Received my Lunokhod 2 today. Usually I purchase from Craig Hester at R2A, but the premiere on ShopNBC offered a discount. They were all sold out by afternoon, and during the live telecast at 2am I still could not buy one. After two more tries at 3am and 4am I was able to buy the black PVD with red markings. As I feared, readability is an issue out of bright enough light. My bigger disappointment is with the much promoted vertically mounted tritium system. Tonight I tested for 30 min. in total darkness comparing two other V-E tritium watches (Ekratoplan & Anchar) and Luminox (older and new models). The Lunokhod 2 is barely brighter than the others with no reflection into the inner dial area. The black dial and red markings apparently absorb most of the enhanced illumination, something I would think you would have identified during design testing. Craig Hester says his all yellow dial is much brighter than normal tritium watches. The other color combinations are too similar to other watches I already own, so I chose the black & red. The unique tritium system is a BIG letdown, at least for my watch. Overall though the Soprod movement is first rate, easy to operate, and functional in ways other watches are not. It offers a “stealthy” look but unfortunately is a lot too stealthy with average-poor readability and disappointing illumination at least on the Black & Red model. My bad luck.
Best Regards,
Dale R Mosher
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
email: [email protected]
]]>