Boderry Voyager Watch Review
SEIKO automatic movement meets Bertucci Ruggedness with a market-disrupting value proposition
Boderry Voyager is the most bang-for-your buck on the entire field watch market. It’s easily the best for under $100, and frankly, nothing else even comes close. The Voyager combines extremely accurate SEIKO automatic movement with a rugged, Bertucci-inspired titanium case, and has nearly all of the most desirable features and performance traits with very few drawbacks. Most major brands would sell a watch of this quality for $300-400, but Boderry, a relatively new Chinese company, offers it for just over $110 on Amazon.
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- MSRP/Common Price: $149 | $110
- Movement: Automatic, Seiko NH35A
- Case Diameter: 40.0 mm
- Face Diameter: 31.00 mm
- Reserve Power: 42 hours
- Case & Crystal: Titanium, Sapphire
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Lume: C1/C3 Super-LumiNova
- Competes with: Boderry Landmaster, SEIKO 5 Sports, Hamilton Khaki Field, Bertucci DX3, Bertucci a-2T Solar Classic, Timex Expedition Scout
- Pros: Best performance-to-price ratio on the market. Proven Seiko automatic movement. Rugged titanium case. Sapphire Crystal, recessed bezel. Nato band.
- Cons: Only 100m water resist. Mid-tier lume performance. Smaller face size relative to case size. Newer company, so long term reliability & quality is unproven.
Editor’s Note: This review was updated from its original 2024 publication date to reflect price increases and the existence of Boderry Landmaster. Compare the Boderry Voyager to more great options in our guide to the best field watches.
If you’re shopping directly from Boderry, take $10 off with coupon code: AdventureAlan
Automatic SEIKO Movement
Based on our team’s testing as well as its immaculate reputation, the automatic self-winding Japanese SEIKO NH35A caliber has proven an extremely accurate timekeeper. This is the same caliber as is used in Boderry Voyager’s sibling, the Landmaster. While it’s rated to -20~+40 seconds lost/gained per day, we found it gained only a few seconds over the course of six days. Frequently, it lost ~five seconds per day, but gained that back plus a little extra overnight while not being worn, offsetting the inaccuracy to only a couple of seconds of total gain per 24 hour period.
On the 9th day, it was still only off by one second!
Features-wise, Boderry Voyager gives you hand winding, seconds hacking, and date-keeping. It comes with a 42 hour power reserve from fully wound, so you needn’t have it on at all times.
Case & Band
Like its Bertucci inspiration, the Boderry Voyager features a titanium case, which is lighter weight and stronger than stainless steel. It’s 40mm diameter, and the raised bezel works in tandem with a sapphire crystal to prevent scratches. The four o’clock crown is a highly desirable trait that prevents a potential pressure point from jabbing into the back of your hand as you move, compared to a more traditional three o’clock crown.
Enjoy an industry standard 100m of water resistance, meaning you can wear it in the rain, drench it, or even dunk it. That said, 100m is nothing special, and while sufficient for our hiking purposes, 200m would have been preferred for peace of mind during prolonged submersion, and is one of the few less-than-stellar traits, and one of the only drawbacks compared to Bertucci models in the $300-400 price range.
We love the burly, 2mm thick nylon NATO band. It does well in all conditions, and the sewn-in metal stay loops never drift and keep the excess strap locked down nicely. That being said, it’s a bit on the heavy side and offsets the weight savings of titanium compared to other metals like stainless steel. If you prefer a lighter band, check out the Boderry Landmaster.
Face and Lume
The Boderry Voyager watch is great looking and easily legible, and we prefer the white on black version dial. However, the face comes in a bit small relative to its case size, just 31mm to the 40mm full diameter. That makes it a bit smaller than the esteemed SEIKO Sports 5 SRPG37, which has a 35mm face on a ~39.4mm case. The small face relative to case size is one of only two complaints we have about this watch (the other being 100-not-200m of water resistance). And again, this is not a huge drawback.
We think it features Swiss C1 Super-LumiNova, the #1 name brand in lume coating. However, there is conflicting information available as to whether it is the base version of C1 as is claimed on the Amazon listing, or the upgraded C3 version of Super-LumiNova as is claimed on the brand website.
Based on our field testing, Boderry Voyager’s lume performance is decent, but unexciting, and most likely C1, not C3. In testing, the watch stayed legible in the dark for approximately eight hours after fully charging in direct exposure to high UV sun. The indexes, numerals, and hands will be legible for three to four hours. But after that, only the hands will be legible for the remainder of the glow period. The Seiko 5 Sports has much better lume.
What would make the Boderry Voyager Watch Better?
Honestly, from a performance-to-value perspective, we ask nothing more of the Boderry Voyager watch than what is already offered. You could downgrade a bunch of the features and it would still be a great watch for a great price. However, if forced to offer constructive criticism, we offer the following feedback:
- 200m water resistance instead of its 100m. 100m is industry standard for a field watch, but by no means exceptional, as many of its other features are. 200m water resistance would be a nice upgrade.
- Larger face size relative to case size. The 40mm case is fairly average, but has a wide rim which eats into the 31mm face. The numerals and hands could be even more legible if the case was thinned and the face was enlarged.
- A lighter band. The burly NATO style band is our preferred configuration, but some of the benefits of lightweight titanium are lost due the weight of the band. We bet that somehow, the designers could have shaved off a few grams.
- Wasteful packaging. The Boderry Voyager came in a plastic box that evokes a freight container. While fun to open, it was not recyclable, nor made with recycled plastics. Do better.
