Mick V. 01/31/24
Verified Buyer
rating star rating star rating star rating star rating star
Tiny Date Window, Too-Skinny Band And Overly Dark

I own a different model Garrison and was excited to add another to the collection. Good features include the usual Citizen fit & finish, and the Arabic numerals are highly legible as is desired in a field watch. The supplied leather band is of very good quality, if barely long enough to fit my larger wrist. Accuracy seems extremely good so far, with well under +\- 15s per month. Mine is about -5s per month so far, and as I write this it’s spot-on after last setting it to my AT-synchronized watches about a week ago. Bad features that I wish I’d known about before making a purchase - the window for the date complication is EXTREMELY small, to the point where it is unreadable for me in anything but direct sunlight, or indoor lighting of considerable brightness and directly overhead, as it’s shadowed by the window edges. I’ve actually had to get a flashlight out to read it on occasions. The lume is only applied to the hour & minute hands, nowhere else on the dial. Not a big deal, but given that my other Garrison has it applied to the hour markers I was rather disappointed. The supplied band tapers quite a bit, which wasn’t clear from the images on the site. IMO it makes the watch look out of proportion, with a rather dainty band on a 42mm watch. Since the lugs are 21.5mm, it made finding a longer and wider band a challenge. I ended up putting a one-piece leather NATO-style band and it looks vastly improved with it. Lastly, the green color of the dial is quite dark, to the point where the dark red second hand basically disappears. I bought this model for the bit of color, to contrast from my other Garrison, but unless it’s very bright out you can’t really see it. A lighter shade of green and much brighter second hand would be enormous improvements to the watch. Overall a bit of mixed bag. Quality is excellent, and it looks absolutely fantastic on a vintage-style dark leather NATO strap (which is why I’ll keep and wear it) but some design features (date window, color palette, strap choice) are real head-scratchers.

Gw53 01/31/23
rating star rating star rating star rating star rating star
Not accurate.

If a watch can't be accurate I prefer it run fast. Sadly this watch looses about two or three seconds a month and I have to manually set the watch fast by about ten seconds and then keep my eye on it until it drops below the correct time. My $35.00 Timex keeps better time. Very disappointing. Citizen says I have to ship it to California for them to evaluate it. The watch looks and feels good. My friends make favorable comments. I can overlook the small date, the small military time numbers, and the fact that only the hands glow in the dark, but having to reset the time so much can't compensate for the battery charging under a lamp.