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What a great time to buy a Submariner

marco130

Renowned Member
29/2/08
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There are so many Sub threads on the forum that I hesitate in starting another.

I have a VSF Hulk that I’m really enjoying. I bought an RXF LN a couple of months ago that indicated that the bar is being raised on Sub reps lately and I have an ARF Hulk V1 (yeah, how ancient) that was a favorite of my collection.

Me?, I’m an out of the box guy. Resizing bracelets is a major amount of the work I’ll do on a rep.

‘I’ve been into this hobby for about 10 years sometimes taking a break and then coming back to see what’s new. Then I play some catch-up.

With the pandemic going on it was a good time to come back and get away from the news.

‘Reading (at great length sometimes) these threads has been distracting. A little bit crazy sometimes but it takes me away for awhile.

There have been a number of “debates” on the state of Subs.

Full of merit and personal preferences it has been clear to me that this is a special time. What a great time to be in the market for a Sub.

Lately I’ve been busy trying to get a feel for the differences between these 3 watches. My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be. Maybe that’s a blessing. I need my glasses just to see what day it is so fonts and fat hands don’t mean too much to me. Colors, sounds, comfort......feel I like.

I’m kind of a blue guy when it comes to colors but the emerald green on the LV is mesmerizing to me not to mention that it’s a chameleon when it comes to different angles and light.
When it comes to sounds my hearing isn’t what it used to be either. Too many explosions and rock and roll. But I do appreciate the sound (maybe it’s a little feel) of the clasp closing. Not a big deal but I like it.
Comfort? I don’t like a bracelet to cut into me I’ve had a few that were sold based on that alone.

And feel! I love the feel of a good rep. Solid, shapely, balanced. It feels good on my wrist.

So these three.
The ARF is a V1. When I got it, it was great. Great looking, and I really liked the bracelet. Comfortable. I bought the 28xx movement. I preferred what I perceived as a reliability factor. One of the differences I could tell was that the crown wouldn’t seat as well as it could. No matter it’s never given me a problem and has given me a lot of pleasure.
I’ve been trying to compare it to the VSF bracelet and even though it’s roughly 4 years old it’s very close. For me that’s a compliment to the VSF bracelet.
A big difference between the ARF and the VSF is in the cyclops area.
‘The date font, I believe the magnification and the black hole effect are much better on the VSF.

I’ll go to the RXF next. I read up on this one a bit but it was a review by KennyG that got me to pull the trigger on this one. By now there were already a couple of other LN’s available that were probably superior. What I didn’t know was that in the next month the choices would be greater in number. One thing that attracted me to this selection was the value. Out of the box and bang for the buck.
I feel both of those factors still apply even with the additional choices.
A big factor that had me leaning and I’m still happy with is the “black hole”. My eyes may not be what they used to be but I can still see that, glasses or no glasses.
The RXF has the best black hole that I’ve seen. Mind you I haven’t compared it to the other superior choices.
The bracelet is comfortable. Not as comfortable as the ARF or the VSF but not bad at all. I did not have to treat it like some have suggested.
It’s the 28xx movement which I believe will be reliable and the crown seems to be in a better place than the ARF.
‘One thing that I wish was better was the low light readability of the bezel numbers. It may be the reason I get a VSF LN.

Finally the VSF Hulk
For me it’s not easy to upgrade one of your favorite reps but the VSF has been a pleasure.
First of all I have owned MANY reps. This was the first time I’ve ordered a rep having never seen a “real” picture of it.
I own a number of VSF Omega “super clones”. I’ve had good fortune with them. Between that and the things I’d seen and read about the VSF LN, I pulled the trigger.
To me, it looks good (the colors of the dial and bezel) it sounds good (nice clicks on the clasp), it’s comfortable and it Feels good.
It winds smoother than maybe any of my other reps. The VS3135 so far is impressive. If its like the Omega movements they’ve made I’ll change that description.
As I mentioned I may order an LN as a result.

Are any of these the best? Of course not. They are reps. But for those of you that are newer to this hobby, you’ve come at a good time. I’ll post some pictures.











 

p0pperini

patr0n h0arder
Gold Patron
Certified
29/1/19
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Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts buddy. An interesting read, and as you say - it’s a great time to be a Sub fan.

