The Seiko SRPA21 PADI "Turtle" Wristwatch: The Full Nick Shabazz Review

[@NickShabazz]

How the heck did I miss "Let's get this PADI started"?!?!

[@WalterW]

Nick Shabazz it happens to the best of us gluttons for pun'ish mint

[@crackers_are_great_with_am9572]

My mind don't getty.

[@jasonwb6884]

Dad joke there Nick

[@thomash4578]

NAUI know better

[@thestig007]

I love how Seiko makes EVERYTHING in house. Right down to the crystals, lubricants, and o-rings in the case. You can't get that everywhere.

[@1972myc]

The working man's Rolex

[@timothysturdivant9905]

I'm sold!! This is going to be my birthday present in August 2019. KoOl Man!

[@hotchalupa]

Did you end up getting it?

[@wed265]

If you get that watch you should put it on the black rubber bracelet it looks better than the metal bracelet

[@1972myc]

​@@wed265I wouldn't wear a rubber bracelet. The steel bracelet is my choice, or sometimes a NATO. Different likes.

[@findyourride1171]

Love the Samurai and Turtle.. I've had no problems with the bracelet. It was a little tricky to set up correctly but, my 6.75 wrist fits extremely well.

[@112oxford]

Trying to think where I’d heard the voice before, then it came to me, Mo from the Simpsons! Good review, I swapped the bracelet out for a Strapcode Super Jubilee, much improved.

[@mustardfj40]

I swapped in the Strapcode Super Jubilee and Seiko Marine Master 300m clasp, this makes the watch a joy to wear. I don't even wear my Rolex Submariner nor the Omega Planet Ocean anymore. This turtle PADI is my daily beater nowaday

[@davidwatson3035]

I have the 775, black & gold, it's a great watch and Nick's review is fair. Just remember it's a £220 watch, for that price I don't think it can be beaten. Mine is also +3s per diem.

[@jeffreydahmer3995]

I got one of these and a Long Island watches bracelet that’s meant for the turtle and its much better. For about $60, you get a stainless bracelet that doesn’t pull hairs, has a milled clasp, micro adjustments, and screw links. It also fits nearly perfectly with the case

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

Professional association of desk inhabitors :D :D :D Now I'm officially a PADI member :D

[@thorne62]

This was an amazing review Nick, thank you so much, going to be looking forward to more of your reviews...

[@fakethinksy101]

Gotta say I’m a big fan of watches that aren’t jewelry. I do lawn care professionally I wouldn’t want to be wearing a Rolex. This watch is perfect for me. And I also love the history of it and where it came from, the 6105 and later on the 6309. back in those days the 6105 was basically a gshock. Big tough ,rugged and built for a task.

[@CanadaJarod]

I grabbed myself a Seiko quartz watch from a friend doing spring cleaning the other day, I can't get over how nicely they do the blue face

[@madstillz]

Hi Nick - I just purchased the SRP093 version of this watch and I love it! Smooth(ish) sweeping second hand, dead on alignment of chapter ring, bezel and dial, lume pip to the right of the day/date display, -10 sec/day timing, most comfortable dive watch I've owned, not too big on my 7.25" wrist, etc... As you are wont to say: there is a lot here to like with this freakin' guy! Anyway, with a perspective, much love and so forth. EDIT: made in Japan just sayin...

[@thomashardison1140]

Paying Swiss people to be Swiss - love it.

[@ScottyBennitone]

Seiko watches are comparable to Honda Civics and Toyota Camry's . Little to no maintenance cost , rugged reliability , and after some time , still retain value , if not gain value. Well , most of their middle range ($250-1000) automatics , anyways .If you plan on buying any watch , and holding onto it for some time , you really cant go wrong with any of their autos in this price range, especially their iconic models , such as this. Just sold mine , though , hah.

[@justinnanu4338]

I guess that makes a Seiko 5 a Toyota Corolla? :P

[@tantu2395]

@@justinnanu4338 ，Seiko turtle for MX5?😊

[@1968jpy]

I own this watch and no disrespect but your measurements are way off lol 😂. It’s 45 mm 13.5 thick and lug to lug 48 mm . It’s an outstanding Seiko watch to own and a pleasure to wear 👍🏻

[@TheSC20k]

Great review, glad to see someone complaining about the amount of text. Will you ever do a video on a quartz Grand Seiko? They're accurate to 10s/year, and the movement can supposedly go for 50 years without servicing.

