I’ve got another confession to make. I’m no fan of how my G-Shock wears. I’ve had my GW-M5610 for maybe 10 years, and I rarely wear it because it’s simply uncomfortable, digging into my wrist in all the wrong places. When I was in middle school, I had a G-Shock, as did most boys my age, and I wore it every day until I didn’t (I can’t remember why I stopped). But before that, I had a Timex Ironman. The black and orange one that Bill Clinton wore to his inauguration, the one everyone seemed to have. In recent years, Timex has started reissuing and playing around with the classic Ironman 8-Lap, no doubt cognizant of the money those with nostalgia for it now have. When I saw an ad for the new Japanese market Timex Ironman 8-Lap Gray Shades, I nostalgically, impulsively, and without regret ordered one.
Like the G-Shock of my adolescence, I wore my childhood Ironman every day until I didn’t. I probably lost it, but it was a suitable watch for a hyperactive kid whose parents (I’m convinced) had me in every sport possible in a desperate attempt to tire me out. The Timex Ironman 8-Lap is indelibly inked into the minds of an entire generation of children and adults alike, dominating (if my memory serves) the wrists of any American who did any sport in the early 1990s. Receiving this new Timex Ironman 8Lap brought a jolt of warm nostalgia, but, more so, I found that I just liked the watch. It looked cool. My G-Shock is coolish but in an IYKYK way. The Timex immediately seemed both fun and practical — and it was comfortable.
The Timex Ironman 8-Lap for Japan was made available in eight different models, one of which had a lumed case and three of which were all metal. While the “OG” model would’ve been akin to taking a bump of my childhood straight to the dome, it was the monochromatic Gray Shades that caught my eye and won over my impulsive spending. I still get the classic silhouette and layout of the original but with a more modern look. Of course, the variety of the 8-Lap is solely in what’s done with the case, as the module, functions, display, and buttons are all the same.
The new Ironman 8-Lap is actually based on the 1986 (and beyond) Ironman Triathlon, which itself was a more robust version of the 1984 Timex Triathlon. The original watch also boldly proclaimed itself as an “8 LAP MEMORY|STOPWATCH,” with “Timex Quartz” floating on its own in the center while Ironman and Triathlon snuck themselves inside the black outline of the digital display. The new versions keep things unchanged, though Timex has printed “Quartz” and “Triathlon” in a grey text, such that it all but disappears at certain angles. Personally, I think I prefer the boldness of some of the later dials which gave more prominence to both “Triathlon” and “Ironman,” but on this gray-on-gray-on-gray design, the sparser original text works. Everything else is just as you remember: the big start/stop and lap/reset buttons are right there at the bottom and the three buttons around the case have the same functions.
The original Timex Ironman Triathlon labeled its backlight button “Light” because Timex didn’t introduce Indiglo until 1992; thereafter, the button was labeled with “Indiglo” in a stylized font. Despite indeed having an Indiglo backlight, this model stays true to the original. I found it somewhat annoying that, by default, the light only stays on when the button is depressed. Holding it down for a few seconds (until you hear a beep) allows you to push the button and have the light stay on for a bit, but the watch then reverts to its default (after a day maybe — I didn’t track it or look it up). The light itself is plenty bright, even noticeable in a well-lit room. The other buttons function easily and intuitively; I didn’t have to use the manual and I’m not even sure if it came with one. Cycling through the chronograph, timer, and alarm functions is a breeze and you can start the chronograph, return to the main time display, and use the START/STOP button to show the elapsed time. I can also confirm that the alarm is plenty loud, shrill even, though perhaps not quite so loud that I’d rely on it to wake me up.
If the resin case doesn’t keep the exact dimensions of the original, it does maintain the proportions. It’s 39mm wide, 10.5mm thick, and 46.5mm lug-to-lug, and wears perfectly on my 7-inch wrist. It has a smaller presence than my admittedly more rugged G-Shock, but for my own needs, I prefer the comfort over the durability. Less than the case itself, I think the comfort is down to the (regrettably 19mm) strap, which is softer and more flexible than the G-Shock resin strap. The G-Shock strap is more securely attached and I’ve got no doubt it would/will outlast this one. The Timex Ironman 8-Lap is no slouch, though: It’s got a steel caseback and 100m water resistance. And while I’m not sure if I’d go dropping it off a building, I’m also not expecting to need it to survive such an impact.
Modern digital Timex Ironman watches are bigger and more durable, with added shock resistance and improved water resistance, plus the ability to track more and do more. That’s great if you actually want a digital watch to use to do things. But this watch is really about capturing a moment from the past: There is something about this Timex recreation that is undeniably, quintessentially representative of the late 80’s and early 90’s. For a boy growing up in suburban America, those were some of the very best years. The Timex Ironman 8-Lap Gray Shades TW5M54500 is priced at $91 USD and is available through Timex Japan. For more information, please visit the Timex Japan website.