Aquanaut Showdown: V6F vs ZF vs KMF exhaustive review

[XLR8R]

ZF V2 is up on Trusty

http://www.trustytime01.cc/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=352&products_id=20627

 

[majwilliams0308]

ZF V2 is up on Trusty

http://www.trustytime01.cc/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=352&products_id=20627

I strongly believe it is mislabeled as a 5167, it should be the 5165, which is the smaller 38.5mm case size.

 

[XLR8R]

I strongly believe it is mislabeled as a 5167, it should be the 5165, which is the smaller 38.5mm case size.

We will see but probably you are right about that.

 

[Blue Ocean]

Any idea if a gen bracelet will fit on the 42mm ZF aquanaut? I know it fits on the 40mm ...
BTW, crazy prices for strap and buckle these days...

 

[reire]

Very helpful. Thanks for putting that together

 

[chowyuan]

Great reviews. Thanks.

 

[Mike joe]

Hi so what is the best aquanaut as of today KMF?

 

[majwilliams0308]

Hi so what is the best aquanaut as of today KMF?

ZF for finishing and front details (dial, date disc, case and bezel. etc). If you want gen-like movement but poor overall execution on dial/case shape, go for 3KF.

 

[Mike joe]

Thank you

 

[yubier]

Amazing job. Thanks

 

[MRB123]

What?! I thought that 3KF was the way to go except for the strap/clasp!

 

[pip72]

Anybody know how to make the case thinner?

Sent from my HD1925 using Tapatalk

 

[mgave1]

I have the privilege of having owned the V6F SW200-1, the new ZF and KMF (blue dial) Aquanauts. I'll post a lot of pics for comparison. It's a tough call on who the winner here is, as they each have their faults. I cannot comment on the quality of the gray dial from KMF unfortunately because I was more interested in their blue version.

In sunlight/shade:

In artificial light:

Macro close-up:

V6F:

ZF:

KMF:

ZF vs V6F (V6F has no strap):

ZF vs KMF:

Now for the Exhaustive comparisons:

Thickness: KMF is the clear winner.

Dial:

• V6F–
  • Good: Dial is very good. Sunburst does a good job having tones of black, gray and copper. However, sunburst isn’t as fine as ZF or gen. Is time-correct lacking the “Swiss made” at 6 and no connected “EV” in GENEVE
  • Bad: Numerals are very poorly finished on the metal, but only upon close inspection. Lume bubbles aren’t even bubbles, they are more like flat stickers.
• ZF –
  • Good: Dial is excellent – it captures more light than V6F and KMF’s blue dial. Sunburst pattern is VERY fine, not quite as smooth as gen but it’s the best one out there. Numerals are well polished and all fonts look good.
  • Bad:
    • There is an issue with the line behind the “5” going past the bottom of it that is not on the gen, however. For some this is a huge flaw, for me I would rather have a better dial with that small flaw.
    • Lume plots are kind of like trapezoids and not ‘bubbles’ like on the gen. They are, however, semi-shiny like gen.
    • All of the “1”s are very thin, therefore lume is very thinly applied to the inside. This is not gen-like. Take a look at 12 and see that the thickness of the 1 on the inside is not the same as the 2 next to it.
• KMF–
  • Good: Dial is excellent. Sunburst pattern is fine. Specific to the blue, it’s deeper than the current BP which is a great thing. Numerals are highly finished, and lume plots are actual bubbles that are shiny. Lots and lots of positives here, especially for the blue version.
  • Bad: The sunburst on the gray dial appeared to lack the copper (brownish) tones and had a bit more texture than the smooth sunburst of the gen on the comparison pics. But, if that isn’t an issue in real life, as yet to be seen, then KMF is a winner here

Hands: The hour and minute hands are virtually the same, including respective lengths. KMF has some smudges on the hour hand on mine but that is probably a not-consistent thing. The main differences are in the seconds hand:

• V6F: Correctly tapers, but the center pinion is ‘stamped’ and curves downward toward the metal pin in the middle
• ZF: The absolute best. Not only does it have correct thinness at the far end, the other end of the seconds hand seems to have a very nice raised surface that is way less flat and more contoured than V6F and KMF. The biggest thing to me as well: at the center of the seconds hand it tapers UP into the metal pin, which is JUST like gen. I don’t know how they accomplished this, but I am amazed they paid attention to that detail.
• KMF: Slightly thicker at the end of the hand than the other two. Still a great seconds hand by all means, and I wouldn’t notice the difference without the other two. Has the same issue as the V6F in the middle tapering down towards the metal pin.

