Audric is back at it again this time with a elegantly designed sports watch called the Strider. I reviewed the Seaborne which came out last year and I was really impressed with the quality that they put forth which really shows in the up-close images. The Strider boasts a much more elegant and simple design over the Seaborne Diver, but keeps a lot of the core strengths with the quality, attention to detail and a great movement. I have a early production model to take a deeper dive into so lets get started.
Specs:
Case: 42 mm * 48 mm 316L Stainless Steel case.
Movement: ETA 2824-2 or Sellita SW 200 - 1 in Incabloc and Elabore grade with Blue Screws and Signed Rotor.
Case Thickness: 11.5 mm.
Water Resistance: 200 m (650ft) / 20 ATM.
Lug Width: 22 mm.
Crown: Screw-down crown with AUDRIC logo filled with C3 X1 or BGW9.
Dial: Textured Dial with Swiss Superluminova C3 X1.
Hands: Hands filled with Swiss Superluminova C3 X1.
Lens: Flat sapphire crystal with Anti-Reflective coating.
Bracelet: 316L Stainless Steel with buckle and screws for easy sizing.
Caseback: Exhibition case back (Sapphire Glass)
Value Add: HexaDori Anti-Scratch Coating.
Taking into account this is a production the indices themselves are aligned and spaced evenly from the chapter ring across the entire dial. The date wheel fills the entire window and is spaced well. Audric will be cleaning up the indices and lume for the release models.
The same thing can be said about the hands for the watch. They are cut well on the production model and will be cleaned up before release. The C3X1 is layered nicely as well.
The markings along the chapter ring are all even and aligned well with the indices.
I do like the case design with its mixed of brushed and polished surfaces. The top of bezel being brushed then moving down to the polished angular base is a nice change from keeping things too round or ordinary. The end links also match up well the lugs with very little gap on the ends.
The lumed crown is easy to grip, engages easily with little to no play back and forth.
The case back is polished well while I would prefer brushed it is very solid and clean. The case back window is sapphire and shows off the ETA-2824 movement. The engravings are also done nicely being cut and smoothed out.
The Sides of the case have a nice vertical brushing which goes well with the sharp down turn of the lugs.
The bracelet is finely brushed and the polishing around the chamfered edges is done well. Screw pins hold the links together and are secure while also being easy to remove. The inner portions of the bracelet are also polished which is nice to see in a quality bracelet.
The milled clasp has 3 micro adjustments and the engraving on the clasp is also smooth and not too sharp. It's important to note that the Anti-Scratch coating that is on the the Strider I think is done perfectly. Usually I find that most Anti-Scratch coatings are over done and makes the brushing of the watch seem off and make the brushing look uneven.
The C3X1 lume is bright for a production model and the final version will be 30% brighter according to Audric with no complaints from me.
To sum up my time the Strider I found it to be exceptionally well made for a production model. The watch wears very nicely on my 7.5" wrist and very comfortable. It has a great design and personally I like everything about it. The only thing I would personally change would be making the case back brushed over polished.
The Audric Strider will be releasing soon to Kickstarter for about $500-$550. With a variety of colors below to choose from and the quality and refinement that I can see from diving deeper I cant wait to get one back on my wrist perhaps in a cream color or green. With the level of refinement on the Seaborne I feel very confident that Strider will have the same along with all the great specs you would expect for quality made watch.
Click below if you want to get a bit more info on the Strider.