Got myself an X-Games watch, Orient's curious Brazilian budget sports line

Even though my collection is already well rounded, with mechanicals and quartz, good digitals and analogs, I am still that tiny interested in expanding it. Partly for specific functions, but also because there is still much to see and to get, more so that I still can discover the Brazilian's local watch market for myself.

One such Brazilian brands I mentioned before was X-Games. Technically owned by the Brazilian branch of Orient, I believe this line of watches is exclusive to the Brazilian market, and from what I could piece together from X-Games's existence (since it is hard to find sources) is that it appeared at around the year 2000, named after the extreme sports event of the same name, but the line seems to have a life of its own, detatched from the event apart from branding.

The watch I got is the model XMPPD631, one of the digital watches they offer for the budget side. X-Games watches' pricing can vary, down to almost 100 reais (approx. 20 dollars) up to 500 or 600 reais (100-120 dollars). This particular watch was 107 reais.

And those were 107 reais well spent! For a watch that almost costs as much as the F91W by Casio - or considering the markups in the Brazilian watch market, it is cheaper... - this is a value buster. The initial presentation was satisfactory when I saw it at the watch store, but I liked it more when I got a closer look, and how well it fit on my wrist.

Mind you, my stereotype with X-Games watches is that most of the models at sale are comically large, those huge >46mm dials which I nicknamed "pizza watches", because I keep remembering a gold dial watch with these huge diameters by them. And they are the only brand that didn't look small on my brother's huge wrist size. So finding a watch that doesn't look enormous, and looks good, is a thumbs up by me.

Not trying to say it is all perfect, you can see where they cheapened out, like the frosted resin they used, and even the molding marks. Nonetheless it still feels solid enough to use for sportsy occasions, and the mold marks aren't that glaring when on the wrist. The crystal is made of acrylic, which was kind of sad, but at this price point I don't have much to complain. Bezel is goofy with these second markers, but it kind of adds to the look, so eh, I wish it could be more creative than using the leftover parts from the drawer.

It has all the "Digitools" you would find on the likes of Casio that pack more functions: Dual time, stopwatch, alarm, and obviously it tells the time, as it should 🤭 The numbers are on negative display, and the hour numbers are big and easy to read. Numbers here are easy to read, but week day marker and function legends are impossible to figure out on this kind of display unless you push the light button or are under direct sun beams. Not that I mind much, but it is a bummer they aren't easier to notice normally.

Light function is a full backlight illuminator, not that bight but has a crisp and discernible blue light that makes reading it effortless in the dark. Pushers are great to press, and the strap feels excellent... It is a kind of frosted rubber, that feels comfortable when wearing and is not too stiff. I bought this watch as an exercise watch for outdoorsy shenanigans, so having a good strap will help for long periods of wear. Also, did I mention this is 100M water resistance? Pretty fly for a cheap guy.

I recognize there are its flaws on appearance and it might not be the most top notch design over there, but for 107 reais? This is often cheaper than a Casio F91W around here, which I found the cheapest price at 130 reais! If this is the most budget Orient can give through the X-Games name, this is not bad at all! Case is still solid despite being cheap (since it doesn't feel like melted down bottle caps), my biggest negative is the acrylic crystal since it could be mineral at least for sports and outdoor applications, but it gives a lot of the digitool functions for a fraction the price of many watches I could find. 

Certainly I will use this one when doing exercises - but I will maybe use it in other situations as well 😎