Hands-On: The Momentum UDT Eclipse Synch Solar
The world of the ana-digi watch is home to one of the weirdest and most fun niches in all of sports watches. In some ways, the ana-digi watch was the original smartwatch, combining a traditional analog time display with a screen, or screens, to display additional information.
Born following the Quartz Crisis of the mid-’70s, the ana-digi watch enjoyed a period (or two) of popularity, but the format has never really achieved true mainstream success. From the Casios, Citizens, and Chronosports of the ’80s to the Omegas and Breitlings of the ’90s, many brands have iterated in the space. While some of those brands found considerable and long-standing success, consider Citizen with the Skyhawk line or Breitling’s Aerospace range – ana-dig watches are niche players, not brand-leading offerings.
This past July, Canadian brand Momentum released a brand new take on a cult classic from the history of the ana-digi watch – the Chronosport UDT. Momentum’s current owner used to own the now defunct Chronosport, and after the Vancouver-based brand started to re-claim some of the models from Chronosport’s past – such as the Magnum P.I.-appropriate Sea Quartz 30 of 2023 – Momentum fans started to demand something very specific. A new UDT.
I covered the original release here, so I won’t belabor each and every detail, but the end result is a steel solar-quartz powered watch with a black ion-plated finish, a sapphire crystal, ceramic bezel, and a screen set into the dial at six o’clock. I measured my own example at 43mm wide x 11.7 thick x 48.2 lug-to-lug.
Momentum quotes 42 x 11.7 x 47, but I think the difference is where they are measuring. The bezel is 42mm across, and the actual distance between the lug holes (not the edge of the lug horns) is ~47mm. Water resistance is 200m (with the pusher screwed down), and the markers and hands use C3 Super-LumiNova.
UDT?
Assuming that not all of you are as deep into this specific rabbit hole as I may be, perhaps a quick history is in order. While much of Chronosport’s history has yet to be collected into a single story, the UDT got its name in reference to Underwater Demolition Teams, which were created during World War II and would become the precursor to what we now know as the Navy SEALs. Granted, the watch came decades later, not in WWII but rather in the early ’80s as a tech-forward dive watch that could hold up to the rigors of a SEAL team member and the team’s missions.
Perhaps best known for being the watch on Sylvester Stallone’s wrist in Rambo II (1985), the Chronosport UDT came in a few different versions. The watch’s base format, movement, and ana-digi display at six on the dial were the basis for other watches in the era, such as the Breitling Pluton.
As established, ana-digi is a niche, and within that niche, one will eventually find the Chronosport UDT. If you love sports watches, military provenance, and ’80s maximalism – it’s not too tough to see the appeal. Sure, Breitling and Citizen have carried the torch of ana-digi for the modern era, but the roots of this format and its adventurous/sketchy vibe were established by the Chronosport UDT and its friends.
The Momentum UDT Eclipse Synch Solar On Wrist
The “NewDT” (shoutout to Tom Place for that nickname) comes in a simple box, and you can pick from an array of rubber or nylon straps. I ordered my example with the “Black Hyper Rubber” strap, which is a lot like any standard wave-style dive strap. It’s fine, totally acceptable for a watch at this price point, but I was always planning to opt for a NATO anyway.
The case shape is very flat, with short lugs, a wide and flat bezel, and a flat sapphire crystal that sits in line with the edge of the bezel. The controls are all set on the three o’clock side. All three crown/pushers screw down, but you get 50m of water resistance with the crowns open (just in case). I find screw-down crown/pushers to be quite fiddly, so I’m fine with leaving them open.
The UI for the screen is simple enough. You have a time display, where you can set the time and then have it automatically update with the analog hands. This is a nice feature in that you don’t have to actively synch the two (a common and sometimes complicated task). That said, the analog display is without a seconds hand, so there is one less thing to synchronize.
The center crown, on the case next to three o’clock, cycles through the modes, including time, a second timezone, an alarm, and a chronograph. While you do have the choice of an hourly chime, and yes you can set the second time to any time you want (meaning you can account for non-full hour GMT offsets, like Newfoundland or Sri Lanka) the Momentum UDT does not have a backlight for the digital screen.
