Created by the folks over at the blog and retailer Worn & Wound, ADPT (the name stands for “All Day Purpose and Terrain”) is a recently founded brand that produces a variety of different everyday-carry (EDC) items, and just as you might expect, its growing catalog includes watches. Produced in collaboration with Boldr Supply Co. and based upon the core blueprint of the brand’s popular field watch platform, ADPT’s inaugural timepiece debuted back in 2022, and now, for 2024, the brand has created a follow-up addition to its catalog. While the original model was fitted with a 12-hour bezel to offer easy access to a secondary timezone, the new ADPT Series 1 Dual Time uses the Seiko NH34 movement to offer expanded functionality as a multi-purpose GMT watch.

In terms of its overall design and construction, the new ADPT Series 1 Dual Time largely follows in the footsteps of the original three-handed Series 1 with a compact and angular case that is crafted from brushed titanium. While the dimensions of the watch are largely the same, the new model is a tenth of a millimeter thicker, and the Series 1 Dual Time measures 38mm in diameter by 13.6mm thick, with 20mm drilled lugs and an overall lug-to-lug profile of 44mm. The rim of the bezel sticks out very slightly past the edge of the case to create a diameter of 38.5mm, although rather than being fitted with a bidirectional friction-fit bezel with a 12-hour scale like the original three-handed model, the new ADPT Series 1 Dual Time receives a 120-click unidirectional bezel with an anodized aluminum insert that features a fully demarcated 60-minute timing scale with compass markings at its cardinal points.

Just like its three-handed predecessor, the top of the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time’s case is fitted with a flat anti-reflective sapphire crystal, while the reverse side of the watch receives a solid screw-down caseback that is adorned with the brand’s logo. Similarly, a signed crown sits partially recessed into the side of the case at 4 o’clock, and it screws down to the middle case to help guarantee the ample 200 meters of water resistance that is standard across the collection. Given that the case of the Series 1 Dual Time is crafted from titanium and its strap is made from nylon, the watch offers a fairly lightweight and easy-wearing package on the wrist, with compact proportions and a total weight of approximately 63.5 grams, including its strap.

Available in two colorways known as Mossy Shale and Aqua Berry, the Mossy Shale version of the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time features a primarily green and gray color profile, while the Aqua Berry model is the variant featured here, which is characterized by a largely blue colorway with magenta and yellow accents. While the dial of the Series 1 Dual Time more-or-less carries over the design established by its predecessor, it has received a few subtle updates to correspond with its more advanced movement. Since the Seiko NH34 offers GMT functionality, a fourth hand has been added to the display, and joining the existing trio of syringe-shaped hands is an additional arrow-shaped hand that is finished yellow to correspond with the yellow 24-hour markings that now appear along the outer periphery of the dial.

Just as before, the dial of the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time is a multi-layer creation, and the raised ring containing the 24-hour scale and minute track extends into a cross-hair structure that runs through the center of the dial and expands to create the frame around the date window at 6 o’clock. The hour markers are applied to either the raised frame or base layer of the dial, and since the date window is vertically oriented, the calendar disc features the numerals for its 20s and 30s values vertically stacked to provide better legibility. Luminous material is applied to all four of the hands, plus each one of the twelve indexes and bezel insert, and while the original three-handed ADPT Series 1 model featured two different colors of lume, all of the luminous material on the new Series 1 Dual Time emits the same aqua blue colored glow in the dark.

While I personally enjoy the appearance of the crosshair frame running through the center of the dial, this component appeared in a tone-on-tone colorway on the example of the original three-handed ADPT Series 1 that I previously viewed a couple of years ago, and I find the contrasting magenta frame on the Aqua Berry colorway to be a bit visually distracting due to the fact that the syringe-shaped hour and minute hands also feature a magenta finish on half of their surfaces. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I’m firmly a fan of the Aqua Berry ADPT Series 1 Dual Time, although, with four centrally-mounted hands and an additional four lines spanning out from the center of its dial in the form of its raised crosshair frame, I personally found the legibility of this watch to be slightly less than what is offered by the original three-handed models from the brand’s Series 1 collection.

Fitted through the 20mm lugs of the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time is one of the brand’s signature American-made straps, which are produced entirely in the United States and represent very well-executed versions of this familiar single-pass style. Crafted from 420D nylon with its keeper and 316L stainless steel buckle sewn into its structure, the ADPT single-pass strap offers zero points of potential failure (aside from the strap itself ripping apart), and the keeper is made from a contrasting color of nylon for an added touch of visual intrigue. As I mention in my review of the brand’s original three-handed model, a titanium buckle would have been a nice touch, although the key concept behind ADPT’s straps is that they are 100% made in the United States, and it would have been cost-prohibitive to find new American manufacturing partners and change its existing production process, just so that this budget-friendly model could have a matching titanium pin buckle.

Powering the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time is the familiar Seiko NH34 automatic movement, which has become the go-to choice for budget-friendly GMT watches since it first emerged a couple of years ago. Running at a frequency of 21,600vph (3 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 41 hours, the Seiko NH34 is essentially the dual-time version of the brand’s ubiquitous time-and-date NH35, which can be found inside watches from countless different brands on the affordable side of the spectrum. Unlike the more expensive GMT movement offering from Miyota, which offers “flier-style” GMT functionality with a local hour hand that can be jumped forward or backward in one-hour increments, the Seiko NH34 is the more common “caller-style” GMT movement, which allows owners to either adjust the date display or 24-hour hand by rotating the crown in its secondary position.

Although some folks will wish that the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time featured a flier-style GMT movement, it is important to remember that this model was created to be a multi-purpose dual-time watch, rather than one that is specifically dedicated to travel and quickly navigating between timezones. The 24-hour hand on the Series 1 Dual Time can be used in conjunction with the 24-hour scale along the periphery of its dial to display a secondary timezone, although it can also be used as a simple AM/PM indicator, or even as the reference point for the directional markings on its bezel when using the watch as a solar compass. At its core, the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time could best be described as a dive watch with GMT functionality, although rather than being designed for one specific use or environment, the brand’s Series 1 models are intended to be capable go-anywhere timekeeping companions that can be used for a wide variety of different outdoor activities.

A big part of why I enjoy the ADPT Series 1 models is because they are functional tool watches that offer a lighthearted appearance similar to camping gear or outdoor equipment, rather than the tactical or utilitarian aesthetic most commonly associated with the greater genre of function-forward timepieces. Additionally, rather than being purpose-built for one specific application, ADPT’s Series 1 watches simply pair ample durability with practical features to create versatile timekeeping tools with an inherently casual spirit that can easily integrate themselves into the daily lives of a wide variety of different individuals. With an official retail price of $499 USD, the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time exists at a fairly modest premium of fifty bucks compared to what the brand charges for the three-handed models from the Series 1 collection, and these GMT-equipped variants ultimately represent a fairly compelling overall package in what is increasingly becoming a highly competitive segment of the market. For more information on the ADPT Series 1 Dual Time, please visit the brand’s website.