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Seiko SARB017 ‘Alpinist’ Review

by Grayson Parker 10 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. We may get paid an affiliate commission if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of the links on this web page.

The internet is a terrible place. Sure, it’s led to countless advances, enabled markets that never would have existed otherwise, and allows us humans to keep in touch with each other in ways never seen before, but it also pushes me to make stupid decisions with my money on a regular basis. For example: if there were no internet, there’d be no 555Gear. If there were no 555Gear, I wouldn’t have stumbled across this video of the Seiko Alpinist. If I didn’t stumble across that video, I wouldn’t be typing this right now with a Seiko Alpinist on my wrist.

Seiko Alpinist Review

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Without the internet – or more specifically, the online watch community – it’s likely that the Alpinist would be relegated to obscurity outside of Japan. That’s not an indictment of the watch, mind. It’s just that the Alpinist doesn’t really have much name recognition to draw on prior to 1995. Versions older than that bear no resemblance to the modern SARB017, which was released in 2006 and has grown to be a hit among watch enthusiasts.

Fit

The Alpinist is a small watch by modern standards. At 38mm wide by 12mm tall, it’s an altogether different experience compared to my usual go-to, the Seiko Turtle. If the Turtle is the largest watch I can wear, the Alpinist is probably the smallest. The 38mm case doesn’t look undersized on my 7.25” wrist, but anyone with larger wrists should definitely try it on prior to purchase. Thankfully the case isn’t tall enough to attract the attention of nearby door knobs.

Seiko Alpinist on the Wrist

Movement

Ticking away inside the Alpinist is Seiko’s 6R15 movement, which is frequently found in middle and upper tier Seiko watches. Introduced in 2006, the 6R15 is a derivative of the venerable 7S26, though it adds hacking, handwinding, and a 50 hour power reserve. The product literature states that it shouldn’t gain more than 25 or lose more than 15 seconds per day, and my dalliance with a time tracking app indicates that the Alpinist is losing an average of 5.3 seconds a day – pretty good rate, all told. Resetting it once or twice a month has kept me on time, and doing so isn’t a hassle thanks to the hacking seconds hand. Additionally, the Alpinist’s movement features Seiko’s Diashock system, which allows the movement to better absorb impacts or falls.

Case and Crown

The case is stunning, if simple. Most of the surfaces have such a high polish that light runs across it like liquid. Yes, it will scratch easily: mine has picked up several already, despite all efforts to the contrary. They’re small enough that some polishing cloth could likely remove them, but for now they don’t detract from the aesthetics. As this is designed to be a mountaineering watch, it’s no surprise that the Alpinist doesn’t feature a display caseback, but instead has an engraved steel plate.

Seiko Alpinist Case

The Alpinist has a signed crown at 3 o’clock and a smaller, unsigned crown at 4 o’clock. The former is the primary crown, and is used to wind the watch and set the time and date, while the latter is used to rotate the internal compass bezel (which will be discussed below). Both crowns are expertly finished and feature large ridges instead of knurling or a similar pattern, although the ‘valleys’ between ridges on the primary crown are machined for a bit of extra grip. It’s a subtle touch, but appreciated.

Dial, Bezel, and Crystal

Of course, the true draw of the Alpinist is the sunburst green dial. It possesses an odd (and difficult to photograph) characteristic: the color and texture of the dial changes depending on the light. In shade, it’s darker, smoother, and softer, almost like mossy undergrowth; direct sunlight, on the other hand, brings out warm undertones and sharpens the slight texture on the dial. The golden hands, numerals, and indices work surprisingly well in both cases. Seiko’s choice of cathedral hands lends an elegance to the design, even if I can’t shake the feeling that they’d look perfectly at home in Middle Earth.

Seiko Alpinist Lume Shot

Given the dressy aesthetic of the dial and hands, one would expect some of the technical notes to detract from the cohesiveness of the design. Oddly enough, that isn’t the case. The interior of the hands are painted with Seiko’s Lumibrite, and there are lume pips on the dial just over (or under, depending on your perspective) each numeral and indice. They’re unobtrusive during the day, but sadly they’re also quite small, which means the luminance fades quickly, especially on the pips. The hands retain their glow – albeit faintly – for an hour or two.

The Seiko Alpinist on a map with a compass

As mentioned above, the Alpinist does have an internal rotating compass bezel, which can be used to approximate your bearing. It only works in the Northern Hemisphere, and you need to know the position of the sun to use it, but I suppose it’s a handy backup. I’d never forego a real compass because of this. Luckily, it works fine as a timer. It’s not as easy to use as the dive bezel on my Turtle, but I can still use it to time rest periods at the gym or flush cycles on the job. Regrettably, it wasn’t implemented all that well: when changing the bearing, it will, on occasion, derail from whatever track it’s on and shift a bit. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it is an annoyance.

Strap and Bracelet

If the Alpinist has a true Achilles heel, it’s the included strap. There is not a single positive thing to be said about it. The faux-alligator leather looks and feels plastic; it’s not even suitable for formal wear, which is what such a strap -should- be ideal for. What’s more, it’s not simply ugly: it’s uncomfortable to boot. The padding in the strap prevented the Alpinist from sitting comfortably on my wrist, and it never broke in to a noticeable extent.

