Bought my brother the Citizen Promaster Aqualand which is more expensive than this watch. It got lost at 120feet depth in Fiji. He just went back this week with a dive buddy and they went looking for it, amazingly they found it, still ticking and zero leaks after 5 months at 120 feet is testimony at what a great watch the Citizen Promaster Aqualand ecodrive is.
@folksurvival The pin on the rubber strap wasn't secure, he wasn't in the water but at the edege of the boat when it popped off his wrist and went it went into water and sank rapidly. Fortunately, it was a certain dive spot he frequented, and they were anchored, so he knew the location. The watch shop who put the rubber strap on did it improperly. He originally had a stainless steel bracelet and switched it to a Promaster rubber strap. He couldn't locate it on the trip he lost it, but a dive buddy helped on the return trip 5 months later, and he found it, so he got lucky. It was a tiger shark dive area the Bequa Dive tours provide.
I don't know, I have a Citizen diver I got from my dad and it stopped working after just 40 years. They still sell the movement but it'll set me back several tens of dollars to fix it.
@@BarakTheWonderer I may have been mistaken actually, there are some different patterns of serial numbers that have been used. Probably it's from the 90s, which puts it at 25 years before the movement gave up. Still not bad imo.
I've been lucky to get one on Amazon Prime day for $89. This thing is a tank. Hitting so many doors and walls. Accidentally went into washing machine and hot water. Still working fine. Just was using it for a dive last week.
I bought this watch a couple of weeks ago. I had an oyster bracelet ready to go as soon as this got unboxed. My chapter ring, bezel, and second hand line up to perfection. I absolutely love this watch as a grab and go, without really sacrificing anything. This is one of those occasions that I am so glad I made this purchase!!! Good review!!
Snap, I’ve just bought a 20mm oyster as a back up. I’m keen on the black version of this Citizen. It just appeals even more to me that the Oyster will fit it, great idea!
Citizen make great watches (automatic/quartz/ecodrive) and definitely seem overlooked for Seiko by the watch community. Nice to see one being reviewed. Great value. I agree automatics aren't for everyone and this is a great choice if you like the dive watch design and want the benefits of a non automatic movement.
Agree with the lume....this BN0151 won one of Jody's "Lume Wars" battles and actually beat out a Seiko and a Rolex! This really could be one of the BEST divers under $200 out there hands down. I plan on putting this on the orange crafter or Isofrane strap. Thanks for the great reviews!
I have one and it's perfect, didn't have any complaints that you mentioned. No problems with bezel grip, alignment is perfect, seconds hand hits markers precisely, crown is easy to unscrew and screw (without gloves). Best diver under 250 usd in the world, in my opinion. 🙂
I bought this watch last year. The quality is outstanding. Lume is unbelievable. Its unique and ISO certified. The bezel is tight but will loosen up. The band will get better with time and the printing on it will wear off. 5 year warranty from Joma shop is the best Ive seen. This watch is one of my favorites in my collection.
I bought one of these six months ago. I haven´t used any of my other watches since. Mine came perfectly lined up, and I think it´s a great price for what you get. This is my favourite time piece at the moment, if you get one, you won´t regret it.
@DJ Ezasscul Kind of. It isnt as big as other Citizens out there. I have a slim wrist and still think I can pull it off. I would say that you should go to the nearest store and try one, just in case.
Absolutely fantastic watch for the money. I wear mine far more than I thought I ever would. Also my alignment for the bezel and the second hand is absolutely spot on. The citizen prime is well worth it.
Excellent review! Very well done! I bought mine a year ago, and immediately put it on an orange silicone strap, which matches the orange minute hand. Wow! That made for a great “feel good” summer watch. An incredible watch at this price point. Can’t recommend it enough. And, for those who are in doubt - mine came perfectly aligned, so seconds hand hits every mark bang on.
Great review! I'm happy you covered this watch. I agree with almost everything you said about it. I picked up the black version off Amazon almost as a whim, and it has become the sleeper hit of my collection. I'm not really a fan of quartz, but the solar powered aspect changes everything. The convenience and practicality are too good to ignore. I find the bezel a little difficult to grip, but I give that a pass since it's a function of it blending flush with the mid-case. The aesthetic benefit of this design more than makes up for the relative lack of grip. Lume is surprisingly great, the two-color handset with the Oldsmobile hour and 3-stage minute hand makes legibility a breeze and fits well with the overall look, plus the second hand hits all the indices bang on, on mine. Anyone considering this watch should jump on it when it goes on sale. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I have had this exact model for about 9 months. Love this watch. I hated the band and just bit the bullet and ordered the OEM stainless bracelet. I have much more expensive watches but this gets way more wrist time. Lume is crazy. Mine lines up perfectly and blows away the SKX in my opinion.
Bought the BNO 150, it's been on my wrist every day, 7 days a week for 11 months. I picked up the Long Island Watch stainless bracelet for it to replace that uncomfortable rubber strap and boom!! Dressed it up real nicely, a watch for all occasions.
I have the black version and mine is perfectly aligned with the second hand hitting the indices spot on, the strap isn't the best but that's easily sorted, its an accurate grab and go tool watch and great value..
I agree, it's a tough, very reliable watch. I actually prefer the 60-click bezel of this model to the 120-click one on my Seiko Samurai. It's very legible, comfortable to wear and not too high. All in all, an excellent timepiece.
