# 24 Hour Arctic Watch



## jb1994 (Oct 27, 2009)

Hi guys, just after a few answers (as usual!) I've just bought a russian 24 hour reakta watch the one with the black dial and the picture of the polar bear on it, I was a little shocked at the appearance of it at first I expected it to feel a little bit more solid than it did, I was just wondering are these things really any good? I know they're pretty cheap for what they are but I was wondering if its just a case of nothing flash but built to do the job and do it well? Thanks for looking and I'd appreciate any feedback. Cheers


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## gaz64 (May 5, 2009)

jb1994 said:


> Hi guys, just after a few answers (as usual!) I've just bought a russian 24 hour reakta watch the one with the black dial and the picture of the polar bear on it, I was a little shocked at the appearance of it at first I expected it to feel a little bit more solid than it did, I was just wondering are these things really any good? I know they're pretty cheap for what they are but I was wondering if its just a case of nothing flash but built to do the job and do it well? Thanks for looking and I'd appreciate any feedback. Cheers


I used to have a handwound 24 hr Raketa no issues over the build quality


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## Russ Cook (Feb 12, 2006)

jb1994 said:


> Hi guys, just after a few answers (as usual!) I've just bought a russian 24 hour reakta watch the one with the black dial and the picture of the polar bear on it, I was a little shocked at the appearance of it at first I expected it to feel a little bit more solid than it did, I was just wondering are these things really any good? I know they're pretty cheap for what they are but I was wondering if its just a case of nothing flash but built to do the job and do it well? Thanks for looking and I'd appreciate any feedback. Cheers


Hello,

Congratulations on your purchase.

I have several older Raketas and have been impressed with them all,the nearest i have to yours is this Antartika,which is very accurate and sturdy,the only thing that threw me at first was getting used to the 24hr timekeeping.

Best Regards,

Russ


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## maccauk (Dec 10, 2009)

They don't feel the greatest with regard to build quality. I have however worn mine a lot and it keeps excellent time.

Takes a while to get used to quickly telling the time though!


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## maccauk (Dec 10, 2009)

They don't feel the greatest with regard to build quality. I have however worn mine a lot and it keeps excellent time.

Takes a while to get used to quickly telling the time though!


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## sheepshearer (Oct 27, 2009)

i love the directions these ruskie watches take me in - so who are the waving explorer dudes?



> In 1937-1938 he was the head of the famous expedition North Pole-1. Four researchers: Ivan Papanin, Ernest Krenkel, Evgeny Fedorov and Petr Shirshov landed on to the Arctic drifting ice-floes in an airplane flown by Mikhail Vodopyanov. For 234 days, Papanin team carried out a wide range of scientific observations in the near-polar zone, until taken back by the two icebreakers "Murman" and "Taimyr". It was the world first of such expeditions. All members of the expedition received the Hero of the Soviet Union title, that was extremely rare before the World War II.


lifted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Papanin

every day's a school day


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

had a few a couple of years ago - two of the 3 pictured above were either mine or of the same dial/hand combo.

if you buy from the east then expect to have to change the rubbish strap otherwise i found them easy to regulate and do simple repairs.

common fault seems to be the crown release jamming "in" - easy to fix though if you dont mind removing and replacing the dial.

you can buy a few and mix and match dials, hands, case, movement and since they are worth bugger all anyway you cant go wrong.

dunno what they go for these days but i was paying about 30 quid + new strap and thought them great fun.

true the case and acrylic could be better but that would cost wouldn't it.

forgot to mention that if you do buy from the east then dont expect the hand / dial combo to be excatly 100% like the picture , know what i mean guv, nods as good as a wink etc. etc. buy 4, mix and match, sell 2 - sorted.


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## gaz64 (May 5, 2009)

desmondus rotundus said:


> had a few a couple of years ago - two of the 3 pictured above were either mine or of the same dial/hand combo.
> 
> if you buy from the east then expect to have to change the rubbish strap otherwise i found them easy to regulate and do simple repairs.
> 
> ...


The one in my post was from you Des good watch but very busy dial which I found hard to read at times


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

gaz64 said:


> desmondus rotundus said:
> 
> 
> > had a few a couple of years ago -
> ...


yup, the reason i got the other one shown was to swap over the hands as i didnt get exactly what was advertised initially.

but i never got around to it on those two. generally reading the time on a 24 hr dial is fine but those hands didnt have enough contrast with the background imho.

the other watch, yellow dial red hands, although not quite as pretty (its all subjective i know) was super easy to read and the movement required no regulation at all. alpha do a nice 24 hr which i had one of, but i reckon raketa are more reliable. i'll own a decent glycine airman one day but its not a priority in the near future.


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## Paulb (Nov 28, 2009)

gaz64 said:


> jb1994 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi guys, just after a few answers (as usual!) I've just bought a russian 24 hour reakta watch the one with the black dial and the picture of the polar bear on it, I was a little shocked at the appearance of it at first I expected it to feel a little bit more solid than it did, I was just wondering are these things really any good? I know they're pretty cheap for what they are but I was wondering if its just a case of nothing flash but built to do the job and do it well? Thanks for looking and I'd appreciate any feedback. Cheers
> ...


how big is this watch?


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