Marathon Arctic GSAR - Ultimate White Dial Tool Watch 

I bought my Marathon in 2008 in Doha,Qatar when I was a contractor. It's the high torque quartz version with the stainless steel bracelet and the US embassy seal on the clasp. The illumination is still brilliant and it runs flawlessly. I really got my money out of it .

Major Marathon fan. I have worn this brand ever since I was on active duty in the Marine Corps. Semper Fi 🇺🇲

Once I got my first Marathon I fell in love with this brand. Amazing time piece!

I have the white in a 36, I love it, and the Tritium is awesome. I will add that the SW 200 ate its winding gears, and I barely hand wound the thing. Marathon repaired it at no cost, even sending back the defective gears for me to see, and didn't make me feel like a dick. They were extremely professional and courteous. Because of how they treated me, I will buy another.

Those elastic straps are the best, I've replaced all my NATOs last year and there's no way back.

I'm not usually a fan of date, or day/date watch faces. I like a dial as simple as possible. But I find this 4 : 30 date position much less visually annoying than the 3 o'clock ones. Great looking watch face.

Funny you bought these up i was only just looking at them yesterday! Awesome looking tactical brut....

Super functional. Blows away the more expensive/more well known brands.

Just ordered the blacked out version from you. Really excited for it, especially since you've said how good the bezel action is. The consensus also seems to be that the rubber strap is very comfortable. This seems to be exactly the watch I have been looking for. Thanks for giving us such a good look at the watches you sell on RU-vid too.

Great video, i really like the Marathon GSAR watches, certainly on the radar

Love a nice elastic paratrooper strap .. just picked my first one up as well.

Thanks Mark. Great video. A bit of a grail watch for me. Was always wary of the 36 so this is perfect.

Those white dial Marathons are gorgeous 👍 also really like your blue dial Islander Mark! Really looks great with the textured dial too.

Beautiful!

Cool watches! A little pricey but you get what you pay for. Thanks for sharing them. Have a great weekend! 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸

Such an awesome tool watch

oh and these Marathons are real beauties. thanks for sharing.

I like the all-brushed finish! 👍

Hi Marc great job, I was checking your new home page very easy to access watches , parts I really like the samurai islander

These watches are practically indestructible. I have a 5 year old GSAR that shows almost no sign of wear, and still keeps great time despite having never been serviced.

Nice!! Been waiting for the whit Gsar.

Thanks Marc..Very interesting lum tes!

Oohhhh I’m getting that funny feeling in my belly & my credit card!

Awesome legibility from the design of the hands, with black on white, red seconds hand, and clean design of the numerals. Would that more watches had these features! Plus tritium--wow!

What a beautiful watch.

They look great

cool watch!

Very nice. I figured they would release the white in 41mm, very nice. Really like the red second hand. Well, they decided not to put the butterfly clasp on there Stainless Bracelets. Not a big deal, but it seems like a lot went into the black version, so a Stainless Version does not seem like a stretch.

Never thought to research how tritium works. Thanks.

i have a couple of Ball watches and love the tritium illumination. And i don't mind the butterfly clasp! ;-)

It is the only watch that I have that I can read at night without me having to put on my glasses ! Remarkable! and of coarse Built like a tank ! Cheers 👍

Huge respect to Marathon watches.

Hah! I love the shameless plug. The Islander Ice is definitely a beautiful timepiece!

this watch is sooooooo underrated!

Hi mark just wondering the white dials visibility are good for winters but is it the same for sunny days ? I never owned a white dial watch

Hey Mar, got a question! How is the legibility verses the black dial? I own the black dial, but would love to have the white dial too!

super watch my dream

Are there replacement/mods bezels available? Thanks for all your videos!

Will a strapcode skx fitted bracelet fit on this one?

Awesome GSAR tool watch! When I saw the tritium, what 1st came to my mind, it was my Luminox Black ops :-) This is really nice arctic model. All play well together. And the automat Sellita SW200, it has 38 Hrs power reserve? Wish it has more, but in daily wear, does not really matter much right. Thx for this review! Cheers

I like that.

marathon makes a very durable watch

Are they still held in high regard? I’ve never had one but always thought they were so unique with that canyon depth dial!😱 is there another version with super lume?? 20mm lugs??

Can the tubes be replaced in time?

Great looking watch but Marathon needs to add a 12 Hr bezel version. That would be sweet!

Hello Mark. I have 2 Marathons and love them both (GP and GSAR). My comment is about the GSAR bracelet. It looks fantastic and is my favorite strap (I have both the Marathon silicone strap and the leather nato). The clasp is ok but I much prefer a double trigger design. But the thing that really bothers me is that the center links are not rounded or beveled to my satisfaction (maybe not at all?). So I often notice a sharp edge that I imagine could lead to fraying of a shirt sleeve cuff. This particularly bothers me because the bracelet is not inexpensive. I paid about $240 from your store a few months ago and I see that since the beginning of the new year the price is well over $300. I’m glad I bought the bracelet because for me it’s the perfect complement to the watch. But I am disappointed that it lacks that bit of finished machining that elevates the wearing experience. Your thoughts?

