Luminox sucks

Been lurking though this post since it started. I got two Luminiox watches dont know model numbers off the top of my head but one is a SS one and is PVC I think. Got my eyes on a MTM Special Ops watch. Anyone have one of these? Seems like a good Luminox alternate. They got some from $500 to $1400. Think about getting the Titanium Black Patriot. Would like to get the Vulture later on. Wonder if the problem is with Taser, also got my eye on that Surefire Watch with I believe is a Taser.
 
I don't think Traser is the same company as Luminox. I believe the same company provides the tritium tubes though.
 
Alnamvet68 said:
....and the Navy SEALs really never, ever, issued them.
Click to expand...

Lol,yeah thank God for that Al. I bought two of them. One for myself and one for my Son when he was active duty.They both fell apart in less than two years and the Luminox warranty is worthless! :mad::thumbdn: They're a no go show boat imho.
 
I must've gotten a good one, as it's been perfect for over 10 years. Worn daily in all kinds of weather and never taken off to swim. Sorry your's was not as good an experience.

 
pedropcola said:
Marathon will be my next choice apparently. Thanks for the information. Traser is out if its the same company, no thanks. I think the older Luminox get pretty good reviews the later stuff, not so much. Oh well losing money is nearly a sure fire way to learn a lesson.
Click to expand...

Marathon has had some quality issues of their own. Use your Google Fu to learn more. My go to watch for hard use is G-Shock. Just invested in the Rangeman. Great watch. Should last forever and I can take it anywhere and do anything with it.

BTW, I do own a Luminox Colormark. It's great as long as I don't expose it to any moisture. Yeah, I know.... dumb. Just like the original poster, I like the looks and the illumination. Sue me. :cool:
 
pedropcola said:
Marathon will be my next choice apparently. Thanks for the information. Traser is out if its the same company, no thanks. I think the older Luminox get pretty good reviews the later stuff, not so much. Oh well losing money is nearly a sure fire way to learn a lesson.
Click to expand...

When I was doing a lot of backpacking and camping I wanted a beater watch that I could see in the middle of the night while sleeping in a tent. I bought a Luminox about twenty years ago, and it has worked great. I never believed nor cared about the Seal stuff, and at that time it was the only tritium watch that I knew about. I still wear it, it's basically a work out watch now. Oh, and I have scuba dived with it, and it has been below 100 ft. and functioned fine. No water has ever got into it, so I figure it is fine for sweat at the gym.

Sorry you got a bad one. Maybe their QC has gone down. I have a couple of Marathons now. A GSAR (mechanical), and a Navigator's watch (quartz) which are more or less my beater watches now for hiking, camping, outdoor work, etc.
 
I had a Luminox. I dont remember the model number, but it was black plastic with a bright blue face. I wanted a "hard use" adventure type watch. Something specifically made for Indiana Jones type explorers and this one seemed to fit the bill without breaking the bank. I wore it daily on all types of adventures like fishing, hiking, etc. The second week I had it a large wave rolled the kayak off New Smyrna Beach, Fl. When I came back up the watch was worthless. I sent it in and they fixed it. A month after I got it back (took about 3 weeks), I was hiking outside of Morganton, NC and slipped on a very steep slope. The crystal face was scratched badly. A week later in the Big South Fork, NW of Knoxville, I ran out of picaridin so I borrowed a friends deet based repellent and the white numbers disappeared from the bezel. I gave it away to a friends little boy. "Hard use" - hardly. I guess it was an expedition quality watch as long as your expedition doesn't involve rocks, water, or bugs. Would probably have been fine on an expedition to Starbucks. I will say the tritium was as advertised - very clear and bright.
 
I have had a couple bad experiences with Luminox. Last one was last year. My sons Luminox had the second hand fall off after only having it a couple months. Luminox wanted over 100.00 to fix it. I had it fixed local for 15.00. I was really thinking about getting myself a Luminox Modern Mariner when this happened. I went with a Marathon TSAR. I have also had a couple Tracers and never a single problem.
 
