crown with double diamond sealing system
High tech Viton® gaskets
2 nylon military straps with hardened Ti PVD hardware. OD Green and Black.
Hand made brown Horween Chromexcel leather strap.
Lifetime free movement timing regulation
Lifetime free pressure testing and seal lubrication/cleaning

https://lum-tec.com/products/super-combat-b2

I can’t exactly tell you what it was that initially drew me into this watch but I can say that it was either the darkened titanium case or the hand wound mechanical movement. Those two details were definitely responsible for capturing my attention. This is an excellent example of how a tool watch case should be finished. There’s not any unnecessary polished finish, just a matte forged and heat treated full titanium with a badass bead blasted finish. The smooth, dark titanium looks so damn good and just adds that tool feeling.

Have you ever seen a watch being marketed as a tool watch by a watch company and it’s all polished and blinged out looking? You look at it and scratch your head like “I guess if you adventure zone is an office desk, then it could be a tool?!?” Disclaimer so no one gets their underwear in a bunch, if you use your watch for the office and you consider it a tool, I’m not here to say you are wrong. That’s just not a good fit for me or my personal definition of what a tool watch is. Watches are so subjective to us as individuals and telling someone that they are wrong or should think differently, is something I’ll never do.

The coin edged bezel definitely makes my horological heart happy. Why?!? My first real watch I bought was the Chronoswiss Timemaster and it had a coin edged bezel. Fun fact about Chronoswiss, they are responsible for making exhibition casebacks popular. I personally not a fan, but seeing a hand wound movement is always special to me because it takes me back to the 5 year old me and seeing my great grandfather’s pocket watch movement ticking away.

This watch has such clean lines. I love the classic Lum-Tec case here. So easily recognizable, from the coin edge bezel, to the lug shape and the no crown guards look! I appreciate this case design because it classic Lum-Tec DNA that made me appreciate this brand all those years ago. I love that they have different models that aren’t typical Lum-Tec, but I truly like that they stuck to their OG DNA with this case.

The forged and heat treated titanium case is truly beautiful and Lum-Tec wanted to have that extra badass beauty 24/7 so they decided to anti-fingerprint coating to the case finish. As if the bead blasted finish on this case wasn’t awesome enough already! I mentioned before about the no crown guards on this case but I didn’t talk about the crown itself. The oversized crown design allows for easy grip and operation which is important for a number of reasons, screwing/unscrewing, setting the time but most importantly for winding up this hand cranker. There is nothing more satisfying than winding up a handwound movement. It’s pure watch porn in my opinion 🤷🏻‍♂️

The crown system on this watch is quite fascinating in and of itself and that’s because it’s a screw lock crown with double diamond sealing system. I love when a watch has that over engineering like this. Lum Tec could have just did a screw down crown and been down with it, but they went beyond that. It’s details like this that takes a watch and makes it a tool watch.

I don’t get wrapped up in the case size nonsense that a large portion of the watch community is unhealthily obsessed with. I do have to say that the 45mm case and 24mm lugs are some great measurements. I am so glad that Lum Tec didn’t bow into submission to the whiners club like I see so many watch companies doing these days by making so many watches under 40mm. Huge respect to Lum Tec for sticking to their DNA.

I love when a company impresses me with their watch, by impress I mean in terms of design, quality and overall execution. Lum-Tec has managed to execute every bit of detail on this watch with absolute precision. Yeah, I would have preferred screw in lug bars, but regardless, this piece was meticulously planned, designed and executed. The case is an excellent example of this as you can see in the pictures. Lum-Tec’s meticulous work didn’t just stop at the case either, it was carried over to the dial as well.

Legibility! That’s the first thing I thought of when I first saw this dial in the metal. Lum-Tec doesn’t f-ck around when it comes to the legibility of their dials and as their name suggests, you bet your ass that the legibility doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. (More on the lume later) The other thing I noticed on this dial was that there’s no interruptions of flow with a date window. Thank the watch gods for that!

