T1 Tact Watch Midnight Diamond Short Review
Voted the best tactical smartwatch under $100 by Thrive Global, the T1 Tactical Watch continues to blow the competition away in terms of durability, functionality, and overall value for money. This is a truly super heavy-duty smartwatch that goes beyond supporting an active lifestyle to withstand the kind of punishment that would obliterate a typical tactical watch. Currently selling for less than $70, the T1 Tact Watch Midnight Diamond is an absolute steal and is well worth checking out.
Pros:
- Military-grade durability and practically bulletproof
- Comfortable to wear and elegantly presented
- Broad range of fitness tracking functions
- Very easy to use and compatible with most mobile devices
- Ships with full satisfaction guarantee and extensive warranty
- An absolute bargain at its current price (less than $70)
Cons:
- Apps cannot be loaded onto the watch itself
I decided to conduct a detailed T1 Tact Watch Review after coming across a write-up by Thrive Global, which claimed the T1 Tact Watch Midnight Diamond is the best tactical smartwatch on the market for under $100. Considering that the watch sells for closer to the $70 mark, this seemed almost too good to be true. But when you read up on the features and general attributes the T1 brings to the table, it does indeed add up to a pretty impressive package, at least on paper.
The Midnight Diamond is a super tough smartwatch that’s said to combine all the benefits of a military-grade timepiece with the convenience of a sophisticated smartwatch at a rock-bottom price. From fitness tracking to calorie counting to remote camera operation, the T1 does a lot. All with the added bonus of heavy-duty construction that can apparently withstand even a low-caliber gunshot.
For my T1 Tact Smartwatch review, I wanted to see whether a $70 smartwatch really could bring so much to the table for so little.
T1 Tact Watch Price
I suppose it’s worth mentioning at this point that the price I paid for the T1 Tact Watch Midnight Diamond ($65) was a special offer that was running at the time. I’ve no idea whether it’s still valid now, but $65 inclusive of free shipping seemed an amazingly good deal.
The T1 tact Watch always ships from the USA but can be ordered from most major markets worldwide. I’m based in Arkansas myself, so it didn’t take long for my order to ship. I think I was waiting about three days, but having ordered it on a Saturday, this was pretty quick.
Design and Display
Right out of the box, T1 Tact Midnight Diamond looks like a great watch in terms of its overall design. It’s extremely well put together, with the kind of precision you’d expect from a military-grade timepiece. The soft silicon TPU strap offers precise adjustments for a comfortable fit, and the watch as a whole feels surprisingly lightweight, considering its durability.
Fronted by a high-end Gorilla Glass display, it also incorporates a bright EL backlight for all-weather use. The slim line profile of the T1 combined with its top-shelf construction gives the impression of a smartwatch that should cost way more than it actually does. It also comes shipped in a neat little presentation box, which is pretty cool.
Durability
By far, it’s the durability claims the T1 Tact Watch brings to the table that is most impressive of all. According to the manufacturer, this thing is not only dust-proof, shock-proof, and waterproof ( IP67-Water resistant up to 50 meters), but you can even set it on fire, and it’ll still do its job. Not to mention, aim a low-caliber gunshot directly at it without any major issues.
Of course, I didn’t personally put it through any of these specific tests, but you can tell from the get-go that the T1 is built to last. You can scrape away at the screen without causing it any damage, and the casing feels like you could basically drop it off a skyscraper, and nothing would happen. You can also get the T1 completely filthy (which I very much did), and it’s an absolute breeze to clean.
The only slight downside is that you can’t shower or bathe with it, but that’s more about soaps and shampoos, etc., potentially damaging its components than the water itself. Still, no big deal.
Fitness Tracking
The T1 does basically everything you would expect from a typical fitness tracker, with the added bonus of it being practically indestructible. I compared the accuracy of the T1’s step counter to a couple of other devices in my arsenal (from Fitbit and Xiaomi) and found it to be right on point. Both while wandering around at home and heading out on longer excursions, it’s a reliable device to keep track of your steps, distance, calories burned, and so on.