Very good review as always. I've owned mine for about 5 yrs now. It doesn't get a lot of wrist time but when I do wear it I always think to myself that I should wear it much more often. I also have a 7" wrist and honestly, I've always thought it wears a bit smaller than its dimensions would lead you to think.
I’ve had mine for 4 months and it’s currently +- 0 seconds and the only reason I had to mess with the time was DST. It pairs great with a variety of straps. Currently rocking a few uncle Seiko rubber straps, but honestly I don’t know if I’ve had a better combo than the black waffle strap. I shelved my 007 and might honesty get rid of it since I rarely wear anything else.
Great review Shane. This is actually one of the first watches I bought when I started getting interested in watch collecting. I still love it and it's a great "go-to" watch for casual wear. I would like to see you review the Citizen Promaster "Tough" watch next. I chose that watch for my six-month thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail this year because it was the closest thing to being totally bomb-proof (other than a G-Shock)mthat I could find. I wasn't disappointed!
The promaster tough is pretty high on my list to get. I have some other watches I've bought I have to get through first, but hopefully early next year I'll buy one.
Useful and fair evaluation. Every standard quartz watch in a metal case I've owned had died shortly after I started wearing it, but this does not happen with Eco-Drives. I just bought a BN0150-28E (black version), my fifth Eco-Drive.
Have a nighthawk citizen wr200 passed down from my father I have more expensive watches but it’s my favorite daily when looking for a diver this really perks up my ears if you may
Great review, I have the exact same watch and love it. Eco-Drive makes owning this easy with so much satisfaction. I also have a promaster aqualand which is an absolute beast. I’d love to see a video on all iconic current and old Citizen dive watches. So many Seiko dive watch videos but none on Citizen watches. IMO Citizen makes as good if not better divers than Seiko. Just not as iconic because they aren’t automatic movement anymore.
I just got the green model, the stock bracelet is outstanding especially for citizen. Fold over clasp otf adjust diver ext,solid endlinks, fully milled clasp Best bracelet ive seen on any stock Japanese pieces..
Love this watch, have always wanted one I felt confident using in the water. Looks great on vacation too. Also have the Duro - which I would enjoy seeing reviewed here as well.
Bought this recently, couldn't be happier with it. -The newer versions don't come with the ND dive table, which makes it much more wearable. - It fits well on small - medium wrists (it wears very small, so don't be afraid, in fact if you have large wrists this thing might look like a toy on you). - Lume is extremely good, even better than my Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic. - Honestly if you can get this for under $200, it is an amazing deal and I would pick one up no matter what. (look around...) - The watch itself is extremely flat so it will never snag, it doesn't have anything protruding from the surface - Screw down crown at this price point as well.... it can handle diving and anything you throw at well - Ecodrive is insanely good.... It beats out all of the entry level/mid level Seiko diver watches at this price point. The aesthetics are also nice and understated too, imho the Seiko divers look nicer but you just can't beat the value... also no misaligned dials (:
Citizen's ROCK--- Wearing my black dial BN015 as I type this. Good Review. The strap is a problem, the spring bars as hard to get stand the ND insert is basically useless. But it is a good deal timepiece.
I just picked up one of these last week and now you and OFD Watch Channel publish reviews on it the same day. It really is a nice watch for the price! My chapter ring and seconds hand alignment are spot on, but my bezel is off a hair. Doesn't bother me. Plus, the lume is right up there with my Swordfish. A very fair review as always!
I have this same watch. Really like it. I have the blue strap. I wish strap keepers would stay in place. Seems both tend to work way to up towards bezel. It's my everyday watch. Very happy
I guess I'm not a "regular" person. ;-) I saw those when Amazon put them on sale at the $120 mark. I had just bought an Avion a couple of weeks before. So, I thought; I'll take a couple of days to think on it. Then, when I got ready to pull the trigger; no more sale. I've been kicking myself in the ass, ever since. You just don't see an ISO certified diver for that little money. Glad you were able to get one, Shane. I'm somewhat envious.
Hi Shane! great review…I’ve owned 3 Citizen Eco Dr. divers. They were great watches. I presently have the NY0040 which is mechanical of course…The main reason I chose to keep that one was because of its smaller size. That’s the only knock I have on the Eco Drive divers… A little too large for my taste.
I purchased five of these Citizen Promaster watches (three blue, two black) from Amazon since 2019. Amazon's prices are all over the place. The first watch cost $139; the last two were on sale for only $89; current price is $188 (and was recently well over $200). I just wish these watches came with a sapphire crystal and ceramic bezel, even at a higher price. It doesn't take much wear to scratch the aluminum bezel. At $89, I believe these were an incredible bargain. Their lume is fantastic. I immediately replaced the factory straps with NATO straps.
I really enjoy owning my 2 Citizen Eco Drives. No battery change so no opening the case back. Now let's see if they get that super cool sweep seconds hand. One day maybe.
My wife worked for Disney world in college during an internship, and I just bought her a Citizen eco-drive Disney themed watch. She has always loved the little mermaid so I got her the Ariel version. It costs more than my Promaster and also has a sapphire crystal. She doesn’t really wear convention watches, I even got her an affordable Bulova that sits in the jewelry case. I just wanted her to have a nice watch that she would like, even if it’s a collection piece. I think I bought it more for me than her, honestly.
I bought the black dial with stainless steel bracelet model (bn0150-61e) a few months back and love it. I believe it was a Euro/Asia only release. It's still available online for $250 and ships worldwide.