- Better Lume: The C1 Super LumiNova used for Voyager is not particular bright, nor it is used generously. More and or brighter lume paint would be a significant upgrade. For something a bit more visible at night, check out Boderry Landmaster. For something way more visible, see SEIKO 5 Sports or upgrade to tritium with the Bertucci A5-S Ballista Illuminated.
Field Testing Boderry Voyager
We’ve been field testing the Boderry Voyager watch for over a month now, and it’s performed nothing less than marvelously. It’s come on multiple hikes in forests, deserts, and mountains, always remaining accurate and with nary a scratch. Shortly before writing our Boderry Voyager Review, we wore it on a four day backpacking trip in Hells Canyon, ID. There were no issues to report.
The face is always legible, and when fully-charged, the lume on the arms lasts into the early morning hours, though it is not particularly bright and the numerals and indicators fade much faster than the hands. It fits comfortably well on all possible wrist sizes, and is overall lightweight thanks to its titanium case. This accurate, well-featured field watch is a joy to wear while adventuring in the great outdoors.
Boderry Voyager Watch vs the Competition
Mobile users rotate device for full width table view
| Boderry Voyager | SEIKO 5 Sports SRPG37 | Bertucci A-2T | ||
| Common Price | 110 | 200 | 150 | 40 |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Quartz | Quartz |
| Caliber | NH35A | 4R36 | Swiss Unspecified | Unspecified |
| Date/Day | Yes/No | Yes/Yes | Yes/No | Yes/No |
| Case | Titainium | Stainless | Titanium | Brass |
| Case Diameter (mm) | 40 | 39.4 | 40 | 40 |
| Face Diameter (mm) | 31 | 35 | 32 | 33 |
| Crystal | Sapphire | Hardlex | Mineral | Mineral |
| Band | NATO | NATO | NATO | Nylon |
| Water Resistant (m) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 50 |
| Lume | C1 SuperLumi Nova | LumiBrite | Swiss Super Luminous |
Indiglo + Lumed Hands
|
| Crown | 4:00 | 3:00 | 4:00 | 3:00 |
| Power Reserve/Battery | 42 hr | 41 hr | 3 yr | 10 yr |
Boderry Voyager vs Landmaster
The Boderry Voyager and Landmaster are two very similar watches. Both are built with titanium cases, sapphire crystal, NATO bands, 100m water resistance, C1 Super Lumi Nova, and SEIKO NH35A movement. While the Voyager has a larger diameter, they have a similar face measurement. The advantages of the Voyager are that it’s less expensive, has a 4:00 crown (major advantage), and a recessed bezel if you’re worried about scratches. The advantages Landmaster are that it is slightly lighter weight and slightly easier to read due to the domed crystal and lume tubes, but has an inferior crown. The superior crown of Voyager is why we prefer it to Landmaster. Read more in our complete Boderry Landmaster Review.
Boderry Voyager vs SEIKO 5 Sports SRPG37
In our opinion, the Boderry Voyager’s closest competitor is the SEIKO 5 Sports SRPG37, both automatic watches with Japanese SEIKO-designed movement. In fact, Boderry Voyager’s NH35A caliber is basically the same as the SEIKO 5 Sports’ 4R36, only SEIKO gives it a different naming schema when their caliber is used in off-brand designs.
Obviously, the Boderry is a superior value, but both are great, accurate, automatic watches, and neither is strictly better than the other. Boderry Voyager advantages include the price, titanium case, and 4 o’clock crown. SEIKO advantages include the larger face, day-keeping, and rock-solid reputation.
Boderry Voyager vs Bertucci A-2T
The entire exterior look and feel of the Boderry Voyager is unmistakably based on the Bertucci A-2T Original Classic. Credit to Bertucci where credit is due. This is their design and Boderry is toeing a fine line between copying it and iterating on it; fully taking advantage of the cost efficiencies of integrated Chinese design and manufacturing. That being said, Boderry Voyager trounces Bertucci A-2T, either besting or tying it by virtually all possible comparisons. While both have titanium cases, NATO bands, four o’clock crowns, and approximately equal lume, the Boderry is less expensive, uses SEIKO automatic movement instead of 3 year quartz, and sapphire instead of mineral crystal for the lens. The only discernible advantage to Bertucci A-2T is the brand’s reputation for quality, and that its face is one millimeter larger.
Boderry Voyager vs Timex Expedition Scout
Up until trying the $100 Boderry Voyager, we thought that the $40 Timex Expedition Scout was the best value in the field watch genre. But despite its higher overall price, the vastly superior quality of Boderry Voyager easily bests Timex Expedition Scout in terms of value, bang-for-the-buck, performance-to-price ratio, or however you’d like to phrase it. Boderry Voyager has much better movement, much better casing, much better crystal, a much better band, double the water resistance, smarter crown placement, superior lume, and isn’t noisy. The literal only advantage of Time Expedition Scout is that it’s less expensive, and its face is 2mm larger.
Do any field watches best the Boderry Voyager?
From a performance-to-price ratio perspective, no other field watch comes close to Boderry Voyager. As we have shown above, it bests or ties most models coming in at the $200-$300 price point range. It’s not until the $500+ range that you get access to ultra high end calibers. The Hamilton Khaki Field with H-10 automatic movement is rated to be more accurate than Boderry Voyager, and has double the power reserve, up to 80 hours compared to the Boderry Voyager’s 40.
Boderry Voyager Watch Review Conclusion
It’s simply astounding how good the Boderry Voyager watch is relative to its price point, and easily the best watch for just over $110. The overall quality, performance, and feature set matches or bests those of SEIKO and Bertucci field watches costing hundreds more, and without any major drawbacks. Going forward, the Boderry Voyager will be our most-recommended field watch, and we hope you choose to pick one up. Happy hiking!
