Helm Vanuatu Titanium Super Late Review

This is a super late review because I have worn my Vanuatu Titanium since March 2021, almost 2 years ago today.

I happened to watch Jody reviewing the stainless steel Helm Vanuatu on his Just One More Watch channel. I got hooked instantly, I just knew that's the watch I want. Problem was the super long waiting list. But not long after that Helm launched the pre-registration for the Titanium version & I registered immediately. I got "the call" (or email in my case) about 1-2 months later & I placed my order. I spent $300 for the watch, $75 for the titanium bracelet & $35 for shipping.

The specs:

• 42mm case, 14mm thick, 50mm lug to lug, 22mm lug width

• Brushed grade 2 titanium case, bezel, crown, caseback & bracelet

• Brushed ceramic bezel insert

• BGW9 on hands, markers & bezel insert

• Flat sapphire crystal with colorless AR coating

• Seiko NH35

• ISO 6425 300m water resistance

The videos on YouTube didn't do it justice, the watch is so much better in real life. You can just feel the built & finishing quality when holding it. Helm really did a great job with affordable price at that, no wonder the waiting list is so long.

Things I like:

• The brushed finish with gunmetal hue that the titanium has, I don't really like polished or sandblasted finish.

• The light weight because the whole watch is titanium (case, bezel, crown, caseback, bracelet).

• Simple, clean, symmetrical & timeless design. No whistles or bells, just a pure tool watch.

• Big chunky teeth on the bezel & crown. I always love that Marathon SAR style bezel, it just has a very tooly looks.

• Big, wide, super legible hands & markers that took its cue from Sinn U50, not a chance to miss them unless you're legally blind.

• Great amount of lume on the hands, markers & bezel that stays very long, easy to spot everytime I wake up in the middle of the night.

• Drilled lugs. I know this sounds very simple, but for a guy who can only afford to have a single watch, I compensate with collecting straps to change how the watch looks. So having drilled lugs makes it super easy to change the straps. The watch is a total strap monster. You can wear it on bracelet, nato, zulu, marine nationale, leather, rubber, sailcloth.. it just looks great on any straps!

• For $300 (now $350) I personally think it's really hard to beat the value for money of this watch.

Things I don't like:

• It lacks hardening & scratch resistant layer so the titanium is very prone to scratch.

• The titanium is not as hard as stainless steel. I dropped the watch once when changing straps, it hits the tiled floor right on one of its lug & got a bit flattened on its pointy end 😭

• I got a 6.25 inch (16cm) wrist, the 42mm case & 50mm lug to lug is honestly a bit too big for me. Would be great if it was 40mm or smaller.

• The super long waiting list, last I heard it's around 2 years long already. I personally think they should have increased their production capacity by now with the long waiting list they already had. The bigger sales volume would definitely cover all the additional cost required to increase the production capacity.

Here are some pics from my personal collections:

I'm no YouTuber, but I was so ecstatic when I got this watch I spontaneously made a review video to express my excitement about this watch. It's in Indonesian but I insert English subtitle. Feel free to check it here https://youtu.be/xKjvOvyHlcs

Hope this will help all you fellow crunchers who want to get the Vanuatu Titanium. Cheers!🍻