Seiko Alpinist Case Back

Luckily, there are plenty of good aftermarket straps available for the 20mm lug width. I alternate between a Worn and Wound Model 2 and a ToxicNATOS Shiznit in jungle green, and those suit my needs well. The stainless steel OEM bracelet is spoken well of online, though I can’t personally vouch for it.

Seiko SARB017 ‘Alpinist’ Review – Final Thoughts

Ignore my grousing in the introduction. Yes, the purchase may have been ill-advised, but it’s certainly not one I regret. The Alpinist is a beautiful watch that I wear all the time. It’s flaws – the awful strap and the wiggly compass bezel – are easy to fix and ignore, respectively.

There’s not much in the way of competition for the Alpinist, as there aren’t any other watches that fill the same niche. There are other field watches, other dress watches, other casual watches, but none of them have the look or feel of the Alpinist. That’s not to say that other watches aren’t as beautiful, accurate, or well made as the Alpinist – far from it – but that the Alpinist is unique enough that finding competitors is difficult.

Those unique characteristics are also why I can freely recommend this watch to anyone that’s interested in it. It can be dressed up or down depending on your needs, and there’s honestly nothing else quite like it out there.

Next up: the Rike Thor4s.

Seiko Alpinist and Rike Thor pocket knife peeling an Orange

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Editor: I recommend purchasing the Seiko Alpinist at Amazon. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

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Filed Under: Watch Reviews

About Grayson Parker

Grayson is an avid knife and gear enthusiast. He began writing for BladeReviews in 2015, and has elevated reviewing knives to an art form. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mike Rixman says

    February 16, 2018 at 9:19 pm

    What the hell was with that video? I see a ticking clock, and hear that music, and I expect the shot to fade back to two people smoking in bed and talking about how awesome they just were at sex. The smooth jazz/ticking clock combo is so prevalent as a metaphor for sex so as to be nearly synonymous. It was therefore extremely jarring to see this in a different context – I thought I knew what was cuming (heh – get it) but then all of a sudden – boom – surprise! Like running into your urologist at a middle school play – it is completely out of context, so how are you supposed to adjust to that.

    Otherwise it was a great review of the watch. You’ll have to send it to me so that I can independently confirm all of your assertitions.

    Your photos have become quite stellar. I especially like the lume shot, where I can still see the green of the watch face.

    Reply
    • Grayson R Parker says

      February 16, 2018 at 11:05 pm

      Hey Mike,
      I’d thank you for taking the time to comment, but you helped me edit this review, so I know you’ve been sitting on these comments for awhile now.

      I hope you’re satisfied.

      Stay away from my watch.

      Thanks for the kind words.
      Hugs and kisses,
      Grayson

      Reply
      • Mike Rixman says

        February 17, 2018 at 10:40 am

        Actually Grayson, I only ever read the first paragraph of this review prior. It turns out that the magic was IN YOU all along.

        But seriously, this was a great review, and shows just how much you’ve developed as a writer and reviewer. As I read it, there wasn’t anything I was thinking that I would have changed.

        Reply
  2. James says

    February 17, 2018 at 10:21 am

    I’ve decided I’m not going to care about watches. It’s an endless rabbit hole and I’m already addicted to knives.

    This isn’t helping. It looks so, so good in such a non conventional way.

    It does help that it’s an auto. That’s a rabbit hole I’m not going down based on cost, complexity, reliability, accuracy, durability.

    But Seiko and Citizen make some really nice looking Quartz watches.

    Reply
    • Curt says

      July 25, 2019 at 4:57 pm

      I’m glad that you had a positive experience with your purchase. I also picked up an Alpinist on Amazon but my experience couldn’t be any more opposite. I found the case finishing to be sub par. There were noticable changes in reflectivity across parts of the case. The 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock markers on the rotating bezel didn’t even line up. The crown was cheap feeling. I returned it immediately. To me it almost appeared to be fake knowing what Seiko watches typically look like. Based on my experience I’m almost thinking there is a bit of a conspiracy surrounding this watch as everyone raves about it.

      Reply
  3. Ronnie says

    October 8, 2018 at 8:24 am

    Great review!
    I want to buy this watch, but I’m afraid it will look too small on my giant wrist…
    Would you consider it to be a small watch?
    Thank you,
    rl

    Reply
  4. Matt says

    October 12, 2018 at 8:54 am

    What do you mean the compass only works in the northern hemisphere? It still works south of the equator. The technique will just indicate North instead of South.

    Reply
    • Grayson R Parker says

      October 12, 2018 at 10:39 pm

      Hey Matt,
      I wasn’t able to test the compass extensively during the review period. That was just a warning included in the product literature, but I could have worded it better.

      Also, in fairness, I’d never in a million years substitute this for an actual compass.
      Thanks for commenting,
      GR Parker

      Reply
  5. Fred says

    November 10, 2019 at 6:49 pm

    Bonjour j ai une Seiko alpinist et la couronne pour faire tourner la boussole est lâche et vacillante .serait ce normal?

    Reply
  6. Fred says

    November 10, 2019 at 6:50 pm

    Pardon est il normal que la couronne du compass de la seiko Alpinist soit un peu lâche ?

    Reply

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