After the development of the world’s first self-illuminating wristwatch in 1989, the shortly thereafter introduced P6500 Type 6 led to the founding of the traser brand. As mb-microtec’s first in-house watch, it met the MIL-W-46374F specifications of the U.S. Army and has since accompanied international elite units, among them the Navy SEALs, worldwide on their missions. Now traser “The Original” is revived and presents the new P65 Tactical Mission.
The success story of the P6500 Type 6 began three decades before its first introduction. After intensive research, Swiss physicist Oskar Thüler in 1969 managed, with the help of tritium gas, to illuminate fine glass capillaries for 25 years without any external energy source. A absolute novelty and the birth of mb-microtec with its self-luminous technology trigalight.
The Requirements of the U.S. Army
Shortly thereafter, Oskar Thüler and mb-microtec began applying the technology to a wristwatch—and already presented initial concepts in the late 1970s. When the U.S. Department of Defense, in 1989, mandated the use of sealed tritium gas light sources (GTLS) in its official service watches, the trigalight technology was used in a wristwatch for the first time.
Kurz darauf folgte die Entwicklung und Vorstellung einer hauseigenen selbstleuchtenden Uhr: Die P6500 Type 6, welche die MIL-W-46374F-Spezifikation der U.S. Army erfüllte und die Marke traser swiss H3 watches begründete. Gemäß dem Anforderungskatalog zeichnete sich die erste traser nicht nur durch einwandfreie Ablesbarkeit aus, sondern verfügte auch über ein zuverlässiges, wartungsarmes Quarzwerk sowie ein leichtes und zugleich robustes Gehäuse. Außerdem musste das Messinstrument strengen Anforderungen an Höhentauglichkeit und Wasserdichtheit gerecht werden.
Two Variants – One Mission
The new P65 Tactical Mission is available in two different configurations: The variant with a matte black carbon fiber reinforced polymer case and stainless steel bottom follows the MIL-W specification of the U.S. Army: “the case shall be fabricated of acetal plastic material, or of corrosion resistant steel.” The specialist polymer provides minimal weight and effectively absorbs external impacts such as shocks and drops. In later versions of the P6500 Type 6, traser increasingly relied on the high-tech material titanium for enhanced durability and corrosion resistance while keeping weight low.
Correspondingly, the new P65 Tactical Mission is also available with a pure titanium case. Thanks to a screw-down crown, water-resistance up to 20 bar is achieved. Wearers can choose from several strap options for both versions: either a black textile strap or one with a gray camouflage pattern secures the P65 Tactical Mission to the wrist, or a black rubber band. In addition, there is also a full titanium version with a titanium bracelet and folding clasp.
The P65 Tactical Mission in a Wear Test
For this feature, traser supplied the Titan version to Soldier & Technik. It arrives in a sturdy box that, at first glance upon opening, conveys the impression of a classic, reinforced by the solid feel when removing the watch. The titanium bracelet instantly transports the tester, who has grown used to adjustable plastic types, back to his youth in the 1980s—and this is also because its combination of large hands and relatively skinny arms initially requires some adjustment.
Anyone who adheres to the Swiss national hero William Tell, who says that the axe in the house spares the carpenter, can perform this adjustment themselves with their own set of band hold blocks, punchers, and a watchmaker’s hammer. Otherwise, the local watchmaker will remove two titanium links within a few minutes at a modest price of ten euros. After that, the band sits with just the right balance of play and firmness on the wrist, without the need to adjust the fine-tuning on the folding clasp.
No Unnecessary Frills
The clasp itself combines a light thumb- and finger-friendly bidirectional spring lock with a locking tab, whose blind opening the seasoned tester only has to relearn. In the multi-week wear test, the P65 does exactly what one expects from a good wristwatch: you forget it’s there until you look at the time—then it reliably shows it. In both cases, nothing superfluous gets in the way. It is neither uncomfortably bulky despite its robustness nor heavy, thanks to the titanium material.
Also, the P65 forgoes all distracting frills: no automatic setting via radio signal (which, in the tester’s Berlin residence, anyway only functions moderately), no alarm or stopwatch function, no endless options for time zones or daylight saving time with the usual fiddling with various button combinations. This watch displays the time and the date, and does so even without a radio signal with the proverbial precision of a Swiss movement—done.
In Good Old-Fashioned Style
If needed, you can manually set a different local time with the rotating bezel and of course, as with all analog watches, determine directions from the sun and the position of the hands. Adjusting the time and date is also done in good old-fashioned fashion by pulling out and turning a side crown. Even with careful pulling, it typically snaps into the outermost position, which stops the second hand and allows the adjustment of the hour and minute hands.
In this sense, the path to setting the date typically also passes through checking the time setting in the middle position of the crown. Another learning effect of forgotten knowledge: the day has 24 hours, and if you set the time beyond the 12-hour boundary, the date indicator will inevitably jump at noon. The advantage of the P65’s combined features, however: once you have set it correctly to your time zone, you can safely forget about it again in the future.
Faithful to the Original
From the ergonomically profiled and bidirectionally rotatable bezel to the case with a distinctive flank-and-crown guard to the satin-finish dial, the P65 Tactical Mission stands very much in the tradition of its historical predecessor. All scales—including the Arabic numerals with the tool-watch-type 24-hour scale—appear in high-contrast white. As with “The Original,” the hands feature a long, pointed tip, the hour markers from 1 to 11 o’clock, and the bezel insert are equipped with green trigalight self-illuminating elements.
The 12 o’clock index glows orange in the dark and ensures a secure orientation of the watch. The date window at three o’clock completes the dial design in an authentic manner. Then as now, the case with a diameter of 43 millimeters provides protection for the Swiss quartz movement—now, however, in combination with scratch-resistant and anti-reflective sapphire crystal. The P65 Tactical Mission is available at traser.com.
