Disclaimer: This watch was sent to me to review, and I do not need to return it after my review is complete. This watch was given to me without restriction and is not contingent upon a particular outcome for my review. All opinions here are my own, and Vaer had no influence over the opinions stated here.
Vaer C4 Tactical Field Solar: https://www.vaerwatches.com/products/c4-tactical-field-solar-41-5mm-usa
Video
Review
It’s been over four years since I last reviewed a Vaer watch, and I still remember the D5 Tropic Diver as being a really well-built, well-finished piece for the money… plus it nailed a bunch of design cues from some of my favorite watches. If you aren’t familiar with Vaer, they’ve been around for a while and have built a strong reputation for delivering a lot of watch at approachable prices, while still trying to create as much value in America as possible, often leaning on American-made FTS quartz options, and doing assembly and QC in the United States.
This is the C4 Tactical Field Solar, and while it’s clearly inspired by military-issued divers, especially the Benrus Type I, it also makes a lot of smart, modern-material decisions that give it an undeniably intentional and utilitarian feel for $479 USD.
Let’s check it out!
Case
The C4 is offered in a few different configurations, with this one being the regular steel variant, and the other a DLC black coated case for about $20 more. I measured the case to be 40.75mm in diameter from the 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock, 48.10mm from lug tip to lug tip and 12.75mm in overall thickness, which includes the closed screw-down case-back and the slightly curved top sapphire crystal that has a generous amount of anti-reflective coating.
The watch has a tonneau case shape and a familiar design if you’re familiar with vintage tool watches; the case feels robust, and is entirely bead blasted, with an aesthetic that I would describe as being identical to a Sinn watch, which is definitely a positive thing. There is a 6.35mm screw-down crown at the 4 o’clock position that is easy to grip and operate, however I don’t think you’ll be interacting with this crown much given its movement.
I’m not certain what material the bezel insert is made of and I’d guess it was metal and not ceramic, but the bezel is generously lumed with 12 hour indices and the 120 click uni-directional bezel has terrific action: though the choice of a 12 hour bezel being uni-directional with 20 minute markings is certainly inspired by the Benrus, and I suspect some dive watch aficionados might not love the idea. The screw-down crown and screw-down case-back allow for this watch to have 200m of water resistance, making it more than capable of handling anything you throw at it.
Dial
The dial is also familiar in the sense that it mirrors closely what a traditional field watch dial layout looks like, but it also adds a lot of modern improvements to that original template: starting with the base layer of the dial, which is slightly transparent and gives you a subtle glimpse of the solar cell which converts light into electrical energy to power the quartz movement that’s doing the work here.
Above that is a black matte dial with a distinct and very legible minute track on the periphery, and it also features large blocks of lume at each 5 minute interval, affixed to a raised section on the dial, and I love how much depth and visual interest these elements add.
Moving inward you have large C3 lume blocks for each of the 12 hour numerals, and these are ceramic lume blocks similar to Globolight and Lumicast with a slightly greenish hue that looks great in person and is exceptionally potent as we’ll see a bit later. A secondary ring of printed numerals denotes 24 hour markers, and you have the brand’s name printed below the 12 o’clock marker with some text above the 6 o’clock marker.
The watch uses large white hands for the hours and minutes in a somewhat syringe style, featuring big lume plots filled with C3 lume, and the seconds hand also includes a lumed element below its tip. The base of each hand is painted black, and overall the quality of finishing on this dial and its components feels very good for the money.
Lume
When Vaer asked me which of their watches I’d be interested in reviewing, it should come as no surprise to anyone that I picked the tactical looking watch with the biggest blocks of lume… and boy did it not disappoint! The lumed rectangles and those large lumed numerals glow very bright and have excellent longevity, and the finishing on these lume blocks is also very good for the price, particularly when you look at some of the alternatives in this range.
The three hands are also filled with lume, but more traditionally applied, so they tend to fade out a bit sooner than the rest, though they’re calibrated well enough to give you good legibility throughout the night. The bezel also has lumed elements, and these do fade out a bit quicker than the dial furniture, but it never really undermines the overall experience.
Overall, the lume here is extremely impressive and will absolutely make lume fans like myself very happy. I compared this watch against some other similar watches like the CWC Royal Navy 300, Traska Summiteer 38 and the Christopher Ward Lumiere, and the C4 holds up great against these watches that are up to 4x in price.
Movement
Inside the C4 is a solar-powered quartz movement, and Vaer specifies it as the Japan-made Seiko Epson VS-42. I don’t have any prior experience with this movement, so I don’t have too much real world experience to share here. This watch has kept excellent time and performed flawlessly since I received it about 2 months ago. Like most solar movements, it’s very much a “set it and forget it” experience. Vaer claims about a 6-month reserve from roughly 6 hours of light, and it can charge from pretty much any light source.
Accuracy is rated at -10/+20 seconds per month, which lines up with what I want from a tactical tool watch that’s supposed to be grab-and-go reliable. And while I’m sure some folks will complain about the lack of a mechanical movement, I can’t help but think that a solar powered quartz movement is the perfect choice for a watch like this.
On The Wrist
On wrist, the 40.75mm diameter and 48.10mm lug tip to lug tip fit comfortably on my 6.75″ wrist, and since I tend to prefer sports watches in the 39-41mm range, this is pretty much an ideal size for me. That said, the lug-to-lug distance and the tonneau style case bring it close to as far as I can comfortably go with lug-to-lug distances, so I wouldn’t recommend this one for wrists smaller than about 6.25″.
The 12.75mm overall thickness also wears slimmer than the numbers might suggest, and I think that’s down to some clever design that breaks up the height across the case-back, multi-faceted mid-case, bezel, and crystal rather than stacking it all in one slab.
Vaer ships the watch with an FKM waffle rubber strap, which is what I’ve been wearing it on, and I think it’s an excellent pairing and a genuinely quality strap. They also include a single pass nylon strap, which seems like it’s of good quality, but I don’t typically wear NATO-style straps so I can’t really comment beyond that.
Wrapping Up
Overall, the wrist presence and experience is great: this watch looks the part, and it has that slightly indestructible feeling when you wear it, which is exactly what I want from a rugged tool watch like this. The C4 Tactical Field Solar feels like Vaer leaning fully into a modern tool watch brief, and for $479 it delivers a lot of substance. The case is robust, the dial has real depth and legibility, and the solar movement makes it an easy grab-and-go option. But the real headline for me is the lume… it’s the kind of performance that keeps you checking it “one more time” before bed. If you want a rugged, military-inspired field/diver hybrid that feels built to take a beating, this one absolutely earns its spot.
