Today, we’re reviewing a dive watch. No surprises there. As a matter of fact, we’ve previously reviewed a watch from Helm Watches as well, so, again, no surprise. What is a surprise is how we came about to requesting this watch in for review. As you know, when we’re looking at boots and shoes, we like to pair up a watch with said footwear. Well, we’ve got a pair of boots in from Helm Boots (review coming soon!), and it seemed like something from Helm Watches just made sense. Hence, today’s review of the Helm Vanuatu.
With the Helm Vanuatu, the namesake for the watch is setting you up for what to expect from it. Vanuatu is an island in the South Pacific with famed coral reefs and even a WWII shipwreck. So, yeah, that is a fairly hefty name to attach to a watch. Fortunately for those who are fans of affordable indie dive watches, the one it’s attached to is a hefty one as well. And you know you’re in for some heft when you’ve got a 42mm stainless steel case paired to a stainless steel bracelet.
That all adds up to a combined weight of 225g for the Helm Vanuatu, which is no mean weight. That said, if you’re used to small-make divers (as I am) you quickly become accustomed to it. If you want to cut that down some, though, you could instead swap out the bracelet for the NS1 nylon strap (included) which drops things down to a more manageable 120g. Or, for that matter, just about any strap you might have to fit into those 22mm lugs (I’m partial to the canvas strap Helm included with our review loaner). For me, though, I like the heft of a steel diver. Sure, it may not be appropriate for all shirt cuffs, but it gives you that sense of robustness and ready-for-anything-ness that you want from a sport watch.
The Helm Vanuatu should be up for that adventure, as well. It carries as 300m WR rating (to ISO 6425:1996 standard), which should keep that Seiko NH35 movement nice and dry. Just remember to tighten up that screw down crown before you get the watch wet. And, should you be trying to dive with the Helm Vanuatu, the very solidly-clicking 120-click unidirectional bezel will help you keep track of your time under. Speaking of – our loaner had the black-coated stainless steel insert, but there are other bezels, and they are supposed to be interchangeable. So, another option if you want to mix things up on your watch.