[@DJogdog]

3hz movements beat 6 times per second! Not 3 (21600BPH). If the balance wheel does 3 revolutions a second the second hand vibrates 6 times per second.

[@toadinthehole8085]

Thank you , I was just thinking this 3 beats a second is bull shit 👍

[@ddop100]

I have an original turtle and i love it. Doesnt feel like a 40 year old watch.

[@marioaquilina248]

Wow !!! That's a treasure.

[@Xyrium]

Can't get enough of you Nick, from the excellent knife reviews to this, great stuff. One note on your Rolex reference to tolerance. Rolex measures their tolerance in 5 positions, as an auto will drift depending on the position it's held in. It takes quite a lot to make a watch +/- 5 secs in 5 positions. While I also like this particular Seiko, there's no comparison to the regulation that Rolex puts their models through. The only thing I don't like about the Turtle is that the lollipop on the seconds hand is on the "wrong" side.

[@porteneur1]

FYI the PADI branding is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of PADI. So no need to feel like a dumbass for wearing it. Totally agree with the bracelet. That's why I bought the strapcode Jubilee bracelet for it. looks and feels awesome. Good review Sir. Thanks

[@davidk6665]

I have a quartz Seiko nearly identical to this that I bought 40 years ago. It is rugged and functional. I also used it for SCUBA diving. The accuracy was good. I wore it for decades until I started to tire of wearing such a big watch on my wrist.

[@zengmingde]

I absolutely agree with you regarding the divers extension. I had to reverse the bracelet on mine to make it comfortable

[@adamgreene831]

Finally purchased this watch. I've had many seikos and multiple turtles but I never got the padi version. Enjoying it so far. :)

[@targaflorio3239]

My Daily Beater. So much watch for the money. Really all the watch you need on a budget if you can't stretch to a Rolex Sub. 200m Waterproof, excellent lume, handwind, hacking, sunburst dial. Day/Date. Does it all and does it well. Except for the bracelet. Replace with BluShark Blue/Red NATO.

[@paulg.5997]

I retired in January and my work mates ,knowing my love of Seiko Divers, bought me this watch. I have small wrists yet this Seiko wears very well on my wrists. Watch would be perfect with a coin edge bezel and a sapphire crystal. And engraved crown would also be nice. Also I can't stand the "pins and collars" system.

[@louismeluso8633]

Ok, the wife just got this for me. Bless her heart. I have to amend my previous comments. The casework on this is really fine, impressive actually. It has real wrist presence on my 6.75 inch wrist but seems to fit OK. Mine is running +6 sec/day. Pretty decent accuracy. The posted specs are quite conservative. It has a really beautiful blue dial with interesting "burst-a-tude". I still like longer hands but I'm warming up to this one. As is my preference, I love the day-date complication. My bezel feels fine with good feel and aligns well. The Lume is SUPER! I have mine on a Zulu strap (I hate the pin and collar bracelets). I bought a Strapecode Super Jubilee bracelet but haven't installed it yet. It's a beautiful watch that seems truly robust.

[@NickShabazz]

It is a very nice piece!

[@louismeluso8633]

Generally a watch this big doesn't look very good on my smallish wrist but two things help it fit OK. As you state, the shorter-than-average lug-to-lug distance is a big factor, but also the actual watch dial is only about 38mm wide. If the dial were the full size of the case it would look oversized on my wrist but as it is it is a smaller dial set atop a wide steel cushion shaped "base". In any case, it does have that "presence" thing going but still looks at home on my wrist. I dislike large, dinner plate sized watches, but this one works!

[@FurrowedSon]

Just as another data point, I have the 4R36 movement in the Seiko Monster and find it to be similarly accurate: around +4s/day. Agree about the factory specified accuracy though. It's pretty shoddy and I can't believe it would cost them much to get within say +/-10s/day. Still, I tend to switch up watches every two or three days so even my 7S26-based watches aren't inaccurate enough to worry me over that kind of period. The bezel on the PADI is, I believe, the same as that on the SKX009, so it's OK, and certainly functional, but that's about it. Can't argue with your assessment of the bracelet either. I don't mind the pushpin adjustment so much because, honestly, how often are you going to adjust it? But the clasps on lower end Seikos are always cheap feeling. As far as I know you don't get a decent bracelet/clasp combo with screwed links until you're up into the Brightz range, which is £600+. It's also a much dressier piece with no lume, so not really my bag.