And it’ll be even better once ARF get their act together and release a decent 904 5-digit... ;)
 

Cadows

I'm Pretty Popular
29/3/18
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Europe
Nice review sir. Im interested to hear your thought on zzf v3 no date if you had a chance to check it out. Thank you
 
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Neil McCauley

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19/10/20
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VRF looks amazing I thought only ARF can do the best bracelets but VRF does a good job. Only VRF and ZZF can do good Date wheels, in my ARF V3 hulk you see fat numbers if you know how gen looks like you spot it in a second :D


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SS72

I'm Pretty Popular
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Enjoyable read, thank you. I try other models and brands from time to time, but always come back to the ceramic Sub -- it's the perfect watch for me.

I, too, am keen to know if you have an opinion on the ZZF v3 no date. The only reason I haven't pulled the trigger on that is because I'm waiting for the VSF. And perhaps ARF will start the new year with improved dial markers...
 

marco130

Renowned Member
29/2/08
642
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CadowsSS72
I am interested in adding a no date to my collection. I’m waiting for VSF to announce one as I’ve heard there are other models that they are working on. In fact I’ve just received a reply from my TD that the VSF smurf will be in stock shortly and I may pull the trigger on that.
‘I’ve enjoyed replicas from ARF and Noob but they seem to have become a little complacent lately.
As I’ve stated in another thread I believe competition is one of our biggest allies and hope to get good reps at a fair price.
I see ZF, ZZF and VSF stepping up their game.
‘Thank you all for your kind comments
 
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Cadows

I'm Pretty Popular
29/3/18
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CadowsSS72
I am interested in adding a no date to my collection. I’m waiting for VSF to announce one as I’ve heard there are other models that they are working on. In fact I’ve just received a reply from my TD that the VSF smurf will be in stock shortly and I may pull the trigger on that.
‘I’ve enjoyed replicas from ARF and Noob but they seem to have become a little complacent lately.
As I’ve stated in another thread I believe competition is one of our biggest allies and hope to get good reps at a fair price.
I see ZF, ZZF and VSF stepping up their game.
‘Thank you all for your kind comments

You can see Smurf on Trusty
 
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marco130

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I’ll be updating this thread soon with an opinion/comparison of the VSF Smurf and the VSF LN
They should be arriving shortly. I mentioned in another thread that VSF has been my favorite charity lately. I’ve sold a number of them but these are most of the VSF’s currently in my collection.


 

VaderTime

Active Member
9/10/17
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With all these great reviews, I am really considering getting the new VSF and swapping the gen parts over from my zzf v2.
 

marco130

Renowned Member
29/2/08
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For me deciding is one of the fun parts. It’s the “shopping”.
We have our own preferences, our own budgets, our own expectations, our own tolerances.
Knowing and following them makes for a better appreciation of my purchase. Worst case scenario is I’m wrong and I sell it.
Waiting is still the hard part for me and it hasn’t gotten any better during a worldwide pandemic. The next time I want to take a vacation I’m just going to buy a one way ticket to China and have my dealer ship me back. One of the watches went through 5 countries and 4000 extra miles in this country before it arrived.
 

GodlyAntonio

Horology Curious
26/4/18
23
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Really seems like the color on the VSF is much more close to gen than others, the bezel surprised me personally
 
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Jungman

You're Saying I Can Sell?
4/9/19
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So I'm buying a hulk cant make up my mind yet. Was thinking zzf but been waiting for vsf, I guess it's the vsf that hits the spot tight now. Reasonable?
 

marco130

Renowned Member
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Different tastes, different budgets, different tolerances. But I think that “reasonable” is more than reasonable to describe the VSF product that’s being pushed out lately. Having lived through all these “V’s” that have evolved over the years what impresses me a bit is how good they’ve gotten it on their first try.
 

walla65

Active Member
20/5/19
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Different tastes, different budgets, different tolerances. But I think that “reasonable” is more than reasonable to describe the VSF product that’s being pushed out lately. Having lived through all these “V’s” that have evolved over the years what impresses me a bit is how good they’ve gotten it on their first try.


yeah ... I'm waiting for them with a nice Deepsea or a Batman....