You can also hook your T1 up to your mobile device to stay connected, with real-time alerts and updates for Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS, Skype, Email, and so on. There’s a stopwatch feature built into the watch, and you can even use its Bluetooth connectivity to take remote camera shots on your phone. This was one of the features I used most often when testing the T1 out in the wild, which made it super easy to take tricky shots beyond the usual close-up selfies.
App Enabled
The T1 Tactical Watch uses the READfit app to pair with mobile devices, which is available for most smartphones and tablets running iOS or Android (all current versions). Simplistic it may be, but that’s exactly where the appeal of READfit lies. Combining a user-friendly interface with a handful of useful functions, it’s got everything you need and nothing you don’t.
After connecting your T1 to the READfit app, you can access additional functions like calendar alerts, cycling mode, running mode, workout performance analysis, and more. This will also synchronize your T1 Watch with your device, ensuring it keeps perfect time and is always set to the correct date.
Battery Life
According to the manufacturer, the battery life of the T1 Tact Midnight Diamond Watch is longer than the full lifespan you’d get from most tactical watches that sell for this kind of price. With normal use on a daily basis, you’re looking at about 15 months before the battery needs to be replaced. At which point, you’ll probably be talking about five bucks to get a new battery fitted to keep it running for at least another year.
If 15 months isn’t quite enough, shutting off Bluetooth when not in use and keeping backlight use to the bare minimum should give you a few extra weeks at least. Though I’d hardly say that shelling out an extra $5.00 or so every year to keep the T1 juiced up is a lot to ask.
Warranty
Every T1 Tact Watch comes with a 12-month warranty as standard, covering any potential faults or imperfections regarding its components or materials. Basically, if anything goes wrong during normal use within the first year, you’ll get a replacement free of charge. Not that this covers testing the T1 with firearms or setting light to it, but still…normal use is fairly heavy-duty for a watch like this.
I didn’t go for it myself, but there’s also the option of upgrading to a ‘T1 Tact Care Card’. For an extra $35.00, you get an additional 12-month warranty (so two years in total), plus the promise of a one-time only ‘no questions asked’ guarantee. This is something I’ve not seen before, as it’s a warranty that covers basically everything. A scratched dial, a strap that looks a little worse for wear, or minor cosmetic damage – just send your T1 back, and they’ll send you a brand new one.
So it basically amounts to buying a second T1 Watch for $35.00 and keeping it in reserve for when you need it. Considering the kind of punishment watches like these are subjected to, that’s a pretty cool optional extra to consider.
Should You Buy the T1 Tact Smart Watch?
Whether or not you should buy the T1 boils down to what you really want and need from a tactical watch.
For me, I’d say definitely buy the T1 Tact Watch if:
- You’re looking for a smartwatch that can handle the kind of rough treatment that would obliterate the vast majority of comparable devices.
- You like to keep things simple and are on the lookout for a device that’s comprehensively user-friendly.
- You don’t want to spend a great deal on a smartwatch but still want something that looks classy and sophisticated.
- You plan on exposing your smartwatch to harsh conditions and environments on a regular basis without having to worry it’ll crap out on you.
In short, anyone looking for a relentlessly durable smartwatch that also doubles as a handy fitness tracker should definitely check out the T1 Tact Watch Midnight Diamond. I can’t see how you could expect more for less than $70 without doing some serious nit-picking.
Sure, you could say that the T1 Tact Watch Midnight Diamond is fairly simplistic (in that you can’t load any apps onto the device itself or use it to send messages, view your social media accounts, etc.). But this is really to its credit, as it’s not designed to be an all-singing, all-dancing wrist-mounted computer. Instead, the Midnight Diamond is one of the toughest tactical smartwatches on the market and can be taken places you wouldn’t dare take a more expensive watch. Great for those who need something simple yet super convenient, with the added bonus of bulletproof build quality…literally.