[@jimboutilier7552]

The Japanese watch manufacturers are known to be ultra conservative on their accuracy numbers. The preponderance of stats I see on the web for this watch are in the +/- 5 sec per day range. Another Seiko I have is rated at 30 seconds per month and it runs at about 2 seconds per month. That said, such huge numbers are discouraging - although I expect most folks would just return a watch that was "excessively" fast or slow.

[@NickShabazz]

Absolutely. Performance is generally way better than "advertised". But much like a warranty which is voided by everything, building tolerance for clearly defective watches into your acceptable specs just feels ugly, like they're trying to avoid being culpable if they sell lemons.

[@jimboutilier7552]

Agreed - uncertainty is a bad thing. And if you factor in the cost of a nice new bracelet (strapco makes great ones) and regulation you'd end up in a price range that there is a lot more competition.

[@sylvainpaquette6132]

I have a padi turtle like the one on this review and over two week of measurement I have an average of +1.1s /d wearing it. My marathon automatic over a month is -0.4 /d. I often wonder where those large variance from manufacturer specs come from since all my watch are 10 times more accurate than the specs if not more. Maybe I'm just very lucky.

[@absolutgeist]

I wear that bracelet without problems.

[@sylvainpaquette6132]

I don't have any problem with the bracelet either. Good clasp and 3 position adjustment while matching the watch nicely.

[@edrooney1967]

As usual, you're on the spot. I like the Turtle very much. It's a classic in its own right and in its price range, of course. Since I wanted my watch to be less divery I chose the golden version which I found to be more on the tough middle aged man elegant side than the technical PADI style. About the bracelet: I went to a jeweler for adjustment and he charged me 18 Euros for it. Usualy, he takes 6 Euros for bracelet adjustments. We both know why he tripled the price for the Turtle.

[@spence6226]

Nice review Nick! For those that don't know, this watch design is from Seiko's iconic 6306/6309 series of divers released in the mid 70's. +1 on the over polished bezel, I refer to it as blurry, detail is lost. Should have been brushed finished like the originals. And yes the bracelet is craptastic. I wear mine on rubber or ToxicNATO's Cheers

[@runrin_]

nice thing about a hacking movement running fast is you can fix it by popping out the crown for a few seconds.

[@Billthesheepdog]

My turtle is very comfy to wear. SRPB01k1 Green Turtle. Lovely watch. I also note that my seiko turtle is running at avg +2 per day. Not too shabby.Dont be put off by that wide time window for accuracy.

[@tomroman7455]

I bought this watch even though I'm not a diver or even a watersports person. Mine lost 22 seconds in the one day I measured it. The bracelet does leave a lot to be desired even though I don't hate it as much as Nick does. I bought a Strapcode Endmill bracelet for it and that is great in my opinion, really works well for me on this watch. However, I do question my sanity for spending $101 dollars on a bracelet for a watch that retails for $525 and I got for $425 from my jeweler. But overall, I really do like this watch.

[@jakeeleebattos9942]

This was my second seiko..my first attempt to buy this watch at Macy's the lady sizing it destroyed the barrel on it..she smashed the collar that fits around the pins..but finally got it at a different Macy's..my first Seiko was the SRPC93..

[@gregcushing1716]

This the first video of yours I've watched,and I must say you don't pull any punches,and are very good at stating you're opinion.Just tapped the bell. 👍 video Thanks.

[@garbanzodelarosadelperu6084]

Your voice is tripping me out! Thank you. 👍👍👍

[@gregcushing1716]

Gotta agree friend,it's a real trip

[@thestig007]

I keep coming back to Seiko just for the lume. I like being able to ALWAYS read the time.

[@mariog7213]

Good review. I am a diver so I like the PADI thing.