My Promaster 0151 and my 0150 (black face) are what's on my wrist most days. They're well built, stylish, fit and finish are great for the price, and accurate to within less than a second per day. For around $200, there's not too much out there which can touch them. (full disclosure - I'm wearing my Seiko solar dive chrono right now. That's real nice as well)
I was able to pick one of these up for $125 plus delivery pre-online sales tax about 4 years ago. I purchased it on the rubber blue strap. It's currently on an OEM Citizen steel dive bracelet This is a rugged, real diver that will hold up well. I've dropped it on cement a couple times and the case got dinged but still looked great. It's my most accurate watch. The second hands line up PERFECTLY with the tics. Goes with many different kind of straps/bands. You can send it back to Citizen after 10 years to get a new capacitor and seals for a small fee. One of my favorite watches.
I really like the looks of these Citizen dive watches. If they only made one with sapphire, 42mm and crown at 4 o'clock, I'd defintely get one. And I'm one of guy, whom the misalignment of the second hand would drive crazy. Brilliant review video as always! 👍
I've owned this for about 4 years and I do a lot of salt-water fishing. One of the spring bars corroded so the watch fell off my wrist and got badly dinged. Otherwise, it is a pretty good watch for around $150 that I paid for it back then.
If you take it into water regularly, you’ll need to check the spring bars routinely for damage. Also, you should thoroughly rinse the watch after each use in salt water.
I got this watch a while ago. I found it surprisingly good. I find myself really enjoying wearing it out of my rather large collection of mostly automatics. I wears extremely well for its size, I think it wears smaller than it is. Maybe that is due to the lug to lug width. Mine is spot on in terms of alignment of the second hand to the indices. I actually like the strap; it wears well and I like the depth chart, it is quirky and different.
Yeah I agree it wears smaller,and the hand lines up on the markers.This is a aw,or watch and is gonna be my watch for when we travel to the beach i highly recommend this watch !
Great review as usual...you really pick up all the points a person should consider when looking at this watch. I have the black version, picked up on Amazon on sale well below $100 about a year ago. It's among my favorite watches and certainly my favorite quartz watch. The bezel angles inwards, so helps reduce the large diameter visually, important for my 6.5 inch wrist.
Nice review Shane. I bought mine about 12 months ago & it’s a great watch. I wore it about 2 weeks ago. The lume as you said is brilliant & the solar charging works brilliantly. Mine spends most of the time in a dark walk in robe in a watch box, but I’ve only taken it out to charge it twice since I’ve had it. I just leave it in open light for a full day & bingo she’s right to go again.I agree with the original strap. Very stiff & a tad uncomfortable. I swapped mine out immediately with a blue/white striped NATO.😎👍🏼
I just got my Citizen Pro Diver with the blue dial earlier today. I charged it for about a half hour in a window, the put it on my wrist to go pick up some pizza. It had charged up enough that the lume was really popping as I walked through my dark house to the garage. That lume is fantastic.
I own one and I can tell it's nice and reliable diver watch .. I have also two Casio Duro ... but this Citizen is way over (also the price LOL) and really more accurate (mine 2 sec / month) and indeed fantastic lume
We go to Cuba every year for a week because it's cheap compared to other destinations. We always do the Catamaran excursion because the kids love it. One thing I noticed in all the years is that the Catamaran Captains always wear Citizen watches.
I've had my BN0150 for over 5 years, it's like new and runs faultlessly. It looks great on a black or Bond NATO and brilliant on a black FKM rubber waffle strap. I have 4 Eco Drive Citezens, the oldest is in its 13th year a BM6400 field watch, still performs perfectly. My 2 Omegas, a Planet Ocean and a 300m Diver, have stopped requiring services several times in my period of ownership, dating from 2006 and 2007. Lovely watches, but massively and expensively dissapointing when you want to wear one and they're not working. My Citizens are always ready to go, no battery changes, no £500 + servicing. I've just ordered a super titanium GMT diiver on titanium bracelet for less than the rubber strap on my Pllanet Ocean WITHOUT buckle!
The Casio Duro is not really a thing here in Europe - we have the Casio MTD1053 though. If you could get your hands on one that would be very nice btw, there aren't that many reviews or even HQ recordings around.
I bought this exact watch over the Seiko. It was thinner, I liked the finish and wanted the Eco Drive. I did buy a bracelet made for this watch from Long Island Watch, and it makes it look so much better. Great video review.
Great review. It seems the alignment is variable because I've seen another CZcams review of this model watch and in the macro close-ups the alignment was perfect. I really like the offset crown as I always seem to have problems with the large watch crown on waterproof watches (not necessarily dive watches) digging into the back of my hand. There's an automatic Citizen Promaster Diving watch which has the crown on the left and this would be ideal except it's an auto and I prefer the accuracy and lack of servicing of a quartz movement.
Hypothetical scenario: We are in a long term survival mode nationwide and getting a battery changed is an iffy proposition at best. And I might be in situations where water resistance at all kinds of depths is a must. Having the ability to read the time after dark is important and I'd need a durable and accurate watch that looks good in any scenario or mode of dress and I don't want to worry about winding it nor would I need any other bells and whistles. And I certainly wouldn't want to spend more than I had to, I can't think of a better watch than the Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster. It would be my choice if I was preparing for the apocalypse.
Your comments included "Looks good in any scenario or mode of dress" and "preparing for the apocalypse". I agree with you, but I can't help thinking of characters from Mad Max movies complementing each other on how well their Citizen watch goes with those shoulder pads and leather clothes.