Date Font: ZF type face is slightly thinner than V6F (which was the best), but both are excellent. My particular ZF is well aligned on all dates, even centered at 28. My TD noted it was one of the best he had seen. KMF is just terribly small and probably can be fixed with the BIONONE/Spongebob DWO project.

Case: There are numerous differences, but I’ll explain how I differentiate.

• “Lower Bezel” is the small vertical portion that the first angled polished surface of the bezel sit on top of. V6F and ZF have the same height, but curiously, KMF’s is slightly lower – which contributes to the lower profile (only by a smidge).
• Bezel Polishing/Sanding: V6F has seen more abuse on my wrist, but the polishing still looks much better on the KMF and ZF (which are probably identical to my eyes).
• Crown Guards: KMF and ZF are identical, but V6F’s crown guards has a more gradual slope towards the crown. This could also be a difference in the years produced (i.e. the crown guard shape was upgrade when they added “SWISS MADE” on the dial.
• Midcase: polishing is identical, but the V6F is the largest, followed by ZF, then KMF as the thinnest. The KMF and ZF are not the same size
• Lugs appear to be largely identical
• Case back appears to be identical overall.

Crystals: As there is no AR, I am focusing solely on crystal height.

• V6F: Front crystal protrudes a tiny bit. Back crystal protrudes a lot.
• ZF: Front crystal protrudes more than V6F. It adds quite a bit actually. Back crystal is nearly flush
• KMF: Both crystals are flush. KMF is the winner here.

Movement and movement finishing:

Movement discussion: The SW200-1 in the V6F is the king for reliability, but the Miyota 9015 is no slouch. It’s easy to replace the SW200-1 movement (and the A2824 that’s in the current V6F version), but the lack of finishing isn’t very fun – but the plated and decorated Miyotas are difficult to replace. Also, the SW200 and A2824 are much thicker movements than the Miyota, and therefore add to the thickness. Overall the Miyota movements are preferred IMO, so long as it has correct date font height.
Movement Finishing: I’ll skip over the SW200 that only has a decorated rotor. The KMF has essentially the PF movement. It’s well engraved and looks good enough, but it isn’t the same as the gen. The ZF has a correctly oriented balance wheel and correct cote de geneve (plating), but it adds a tiny bit of thickness I think. However, the movement is MUCH prettier and more correct too. Winner is KMF, but ZF is worth the thickness if you pay attention to movements.

Strap: The V6F is the most rigid. The KMF and the ZF have similar play, but the ZF is slightly more stiff. All 3 are great.

Clasp: in order is V6F, ZF, KMF on the clasp open pic, then just KMF (blue) and ZF (Black) on the clasp closed.

• V6F:
  • Calatrava Cross: Probably the shallowest engraving of the 3.
  • Inner Logo: The “EV” in GENEVE isn’t connected, engraving isn’t as deep as gen
  • Right hand buckle inner engraving “P/3”: Missing altogether
• ZF:
  • Calatrava Cross: Good, but relatively shallow and lacks small bevels of gen.
  • Inner Logo: Has the connected “EV”, but engraving looks like one single pass with a laser. Very Shallow, very cheap looking.
  • Right hand buckle inner engraving “P/3”: “R/B”
• KMF:
  • Calatrava Cross: Excellent, deepest of all 3, but still not as deep as gen to me.
  • Inner logo: Deep engraving, connected “EV”. Perfect IMO.
  • Right hand buckle inner engraving “P/3”: “P/B”
• Winner is KMF by far.

Overall experience: The V6F is still an excellent rep that feels like a good watch for the money. The KMF has the finest finishing and the thinnest watch, but the thinness is not too noticeable on the wrist compared to the ZF. The ZF has an amazing dial (with the only problems being lume-related - plots and “1”s), correct date font (so long as QC is good), and a properly finished movement in exchange for 0.3-0.4mm additional thickness.

Conclusions:

• OOTB Winner: ZF
• Best Possible:
  • KMF case, clasp, dial (if it has copper tones in sunlight and a fine sunburst)
  • ZF hands, movement, DWO, clasp, dial
• KMF will be an amazing watch if the BIONONE/Spongebob Date disc mod will fit in the watch.

I'm very interested about this post, but I can't see any images!!!
Pls could you help me?

 

[Tobel]

I'm very interested about this post, but I can't see any images!!!
Pls could you help me?

Unfortunately I think the pics have been lost in the meantime

In any case this information is 4 years old so while it was great at the time, things have changed during that time. If you want an aquanaut, as mentioned in the more recent posts here above, check 3kf and ZF. There are other threads detailing each one

 

[Deano65]

As the post is a little old

I thought I’d share mine. It’s the latest ZF