AVI-8 CVRT Night Shadow Review

AVI-8 is a brand that we are very familiar with here at Hourstriker. Over the last year we have received numerous watches from the brand to review like the lighthearted Flyboy Engineer Automatic Peanuts Snoopy Flying Ace we took a look at just a few weeks ago. All of the watches we have spent time with from Avi-8 share something in common, for the most part they are all pilot's watches and either bold in styling or reference something in the history of aviation. The watch we're going to take a closer look at today is neither of those, it's a dyed in the wool field watch created in association with the watch publication Worn & Wound.

Before we get into the watch we're going to be looking at today from AVI-8, let's first go over both the histories of AVI-8 as well as Worn & Wound. AVI-8 is a rather young brand only being founded in 2012. AVI-8 was founded in the United Kingdom by Dartmouth Brands Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Hong Kong based Solar Time Ltd. Solar Time also runs such well known brands as Spinnaker. Where Spinnaker solely produces dive watches, AVI-8 focuses on aviation themed timepieces.



AVI-8's collections are named and inspired by various aircrafts, pilots and engineers throughout the history of aviation. Much like the instrumentation found in cockpits, the dials of AVI-8 watches are often high contrast and feature multi-layered construction. Looking through the collection of watches AVI-8 offers, most of the pieces are in honor of 20th century British and American aviation triumphs.

AVI-8 acts as a living platform to not only preserve aviation history, but to also educate a new generation on achievements that might have been forgotten. AVI-8 also collaborates with numerous brands and organizations. Many times AVI-8 will even give charitable donations to aviation based groups based on a percentage of profits from the sale of certain models.

Worn & Wound was started just a year before AVI-8 in 2011 by friends Zach Weiss and Blake Malin. The problem the two identified was that most major watch media outlets only covered high-end Swiss watches. Timepieces from emerging microbrands and more affordable established brands were not getting the coverage they deserved from both print and online watch journalists. When Worn & Wound launched they covered obtainable established brands like Sinn, Seiko and Steinhart as well as newcomers like Baltic, Farer and Halios. Weiss and Malin had backgrounds in design and video production and used their talents to really help Worn & Wound catch on.



Today microbrands are an accepted part of the watch industry, but over a decade ago, these brands were either not known or just an afterthought. The coverage that Worn & Wound pioneered was paramount to the microbrand movement and its legitimization. In its infancy, Worn & Wound couldn't be solely supported by ad revenue alone. The solution to this problem was to start selling American made watch straps to help support the growing site in 2012.

A few years later, in 2015, Worn & Wound decided that the time had come for their online community to become something more tangible. The way this could be achieved would be to create their own watch show for like minded fans of affordable watches to gather at. With this, the Windup Watch Fair was created in New York. Windup was a free to enter show which was completely open to the general public. Needless to say, the show was a hit and now there are four Windup Watch Shows a year taking place in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Dallas.



2018 brought upon the third leg to the Worn & Wound business being the Windup Watch Shop, with the first being the Worn & Wound site and the second being the Windup Watch Fair. Up until this point, Worn & Wound had kept away from selling watches, since it could be viewed as having a bias when reviewing the same watches they sold. This changed when the founders realized this wasn't a real conflict of interest, but more of an answer to their readers asking "Where can I buy this?" The Windup Watch Shop became a successful venture and now carries and showcases both established and microbrand watches as well as straps and EDC.



Initial Thoughts

The watch we will be looking at today is the result of a collaboration between AVI-8 and Worn & Wound Creative Services. The fruit of this collaboration is the AVI-8 CVRT, short for "Covert". The premise of this watch was a no frills field watch designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. After just a few seconds with the watch, I can clearly say that the end result was exactly what AVI-8 and Worn & Wound were going for.



When the CVRT arrived, the first thing I noticed about the watch was its compact size. With watches from AVI-8 and Spinnaker, I'm used to the case sizes being rather large, in the 42mm plus range. The CVRT measured in at 37.1 mm when measuring the case diameter and 37.7 mm when you include the bezel that slightly overhangs. The lug to lug length is a healthy 45.5 mm, which means the CVRT will fit a huge variety of wrist sizes.

The next thing I noticed about the CVRT during my initial time with the watch was the no-nonsense dial. The watch uses a matte black dial with no texture. There is a white printed minute track around the outside of the dial and raised hour markers coated with C3 Super-Luminova. The CVRT uses both Arabic and baton hour markers, with 3, 6, 9 and 12 receiving Arabic Numerals. A date window is tucked away at 4:30 and simple sword hour and minute hands do the time telling duty. A red tipped running seconds hand finishes off the incredibly clean dial.