Got mine early this year. Just about when the lockdowns were starting. Just in time for an apocalyptic mood. Such a robust and overall awesome watch. I had the same complaints with the strap but I like to put it back on once in a while to get the original look. While its stiff, it actually helps with the weight of the watch, as opposed to nicer and softer diving straps like isofrane or simar. Also worth noting is the metal tube thats inside the ends that houses the chunky springbars. No idea what those are for. Out of my collection, its easily the one that gets the most wear.
I have the green and white one and it's definitely a sporty grab and go watch with the rubber strap. It's very convenient to have the solar power too...no watch winders or having to wear it daily to keep it running. Great review!
You can actually make the strap softer: take it off the watch, and put it in a coffee cup. Align the two sides to be bend along the cups shape. Then poor boiling water on it. After the water cools down, the strap will be softer and have a natural bend. Much more comfortable to wear then.
You were much more rough on your watch than you think. I’ve owned numerous mineral crystal watches for years and none of the crystals are scratched. You need to take care of your watches…
I got this watch and it came with a polyurethane strap. I am pleased with but just wanted to class it up a bit and found a jubilee bracelet with double locking clasps. It turned out great. I had the jeweler put it on.
If you go to Long Island Watch, you can get a killer stainless steel bracelet that looks like it was designed for it. (Part No BRAC-35 or BRAC-26) Both of them really dress the watch up that little extra bit so you can easily wear it to the office as well as at depth. And they fit the lugs perfectly. The bracelet makes it a perfect "cruise" watch where you can go out on excursions, participate in water sports during the day, and then go to dinner, and the watch will look entirely appropriate. I wear mine about once every two weeks to the office and it just works.
I have the black dial variant with the steel bracelet, picked it up off an Italian website for around $210 after shipping and a first time customer discount, and I absolutely love it.
Unfortunately in the UK we don't get the deals on this watch, it's about £250 on Amazon. Even at that price it's worth it and will likely last well beyond 20 years. I have a 25 year old Promaster Aqualand that's still going strong and also just acquired a Promaster Aqualand BN2039-59E which is a somewhat large but amazing watch. Anything Japanese is built to last.
I have worn this every day for years and it is an amazing watch, very impressive as well. Only complaint is that I wish it were more resistant to scratching.
I have one of these along with a BN0198 (gray) BN0195 (black coated). Love all three. Didn't pay more than $110 for any of them. BN0151 was $105 on Amazon, and the other two were sub $100 refurbs off of ebay. Such great value. I'd suggest looking at the BN019x on the channel as a "dressier" Citizen Eco-Drive option vs the BN015x's.
Bought my brother the Citizen Promaster Aqualand which is more expensive than this watch. It got lost at 120feet depth in Fiji. He just went back this week with a dive buddy and they went looking for it, amazingly they found it, still ticking and zero leaks after 5 months at 120 feet is testimony at what a great watch the Citizen Promaster Aqualand ecodrive is.
Why did he take it off while diving?
@folksurvival The pin on the rubber strap wasn't secure, he wasn't in the water but at the edege of the boat when it popped off his wrist and went it went into water and sank rapidly. Fortunately, it was a certain dive spot he frequented, and they were anchored, so he knew the location. The watch shop who put the rubber strap on did it improperly. He originally had a stainless steel bracelet and switched it to a Promaster rubber strap. He couldn't locate it on the trip he lost it, but a dive buddy helped on the return trip 5 months later, and he found it, so he got lucky. It was a tiger shark dive area the Bequa Dive tours provide.
@@herbh9348 Does he use a nato strap now to make sure it doesn't happen again?
No he prefers the promaster rubber strap. But the nato would be a good call.
Gschichtn ausm Paulanergarten 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Honestly, Citizen offers some of the best options for an everyday watch.
Agreed. And in my experience, and from what I’ve heard, they have way less qc issues than seiko.
I only own Citizen watches 15 of them and never had a problem with any!
I don't know, I have a Citizen diver I got from my dad and it stopped working after just 40 years. They still sell the movement but it'll set me back several tens of dollars to fix it.
@@tykjpelk Gosh, It ran 'only' 40 years without a problem? That's not a problem, that's an amazing level of quality! :)
@@BarakTheWonderer I may have been mistaken actually, there are some different patterns of serial numbers that have been used. Probably it's from the 90s, which puts it at 25 years before the movement gave up. Still not bad imo.
I've been lucky to get one on Amazon Prime day for $89. This thing is a tank. Hitting so many doors and walls. Accidentally went into washing machine and hot water. Still working fine. Just was using it for a dive last week.
Wow. Your watch has well and truly proven itself.
When is the prime day
I bought this watch a couple of weeks ago. I had an oyster bracelet ready to go as soon as this got unboxed. My chapter ring, bezel, and second hand line up to perfection. I absolutely love this watch as a grab and go, without really sacrificing anything. This is one of those occasions that I am so glad I made this purchase!!! Good review!!
Snap, I’ve just bought a 20mm oyster as a back up. I’m keen on the black version of this Citizen. It just appeals even more to me that the Oyster will fit it, great idea!
Diving is my hobby , this exact watch is what I take to the water .
Love this watch! Last year It went for $68 during an Amazon sale
At that price, I'd buy all three colors. The mildly sunburst green ones are through the roof.
Citizen make great watches (automatic/quartz/ecodrive) and definitely seem overlooked for Seiko by the watch community. Nice to see one being reviewed. Great value. I agree automatics aren't for everyone and this is a great choice if you like the dive watch design and want the benefits of a non automatic movement.
