Watch Review |AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane

AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane

AVI-8 is a growing watch company that has created a vast lineup of pilot style watches at affordable prices in the recent past. Continuing to grow their offerings AVI-8 has released a new model in the Hawker Hurricane series with the AV-4041-01. Past Hawker Hurricane models provided the general appearance and features that many pilot style watch lovers sought out. The new 4041-01 adds a really nice wrinkle that I believe most will find quite appealing which I will discuss later in the review. The Hawker Hurricane AV-4041-01 has a full retail price point of around $500 USD, however, the AVI-8 brand is heavily discounted and the model can be found for well under $200 USD if one is thorough with their search. You can read more about AVI-8 and the models the company offers HERE. The AV-4041-01 model comes with the following basic specifications:

• MOVEMENT: Quartz
• CASE: Stainless Steel
• CASE DIAMETER: 42mm
• STRAP: Genuine Leather Strap
• WATER RESISTANCE: 5ATM
• WARRANTY: 2 Years International

The outer box is a rather plain white cardboard box with the company name printed on it, which is what I consider standard for outer shells. The inner case is a nice brown leather style with a snap closure, which is also fairly typical in the industry. The interior of the watch case is well padded and will protect the watch well during shipping. The case has no functional purpose after the watch arrives so just toss it in the bottom of your closet with all the rest of your watch cases. Of course, the typical warranty booklet and hangtag also accompany the watch. I still wish the company would research the possibility of using some sort of travel roll or zipper style travel case which is more suitable for those of us constantly on the go, however, I would not want to drastically impact price point.

Moving on to the watch itself, the case is composed of stainless steel with both brushed and high polished surfaces. I really like the choice of having the polished surfaces on the sides of the case rather than on the tops of the lugs and bezel since the lugs and bezel tend to take a bit more abuse. The lugs are quite angular in appearance and measure over 10mm in length providing a more unique look than pilot style watches with rounded lugs. Even though the lugs are angular on the top, the bottom side angles downward, allowing the watch to sit nicely on top of the wrist. The case measures 42mm in diameter and right around 48mm including the crown. The lug tip to lug tip measurement is right around 53mm which is slightly larger than most watches that I have seen with 42mm cases. The watch weighs a mere 100 grams, so taking into account all of the dimensions along with the weight this model should feel quite light and comfortable on the wrist. Of course with the 53mm lug tip to lug tip measurement, those of us with larger wrists should even find the 42mm size quite adequate in size. Since the model is a chronograph, the standard function pushers are located on either side of the large 8mm onion style crown. At 8mm, the crown is extremely easy to grasp and engage. Many budget watches tend to have quite a bit of play or wiggle in the crown when engaged but I can report the crown on this particular example is quite firm. One of the coolest features of the model, sticking with the Hawker Hurricane theme, is the colored logo painted on the crown face paying homage to the emblem painted on the actual plane.