Obviously the numerals are nothing but legible, and obviously in both daylight and darkness. The hands are also legible, but also important for me is the fact that they are proportional to the dial itself. I love the text on this dial in terms of amount of text, size and colors. The red accents on this dial are perfect and set against this badass beautiful matte black canvas, the red just pops! I know that there are people who live miserable and unhappy existences who hate when people use “pops” when referring to details so I’ll continue to use that terminology to aide in their misery.

I do appreciate a small seconds sub-dial. Lum-Tec added theirs at the 6H position. The red hand is perfect touch of cohesion between the red text and this little hand. How did Lum-Tec make it more perfect?!? Well by adding their signature lume treatment to this little guy. We all know that Lum-Tec is known for their flashlight like lume and this watch definitely doesn’t disappoint in the lume department.

As I mentioned before, the hands are perfectly proportional to the dial. In my opinion, the flieger style hands were a great choice for this watch. The length and width are spot on. Nothing worse than a watch with ill-fitting hands. That’s usually a deal breaker for me. The matte black dial was also a winning choice for this watch. The narrow bezel allows for more expansive dial space.

Lum-Tec added in a minute track and still had room to add in the nicely sized minute markers. I like that the cardinal markers are sized slightly bigger compared to the other hour markers. This dial doesn’t seem cramped for space whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, I do like a busy dial, but this dial just works on all levels. The dial is very complimentary to the case, in terms of simple yet beautifully executed. Everything you need with nothing more. The simplicity of this piece is part of its allure.

I wouldn’t change anything about this dial. Maybe, just maybe I would have added a railroad style minutes/seconds track. That would have been a nice addition to the vintage vibes this watch exudes, between the handwound movement and the coin edged bezel. A railroad style track would have worked well here, that said. This dial is perfect the way it is.

I have said this before and I will say it again because it holds true for this watch. I pick my watches based on a number of different factors, from quality to engineering, so when I strap a watch onto my wrist I don’t want to give it a second thought no matter what activity I am doing. Whether it’s banging into door frames, rocks on a hike/climb, or a patient’s wheelchair…..whenever that happens I don’t immediately have to look at my watch because I know that the watch on my wrist can handle anything I can throw at it. The Super Combat B is one of those watches. I would hate to wear a watch that if I hit it on a rock or banged it on my engine during an oil change, that I would have to immediately look it over and cry if it got scratched. That sounds miserable to me.

The combat B is a quintessential grab n’ go beater that is up for any adventure and will wear the ASA proudly. Who doesn’t love a watch that was made for every day abuse?!? I appreciate that LumTec knows how to design a watch and how to execute those designs into a kick ass tool watch. The combat B has precise finishing. The darkened titanium case looks and is as tough as nails. I love the crown design. The no crown guards look is something that I have grown to love and appreciate over the years. It gives this watch a more clean and streamlined appearance.

Thanks to the edged of the crown, I have no problems gripping the crown or operating it. I love a solid crown especially when it’s unscrewed and when I am winding it. I hate a wobbly crown. The magic of winding a manual hand cranker is so damn therapeutic. I love letting this movement wind down for a couple of days so that I get to fully wind it up. Pure horological sexxxxxxxxx, both for my tactile senses and for my auditory senses.

I was out enjoying the -16 Fahrenheit weather. One of my friends asked if there was ever a too cold for me, and the answer was no. But there’s definitely a too hot. I hate the sun and I hate hot temperatures. The cold drained my phone battery from 90% to 10% after being out there for only an hour. I have been doing cold water immersion and I am almost up to 5 minutes. Thanks to my friend Aaron Coote for turning me onto the wonderful world of cold water therapy!

What’s hot that I actually like?!? How about this Mays Berlin Pape custom leather on this watch?!? I think it’s hot as f—k!!! I don’t know what magic Mays does, but their leather straps are so incredibly soft and pliable from day one. They are absolutely incredible. This strap is perfect for this watch.

