Motorports Flatout Watch : FirstLook

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Chronographs are a type of watches that do a lot more than just tell the time. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand and a minute sub-dial, and can be started, stopped, and reset to zero by controls typically positioned on the side of the watch.

All chronographs have stopwatch functions, but some also have more complicated features. Multi-scale chronographs can include, for instance, a telemeter, a pulsometer, and/or a tachymeter.

Motorsport Watches

The market for chronographs is big and there are no shortage of watchmakers offering expensive units, but finding a high-quality piece at an affordable price point is a surprisingly difficult. When RainyDayMagazine readers pointed us to Motorsport Watches and asked about their chronographs, we didn’t know what we would find. Would Motorsport be another maker of high-priced units out of reach to most people, or would they be something different?

To our pleasant surprise, Motorsport Watches are makers of chronometers that punch way above their weight! The brand has a few different collections, and each has its own unique design sensibilities. What is common is the chronographs are all based on quality components, and have wonderfully colorful styling.

The one that immediately caught our eye is the Flatout model, and that is the one we’re taking a closer look at for RainyDayMagazine readers.

The Flatout came in a nice presentation box secured in a transport case, with instruction booklet, warranty card, and two different color straps (black, red).

Flatout’s Features:

• 316L Stainless Steel Case
• Scratch-resistant Sapphire Crystal
• Screw-down crown
• 10 ATM Water Resistance
• 46mm Case Diameter
• VK68 Japanese Meca Quartz Movement
• Quick-change Silicon Straps

Face

The face of the Flatout chronograph looks complicated, but is actually well laid out, which makes for easy readability:

• The current date’s readout is in the port at 4 o’clock;
• The hour and minute hands are in white;
• The seconds hand is in the green dial at  6 o’clock;
• The 12/24 hour dial is on the right;
• The stopwatch dial is on the left; and
• The stopwatch seconds indicator is the long thin red hand at the 12 0’clock position.

There is a tachymeter scale on the bezel, with markings for measuring the speed of travel over a fixed period of time, that are large and easy to read. A tachymeter, for those who don’t know (and there were some in the RainyDay office who didn’t) is a means of converting elapsed time (in seconds per unit) to rate (in units per hour). Go here for more details on how to properly use the tachymeter.

The size of the dial is 46mm, which means it’s larger than most dress watches, but its size makes the stopwatch and other time indicators easy to read at a glance.

Buttons

Before we discuss the controls for the chronograph, we thought it helpful to talk a little about the mechanism which drives the device.

Chronograph watch movements are (mostly) either quartz and mechanical. A quality quartz movement will be more precise than a mechanical one, because the movement powered by a battery and not a mainspring, which means it will not stop or need winding.

However, a quartz chronograph is missing two mechanical “actions”:

• The start/stop pusher on a quartz chronograph doesn’t “click” like a mechanical one would, so no audible indicator of success of the action; and
• A quartz movement’s hand returns slowly (a few seconds) to the zero position when reset, while a mechanical movement’s hand would “snap back” much faster, dare I say in an instant.

This “deficiency” was addressed by the combination mechanism developed in the late 80’s by Swiss (Jaeger-LeCoultreand Frédéric Pigue) and Japanese (Seiko) makers. A mechaquartz or “meca-quartz” movement uses quartz technology for the main functions of the watch and a mechanical module for operating the chronograph.

This combo has a few advantages over a fully mechanical chronograph:

• It’s a thinner design;
• It’s more durable and reliable; and
• It costs much less to produce.

We call that a win-win-win.

The Motorsport Flatout uses the VK68 Meca Quartz Movement. The button “feel” of the Flatout is positive and precise. We liked the raised lettering on both the Start/Stop and Reset buttons. The durability of the letterings could be an issue, but we’ll reserve judgement until we have used it for a while.

Strap

The silicone strap with the adjustment holes has a catch at the end that keeps the strap secure against the loop (i.e., the loop doesn’t slide off the end of the strap). The buckle strap, to our delight, has a feature we had not seen until now: a couple of small tabs to keep the loop from moving around. 

The Flatout came with two different color silicone straps. The anchor pins have a built-in tab which makes changing the straps a tool-less operation. Very convenient!

When we were changing the straps we had both color bands on the watch at the same time and realized we really liked the Red/Black combo. So that is how we’ll be wearing the Flatout from this point on 🙂

FirstThoughts

• Fresh design, nice build quality, excellent feel on the wrist
• Good ergonomics, easy to read face, cool features
• A lot of value for the money

Links to items mentioned:

• Motorsport Flatout Chronograph

NOTE: For RainyDayMagazine readers, use the following special discount code (RDM10) to get 10% off the purchase of any Motorsport watch.