Awesome watch! Question for you, Marc: On such a robust, overbuilt watch with a well-engineered bracelet, why do you think Marathon chose to use a pressed clasp? Is there some mil-spec reason for doing this? It wouldn't bother me personally if I owned the watch, but it does seem kind of mis-matched. Thanks!

I like the one the with SS band.

How big of wrist for jumbo?

Any idea what aftermarket straps will fit that endlink?

I have a tough time getting with the fact that $1200 watch has a pressed clasp...Nice watch though.

I'm waiting for a JDD in Arctic and I'll have my 4th Marathon...

I'm hoping for an Islander version of this watch, ideally with a compass bezel insert. 🤞🙏

Excellent!! White dials, they flower in front of you with contrasting hands that tell you the time.. no need to read.. also the proportion of the bezel's thickness .. maybe no more than 4 mm? .. it looks like a nice detail outlining the dial... minute 3:22 I'm scared about the price that you are about to mention... BH.. lets see... :)

Mark you should release a Marathon-homage model through the Island Watch brand! As much as I love the look of the Marathon search and rescue series, the price is not exactly affordable, and there are no viable lookalikes i think.

Hi Marc. You talked about the life of the tritium tubes ... how does that compare to the longevity of C3 and BGW9 lum - can the C3 and BGW9 be renewed or reapplied?

Would you ever collaborate with Teddy Baldassarre? I only ask because you’re both RU-vid personalities and watch retailers. I think it would be interesting to see you sort of compare notes if you will. And before you ask, I’d go L.I.W. all day. I enjoy buying for such an up standing, reputable dealer.

The crown tube on these is super cheap and strips really easy. I’m surprised they don’t put a beefier crowned tube on them.

Nice watch, but that 4:30 date window is a curious choice that gets a bit lost in the overall design.

Thanks for telling us what ‘H3’ means.

I thought these rubber straps came without holes in them?

Ok Mark, I gotta ask. Why has your site always had a list price and then an “Island Watch Price”? Specifically on the Islander brand. I understand with outside brands but you set your own list prices for your own brand. Is it just a marketing tactic?

That new blue Waffle model would be another step up with stainless steel bezel insert....👍

Need a steel navigator ! Udt type homage hoo rah ! Viet maam bring it awn!! Baby yeah made in chynah!!

Is Marathon part of the Timex company? Or bought by Timex?

Nice watches. Now my decision is more difficult (I was leaning toward the White Mid-size and I have a 6 3/4" wrist). Good vid. Keep at it!

Real nice watches. Hey Mark quick question about those elastic watch straps. Would the 22mm size fit on the Seiko Flightmaster aka “Flighty”which has a 21mm. Thanks

41mm??? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like the white dial and red seconds hand. The Marathon GSARS, however, are not high quality. The weakness is the crown stem. Looks very cool, but not a robust tool watch as one would expect. The tritium vials are excellent.

Just so thick, though. A beast, nevertheless.

The islander looks like the more expensive of the three watches in this video lol.

Whats the maker of the the genuine search and rescue watch... I think Breitling springs to mind with the GPS signal if you press the button?Mind you it comes with a bill if you ever need to use it.I guess search and rescue in this watch means jack.Great looker though.

Friend , too many videos recently ))) What about new Islander Monster ? Ang Islander on ETA ? Thanks !!

Ngl but the first thing that came out of my mouth when u showed the marathon's was, "uuffff"

this is the Toyota Hilux of trucks... indestructible

Wow talk about increase in price. This is $1800 from Marathon now straight from the company.

buy the rubber strap version and then upgrade to a premium oyster like steel bracelet

How thick is the crystal ? 12mm !?!?!!

Are the tritium tubes t 25? I addume they would be bragging about the tubes if they were t 100.

The lume is very cool though!

Radio radio radioactive, don't you stand too close. You might catch it.🙄😁

I’d love to know what governments pay for these. Yes they buy in bulk so that lowers the cost and no way are they paying $1500 each BUT no way is Marathon not making a grand minimum on each “civilian” watch. With that said I love Marathon watches.

Why are Marathon watches over 1200 US dollars? Is Tritium that expensive? I can't see paying more than $500 for a watch with a selleta movement, it's just a copy of the ETA 2824. I don't know anyone who owns one. So I don't really know the quality without it being in my hands. I remember some older tritium watches that said T Swiss on the bottom.

By far the most disappointing watch purchase I ever made was a Marathon JDD. Full disclosure: I did NOT buy it from Long Island Watch. Rather, I bought it directly from Marathon. You'd think that might mean less chance of getting burned, but no. The watch never functioned properly (all manner of crown issues). Twice I paid to have the cursed thing insured and sent to Canada for repair, and twice it came back still broken. To be sure, by most accounts my experience was a gross outlier. Even so, I'll never buy anything with the Marathon name on it again.

I'm just gonna mention green waffle dials every time I drop by

This is an amazing watch that boggles the mind. It’s either a micro watch for mini men or a tank of a watch for massive men. Weird.

haha, "mentioned everything about it that I would want to". I guess glazing over the pressed clasp is one of the things you didn't want to cover.

Plain chapter ring is a downside.

Marathon make real tool watches.

It looks like a toy. Not to my liking.

Tool watch and automatic don't really belong in the same sentence.