In modes that have additional “pages” for the screen, the top pusher (at two o’clock) can cycle through the options. This is mostly to alternate between time and the date display when you’re in standard time mode. The screen is bright, easy to read, and offers nothing extra along the way. With somewhat vague feedback from the heavily actioned pushers, the whole experience is rather ’80s, but it all works well enough on the wrist.
Aside from the screen, the dial is a glassy black that supports solar charging for the movement. The hands use a somewhat incongruous polished metal surround (it feels out of place, given the matte black of the rest of the design). That being said, legibility is great. I appreciate that these hands offer lume and that the lume application for the hands and dial is solid enough for day-to-day use (especially given the lack of a backlight for the screen).
Inside, Momentum has opted for a Seiko/Epson AB12A, a quartz movement customized for this application. It offers solar charging, hand sync with the screen, and three months of battery life without exposure to light.
Strapped on my wrist, the Momentum UDT wears larger than I might have guessed from the proportions, but the watch is far from uncomfortable, and its sizing feels purposeful. In many ways, it wears a lot like an SKX007. For my wrist, this means big, but not at all too big.
In short, for a $370 watch, I like it a lot.
Competition
No watch – not even some strange watches that can’t decide if it’s analog or digital – exists in a vacuum and the UDT is not without some semblance of competition for your ana-digi dollar. Here are a few considerations.
First off, if you’re looking for your first foray into ana-digi, the continued kings of value in the space are the myriad options from Casio and G-Shock. This includes – but is not limited to – CasiOaks, Protreks, and odd-ball Casios made in the last 40 years. Don’t get it twisted. If you want to dip a toe into ana-digi, you can do so for less than $100, especially if you like to dig through eBay’s digital drawers.
If you want specifics, check out the Casio Wave Ceptor Solar, which comes in a variety of versions for around $100 and is 40mm wide while offering both a backlight for the screen and atomic radio synch for the movement. Solid stuff, if lacking the slickness, style, and cool factor of the Momentum.
The author’s Citizen Aqualand JP2007-17W.
For the next rung on this ladder, you’re likely going to land with Citizen, which makes a wide array of ana-digi models. Specifically, I think the value comes in here if you want to spend more than what the Momentum UDT costs. At $440 you can get one of my favorite watches in existence, the Aqualand JP2007-17W. A modernized take on Citizen’s dive computer before dive computers existed, this Aqualand has a lume dial, wears like a dream, and even has a depth sensor for diving. That said, it’s quite a bit bigger than the UDT (though I’d argue it wears just as well).
For a more modern execution, Citizen recently launched a new ana-digi, the Promaster Land U822, which has a higher-resolution MIP display, a backlight, and additional features. It’s on the market for around $700 and is larger at 44mm wide. I have a couple of these for review, and they are lovely, easy to use, and quite useful.
The Seiko “Arnie” SNJ025.
Seiko also gets into this market with options like the Arnie, which is quite a bit larger than the UDT, but has a backlight and retails for ~$525. I like these a lot – and I did a hands-on with the SNJ025 here – but I like the UDT more. Ideally, get one of each to have the action star pairing we all need (I kid, maybe, not sure).
Beyond that, you’re spending a lot more on something like a Breitling (second-hand 40mm Aerospace references are still slept on). For the asking price, the Momentum UDT isn’t without competition – there are so many good options available today – but there aren’t exactly any one-to-one comps.
In Closing
And really, that’s the essay here, as Momentum has done a lovely job of creating an affordable UDT that feels of the Chronosport lineage but doesn’t attempt to be a direct recreation of any of the old models. While I understand that Chronosport acolytes might have preferred something closer to a clone of one of the originals, I think Momentum was wise to make their own thing within the confines of a new movement.
Yes, I’d love to see future versions with backlights and seconds hands (not to mention bare steel and other dial colors), but it’s hard to complain at this price point and at this level of execution for a first outing from Momentum.
For $379, it’s a whole lot of fun and would make a great quartz option for those who largely stick to mechanical watches. It’s sporty, specific, a bit weird, and totally nerdy.
Welcome back, UDT.
Hodinkee