MTM Special Ops Featured in Bless This Stuff's Independent Watch Guide
Bless This Stuff, an independent design and gear publication that reaches more than 350,000 readers a month, has featured MTM Special Ops in its editorial guide, 20 Microbrand and Independent Watches Worth Knowing.
Bless This Stuff set out with a plan to find watches with a recognizable identity, sensible specifications for their intended use and a clear purpose. We are really pleased that they found that MTM Special Ops' range of high-quality tactical and military watches met their standard. Their selection was completely editorial - the placement featuring our watches was neither paid nor sponsored.
To represent MTM in their guide, they have picked the flagship - the Black Cobra 47mm, selected for what the guide calls "maximum wrist presence and customizable tactical styling". Bless This Stuff also covered our highly popular range of Air Stryk II watches in a previous feature, and so they also direct readers back to their earlier dedicated feature on the Air Stryk II.
We are really pleased and proud to be included. Bless This Stuff has built their guide around brands with a defined, clear purpose, and that is a great description of what we are doing here at MTM - every watch we sell is assembled to order, individually numbered, and built from materials chosen for active service conditions rather than just visual appeal.
Here is a closer look at both watches.
MTM Special Ops Black Cobra 47mm
The Cobra 47 is the largest Cobra we make, and the size is 100% deliberate. At 47mm across without the crown and 15.5mm thick, it is designed to be read instantly - in a cockpit, on a ship on deployment, by search and rescue personnel on a mission. Put simply - it is an uncompromising, unapologetic watch designed for serious operators.
What makes those dimensions wearable is the case material. It is machined from solid Grade 2 titanium and finished in black DLC, so the whole watch comes in at around 5oz - significantly lighter than a steel case of the same footprint, and non-reactive against skin if you are wearing it for hours on end. The DLC coating is there for scratch resistance and for a durable non-reflective finish.
Timing is handled by a supremely reliable Swiss Ronda 3540.D quartz chronograph, with a measuring range of one hour, 59 minutes and 59.99 seconds. Quartz is a deliberate choice for a watch in this category: it holds accuracy without winding or wearing, survives shock that would trouble a mechanical movement, and runs on a lithium cell rated by the manufacturer at four to five years. Put simply - this is not a casual watch. It is for someone who, when they look at their watch, absolutely needs it to be accurate.
The Cobra carries two bezels. The external bezel is unidirectional and ratcheting; the internal bezel rotates multi-directionally, so elapsed-time tracking can be set without breaking the seal on the case. The crown is locking and screw-down, and the watch is rated to 660 feet (200 meters) of water resistance.
The Cobra 47mm features a solid brass dial with Super LumiNova index and hands, under a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective, ultraviolet-protective and scratch-resistant coating.
Every Cobra 47 is individually numbered and assembled to the buyer's specification, with case finish, dial color and strap chosen when you place your order. It ships in its own watertight MTM Barracuda case and is covered by our three-year limited warranty.
MTM Special Ops Air Stryk II
The Cobra is a timing instrument - built to do one thing, exceptionally well. The Air Stryk II, on the other hand, is a navigational instrument. It is the watch to reach for when the question is not only what time it is, but what time it is somewhere else and which direction you are facing.
The movement is our own proprietary MTM ana-digit quartz built around a Swiss Ronda 763E, driving analog hands and a digital display together. That display carries a digital compass, five daily or scheduled alarms, a countdown timer, and a chronograph with a 23-hour, 59-minute, 59.99-second range and a 10-lap record memory. Time zones are pre-loaded for 58 cities, plus a user-defined home city. Put simply - this is built for a pilot or regular traveler who needs to know where they are going and what time it is elsewhere, without having to constantly pull out a phone.
There are two specific features of this watch that make it invaluable in the field. The first is the EL backlight, which illuminates the entire digital display evenly rather than lighting one corner. The second is the watch's stealth mode, which blacks out the digital display completely while the analog hands keep running - so the watch stays readable without putting light on your face and giving away your position.