It's good that citizen is overlooked. Better prices for those of us who actually wear the watches.
Agree with the lume....this BN0151 won one of Jody's "Lume Wars" battles and actually beat out a Seiko and a Rolex! This really could be one of the BEST divers under $200 out there hands down. I plan on putting this on the orange crafter or Isofrane strap. Thanks for the great reviews!
The lume is amazing on this watch.
Got the Black version for almost 2 years now. Never missed a beat !!!
I have one and it's perfect, didn't have any complaints that you mentioned. No problems with bezel grip, alignment is perfect, seconds hand hits markers precisely, crown is easy to unscrew and screw (without gloves). Best diver under 250 usd in the world, in my opinion. 🙂
I could not agree more. Dollar for dollar probably the best watch in my humble collection. 👍🏻
I bought this watch last year. The quality is outstanding. Lume is unbelievable. Its unique and ISO certified. The bezel is tight but will loosen up. The band will get better with time and the printing on it will wear off. 5 year warranty from Joma shop is the best Ive seen. This watch is one of my favorites in my collection.
I bought one of these six months ago. I haven´t used any of my other watches since. Mine came perfectly lined up, and I think it´s a great price for what you get. This is my favourite time piece at the moment, if you get one, you won´t regret it.
@DJ Ezasscul Kind of. It isnt as big as other Citizens out there. I have a slim wrist and still think I can pull it off. I would say that you should go to the nearest store and try one, just in case.
Absolutely fantastic watch for the money. I wear mine far more than I thought I ever would. Also my alignment for the bezel and the second hand is absolutely spot on. The citizen prime is well worth it.
I wish so much that Citizen makes these Eco Drive divers with day-date functions. 🙏
I know they have Autos that have that, I wonder why they didn't with Eco?
'League of its own.' Nice.
Put it on and forget it. What most people want in their watch.
Yeah, just noticed wrong date after February :-) Anyway, cool stuff.
Excellent review! Very well done!
I bought mine a year ago, and immediately put it on an orange silicone strap, which matches the orange minute hand. Wow! That made for a great “feel good” summer watch.
An incredible watch at this price point. Can’t recommend it enough. And, for those who are in doubt - mine came perfectly aligned, so seconds hand hits every mark bang on.
Great review! I'm happy you covered this watch. I agree with almost everything you said about it.
I picked up the black version off Amazon almost as a whim, and it has become the sleeper hit of my collection. I'm not really a fan of quartz, but the solar powered aspect changes everything. The convenience and practicality are too good to ignore.
I find the bezel a little difficult to grip, but I give that a pass since it's a function of it blending flush with the mid-case. The aesthetic benefit of this design more than makes up for the relative lack of grip. Lume is surprisingly great, the two-color handset with the Oldsmobile hour and 3-stage minute hand makes legibility a breeze and fits well with the overall look, plus the second hand hits all the indices bang on, on mine.
Anyone considering this watch should jump on it when it goes on sale. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I have had this exact model for about 9 months. Love this watch. I hated the band and just bit the bullet and ordered the OEM stainless bracelet. I have much more expensive watches but this gets way more wrist time. Lume is crazy. Mine lines up perfectly and blows away the SKX in my opinion.
Bought the BNO 150, it's been on my wrist every day, 7 days a week for 11 months.
I picked up the Long Island Watch stainless bracelet for it to replace that uncomfortable rubber strap and boom!! Dressed it up real nicely, a watch for all occasions.
I have the black version and mine is perfectly aligned with the second hand hitting the indices spot on, the strap isn't the best but that's easily sorted, its an accurate grab and go tool watch and great value..
I agree, it's a tough, very reliable watch. I actually prefer the 60-click bezel of this model to the 120-click one on my Seiko Samurai. It's very legible, comfortable to wear and not too high. All in all, an excellent timepiece.
Dude...your review of this watch is the best on CZcams. Hands down. An excellent job 👍👌
Thanks! I really appreciate it. 👍
Mine is perfectly aligned. I have a black BN150-10E. Love the watch.
Very good review as always. I've owned mine for about 5 yrs now. It doesn't get a lot of wrist time but when I do wear it I always think to myself that I should wear it much more often. I also have a 7" wrist and honestly, I've always thought it wears a bit smaller than its dimensions would lead you to think.
I’ve had mine for 4 months and it’s currently +- 0 seconds and the only reason I had to mess with the time was DST. It pairs great with a variety of straps. Currently rocking a few uncle Seiko rubber straps, but honestly I don’t know if I’ve had a better combo than the black waffle strap. I shelved my 007 and might honesty get rid of it since I rarely wear anything else.
Great review Shane. This is actually one of the first watches I bought when I started getting interested in watch collecting. I still love it and it's a great "go-to" watch for casual wear.
I would like to see you review the Citizen Promaster "Tough" watch next. I chose that watch for my six-month thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail this year because it was the closest thing to being totally bomb-proof (other than a G-Shock)mthat I could find. I wasn't disappointed!
The promaster tough is pretty high on my list to get. I have some other watches I've bought I have to get through first, but hopefully early next year I'll buy one.
Useful and fair evaluation. Every standard quartz watch in a metal case I've owned had died shortly after I started wearing it, but this does not happen with Eco-Drives. I just bought a BN0150-28E (black version), my fifth Eco-Drive.
