I always like a good watch that can be worn out on the town, during a workout, or out in the field without having to worry about it breaking. I’ve been a long time Casio G-Shock fan because of just that. Wanting to upgrade from the G-Shock I searched for a watch that could fulfill that roll, yet be a little more higher end per say. I’ve tried some ‘higher end’ watches, but I was still not 100% confident in their ability to take abuse in the field or in the gym.

Nick Koumalatsos of the Raider Project recently contacted me and asked if I would like to test and evaluate their new watch they designed with Rockwell watches, more specifically the Rockwell Coliseum. It was a no brainer for me to do this review. Not only was I going to get to test a bad-ass watch, but I’m also going to help support fellow Marines attempting to reintegrate into a ‘normal’ civilian lifestyle after serving their country as combat veterans.

Rockwell states in the description of the watch ‘Designed to take gladiator-level use and abuse’. I figured between that statement and the fact that Nick partnered up with them, this must be a pretty damn tough watch.

I’ve been wearing this watch daily since I got it a few weeks back. It’s not overly heavy or clunky and wears really nice on the wrist. The Rockwell Coliseum if one of the few watches that I can wear during workouts without it bothering me. I used the countdown timer on this watch for my rest intervals during the 15 minute Spartan Thrash workout.

One of my pet peeves with watches during strenuous activities is the watch band slipping out of the keeper and flopping around. Rockwell has remedied this issue by designing the watch strap keeper to actually lock in the watch band after you have adjusted it to your wrist size. This is a benefit to me when working out or running.

This watch has all the basic features you need and none that you don’t.

• Construction: ABS Case/PU Band
• Case Size: 49mm
• Multifunction Digital
• Crystal: PMMA
• Water Resist: 100m
• Four Buttons
• Two Time Zones
• Stopwatch with 50 Lap Memory
• Countdown Timer
• 8 Alarms

Rockwell has also include the Raider Project logo on the watch band and also engraved into the backside of the watch. I really like seeing this logo as it’s a constant reminder of those that have served, the sacrifices made, and more importantly that we as veterans are not alone in our battles back home.  As the MARSOC phrase says ‘Never above you – Never below you – Always beside you’.