[@kingjgregory]

Great review, Nick. I'm really starting to like your watch reviews just as much as you're knife reviews. Something about those turtles doesn't sit right with me, however. I think it's the relatively small dial in comparison to the wide case and bezel. It just looks a bit off. Keep up the good work, sir!

[@benmurrell7634]

Agree. I can't always put my finger on it but just about every Seiko Diver I've tried on has some design feature that's out of proportion or unappealing. SKX, Turtle, Samurai, all the way up to GS.

[@PMSCOTT68]

I thought you were being a bit harsh on the bracelet until you compared it with the Omega. Great review. Love your accent!

[@armadillofz1]

Great review nick, just got my PADI this week.

[@sylvainpaquette6132]

Fantastic watch and love mine. I changed the crystal for a double domed sapphire that make it even better looking. It's a substantial piece but the curvatures of the sides makes it very comfortable to wear,

[@NotArobot85]

How much did that cost you mate?

[@richardrich5093]

It's my Padi, and I'll cry if I want to! Cry if I want to, cry if I want to! You would cry too if that bracelet happened to you 😱😂

[@simoncrawley7430]

Great ‘Mob guy’ review of the Seiko Toitle!

[@alastairwright77]

The diver's extension is fine if you have the clasp sit slightly further round the wrist by adding a link to the first half of the bracelet and shortening the second half..

[@mountainhobo]

Couple of comments on Seiko and diver watches in general. (1) I haven't seen a Seiko costing less than a couple of grand that wouldn't have a garbage bracelet. That's their corporate signature, I think. (2) Regarding all dive watches -- case size is misleading when it comes to readability. Notice how wide the bezel and the chapter ring are. When you subtract those, you end up with a dial 28 mm wide. That is smaller than on many children watches. Then you have all the lume on top of each other, with very little spacing, and if god forbid you have older eyes, or, even worse, you have a touch of astigmatism, at the arm's length the watch becomes really hard to read without your reading glasses on. So, everyday practicality of a dive watch for many people is questionable (did I mention added thickness of that bezel makes it pretty much unwearable under normal shirts?). I wish Seiko would make a watch this size but without the darn bezel, with much wider dial, and same amount of lume on indices and hands. 200 m water resistance, day/date, in other words, same watch but field style.

[@Sam-zq4yx]

mountainhobo 1) I'd much prefer Seiko to put most of the cost into the watch & movement itself than the bracelet, as you can buy a better aftermarket one. 2) Dive watches are designed to be extra-legible, hence the thicker hands and bigger numbers/numerals etc. However I do agree they can be too thick under a well-fitting shirt sleeve, as the case needs to be thick for the water resistance

[@mountainhobo]

Ad (1) False implication that Seiko has great movements. They do not. They are merely tolerable. 2824-2 pounds 4r15 into the ground. Seikos are simple workhorses. Once you start adding aftermarket stuff, the value proposition becomes questionable. Ad (2) Legibility is not just a function of having thick hands and indices, but those indices also have to have sufficient spaces on the dial to be easily told apart with a glance. Read up on astigmatism, a lot of people suffer from it. The dial is too small for those with older eyes. This is endemic to dive watches, but particularly to those with wide bezels, and in this case, wide and pointless chapter ring (it is not lumed (as it shouldn't be)).

[@mrfahrenheit3867]

I am entertained, also being a diver and a snob I ran the yellow faced Breitling Super ocean as a dive tool but that was superceded by a computer so now the Sekio great white is my dive/street watch of choice, winning.

[@xXCreepyNeighborXx]

I love my watches and subbed to you for your knife content wasn't aware you were into watches. Hoping I'll have a seamaster one day as part of my edc great vid Nick

[@edng30]

What a beauty,, love this piece and gets regular wrist time

[@jasonwb6884]

You can get the movement even cheaper through S2, which is a Seiko owned company that sells movements to other companies. S2 calls this movement the NH35A which is found in many microbrands for cheaper or comparable pricing. Not sure why Seiko would do that?

[@themrmarkprior]

I was just about to hit the BUY button on one of these but after watching this i've come to my senses. I already own a Diver. So an Alpinist is what i now Need instead.

[@StanO011]

I agree, Nick. I have the SRP773 and I love it.

[@Martrex296]

I have the SRP779 Pepsi, it was £150 cheaper than this PADI and looks better imo.