Have a nighthawk citizen wr200 passed down from my father I have more expensive watches but it’s my favorite daily when looking for a diver this really perks up my ears if you may
Great review, I have the exact same watch and love it. Eco-Drive makes owning this easy with so much satisfaction. I also have a promaster aqualand which is an absolute beast. I’d love to see a video on all iconic current and old Citizen dive watches. So many Seiko dive watch videos but none on Citizen watches. IMO Citizen makes as good if not better divers than Seiko. Just not as iconic because they aren’t automatic movement anymore.
I have this in black and its one of my favorites. Bought it about a year ago on amazon for $90 along with its 300m version for $150
I just got the green model, the stock bracelet is outstanding especially for citizen. Fold over clasp otf adjust diver ext,solid endlinks, fully milled clasp Best bracelet ive seen on any stock Japanese pieces..
As always an excellent review. I love the time lapse and close ups. Thank you.
Love this watch, have always wanted one I felt confident using in the water. Looks great on vacation too. Also have the Duro - which I would enjoy seeing reviewed here as well.
Its a timeless piece ! Probably my best decision all year lol ! Picked it up for $158 on Amazon Black Friday !
I love my automatic watches, but picked one of these up off Amazon for 139.00. I realllly like it.
Bought this recently, couldn't be happier with it.
-The newer versions don't come with the ND dive table, which makes it much more wearable.
- It fits well on small - medium wrists (it wears very small, so don't be afraid, in fact if you have large wrists this thing might look like a toy on you).
- Lume is extremely good, even better than my Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic.
- Honestly if you can get this for under $200, it is an amazing deal and I would pick one up no matter what. (look around...)
- The watch itself is extremely flat so it will never snag, it doesn't have anything protruding from the surface
- Screw down crown at this price point as well.... it can handle diving and anything you throw at well
- Ecodrive is insanely good....
It beats out all of the entry level/mid level Seiko diver watches at this price point. The aesthetics are also nice and understated too, imho the Seiko divers look nicer but you just can't beat the value... also no misaligned dials (:
Wow - that was a outstanding review - of a great solar watch. Thank you.
You can never go wrong with Citizen.
Citizen's ROCK--- Wearing my black dial BN015 as I type this. Good Review. The strap is a problem, the spring bars as hard to get stand the ND insert is basically useless. But it is a good deal timepiece.
Shane, you should check out the Citizen Promaster Diver BN0195-54E or the Promaster Tough BN0211-50E.
I just picked up one of these last week and now you and OFD Watch Channel publish reviews on it the same day. It really is a nice watch for the price! My chapter ring and seconds hand alignment are spot on, but my bezel is off a hair. Doesn't bother me. Plus, the lume is right up there with my Swordfish. A very fair review as always!
Thanks. Didn't know OFD did one, strange timing. I got this one months ago and just got around to reviewing it.
I have this same watch. Really like it. I have the blue strap. I wish strap keepers would stay in place. Seems both tend to work way to up towards bezel. It's my everyday watch. Very happy
I guess I'm not a "regular" person. ;-) I saw those when Amazon put them on sale at the $120 mark. I had just bought an Avion a couple of weeks before. So, I thought; I'll take a couple of days to think on it. Then, when I got ready to pull the trigger; no more sale. I've been kicking myself in the ass, ever since. You just don't see an ISO certified diver for that little money. Glad you were able to get one, Shane. I'm somewhat envious.
I just paid $235. Super envious!
Wearing my ny0040 right now. And the NY is still manufactured in Italy and Germany.
Hi Shane! great review…I’ve owned 3 Citizen Eco Dr. divers. They were great watches. I presently have the NY0040 which is mechanical of course…The main reason I chose to keep that one was because of its smaller size. That’s the only knock I have on the Eco Drive divers… A little too large for my taste.
I purchased five of these Citizen Promaster watches (three blue, two black) from Amazon since 2019. Amazon's prices are all over the place. The first watch cost $139; the last two were on sale for only $89; current price is $188 (and was recently well over $200). I just wish these watches came with a sapphire crystal and ceramic bezel, even at a higher price. It doesn't take much wear to scratch the aluminum bezel. At $89, I believe these were an incredible bargain. Their lume is fantastic. I immediately replaced the factory straps with NATO straps.
I really enjoy owning my 2 Citizen Eco Drives. No battery change so no opening the case back.
Now let's see if they get that super cool sweep seconds hand.
One day maybe.
That would be great. They own Bulova now, so they just need to combine their two types of movements.
Great watch for everyday use /beater, always ready to be picked up. It's strap monster as well.
My wife worked for Disney world in college during an internship, and I just bought her a Citizen eco-drive Disney themed watch. She has always loved the little mermaid so I got her the Ariel version. It costs more than my Promaster and also has a sapphire crystal. She doesn’t really wear convention watches, I even got her an affordable Bulova that sits in the jewelry case. I just wanted her to have a nice watch that she would like, even if it’s a collection piece. I think I bought it more for me than her, honestly.
I bought the black dial with stainless steel bracelet model (bn0150-61e) a few months back and love it. I believe it was a Euro/Asia only release. It's still available online for $250 and ships worldwide.
My Promaster 0151 and my 0150 (black face) are what's on my wrist most days. They're well built, stylish, fit and finish are great for the price, and accurate to within less than a second per day. For around $200, there's not too much out there which can touch them. (full disclosure - I'm wearing my Seiko solar dive chrono right now. That's real nice as well)
I have several citizen divers and never had an issue and as a former divemaster I really like the style and functionality.
I put mine on an orange nato with brushed stainless hardware. The orange really makes that minute hand pop!
That would look nice.
