Hamilton Launch Khaki Field Expedition with Compass for Even More Adventurous Adventures

The Hamilton Khaki Field is certainly one of the brand’s most popular watches and quite possibly one of the most popular field watches on the market. Now, a new sub collection has been launched that embraces the Khaki Field’s most adventurous side by adding a compass bezel to help you orientate yourself no matter how far off the beaten path you go. This is the new Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition.

There are eight references of the Khaki Field Expedition being produced but technically those are four of the same design produced at two different sizes. And even then, two of those four designs are the same but presented on strap and bracelet. So really, when you condense it down, there are just three denoted by different colour dials.

That’s not to say that the different sizes don’t have a big impact on the watch though because they really do. The first set are 37mm in diameter while the second are a whole 4mm larger at 41mm. That’s a pretty substantial difference but both feel appropriate for the watch.

At 41mm it really fits into that tool watch aesthetic, designed to be big, a little macho and easy to read with broad displays and high legibility. The smaller version feels more like a field watch, still hyper legible but small enough that it doesn’t impede the movement of the wrist and is less likely to bump or scrape into things.

In terms of the case’s design, it has a long, relatively shallow curve from lug to lug giving it a round shape that’s emphasised by the circular bezel. That bezel is what really makes the Expedition stand out from the other Khaki Field watches, since it has a compass scale and pronounced notches at the cardinal points. I could sit here and explain how using your watch as a compass works but fortunately we already wrote an entire article about that. The only thing that that article doesn’t cover is the fact when a watch has a compass bezel, you can rotate the bezel to record your bearing for more precise navigation.

It might just be me but I think compass bezels look awesome too, they really put the tool in the name “tool watch”. The other aspect of the Khaki Field Expedition that looks great is the dial. It’s a pretty understated design with large Arabic numerals, arrow shaped hands coated with SuperLuminova and short bar indexes for the hour and minute scale. As I mentioned earlier, there are three colours available, black, white and blue. It’s the black version that’s available on strap or bracelet while the others are strap only.

However, what makes the Khaki Field in any of its versions an absolutely killer watch is the movement housed inside and the Expedition is no different. It houses the Hamilton H-10, an automatic movement with an anti-magnetic Nivachron hairspring and an incredible 80-hour power reserve. And that’s in a watch that costs just £965 on leather strap or £1,035 on steel bracelet. In a world where a basic Sellita powered watch can go for three times that much, Hamilton continue to be industry leaders in value.