Acetylene said:
I had a Luminox. I dont remember the model number, but it was black plastic with a bright blue face. I wanted a "hard use" adventure type watch. Something specifically made for Indiana Jones type explorers and this one seemed to fit the bill without breaking the bank. I wore it daily on all types of adventures like fishing, hiking, etc. The second week I had it a large wave rolled the kayak off New Smyrna Beach, Fl. When I came back up the watch was worthless. I sent it in and they fixed it. A month after I got it back (took about 3 weeks), I was hiking outside of Morganton, NC and slipped on a very steep slope. The crystal face was scratched badly. A week later in the Big South Fork, NW of Knoxville, I ran out of picaridin so I borrowed a friends deet based repellent and the white numbers disappeared from the bezel. I gave it away to a friends little boy. "Hard use" - hardly. I guess it was an expedition quality watch as long as your expedition doesn't involve rocks, water, or bugs. Would probably have been fine on an expedition to Starbucks. I will say the tritium was as advertised - very clear and bright.
Click to expand...

I always go with a steel case and sapphire crystal in any watch I own. Well worth the extra cost. I can't tell you how many times I have hit the crystal on the TSAR with out a mark on it. If it was a mineral crystal it would be covered with scratches.
 
Called them yesterday. They still have it. She said it went to the watch guy TODAY. Ouch. Their one year warranty doesn't mean shit because it is going to eat nearly two months of the twelve in the shop. This after owning it for less than two weeks.

Run, run, run away from this disaster of a company. If you get one that works, great. If you have any issue at all you will hate that you bought a Luminox. When I get it back I am seriously considering selling it and putting whatever I get out of it into a Marathon. With a steel case and a sapphire crystal!
 
pedropcola said:
Run, run, run away from this disaster of a company. If you get one that works, great. If you have any issue at all you will hate that you bought a Luminox. When I get it back I am seriously considering selling it and putting whatever I get out of it into a Marathon. With a steel case and a sapphire crystal!
Click to expand...

They used to make a better quality watch. There have been a few different parent companies.

The current parent company, quality and warranty all suck.....as you have found out from first hand experience.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Just got the watch back. If I am reading their work sheet correctly they did MAJOR repair on the movement, crown/stem, new battery, and resealed. They included a receipt looking piece of paper saying it passed 30 seconds of pressure testing. Ok.

The good news is that the paperwork claims that my warranty (12 months) has re started from the shipping date.

I am torn between using the watch as I originally intended or babying it so that it continues to work. So far I have been babying it. My biggest fear is that the PVC/plastic case is too flexible for the watch application. Any stress on the watch could translate into compromise of the seal. This will probably be my last non stainless steel case watch.

Pete
 
I would say use it as you want. It just went through more of a hands on service so it should have had a little more attention paid to it over just going down an assembly line. As far as the plastic case goes. I do not trust them the way I would a steel case. That being said my sons first good watch was a Luminox 3/4 diver with the plastic case. He beat the crap out of that watch and it kept going. When he was done with it the watch had 2 of the tritium tubes rolling around inside but still kept time.
On a side note my sons just crapped out this morning. It is about 3 years or so old so it may be the battery. He is having the battery replaced today to see. I don't think they have the end of life feature for the battery.
 
I almost bought a Luminox a couple years ago. Fortunately I decided to do a little reading before I bought. I really like the look of their watches, but I will never buy one after seeing what a-holes they are to their customers. If you buy their product from the wrong place (not an authorized reseller), or you accidentally push a button while in water, or if you do any other number of things wrong, they won't honor the warranty. That company and the people running it are scum, IMO.
 
Luckily I did one thing correctly in this whole fiasco. I bought it from Dave here on the forums who was a pleasure to deal with and an authorized dealer to boot. If he wasn't I would be fighting to get my money back because I won't pay to fix a 7 day old watch that breaks due to exposure to air.

I still say run away fast from any Luminox product. It isn't worth the potential headache.
 
Well my sons is just dead. Tried a new battery with no luck. It made it close to 3 years. Just found a good deal on a new Marathon medium diver last night. He got it,should be here Friday. It is the 38mm version of the TSAR. I told him at the price he got it for if it turned out to be to small on his wrist he could resell it for what he has in it. I think it will be fine as my TSAR looks a little large on his wrist.
 
Take a look at Deepblue watches too, good solid movements, good cases, Sapphire crystals and very reasonable prices. My wife has worn one on duty for the last 3 years and daughter just got one on sale for 150 bucks. Hard to beat for a decent diver with good lume and the Sapphire crystal
 
Thanks for the mention of marathon watches. I have a lumi and it last three years and died hard. Sad day last month. The week prior my late fathers tag died...but, it's getting repaired. The marathons look like what I'm looking for in a hard use watch, no dates, no dials, just the time and tritium.
 
I like both of mine and I have had good luck with them.

DSC_9166b.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top