The final thing I took note of during my first time handling the CVRT was just how lightweight it was. I do prefer larger watches, so I gravitate towards materials like titanium, ceramic and carbon to keep weight down. Even with being made out of stainless steel, the CVRT only weighed in at 67 grams on the rubber strap and stainless steel pin buckle. Normally anything under 100 grams is a watch that I would consider lightweight, so being over 30 grams less than that is mind-blowing to me and translates into all day comfort.



A Closer Look

The AVI-8 CVRT is crafted out of hard coated 316L stainless steel which will help keep this purpose built tool watch free of most minor to moderate scratches. The bezel of the CVRT hangs slightly over the case of the watch, meaning the true case diameter of the CVRT is 37.1 mm and when the bezel is factored in, that number jumps to 37.7 mm. The CVRT uses medium length lugs making the lug to lug length a very wearable 45.5 mm. The CVRT weighs in at a very low 67 grams on the rubber strap and pin buckle and at its thickest point is 10.7 mm tall.



The CVRT uses a slightly raised flat sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating. Underneath the crystal clear sapphire is the matte black dial that we spoke about earlier. Using a matte black dial doesn't only aid in the high contrast between the dial and markers, but also cuts down on glare. There is a simple printed minute track done in white around the outside of the dial. The CVRT uses applied hour markers which are covered in C3 Super-Luminova which appears slightly off white in normal lighting. In low light conditions, the markers glow a brilliant green. 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock are done in Arabic Numerals, while the rest of the hours are represented by baton markers.

There are three centrally mounted hands on the dial of the AVI-8 CVRT being the hour, minute and seconds hands. As would be expected, the sword style hour and minute hands are brushed in finish and coated with lume that matches the hour markers. The seconds hand is done in white with a red tip which also receives matching lume. There is a discreet black backed date window located at 4:30 as well. Finishing off the dial is AVI-8 branding printed in white and CVRT in red found at 12 o'clock.



Moving on from the dial is the brushed stainless steel bezel with does a great job on framing the matte black dial. On the exterior of the bezel is the PVD coated knurled bezel which breaks up the silver hue of the bezel and case and also adds good deal of grip to the watch when picking it up. The case of the CVRT is almost completely brushed with just the edges done in polish to add a bit more visual interest.

Looking at the profile of the watch, you can see that the lugs have a slight downturn which helps the watch better form to the shape of your wrist. On the right hand side of the CVRT at 4 o'clock is the push pull crown which is also nicely knurled like the bezel which provides great grip even with wet hands. The top of the crown is PVD coated, adding another interesting bit of visual flair. Even without a screw-down crown, the CVRT still boasts a very respectable 100 meters of water resistance. Pulling the crown out to position one lets you wind the automatic movement. While going to position two sets the date and position three sets the time and stops the seconds hand. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minutes hand either.



Turning the watch over shows off the solid stainless steel caseback which is screwed down. "AVI-8:CVRT" is engraved on the case back, as are important details about the watch and its movement. Under the solid case back beats the Japanese made Miyota 9015 automatic movement. The movement offers 42 hours of power reserve and beats away at 28,800 vph (4Hz). On our timegrapher the Miyota 9015 showed an accuracy of +3 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions. This result is within chronometer specifications and right up there with the results we see from Swiss made movements from Sellita and ETA.

The CVRT has a lug width of 20 mm and comes by default on a matte black rubber strap that is fitted to the case giving an integrated look. The rubber strap is horizontally ribbed along the front and is extremely supple. The strap flares out to cover the lugs and tapers down from 23 mm to 16 mm at the branded brushed stainless steel pin buckle. The back of the strap is smooth, but still did a good job of keeping the watch centered on my wrist. The rubber strap also features two quick release pins to make changing the strap quick and tool-less. As a bonus, the CVRT also comes packaged with a matte black nylon NATO style strap as well. There is no tapper to the nylon strap and its hardware is also brushed stainless steel.



I normally don't mention the packaging a watch comes with since either the watch isn't shipped to us with the retail packaging or there really isn't anything special about the packaging. With the CVRT I thought it was important to mention the packaging since it was so unique. The AVI-8 CVRT comes in a distressed black tin that has clamps down on each side. It looks like something munitions would be stored in by the military. This is perfectly on trend for the type of tool watch the CVRT is designed to be. The tin has a place for the watch, the extra nylon strap and a spring bar tool.