[@Biblicalgiants]

Damn. Nice Omegas. Nice Turtle too. Hey Nick, have you ever seen a Marathon GSAR? It has an automatic 2824-2 movement. It's comparable to these maybe. Good upload!

[@seanpollard4844]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like it is best to save the money and get the rubber/silicone strap version.

[@CallmeDaBreeze1971]

I have this watch and I love it. The only issue I have is the pin and collar system on the bracelet, it's a pain. I'm considering a Strap Code jubilee. It's become my favorite watch.

[@rudolphdrasler2697]

I own one of these as well. Saw it at my local Macy's (while looking for an skx007) and had a 30% off coupon so nabbed it. It's perfect as my edc watch being that I work in a lumber yard I trust its durability as a beater watch. Great review!

[@profd65]

You work in a fucking lumber yard, and THIS is your beater watch? You even have a beater watch? You even have a watch?

[@sharbok]

The "Diver" signifies it is ISO certified and is required for the certification

[@mohamedzidan1532]

Hello 👋 Pls .i have a question I have the same watch but on the dail it doesn't say movmnt japan . It says 4r36-05g4 only What the difference?

[@paulgregory7359]

Excellent review, thanks,I've got the same watch.

[@Thendlessilence]

For somebody who is new to mechanical watches you have enough background information, nice review!

[@korbendallas9722]

I have a SRP775 and resizing the bracelet is really not that big of a deal. LongIslandWatch has a great vid on how to do it.

[@martinchivers7341]

Great vid Nick! This watch is very cool...

[@jasonwb6884]

The bracelet, does have solid end links and fat spring bars. But yeah still kinda crap, but not too bad for $350.

[@jimg518]

I have the Save the Ocean Turtle which gets +2 sec/day, which equals my Breitling Superocean II, and that is some good company to be in.

[@alexstrikoudis8210]

Beautiful watch !!!!! How many seconds lost per day or minutes per month? Thanks a lot!!!!!

[@enachebogdan6277]

i moved from casio to automatic thinking life will be better but i was completely wrong, i had 4 seikos(2 srpds , a turtle and a samurai) and 2 orients (mako and nami), the 2 srpds were running either too fast or too slow, yes they were the lookers, nice polished steel nice hands cool dial whatever, the turtle started losing time as well, one day it was 4 minutes falling back, the samurai was ok, but i was not wearing it that much, keep in mind that these watches were new watches, the 2 srpds were not regulated , or at least i do not think they were, now for quality issues, i did not like the bezels at all, so spongy they did not line up, the pin and collar bracelet it is stupid, it is so frustrating to have it sized up, the orients had no issues with the caliber, but they were better than the seikos I decided to trade all the automatics for gshocks gsteel and citizen ecodrive, and now you just get your watch, put it on your wrist and go about your day, yes you can get nice watches too like edifice or gsteel for lower prices that the automatics, you can also find quartz divers with better diver bezels and nice sunburst colorful dials cheers

[@earthenvessels7835]

I have this movement in a different Seiko, and it's great. My only issue with it is that there is no physical or audible indication when the mainspring is fully wound. I always dislike handwinding it because I never know for sure if I've wound it enough and the uncertainty kills me.

[@Manakidis]

Hey Nick, this is one of the best and fun reviews I ever saw. I mean fun in positive way. Watch is very nice of course, but yeah they could do a little bit more about accuracy. 45+ is usually alarm for cleaning and oiling mechanism. I tried the watch at local shop and is just so nice, but there are drawbacks for sure. In Europe this watch costs 500€, that is almost 600$. What do you think, is it worth it?

[@nickg2954]

Great Vid!! Pulled the trigger on that guy yesterday.

[@GunGlutton]

Is his voice a joke?!!!!!!!!!!! Omg he sounds like Kyles cousin from south park

[@paphaju1]

I am so sorry, but the second hand moves 6 times at every second, because the 4r36 running at 21600 Hz. You just can’t see those steps, but easiest way to record it slow motion with Iphone or any other phone I am guessing nowadays all can make that.

[@buymac]

Lajos Székely no it beats at 3 Hz, which is 6 beats pr second or 21600 Beats pr hour

[@dmarcellus]

Nick you are WAY to harsh on this watch...it is almost universally seen as a great watch by most collectors.

