Surfers Against Sewage is a marine conservation and campaigning charity which aims to inspire and empower communities to take action to protect our seas, beaches and marine wildlife. Like all of us, Surfers Against Sewage wants to see better protection for the natural environment.
At the Geckota family, which encompasses ZULUDIVER and WatchGecko, we strongly believe in the message promoted by Surfers Against Sewage which is why we decided to collaborate with them and create a special edition of our G-02 Dive Watch, aptly named the Geckota G-02 Surfers Against Sewage Collaboration. This unique watch has an aqua blue dial with a stamped water effect, as well as a custom case back featuring the Surfers Against Sewage logo. The watch comes fitted on a bold custom Surfers Against Sewage NATO strap with stainless steel buckles and keepers. Both the watch case and strap are designed using the brand colours of Surfers Against Sewage. An additional black Seacroft Rubber Waffle strap is also included with each watch. Most importantly, Geckota is donating £50 from each watch sale to the charity so by picking one of these special editions up you are also helping the natural world.
Equally good news is that you do not have to be a surfer to enjoy this watch and to prove this point I took a Surfers Against Sewage on the rubber waffle strap on a hike high into the Dales around my home to see how it fared not underwater but as an everyday tool watch.
It was a bright warm day when the Surfers Against Sewage G-02 and I took to the hills. As I glanced at it the textured dial through the domed sapphire crystal really caught the light and looked so much like sunlight dancing across the water. It was rather captivating to look at and drove home the ethos of the project. It's all about the environment, and what better place to embrace that than strolling through Britain’s first National Park.
Although the dial is complex with patterns, the stark white hands and indices stand proud making legibility easy. The semi-sweep second hand has a mechanical feel to it even though the watch is quartz (more about that later). The no-nonsense 40mm stainless case makes for a very capable Field Watch and the clear dial lends itself further to that role. With a screw-down crown and respectable 200m water resistance, the watch would certainly stand up to anything the British weather could throw at it.
Supporting the intention of adventure, the watch is fitted with a 12 hour bi-directional bezel which gives you an easy tool for jumping between different time zones.
The Seacroft waffle pattern FKM rubber strap was a fine partner and allowed the G-02 Surfers Against Sewage to be worn in comfort all day. Rubber is a fine material for outdoor watches and whilst not being traditionally “Field” it is actually a sensible choice. FKM, or Fluoro-Elastomer, is an extremely hard-wearing rubber compound highly resistant to salt water, aggressive chemicals and extreme temperatures (as low as -45C and high as +300C). It is the perfect choice to be fitted to the toughest watches whilst also looking smart.
One of the more interesting features of this new watch cannot be seen as it is hidden behind the beautifully engraved Surfers Against Sewage case back. I refer to the Seiko SII VH31 Quartz movement. This accurate unit delivers <+/- 15 seconds per month and ticks four times every second to replicate the sweep of a traditional mechanical watch. A technical element which really rounds off a very capable package.
My G-02 Surfers Against Sewage and I had a great day hiking the Dales and it delivered in every category I would look for in a go-to outdoor watch; robustness, comfort and clarity. The watch is limited to 150 units and at £199 it really is a great price point for a 200m steel diver with a limited release. Although I live about as far away from the sea as it is possible to do in the UK that does not mean that I don’t care about our marine world and everything it gives to our country. So I think I appreciated the G-02 Surfers Against Sewage even more knowing that I had in some small way made a contribution to our environmental future.
