Teenage mutant ninja "mini turtle" review

hello again watchcrunch. im sure many of us know the seiko skx007, its the best entry level dive watch from seiko. its a great specs and proper dive watch from its era (1996 with 7s26 movement) until it was discontinued few years ago due to the obsolete specs comparing to modern day standart from what i believe (nonhacking, handwinding movement). its easy for a newbie watch collector get hooked by the skx, as there is a ton of article and youtube video online on this models.

so back then what do we got as a skx successor before 5kx (which i dont think is a skx successor because of the wr and screw down crown) ? i think seiko turtle is a best candidate as the successor for the skx, same specs with better movement 4r36, but 44mm is a little too big right? so 2017 seiko release another turtle version which is sprc41 mini turtle 42mm. and i think its great and proper successor for the skx.

i borrow this watch from a friend of mine few days ago, and try to wear it a few times to get a nice experience. so lets review this mini turtle shall we

case

as i have smaller wrist i like this mini turtle cushion case design. it is small, looking more "compact" than the skx. also i prefer crown position at 3 o'clock, it looks more balance than 4 o'clock position. case finishing consist of brushed on the top and polished on the side and the back, back case is decorated with usual "tsunami" seiko logo. i appreciated the drill lugs too, made it easier for strap change.

dial

this particular model which i borrowed is a padi edition. so there are padi and prospex logo on the dial, a little bit busy with so much logo. also the dial got some wave texture which remind me of pewdiepie (gaming youtuber) favourite pattern.

 unlike turtle the mini turtle doesnt have day window which is okay for me. also the applied indices is different than the original turtle with a lot of lumibrite. lume is awesome btw.

bezel

it is unidirectional bezel and feel stiff. insert is aluminium with pepsi colour theme. after looking it for some time its a little missaligned, which is seiko trademark. i guess.

hands

there are 3 hands with arrow, lollipop and syringe shape.

crystal

also seiko signature hardlex with a circle cyclops which i want to get rid of immediately.

crown

unmarked crown with screw down crown. its a shame seiko didnt put a logo on the crown, i mean last time i held a steeldive willard it got a logo on a screw and it is a nice touch for the whole appearance of the watch. cmon seiko, you can do better than this.

movement

4r35 its a solid upgrade from the current 7s26 with hacking and handwinding feature. so kudos to seiko in movement area.

strap and buckle

while most of the seiko bracelet feels cheap (in my opinion) this rubber strap feels comfortable. surely its different than other bracelet that i experience (casio duro, and g shock). what i mean by comfortable is really soft texture, and the buckle finishing is awesome. lug to lug is 20mm, so if you want to replace the original rubber strap you can find many option which is good.

conclussion

i think this mini turtle is the true successor of the skx007 from looking at the specs, quality, size, and price. while the 5kx got so many different option we can choose, the mini turtle is better in specs in my opinion due to the superior wr, it is a true dive watch for sure. i didnt understand why this model isnt really popular in my country. so if you in need to buy a nice entry level dive watch you might consider this mini turtle. thx for reading, cheers🍺🍺.