2 Years Review of the Green Baby Alpinist SPB155

December seems to be the time I buy new watches. 28th December 2021 is the date that I got my first automatic sports watch.  

The SPB155, nicknamed the "Baby Alpinist" was one of the first few automatic watches I owned. It was a gift from my dad for celebrating my graduation from university. It had accompanied me nearly every day for the past 2 years. There is no doubt that it's an everyday watch. 

Specs are: 

Diameter of 38mm 

Lug to Lug of 46mm 

Thickness of 13mm 

Lug width of 20mm 

It has the 6R35 series Seiko movement (around 3.0 Hz and 70 hours of power reserve) 

The dial is green with a matt texture (like a sports ground) 

It came with a bracelet  

What I like about the watch: 

Having sentimental attachments to it aside. The green Baby Alpinist is a good watch to wear. The dimensions are spot on. The dial looks amazing with its textured pattern and fume dial design. It is a field watch that has Rolex Explorer 1 traits, yet doesn’t feel homage like the Grand Seiko SBGN027. The colour scheme on the hands, indices and dial pairs perfectly together, especially with straps! Compared to the others (SPB157 & 159) in the Baby Alpinist lineup, the use of fake patina lume colour suits yellow-gold coloured hands and indices for the SPB155 (It doesn't for the blue and grey dial variants). And I love the red accented second hand. The screw-in crown is an upside when compared to other field watches in the market (though I never wore them). 

I love how the SPB155 pairs PERFECTLY with straps (see photo above). Brown leather straps (on photo is a rubber leather hybrid strap) is a match made in heaven with the Green Baby Alpinist. Personally I prefer the Baby Alpinist overall than the normal Alpinist.

What I dislike about the watch: 

There isn’t much to dislike about the Baby Alpinist. Perhaps, the watch’s overall design doesn’t suit putting it on a bracelet at all. The Seiko bracelet is the same old story (though much better than what Seiko 5 can offer). Perhaps the thickness of 13mm is an issue, but I never had any Rolex sports watches. So, 13mm thickness is the average watch thickness in my current collection.  

The lack of lumes on the numerals might be a downside, but it’s Seiko. It has dotted lume on each indices, but the lume on the hands is sufficient. Just like my friend said during our camping “Hey, you can’t see the time? Man, just read it off your phone.”. (Or bring along a G-shock as back-up). 

The 6R movement’s accuracy can be a downside. Seiko can do better. With an ever-more competitive market. Accuracy is becoming more important factor as even microbrands with less RRP can do better than Seiko. The 6R movement is spotty, although it's still within what Seiko’s official claims are.  

What can be improved: 

Not much really TBH. I would love if it had lumed numerals, a better clasp and a more accurate movement.  I found that I like watches that have a date on them (kept looking for the date on my Pelagos 39 when I wear it). But a no-date Alpinist will look clean.

Conclusion:

As of writing this in 2023 December, the overall Alpinist line is very much completed. Baby Alpinist, Alpinist with compass, Alpinist GMT and the Laurel Alpinist. These are all great alternatives to Rolex’s Explorer 1, 2 and OP (If you’re on a budget or AD doesn’t care about you).  So if you're looking for an everyday watch by Seiko, I suggest taking a look at their whole Alpinist Lineup.