On The Wrist

Being blatantly honest the AVI-8 CVRT wears small on my 7.25 inch wrist with a 55 mm flat area. I tend to prefer watches with case diameters closer to the lug to lug length of the CVRT. I also prefer dive watches, where size is paramount to life or death low light legibility. A field watch on the other hand should be smaller and discrete, only being there when it is needed and never getting in the way. In that sense, the CVRT nails the objective. While the CVRT is on the smaller side, the lugs are of decent length and the integrated rubber strap does flair out a good deal. This means that the watch wears a bit larger than the dimensions suggest, which allows me to wear the watch and not feel self conscious about it.



My wife has a wrist size of just less than 6 inches and the watch suits her perfectly, it has actually become a watch she grabs from the safe regularly. I'd imagine the CVRT would fit somebody with a 6 to 7 inch wrist just perfectly, which is a huge portion of the watch collecting crowd out there. The watch still looks just fine on smaller and larger wrists, but that would be the sweet spot in my opinion. One huge benefit of the smaller case size of the CVRT is the extreme low weight of the watch. With the smaller case size and low weight, I can wear the CVRT for hours at end without it ever becoming a bother or causing a hint of wrist fatigue.

The included nylon NATO style strap offers a nice alternative to the rubber strap and also makes the CVRT wear a tiny bit smaller. There is a bit of a height penalty with the strap passing underneath the back of the watch though, but the CVRT is fairly slim, so it's not that big of a deal. With the 20 mm lug width and spring bars mounted decently off of the case, the CVRT is also a strap monster being able to accept virtually an endless number of aftermarket straps. The rather subtle design of the watch means that pretty much any strap color, design or material will go just fine with the CVRT as well.



The black and silver aesthetic of the AVI-8 CVRT went perfectly with my typical dress of a black t-shirt, shorts and sneakers. I ended up wearing the CVRT mostly on the rubber strap and the watch served as a perfect companion for running boring everyday errands as well as going out to dinner and drinks. The CVRT just melds into your wrist and you never really feel or think about it unless you need to check the time or look at the watch. One thing I can't stand about smaller watches is when they favor one side of your wrist over the other. The rubber strap did a great job of stopping that from ever happening.

To test the legibility of a watch, I use a very simple test where I see how easy it is to tell the time at a glance while driving. In this test dive watches with their high contrast dials with large numerals do the best, while skeleton and complicated watches do the worst since they focus more on design than legibility. I wasn't sure what to expect from the CVRT since it had a very high contrast easy to read dial, but was a bit on the smaller size. The CVRT actually passed my legibility test with no issues and was a breeze to decipher the time with just a quick look. Also in low light, the AVI-8 CVRT had an ample amount of lumed elements making telling the time in less than ideal lighting a snap.



While wearing the CVRT out and about, I really didn't notice anyone looking at the watch. This is the desired outcome with a true field watch though. A field watch isn't meant to attract attention and is meant to just serve its tool watch purpose. Those I did show the watch to thought it was a nicely designed watch and loved the black PVD elements on the bezel and crown. Everyone also thought the watch was priced extremely well.



Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the AVI-8 CVRT is priced at only $450. For that price you are getting a no-nonsense field watch designed in collaboration with the specialists over at Worn & Wound while using the manufacturing might of the Solar Time Group. The watch offers a very healthy 100 meters of water resistance and runs on an accurate Miyota automatic movement. Now is the time in the review where we look at other watches with similar features and specifications to see how the CVRT stacks up value wise.



Up first we have the Seiko 5 Sports SRPJ85 which has a 36.4 mm case made out of stainless steel. The Seiko 5 might not do as well when put through the ringer since it uses a Hardlex crystal that will scratch easier than the sapphire crystal found on the CVRT, also the stainless steel hasn't been hardness treated like it is on the AVI-8. The Seiko 5 does offer the same 100 meters of water resistance and is powered by an in-house movement with 41 hours of power reserve. The Seiko 5 Sports is a bit less expensive than the AVI-8 at $315.

Next up we have the Khaki Field Mechanical from Hamilton which has a 38 mm case crafted out of stainless steel. The Khaki Field has half of the water resistance of the CVRT but runs off of an ETA movement with almost double the power reserve at 80 hours. The Khaki Field has a very simple dial but does add a bit of clutter with the extra 24 hour markers in addition to the normal hour markers. The Khaki Navy is a bit more expensive than the CVRT at $675 as well.



