Benrus DTU-2A/P Field Watch

A few years ago, long-defunct brand Benrus came back from the dead. As many of these “zombie” brands do, it started reissuing classics from its past — and it has quite the past to pull from. It reopened shop a few years ago with a Heritage line, but soon hit its stride with a bang-on reissue of its asymmetric Type 1 diver. Well, continuing that trend is a killer reissue of its DTU-2A/P field watch. Save for a reasonably upsized case and an updated movement, basically, nothing has been changed.

The Benrus DTU-2A/P was a military spec watch issued to troops in Vietnam. Benrus was the first contractor to nab the MIL-3818B contract for a field watch from the U.S military — and remained the only one on the original spec contract, as other brands weren’t let on until the specs had been revised. The original DTUs were made in steel and then plastic, though thankfully the reissue sticks with the former. It’s hard to dislike the new version but go ahead see if you can find a reason. I dare you.

There’s not much going on at a glance: bead blasted case, high contrast white-on-black field dial. It’s a great reissue, done faithfully. Not pictured is the tiny little compass that slides onto the strap.

The Benrus DTU-2A/P has a fantastic steel case. It’s bead-blasted so there’s not going to be many smudges or nicks showing up. But on top of that, the rather steep slope of the lugs makes it wear incredibly well. 12.8mm isn’t terribly thick, but it’s definitely on the thicker side for a time-only watch; the lugs help to mitigate that, even with the NATO strap on.

While it’s not very long, the wider push-pull crown is easy to grip with its deep ridging and bead blasting. Just so you know, the date position has not been removed so there is an extra stop when setting. I’ve railed against this in the past but have become less incensed in my old age. Also on full display here is the big dome acrylic crystal, true to the original. I’ve got no issue with it not being sapphire, and there were no issues with excessive distortion. On the contrary, even at considerable angles, the dial was legible.

This is just about as basic as you can get for a field dial. Big 12-hour numerals, inner 24-hour track. Even with it being simple, it remains a bit cluttered, but not unpleasingly so — there’s a balance to it. These were intended for use in the field, by the military, so legibility was key and the Benrus DTU-2A/P nailed it.

If you were to look at a vintage DTU and this modern example side by side, you’d notice only a few differences. One would be the case size, but the less obvious would be the handset. While both have sword hands, this reissue features some curved cutaway at the ends of the lumed portions. It adds a bit of extremely subtle flair that I appreciate.

A little bit of that domed bezel at play with the lighting. While vintage models all now have yellowed lume plots for the hours and hands alike, new lume doesn’t patina, so these should stay white forever.

Speaking of lume. Here it is. Pretty solid if you ask me. Shines bright and is even across the hands and markers. I included the compass at the last second: I was shooting this lume shot and realized the compass was lit up as well!

There’s that compass in full light! It’s honestly pretty chunky on the strap, so I never wore it. I imagine if you’re actually in the wilderness or on patrol in Vietnam, it would be very useful. Fortunately, I don’t go into the woods and I missed Vietnam by decades. The caseback is an almost 1:1 recreation of the original: the originals I have seen do not include the Benrus name. I can’t fault the brand for putting its name somewhere, though. Underneath, the modern version is equipped with a you-just-can’t-beat-it Sellita SW200 (a significant upgrade from the 17-jewel ETA 2372 found in the originals). Another tidbit: while I can’t be 100% sure, it seems to me that these are also faithful to the originals in not having a removable caseback; instead the movement is accessed through the crystal. [LJS: Mike’s right, the originals also had monocoque cases.]

The black and white dial makes strap pairings an absolute cinch with the Benrus DTU-2A/P. While the seatbelt NATO is nice, I find the style a bit slippery for me, as they shift too much and stretch through the day, usually requiring tightening later on. I wore mine on a number of other straps, including the ones you see throughout the review.

This is not the only military heritage field watch you can buy. Other brands make them, some cheaper than this one. Certainly, other brands make versions of the Type I diver (some brands make two and pretend they are different, even though they really aren’t—you know who you are). I personally think there is something about a watch from the original brand (revived or otherwise) that makes it a bit more special than a new brand using old specs. There’s legitimate history here, and for plenty, that’s worth the money. Considering the vintage models in good condition will run you about the same price, but will include more wear and an inferior movement (to say nothing of questionable service history), the new version seems like a no-brainer. If you’re interested, you can check out and buy the Benrus DTU-2A/P now.