As a watch enthusiast that has spent 17 years in the military, I can tell you that most service members have an extreme appreciation for watches. At the top of the list is obviously any G-Shock, mainly because of the toughness of those watches. But many military members like myself, who appreciate timepieces a little more, are invested in finding watches that fit our lifestyle but also can be used outside the uniform. About six months ago I started to look for watches that were simple yet well-built and very legible. I knew I wanted this watch to be in the pilot/field category but didn’t really have a direction. About 3 weeks later after many hours of research, I decided that the Oris Big Crown ProPilot was the watch that met most of my criteria and after about one or two days of deliberating, I decided to pull the trigger and buy it.

Not long after that, the Oris Big Crown ProPilot arrived at my door and as of the time of writing this, I have had it for about 5 months now. The watch completely met my expectations and surpassed them, not to say that it is perfect because is not, but it definitely surpassed every expectation I had.

First, the things I love; my wrist size is 6.75in and the Oris Big Crown ProPilot is 41mm and it does wear true to that. The case itself is very comfortable but given the fact that this watch doesn’t have a big bezel, the dial does feel more like a 41mm or 42mm dial. Regardless, it feels very good and comfortable on the wrist.

The bracelet is very comfortable and I love the tapering on it. The watch is 99% brushed, including the bracelet, and that look makes it very versatile to wear. I feel great wearing it with jeans and a t-shirt, gym clothes, under the cuff of my military uniform or even dressing it up more.

The legibility of the Oris Big Crown ProPilot is amazing, a simple large matte black dial with white indices and minimal text (thank you watch lords for that) makes this watch very legible in any situation. The crown is big, like the name suggests, and that makes this watch a breeze to set, which comes in handy when military training takes me to different time zones in a short period of time.

Now, the watch is not perfect, so let’s talk about the not-so-great things. The lume, is good but not great. Lume in this watch starts strong but it fades rather quickly and because this watch is marketed as a pilot watch, it probably should have a more robust lume.

The power reserve is another area where I feel there is room for improvement. This Oris Big Crown ProPilot only has 38 hours of power reserve and that is probably my biggest issue with this watch. If this is your only watch, this is a non-issue for you, but for me it definitely is.

My last issue with this watch is the clasp. The clasp is an interesting part for me, mainly because I do actually love this clasp. It fits the bracelet very well and it makes the wearing very comfortable. The issue I have is that I can’t escape my bias towards micro adjustments. Having a couple of micro adjustment points would make this bracelet even better.

In conclusion, the Oris Big Crown ProPilot wears well and I am impressed with the quality and feel of this watch. I have worn this watch around military equipment a lot and even in the arctic circle since I am stationed in Alaska and I haven’t had any issues, so it definitely stands up to the daily tasks everyone goes through. The 100 meters of water resistance is more than fine. Mine has been covered in snow, and has gone from jumping out of a helicopter straight into the water and waiting in the cold for minutes until the boat guys pick me up. I’ve had absolutely no issue so it should be good for all the desk divers out there too. The brushed steel goes with everything and I enjoy it very much. This piece will be in my collection permanently for sure.