Construction is built to the same high standards of the Cobra and every other watch we make: solid Grade 2 titanium at 45mm without the crown and 16mm thick, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective and UV coating, a locking screw-down crown, and 330 feet (100 meters) of water resistance. At around 4oz it is incredibly light for the amount of features you get. The carbon lumi dial has Super LumiNova hands and index for uncompromising legibility in low-light conditions.
Like every MTM watch, the Air Stryk II is individually numbered, assembled to order across case finishes, dial colors and more than thirty strap options, and covered by our three-year limited warranty.
Two watches that represent what we stand for
Bless This Stuff's guide picked the Black Cobra 47mm to represent what MTM is about and what we stand for. And it is a great choice - the Cobra is one of the most unique and uncompromising timepieces you will find anywhere. But the Cobra and the Air Stryk II, along with everything else we make, are cut from the same cloth. Precision timepieces engineered for ultimate durability and reliability for serious operators.
We do not make watches for casual wear - we make watches for military and tactical use, for field use, for pilots, for submariners, for search and rescue - anyone who depends on their watch to keep them alive and for whom failure is not an option. Neither of these watches are trying to be dress watches that can take the occasional knock - they are equipment first, and the styling is born from that rather than the other way around.
Read the full guide at Bless This Stuff: 20 Microbrand and Independent Watches Worth Knowing. Their standalone feature on the Air Stryk II is here.
Shop the Special Ops collection
Frequently asked questions
The Cobra 47 is a chronograph built around elapsed-time measurement, with a dual-bezel system and a fully analog display. The Air Stryk II is an analog-digital hybrid built around navigation and situational awareness - digital compass, 58 pre-loaded time zones, five alarms and a countdown timer alongside the hands. The Cobra is the larger and heavier of the two at 47mm and 5oz; the Air Stryk II is 45mm and 4oz. Put simply - if you are a pilot, you want the Air Stryk II. If you are out in the field, you want the Cobra.
Because the failure modes matter more than the prestige. Quartz holds accuracy without being worn or wound, tolerates shock and vibration that would knock a mechanical movement out of adjustment, and keeps running when a watch sits in a locker for three weeks between deployments. The Cobra 47's lithium cell is manufacturer-rated at four to five years. For a watch specified as equipment, that reliability is the point. Having said this - we do have a superb range of automatic watches if that is what you are looking for.
47mm is large for a watch - and this is a question that would be easy for us to talk around, but we would rather answer it honestly. The Cobra makes no attempt to disappear under the cuff. It was designed to be seen and read immediately - and if you are used to a 40mm watch, the Cobra is going to feel very large on your wrist. The titanium construction keeps the weight low, to around 5oz, which is considerably less than a steel watch of the same size would be, but the footprint is what it is and we make no apology for it. If 47mm genuinely is too big for you and you want the same engineering in more conventional dimensions, the Cobra 44 uses identical design language and dual-bezel layout in a smaller case.
Grade 2 titanium is roughly 40% lighter than steel at equivalent strength, which is what makes a 45 to 47mm case wearable for a full day. It is also non-reactive against skin - useful over long wear and in heat - and it does not corrode in saltwater. The black DLC finish adds scratch resistance and a non-reflective surface. We cover the comparison in full in our guide to titanium vs stainless steel watches.
Yes. Both models are assembled to order rather than picked off a shelf. You choose case finish, dial color and strap at the point of order, with more than thirty band options available on the Air Stryk II. Each watch is individually numbered.
The Black Cobra 47 is rated to 200 meters (660 feet) and the Air Stryk II to 100 meters (330 feet), both with locking screw-down crowns. Both are comfortable in open water and suitable for recreational diving within those limits. Make sure the crown is fully screwed down before entry. However - if you are looking for a dedicated dive watch rated for saturation diving, we make those too.
All MTM watches carry a three-year limited warranty for the original purchaser, and every watch ships in its own watertight MTM Barracuda case.
