Eco-Friendly Watch That Calculates Fuel Consumption Speed Arrival time etc...

Sweet watch I've been wearing mine for 4 months.



I'm an Environmental Engineering Student and I also currently own an Omega Speedmaster ($2100 graduation gift long ago) and a Titanium Pro-Trek Casio Triple Sensor Watch (Compass Altimeter & Temperature $295.00) that I used for my previous job as an outdoors wilderness instructor.



Both those watches are extreme (the Casio being too rugged big and bulky the Omega being very freaking expensive) for everyday use and wanted something that suited my keen personality short budget and modern taste.



I never liked anything in terms of jewelry or watches from department stores or malls but when I walked into MACY's during Christmas shopping last december at the local mall I saw these Eco-Drive watches for the first time.



It has always been my opinion that Citizen makes very old fashioned timepieces yet the Nighthawk Eco-Drive is very different and far more classy than any other Citizen watch on the shelf. Some of the other newer Eco-Drive watches also look edgy and fresher. But the nighthawk captures a boldness with it's appearancethat is very timeless. Needless to say I tried it on and was sold.



The features are amazing apart from all the other "timekeeping-based and solar powered-based features you can read about everywhere else on the internet the Nighthawk also has a multi-functional Slide Rule. This is not really praised or mentioned anywhere else so I will tell you what it is what it does and why it makes owning this watch very cool!



With the slide rule you can calculate your car's fuel consumption average speed/velocity and the time you will arrive at your destination you can also multiply and divide numbers calculate ratio's into percentages integers and decimals covert liters to gallons pounds to kilograms as well as other metric conversions. The slide rule also performs a few more complicated calculations that involve airplanes and nautical vessels that are beyond my understanding.



At any rate these calculations can be done by simply rotating the NightHawk's bezel and matching specific arrows at certain points along the dial. (If you don't believe me you can download the Nighhawk's PDF manual and read up on it for yourself.)



In fact it is easier than using a calculator and clears up the big mystery of what people used before computers and electronic calculators were invented; they used the "Slide Rule".



Being a grad student I've read about the slide rules in a variety of classes but I never thought that I would own one on my next watch. I also would have never guessed that the slide rule is so efficient and easier to use than the graphics calculators we use in school.



The only negatives cocerning the Slide Rule feature on the NightHawk are the numbers on the slide rule dial are small and angled inwards so that they are tricky to read without tilting the watch around to get a good view of the numbers. Also the slide rule only approximates and produces whole numbers for some of the more advanced calculations.





Overall I found that the useful geek-features outdoorsman durability everyday comfort and eco-friendliness to be well synthesized in the classy steel body of the Nighthawk Eco-Drive.More detail ...

Very good with a few minor flaws.

I just got mine the other day. I own four other Citizen Eco-drive models. They've all been trouble-free and continue to function to this day. The oldest is an 8-year old titaniam diver model. I wanted this new Citizen because it's all black and it's atomic clock accurate. This is a huge watch but seems to sit well on my smaller wrist. Resizing the band was a bit of a pain as the pins are rather hard to push out. Also the band is not very flexible so it doesn't fit as well on a smaller wrist. The one thing that really stood out to me was that the clasp on this watch is of much lower quality than my older citizens with metal bands. This one is made of stamped stainless steel. All my other Citizens have clasps made of thicker solid steel. The watch case itself is solid steel and appears very solid. However the back is snap-on...eek! Citizen has really gone cheap here. I'd expect that a watch at this price level to have a screw-in back...not a snap-on like a Timex! All my previous Citizen's had screw-in backs. I know that the Japan-only titanium version of this watch has a screw-in back and a solid titanium clasp. This watch is coated black and only time will tell how durable it is. I suspect that eventually the black on the clasp will start wearing off since that's usually where most of the rubbing takes place. The crystal is made of mineral glass and is slightly domed so at certain angles you will get reflections. Overall I love this watch because it looks great and is super accurate. I just wish that Citizen didn't cut down on the quality of the clasp and back to save a few bucks. One other annoying thing is that to access the various functions of the watch (calendar countdown chronograph etc) you have to pull out the crown and rotate it. A bit annoying if you use the functions a lot.



Pros:

- very nice looking watch

- fit and finish are top-notch

- bracelet is made from solid links. Not cheap folded metal.

- 200m water resistant

- bezel rotates smoothly

- picks up atomic clock signal in Japan Europe and North America

- LCD display is backlit so you can see it at night at the press of a button.

- Eco-drive a proven and reliable technology



Cons:

- cheap clasp

- snap-on back

- metal band not very flexible so if you have a small wrist you might have large gaps on the sides of the wrist.

- black coating is not protected so it will eventually wear off.

- crystal prone to reflections

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Awesome watch!

Even though I'm not a pilot I've always liked the Skyhawk/Navihawk titanium line of Citizen watches. My brother is a commercial pilot and has an older one. He loves it. They are just too cool. But I never liked the fact that they didn't have a backlight for the LCD displays. Well now they do! It has an amber backlight that works great. This watch is the new titanium version of the much heavier stainless steel JY0000-53E that came out last year.



Of course the weight of this watch is ridiculously light due to the Titanium construction. For such a big watch I can hardly tell it's on. I can't stand a heavy watch bouncing on my arm. And be aware this is definitely a big watch. But that seems to be the trend now (which I like).



The atomic time function works like a charm. I also like having world time at my fingertips. I have family members that live overseas so it's nice to be able to check their local time at a glance.



It's great knowing I will never have to change batteries with this watch. The solar-powered "Eco-Drive" is an incredible feature that every watch company should have.



The watch has 2 alarms world time zones (43 cities) solar power atomic time a countdown timer a chronograph a slide rule UTC time a 24 hour clock ultra-light and nearly indestructable titanium construction 200 meter waterproof mineral glass and it looks outstanding. What more could you want? I think it even does the dishes bathrooms and windows. But I haven't looked up those features yet in the 115 page manual (English portion).



One thing that's missing is a one-touch feature to bring all hands to the 12 o'clock position to clear the LCD displays during certain times of day. The hands occasionally obscure your attempts to read the LCD's. Another little gripe is you have to pull out and turn the crown to check the date. And it'll show you the date of your second time zone only. You have to do a couple more steps to get your home zone date if your second time zone is across the dateline from you. I think there's a way to set the LCD 2 to show the date all the time but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. (Correction 4/1/08: I don't think there is any way you can get LCD 2 to show the date.)



Forget Rolex Breitling and Omega. They might look cool and have their high-falutin image but they have nowhere near the functionality and practicality of this new Citizen. And they all cost about 10 times more. They are also much heavier.



Bottom line: It's virtually indestructable ultralight maintenance and adjustment free. I never have to set the time again nor will I ever have to change a battery or put it in a watch-winder (for automatics). I'm a big fan and proud owner of one of the coolest watches on the planet.More detail ...