Moving on is the Mellor-72 Mechanical Watch from CWC which has a 38 mm case made out of stainless steel. The CWC has the traditional field watch look to it with a very basic dial. The CWC has half of the water resistance of the AVI-8 and runs off of a hand would movement with 40 hours of power reserve. The CWC also uses a scratch-prone Hesalite acrylic crystal instead of the sapphire crystal on the AVI-8. The CWC is a bit more expensive than the AVI-8 at around $675 as well.

Finally we have the M36 from Vertex with has a 36 mm case made out of stainless steel. Vertex is pretty much the gold standard of field watches, being one of the original members of the dirty dozen watches produced from the British Army during World War II. The M36 is powered by a Swiss made Sellita SW260-1 movement with around 40 hours of power reserve. The M36 does offer the same 100 meters of water resistance found on the CVRT. The M36 also offers sold blocks of C3 Super-Luminova for lume as well as being manufactured to the same standards as top tier of Swiss watches. This all comes with a price, with the M36 being much more expensive than the CVRT at around $3,000.

Looking at these four above watches, you can really see how great of a value the AVI-8 CVRT is. The CVRT is at or near the top of all the technical specifications while nearly being the least expensive of the group. Only the Seiko undercuts the AVI-8 in terms of price, but does so without a sapphire crystal or hard coating on the stainless steel. AVI-8 was able to bring their ability to keep prices low and combine that with the expert design from Worn & Wound to produce a truly one of a kind piece with the CVRT that doesn't break the bank.





Closing Thoughts

So in the end, is the AVI-8 CVRT for me? I'm very honest that I have a pretty laser focused collecting preference where I like larger watches crafted out of high tech and lightweight materials like carbon, ceramic and titanium. With the CVRT being a good 5 to 6 mm smaller in lug to lug length than the typical watch I collect and also being made out of stainless steel, the deck is stacked up against the CVRT being for me.

Recently I've been getting into stainless steel more and more when a titanium version isn't available, especially if there doesn't seem to be too much of a weight penalty associated with the metal choice. Size is still something I have issues with when the case diameter is south of 40 mm. If AVI-8 was to create a version of the CVRT that was 40 to 41 mm crafted out of titanium or carbon, I'd be in love with it. So personally the watch is just too small for me.

My wife on the other hand loved the watch and like I mentioned earlier, would grab it often when we were leaving the house. Also I know I'm outside of the trend of liking smaller watches, so I shouldn't be a barometer when it comes to watch sizing, especially for a field watch that is meant to be smaller and not get in the way of the task at hand. I think AVI-8 and Worn & Wound sized the watch correctly for what a true field watch should be and also aligned it with the current trend of smaller watches.



Would I then recommend the CVRT to somebody looking for a no-nonsense field watch? In all honesty, there really isn't anything stopping me from fully recommending the CVRT to a collector looking at adding this type of watch to their collection. I don't mean to sound pompous, but the truth is that the CVRT cost less than some OEM straps do for some of my watches. For $450, you're getting an extremely well designed field watch running on a super accurate movement that comes with two straps. I love how AVI-8 got Worn & Wound involved to design a watch that true watch nerds would eat up. Based on the comments I've seen about the CVRT, everyone is truly excited about the release. Besides my strange and dated obsession with larger watches, I don't really see any pitfalls to adding the CVRT to your collection.

I'd really like to thank AVI-8 for sending us this CVRT to review. I wish AVI-8 would consider adding the CVRT to their permanent collection and expand the range, maybe offering different size and material choices. Like all the watches we have reviewed from AVI-8, the CVRT is an extremely well built watch with great design and specs that is offered at a great price. I really can't wait to see what AVI-8 brings out next and hopefully we get some more pieces in the near future to review.

For more information about the CVRT please visit : AVI-8



Technical Specifications

Reference Number: 3775A

Retail Price: $450

Case Size: 37.1 mm / 37.7 mm with Bezel Overhang

Lug to Lug: 45.5 mm

Thickness: 10.7 mm

Weight: 67 grams

Case Material: Hard Coated 316L Stainless Steel

Bezel: PVD Coated Stainless Steel

Strap: Black Rubber Strap with Stainless Steel Pin Buckle / Nylon NATO Style Strap

Movement: Japanese Made Miyota 9015 Automatic

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds and Date

Power Reserve: 42 Hours

Water Resistance: 100 Meters