$200 + everywhere I look for this watch. Not sure if it's pandemic pricing or what; even at $200 I still ordered it.
It is still worth buying even at top retail prices. It will last at least 25 years.
I was able to pick one of these up for $125 plus delivery pre-online sales tax about 4 years ago. I purchased it on the rubber blue strap. It's currently on an OEM Citizen steel dive bracelet This is a rugged, real diver that will hold up well. I've dropped it on cement a couple times and the case got dinged but still looked great. It's my most accurate watch. The second hands line up PERFECTLY with the tics. Goes with many different kind of straps/bands. You can send it back to Citizen after 10 years to get a new capacitor and seals for a small fee. One of my favorite watches.
Incredible value for money and practicality . Decent looking too.
I really like the looks of these Citizen dive watches. If they only made one with sapphire, 42mm and crown at 4 o'clock, I'd defintely get one. And I'm one of guy, whom the misalignment of the second hand would drive crazy. Brilliant review video as always! 👍
I've owned this for about 4 years and I do a lot of salt-water fishing. One of the spring bars corroded so the watch fell off my wrist and got badly dinged. Otherwise, it is a pretty good watch for around $150 that I paid for it back then.
If you take it into water regularly, you’ll need to check the spring bars routinely for damage. Also, you should thoroughly rinse the watch after each use in salt water.
This watch is KILLER. I bought an original Citizen quick adjust diver stainless strap....super comfy, and looks like a beast.
I got this watch a while ago. I found it surprisingly good. I find myself really enjoying wearing it out of my rather large collection of mostly automatics. I wears extremely well for its size, I think it wears smaller than it is. Maybe that is due to the lug to lug width. Mine is spot on in terms of alignment of the second hand to the indices. I actually like the strap; it wears well and I like the depth chart, it is quirky and different.
Yeah I agree it wears smaller,and the hand lines up on the markers.This is a aw,or watch and is gonna be my watch for when we travel to the beach i highly recommend this watch !
Great review as usual...you really pick up all the points a person should consider when looking at this watch. I have the black version, picked up on Amazon on sale well below $100 about a year ago. It's among my favorite watches and certainly my favorite quartz watch. The bezel angles inwards, so helps reduce the large diameter visually, important for my 6.5 inch wrist.
Nice review Shane. I bought mine about 12 months ago & it’s a great watch. I wore it about 2 weeks ago. The lume as you said is brilliant & the solar charging works brilliantly. Mine spends most of the time in a dark walk in robe in a watch box, but I’ve only taken it out to charge it twice since I’ve had it. I just leave it in open light for a full day & bingo she’s right to go again.I agree with the original strap. Very stiff & a tad uncomfortable. I swapped mine out immediately with a blue/white striped NATO.😎👍🏼
Nice review. I have one of these and it's just an everyday no-nonsense diver. ISO certified at this price too. A real value tool watch.
really liked this review. more details than most other reviews. keep nit picking!
I just got my Citizen Pro Diver with the blue dial earlier today. I charged it for about a half hour in a window, the put it on my wrist to go pick up some pizza. It had charged up enough that the lume was really popping as I walked through my dark house to the garage. That lume is fantastic.
Citizen lume is amazingly good. They don't get enough credit for that.
I own one and I can tell it's nice and reliable diver watch .. I have also two Casio Duro ... but this Citizen is way over (also the price LOL) and really more accurate (mine 2 sec / month) and indeed fantastic lume
Bought one of these a couple ow weeks ago to add to my collection. It has become one of my favourite watches.
They are suprisingly good.
We go to Cuba every year for a week because it's cheap compared to other destinations. We always do the Catamaran excursion because the kids love it. One thing I noticed in all the years is that the Catamaran Captains always wear Citizen watches.
I've had my BN0150 for over 5 years, it's like new and runs faultlessly. It looks great on a black or Bond NATO and brilliant on a black FKM rubber waffle strap. I have 4 Eco Drive Citezens, the oldest is in its 13th year a BM6400 field watch, still performs perfectly. My 2 Omegas, a Planet Ocean and a 300m Diver, have stopped requiring services several times in my period of ownership, dating from 2006 and 2007. Lovely watches, but massively and expensively dissapointing when you want to wear one and they're not working. My Citizens are always ready to go, no battery changes, no £500 + servicing. I've just ordered a super titanium GMT diiver on titanium bracelet for less than the rubber strap on my Pllanet Ocean WITHOUT buckle!
The modding community should start paying attention to this watch.
I see a few people have added domed sapphire to these. They look awesome.
The Casio Duro is not really a thing here in Europe - we have the Casio MTD1053 though. If you could get your hands on one that would be very nice btw, there aren't that many reviews or even HQ recordings around.
I bought this exact watch over the Seiko. It was thinner, I liked the finish and wanted the Eco Drive. I did buy a bracelet made for this watch from Long Island Watch, and it makes it look so much better. Great video review.
Great review. It seems the alignment is variable because I've seen another CZcams review of this model watch and in the macro close-ups the alignment was perfect. I really like the offset crown as I always seem to have problems with the large watch crown on waterproof watches (not necessarily dive watches) digging into the back of my hand. There's an automatic Citizen Promaster Diving watch which has the crown on the left and this would be ideal except it's an auto and I prefer the accuracy and lack of servicing of a quartz movement.
