The B18 comes with a sapphire crystal with double sided clear anti-reflective coating. The case-back is constructed of threaded 316L Stainless steel and is also protected with a sapphire crystal that displays the Miyota 9015 that powers the watch. The crown of the B18 is coin edged, only with thicker grooves, and compliments the casing well. The crown displays the LT logo and is screw down with double diamond sealing system. The water resistance of the B18 is rated at 300-meters/990 ft.
The dial of the B18 is very clean and legible. Lum-Tec uses Arabic numerals with oversized 12, 3, 6 and 9-hour markers. Around the outer edge of the dial are the minute markers, with Arabic numerals for the five-minute markers. This is a nice touch as there is less congestion on the dial, while still providing minute markers. The hour and minute hands are wide in stance, providing for easy reading. The dial has an overall light brown color scheme backed by a black dial, making the overall watch every esthetically pleasing.
Under the 12 o’clock marker you will find the Lum-Tec logo and MDV Technology stamp. MDV (Maximum Darkness Visibility) is Lum-Tec’s pride and joy, and is the name of their very own lume used on their watches. The B18, along with all Lum-Tec watches, comes with a heavy dose of MDV lume, making the markers bold, solid, and easily legible in darkness. I am one that gets excited when in broad daylight, just by cupping the dial, you can easily see the lume. The B18 does that with ease.
Above the 6 o’clock marker you will find the name of the watch; Combat B Bronze. At the 4 o’clock position is the date window for the B18. This is my only complaint with the dial on this watch. The window is cut in a circular shape, and is fairly small in size. While the date is legible, I would have liked to see the date window a bit larger in size. Is it a deal breaker by any means? Absolutely not.
The B18 arrives on an aviator style riveted custom leather strap with bronzed rivets and buckle. The B18 also comes with an additional 3 Nato straps: Black heavy NATO with bronzed rings, OD green heavy NATO with bronzed rings, and a White heavy NATO with bronzed rings. All the straps measure in at 22mm in width. The leather has a height of 3 mm, while all the Nanos have a height of 1mm.
The leather strap is equipped with quick release pins, making it very easy to remove the straps when wanting to switch to a Nato band. The Buckle and buckle tongue of the leather strap are constructed from stainless steel and display the Lum-Tec logo. The overall quality of the leather strap is good, in my opinion, and wears nicely. Both Lum-Tec and Genuine Leather are stamped into the leather, as is custom with a majority of leather straps. Not a huge fan of Nato straps, I must say the B18 wore well with the Nato, and the bronzed rings add a nice character to the straps. If you live in warmer climates, leather straps can become annoying in the heat as well as damaged from sweat, so the Nato straps are an added bonus for tropical climates.