[@adamgreene831]

good job Nick...another great review

[@furzkram]

It has SIX ticks per second, not three. Which means 3 Hz, as only tik-tok is a full "wave length", a "tik" is only a half "wave".

[@gregwalker4236]

a great eye opener! yes, seiko divers = great lume...yes, seiko bracelets not so much...yes, seiko 7s26 movements on lesser models irritate me to have to swing back and forth. the seiko diver skx --love it or hate it (i love it) but is iconic in its own way like the submariner. i have the seiko kinetic diver and i like being able to check power reserve-- bracelet is ok but pins keep falling out so i wear with hockey tape on both sides of clasp--i have tried superglue, etc,etc,etc.. still, i do like it and yes i have to swing to and fro!

[@gregwalker4236]

the program edited out what i have to say about the kinetic diver which i am having problems with pins!

[@gregwalker4236]

you know, if you don't want to hear what i have to say..just delete the WHOLE review--i won't respond again---i DO love your reviews on knives and watches!!!!!!!

[@Tracks777]

Quite good video, awesome!

[@xrstopherpopp120]

the accuracy of my PADI is prolly near the end of their promise...it is not cool...sloppy, but pretty. this watch makes sense if you want a practical watch, a long term reliable, utilitarian watch...not a luxury, but a must have for the tech junkies who wish for Landcruisers or Landrovers.

[@CoolCforlife]

Great video, New subscriber here! I recently bought a couple Seikos (the SKX007 & 009). I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. Just a fun watch to wear, get in the pool/ocean and not even worry. They have actually been getting more wrist time than my Omega Seamaster :)

[@LeftySurvival]

Chris Gennin the 007 is a great watch

[@CoolCforlife]

It is.. I'm loving that watch.. I ended up getting the 009 too because I liked the 007. And i switch them up on Isofrane straps, and Natos, etc.. they look great on many different straps.

[@user-cx2bk6pm2f]

The Japanese make clever watches. I'd like to see the Japanese try their hand in fashion watches, nothing extreme, just watches focused on style more than gadgetry and functions.

[@Watchthekettle]

How does this compare to the seiko turtle Pepsi SRP779k1?

[@MrBacchus18]

Love the watch content

[@TheKRiddler]

I saw this at my Jewelers store an wanted one I one 6 watches this might be number 7 it's just a beautiful watch

[@dr.zoidbergmd5012]

Its 3Hz movment witch it means its 6bps so u can see the secound hand ticks 6 times a sec not 3 times

[@gordonanderson6216]

I think you wear it too tight, I have a similar seiko watch, identical bracelet and I hadn't noticed the problem you describe. G

[@doohantallywhack8267]

It still is a good looking watch but i don't like the red in the chapter ring. The PADi is okay but not necessary.

[@bladenator90]

Awesome narration

[@SparkyMarkyMark23]

Great Seiko Padi Piece.

[@Andrew-ku5mn]

nice, I am happy to see this review:D

[@vincentvangogh4174]

Order a coin edge bezel, takes it to a completely different level.

[@franksalem8580]

Nick, Do you still wear your Casio Oceanus?

[@s.matthews6781]

Professional Association of Desk Inhabitors.. :)

[@tiangvincent6883]

Exactly! The diver extension's sharp edges dug into my skin too and leaving marks, scratching my wrist! The way to extend the diver extension is also a joke, cos it un flips from the inside. Lousy design.

[@jameswalker4947]

I had the same issue with the divers extension. Serious hot spot for me. Made it unwearable.

[@mr.a.1125]

Why no review/info on Seiko SKX?..... I've seen all the others.......

[@NickShabazz]

Haven't gone there yet. But I will.

[@mountainmanwatchreviews8081]

When it's time to padi we will padi hard!

[@darkstreamfish2729]

Not trying to start S#!t, but my Casio Marlin gains 36 seconds per year. My Citizen promaster gains about 42 per year.

[@rdor011]

You probably hear this a lot, but you sound so much like Gilbert Gottfried.

[@ramonalbertotamayoisla2592]

Very well done vid!

[@rubensanmaurodelbosqur1950]

Excelente video 👍