Hypothetical scenario: We are in a long term survival mode nationwide and getting a battery changed is an iffy proposition at best. And I might be in situations where water resistance at all kinds of depths is a must. Having the ability to read the time after dark is important and I'd need a durable and accurate watch that looks good in any scenario or mode of dress and I don't want to worry about winding it nor would I need any other bells and whistles. And I certainly wouldn't want to spend more than I had to, I can't think of a better watch than the Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster.
It would be my choice if I was preparing for the apocalypse.
Your comments included "Looks good in any scenario or mode of dress" and "preparing for the apocalypse".
I agree with you, but I can't help thinking of characters from Mad Max movies complementing each other on how well their Citizen watch goes with those shoulder pads and leather clothes.
@@P_Ezi Yea, a bit incongruous in THAT setting, but function trumps form in that case. I might keep it concealed when things got really gnarly. LOL
@@pauldouglas1024 Good plan. I think I will do the same.
I picked up mine for $88.99 last Black Friday. It's great. It still gets complements, now sporting a black Watch Steward band.
Got mine early this year. Just about when the lockdowns were starting. Just in time for an apocalyptic mood. Such a robust and overall awesome watch.
I had the same complaints with the strap but I like to put it back on once in a while to get the original look. While its stiff, it actually helps with the weight of the watch, as opposed to nicer and softer diving straps like isofrane or simar. Also worth noting is the metal tube thats inside the ends that houses the chunky springbars. No idea what those are for.
Out of my collection, its easily the one that gets the most wear.
COVID HOAX is a TROJAN HORSE for the NEW- WORLD ORDER COMMUNIST TAKEOVER ATTEMPT
The metal tubes are for making the strap rotate more easily. The tubes roll around as the strap rotates. Simple!.
The tubes also help to reinforce the strap to stop it splitting as well as helping the spring bars rotate. Great idea and simple solution!
Another overlooked value gem is the 'Excalibur' bn0180 on the metal bracelet with the trick extension. divers certified wears small too ;-)
Thanks, that's a great suggestion.
great watch, will be purchasing it soon. Great travel, vacation watch.
I have the green and white one and it's definitely a sporty grab and go watch with the rubber strap. It's very convenient to have the solar power too...no watch winders or having to wear it daily to keep it running. Great review!
You can actually make the strap softer: take it off the watch, and put it in a coffee cup. Align the two sides to be bend along the cups shape. Then poor boiling water on it. After the water cools down, the strap will be softer and have a natural bend. Much more comfortable to wear then.
I have also done this with Casio resin bands..
I remember seeing a video on that, can't remember who did it though. Good to know it works.
This is a really cool watch I bought the black version with black strap Tuff and really good for work timekeeping is spot-on !
That is a beauty. I had one Citizen years ago - lower cost one - and the crystal scratched so easily - and I am not rough with watches.
Unfortunately that's the problem with mineral crystal. It's a pity that Citizen and Seiko don't use sapphire at this price range.
You were much more rough on your watch than you think. I’ve owned numerous mineral crystal watches for years and none of the crystals are scratched. You need to take care of your watches…
Picked one up from FB marketplace yesterday for £50, what a bargain, I love it 👍🏻
Thank you. It is my only quartz. My everyday watch
Great review. Love my Citizen. Would love to see you review the Casio Duro.
I got this watch and it came with a polyurethane strap. I am pleased with but just wanted to class it up a bit and found a jubilee bracelet with double locking clasps. It turned out great. I had the jeweler put it on.
If you go to Long Island Watch, you can get a killer stainless steel bracelet that looks like it was designed for it. (Part No BRAC-35 or BRAC-26) Both of them really dress the watch up that little extra bit so you can easily wear it to the office as well as at depth. And they fit the lugs perfectly.
The bracelet makes it a perfect "cruise" watch where you can go out on excursions, participate in water sports during the day, and then go to dinner, and the watch will look entirely appropriate.
I wear mine about once every two weeks to the office and it just works.
I didn't know he had a bracelet for it. Very cool. Mark seems to know whats missing out there.
I have the black dial variant with the steel bracelet, picked it up off an Italian website for around $210 after shipping and a first time customer discount, and I absolutely love it.
You have an incredibly relaxing style with your Review. Great job Sir!
Thanks! Glad you like it.
Unfortunately in the UK we don't get the deals on this watch, it's about £250 on Amazon. Even at that price it's worth it and will likely last well beyond 20 years. I have a 25 year old Promaster Aqualand that's still going strong and also just acquired a Promaster Aqualand BN2039-59E which is a somewhat large but amazing watch. Anything Japanese is built to last.
I just ordered a used one from Amazon. I'm so stoked
Reminds me of my NY0040-17L a lot, you're right Shane. That was also my first dive watch, how cool 😎.
I have worn this every day for years and it is an amazing watch, very impressive as well. Only complaint is that I wish it were more resistant to scratching.
I LOVE the look of this thing just pulled the trigger on one from Amazon on black Friday for 150...but it doesn't fit or feel like a 44 dial
Great video ! Smooth, well edited, and as usual very balanced and fair minded.
Thanks, much appreciated!
Shane, your reviews have crazy high quality visuals.
Thanks! Takes time, but I enjoy doing it.
I have one of these along with a BN0198 (gray) BN0195 (black coated). Love all three. Didn't pay more than $110 for any of them. BN0151 was $105 on Amazon, and the other two were sub $100 refurbs off of ebay. Such great value. I'd suggest looking at the BN019x on the channel as a "dressier" Citizen Eco-Drive option vs the BN015x's.
Blue dial & bezel in combination with orange hand is the sweet spot. Love it has a mineral crystal