Thankfully the Super Combat B2 watch has a mechanical hand wound movement instead of a battery/quartz movement so that the freezing cold temperatures didn’t drain it. As you can see in the video I included that even in freezing cold, wet conditions, I was easily able to operate the crown. The watch loved the cold almost as much as I do. I am thinking of buying a digital thermometer so that I can use it as a sort of behind the scenes prop so that I can tell the exact temperature the watches are exposed to.

This watch was definitely designed to handle some abuse. I’m looking forward to putting it and the strap through more of my adventures! Reading some of the posts yesterday of people staying inside because of the cold, it’s no wonder why some think watches are too heavy.

This one checks so many boxes for my watch loving heart. The Super Combat B2 is the quintessential grab and go watch. It’s ideal for any adventure in my opinion anyway. The titanium case is perfect for ASA. The crazy thing is that it hasn’t acquired any signs of my adventure sustained abuse!

Some people have said that this watch is “normal” compared to my other watches. Yes, I do like and appreciate unique designs. I also like watches like this too. I have said it before and I will say it again quality and engineering are my driving forces. I am sure that some have you have been drawn to the design of a watch, bought it and then discovered that the quality and engineering are disappointing at best. How frustrating is that?!?

The Super Combat B2 is anything but disappointing. The quality and engineering is exactly what I like in a watch. That’s where experience comes into play. It’s why I always tell you all to experience as many watches as you possibly can because it is the greatest teacher of all. It will give you the understanding of what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. And knowing that will save you time and money, but first you have to invest time and money.

The Super Combat B2 is exactly what makes LumTec such a great go to company for that quintessential grab and go and adventure watch. They definitely understand the idea of what makes a tool watch. I never have experienced any quality control issues whatsoever with LumTec. That is half the battle of this whole thing. A watch without good quality is just a bracelet.

I don’t have many exhibition case backs in my collection for good reason, but I wanted to highlight this one today. There are so many good details in this movement. I have said it before, but there is something special about a hand wound movement. It just takes this watch to a different level. I personally appreciate that LumTec went with this hand wound movement and not an automatic or quartz movement.

I love when a watch hits that trifecta status when the case, dial and movement all complement one another perfectly. The Super Combat B2 is exactly that for me, a watch that reached that trifecta status. Adding a killer strap like this Mays Berlin strap and I am in watch loving bliss here. There’s nothing wrong with the straps that came with the B2 watch but I like to make a watch more me by adding a custom strap.

LumTec Super Combat B2 for LumTec Wednesday! A rare bit of sunshine made an appearance. I am not a fan of the sun by any means, but it’s nice to see for those people who appreciate it.

Speaking of appreciating, I have been appreciating this watch fully. I want to mention something as I wrap up this review, which will be on my blog this week on the 10th. What I wanted to mention was how impressed I am about how this crown functions. It is one of the best functioning crowns I have experienced in my two decades as a watch obsessed geek. It is so solid, crisp and responsive. I have to say that is one of the top highlights on this watch.

The case finishing is another highlight for me. It is so meticulously done. Absolutely flawless! In fact, the finish on this watch outshines many brands that cost 2-3 times more. The icing on the cake is the darkened titanium.

Of course it goes without saying how amazing the lume is. I mean, how disappointing would it be for a brand with lume in its name if the lume itself was lackluster?!? As you can see in the video, the lume is like a flashlight.

The dial is perfect in my opinion and rounding off this watch is the handwound movement. I am so impressed by this watch. I said it before and I will say it again, this is the best LumTec watch I’ve experienced. An absolutely awesome watch, both aesthetically and functionally. If you are looking for a great tool watch that can easily handle what you throw at it, the Super Combat B2 is a great contender. One of the most impressive tool watches I have handled in a while.

The Super Combat B2 is available now on LumTec’s website. Thanks to Chris and the LumTec team. Thank you all for reading.