Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 Review & Complete Guide

Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 Review & Complete Guide

Hamilton is unarguably most famous for its vintage-inspired military field watches. This may not come as a surprise considering the brand’s history of making timepieces for the U.S. military in the 1940s.

In modern times, these watches are presented under the Khaki Field collection name. In Hamilton’s own words, ”these automatic and mechanical watches are resilient, robust, and ready for anything.”

Hamilton has seized the opportunity of its history in modern times and put great focus on making modern iterations of military-inspired field watches with modern technology and build quality, but often with visual design inspiration from its past.

As a military watch should, these watches are robust, durable, and built to last. Since this design has been around since about the 1940s, these watches are truly timeless, and also surprisingly versatile.

Over time, the Khaki Field collection has grown in size to cater to a wider audience and to ride on its already huge success, and today, you can say that there is a Khaki Field for everyone. One of the pieces in the collection is the reference h69429931, and this is the watch we are going to review and look closer at in this article.

Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 Review

The H69429901 is a ”time only” watch, and therefore very clean and simple.

The Khaki Field h69429931 is, as mentioned a military-inspired field watch that seeks inspiration from Hamilton’s long history of military watches. Naturally, it has a very sporty design and tool-like presence. This exact watch is made as a ”reissue” of their American military field watch from the 1960s. This is a direct reissue of the MIL-W-46374B, which is the ”original”.

In addition, it is also built to last with great build quality.

Before we dig in, I just want to sort something out, which is that this watch is not to be confused with the reference h69439931, where only one digit is different, from this watch, the h69429931. The difference between these two is that this watch ref h69429931 has an ETA-2801, whereas the other reference is powered by the caliber H-50 which is a low-beat movement with long power reserve.

With that sorted out, let’s find out what this watch is all about.

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Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 case

The watch has a stainless steel case with a diameter of 38mm. Small, according to many, but true to the original according to those who see the purpose and concept behind it. The lug-to-lug measures 47mm. The case thickness measures only 0.95 millimeters.

Yes, there is no denying that this is a small watch, but so are the original military watches from which it seeks its inspiration, so Hamilton decided to follow through on this and not only make a vintage-inspired watch in terms of design but also in terms of size. But at the same time, keep in mind that the original is 34mm, so compared to the size ideals of the time, 38mm is still to be perceived as huge.

With that said, it’s suitable for small or medium-sized wrists, or simply anyone who appreciates classic watch sizes.

A nice design feature of this watch is that the case is sandblasted which gives it a very sporty and tool-like look. The benefit of this is that the sandblasting also covers scratches very well. The actual dial design is simple, classic, and clean. There’s not much to say here.

If you turn the watch around, you will find a solid screw-down case back in metal. Just as a military watch should. The case back has the Hamilton logo engraved in the center as well as other relevant specifications and details about the watch.

The watch uses a sapphire crystal which is nice to have for a watch in this price range, although not all of them do. What this crystal doesn’t have, however, is an anti-reflective coating, which can create some glare.

At 3 o’clock, the watch has a relatively large crown in proposition to the watch. The crown has notches which make gripping and operating it quite easy. The logo has the Hamilton logo on it.

This watch has a water resistance of 50 meters/5 ATM. This means it can handle water splashes and be submerged underwater for short periods of time, but it is not advised to go swimming or diving with it. The water resistance could have been better, but it’s worth having in mind that this is a field watch and not a dive watch. And the vast majority of owners would never come anywhere close to water anyways.

Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 dial

As a military watch should, this watch particularly pays attention to legibility.

At the same time, Hamilton has done a great job in staying true to the original in terms of dial layout, since it is more or less identical. In traditional vintage fashion, it has a matte black dial which has a lovely texture and prevents glare and reflections for improved legibility.

All features of this watch are printed in white, as opposed to applied which is common for watches in this price range. Around the outer edge of the dial, it has seconds markers, and each five-minute marker is shaped like a triangle and has applied superluminova on them for luminescence. The luminous material is slightly aged – faux patina. There are of course split opinions about faux patina, but for this type of watch, it’s safe to say that white luminous material would look off and unsuitable.

The watch has large white painted Arabic numerals from 1 to 12, and inside this, Arabic 24-hour Arabic numerals. The numerals are bold and bright and ensure exceptional legibility. Hamilton has successfully made a busy dial not look cluttered, and that alone is no easy feat.

At 12 o’clock, the Hamilton logo is printed in white But note that this is the original Hamilton logo, which of course is appropriate seeing that this is a reissue.

The hands of this watch are very similar to the original and have an obvious vintage look to them. For improved legibility, the frame of them has been painted white. They also have a generous amount of faux patina superluminova on them. The minute and hour hands have pointy tips. The seconds hand is all-white and has an arrow tip.

Overall, the luminescence on the markers and hands is ok, but not exceptionally bright. This is fine for a field watch but more important for a dive watch. But at the same time, it would be nice if the lume would glow a bit longer and brighter. This is particularly for the 5-minute markings, which glow weakly because they only have a small amount applied to them.

Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 movement

As mentioned, this watch is equipped with the mechanical ETA caliber 2801-2.

This movement has 17 jewels and is a hand-wound movement. The fact that it is manual winding is a fun touch considering the fact that the original military watches were, too, which gives us vibes from the 60s. The benefit of a hand-wound movement is also that it doesn’t need a rotor, which in turn enables it to be thinner. The watch beats with a frequency of 28.800 BPH and has a power reserve of 42 hours. This is great news since it means you won’t have to wind it every day.

The movement is robust and reliable, which of course is what we expect a movement inside a military field watch to be. It is sturdy and can handle knocks and bangs, and will also continue to tick year after year without (likely) needing a service.

Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 strap

Hamilton chose to go with the more modern lug width of 20mm rather than the classic 18mm, which is common for these types of vintage watches. The good news is that you will give an easier time finding appropriate straps. Because as you can imagine, a military watch works exceptionally well on NATO straps. 

In addition, the watch has lug holes which makes the strap changes a breeze. Plus, it does give it a more tool-like look.

The watch is presented on a military green NATO strap with a stainless steel buckle which is satin-finished. The buckle has the Hamilton logo engraved on it and feels very high quality. Naturally, the green color goes very well together with the watch and matches it perfectly.

The keepers for this watch are made in brown calfskin which really enhances the impression of quality and sestet above most other straps on the market in terms of quality and finishing.

Specifications

• Thickness/height: 0.95 millimeters
• Frequency: 28,800 bph
• Power reserve: 42 hours
• Movement: ETA caliber 2801-2
• Lug width: 20mm
• Water-resistance: 50 meters/5 ATM.
• Lug-to-lug: 47mm
• Diameter: 38mm

Conclusion

All in all, with a price lower than 500 USD (you could find one much cheaper than that if you do your research), the Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 offers exceptional value for money. Being a reissue, it is extremely similar to the original Hamilton military watch from the 1960s. And for those who appreciate history, the story behind this timepiece makes it so much more appealing.

But this watch is not only fluff, history, and stories, either. In fact, it has the tech, build quality, and finish to back it up, too. The watch is robust and rigid and is well-finished for the price. 

The watch is clean and simple with exceptional legibility, and its toned-down sporty looks make it a great everyday timepiece. In my opinion, you really cannot go wrong with this watch if you enjoy small watches.

There are a few areas for improvement, but I think that in comparison to what it offers for the price, these are just small bits that I can overlook.

The Hamilton Khaki Field h69429931 is available to order on Amazon.

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