Wristwatch Review: Kenneth Cole REACTION Quartz Chronograph Watch

This is a review of a Kenneth Cole REACTION watch that I've had for quite awhile. It's probably three or four years old. That's probably an eternity in the product life cycle of a fashion watch company. But, it is worth taking a look at this watch so that you can know what to expect from the brand.

Kenneth Cole REACTION Quartz Chronograph Watch

REACTION Watch Features

My Kenneth Cole REACTION chronograph has functional subdials and pusher buttons powering chronograph functions that include a 1/10 of a second timer at 12 o'clock, a second timer at 6 o'clock, and a minute timer at 9 o'clock. The watch also has the date canted at an angle in a window near 5 o'clock. The bezel has sporty diver-style markings, but is of the fixed (non-rotating) variety. From a functional perspective, the watch works well and the chronograph features work very well. I could easily use this watch to time some sort of event.

REACTION Watch Style

This watch has a bold, athletic, style. I think the blue case and blue dial work very well together. The dial has vertical stripes in relief to provide some additional visual interest.  

REACTION Watch Construction

Inside, the watch is powered by a Chinese-made  quartz movement. The watch has a stainless steel case back, a presumably base metal case, and a textured silicone strap. The watch takes an SR920SW watch battery.

Kenneth Cole REACTION Stainless Steel Caseback

This chronograph has 3 Atmosphere (30-meter) water resistance. That is enough to avoid damage from incidental splashes. However, the watch should be protected from full immersion from showers, swimming, dishwashing, or heavy rain.

REACTION Watch Dimensions

This Kenneth Cole REACTION chronograph is a bold presence on the wrist. It has a 45mm diameter case. It's almost 47mm if you include the crown. The case is 11mm thick.  The lug-to-lug measurements come in at 47mm. The stainless steel bracelet is 25mm wide at the lug and tapers to about 17mm at the clasp.  It's  long enough to fit my 7 3/4-inch wrist perfectly without adjustment.

This Kenneth Cole REACTION Chronograph is not a dog

When it comes time to replace this watch strap, I may face a challenge due to the unusual tapering of the strap to fit in the lugs and match the curvature of the case.

Overall Impressions of the REACTION Chronograph

The Kenneth Cole REACTION Chronograph was a great find for me at Ross. It has excellent chronograph functions and an easily read dial. Functional, affordable, and good looking, this was a great fashion watch buy.

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Kenneth Cole REACTION watch with white dial

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone has a great year. To kick things off, I present a shot of a Kenneth Cole REACTION watch that I took at two minutes to midnight. Not THE midnight, but a midnight. Over the years, I've bought a few watches from Kenneth Cole and they've all turned out to be reliable timepieces that have a bit of style and swagger.  Every one that I've bought has been a bargain from Ross. However, even at full retail prices, they would have been good purchases. Here's a moody photo of this Kenneth Cole REACTION watch that I took at 2 minutes to midnight.

Kenneth Cole REACTION watch

For a broad daylight look at this watch, check out my post on X:

I love a good deal when I find one. Here's my quick review of a Kenneth Cole REACTION watch that I found at a Ross - Dress for Less - Store. Here's a link to other REACTION watches on Amazon - https://t.co/T4jIFHiwgP#WatchLover #watches #Mensfashion pic.twitter.com/0fovR9aYyx

— TheWatchDude (@the_watch_dude) July 17, 2024

Watch Review: Kenneth Cole Reaction Camouflage Watch

On a recent trip to a Ross discount store, this Kenneth Cole Reaction watch caught my eye.  It had a flat black case, a black leather strap, and a darkly camouflaged dial with blacked out numbers.  Readers of this blog know, I love stealthy commando-style watches.  Since this Kenneth Cole watch was priced at less than $50, I had to add it to my collection.

Kenneth Cole Reaction Watch on Amazon

Kenneth Cole Reaction Watch Design

This watch has a flat black case and genuine leather strap.  The case diameter is 49 millimeters.  It is 12 millimeters thick.  The Amazon specifications list this watch as having a 22 millimeter strap, but I found that mine was actually 24 millimeters.

Kenneth Cole Reaction Watch Construction

This watch feels pretty solid with an alloy metal case and stainless steel caseback.  However, macho looks aside, the Kenneth Cole Reaction is clearly a fashion watch.  It is only rated as water resistant to 30 meters.  That's enough water resistance for a little rain and hand washing, but not much more.

This is not really a tactical watch.  However, it isn't priced like one either.  The quartz movement is powered by a standard SR626W battery.  The camouflage paint job on the dial is well done, but a little dark.  

You can see the detail in bright sunlight, but it is very dark in lower light conditions.  I would have also opted for wider watch hands so that the time was a tad more readable at a glance.

By far, the weakest link in the design is the synthetic leather strap.  I found it to be a little short with my wrist barely fitting with the use of the last hole on the strap.  


With a very minor flex of the wrist to do something as mundane as picking up a television remote control, the strap failed.  It was almost the most ignominious end to a promising addition to my watch collection.  What if I had been fast-roping out of a helicopter or rappelling down from the ceiling of an art gallery?

 

Fortunately, I pressed on and replaced the failed strap with an inexpensive black nylon NATO watch strap.  In my opinion, the new strap greatly improved the look of this watch.  The new strap is more utilitarian and brings a more purposeful military or "tactical" look to the timepiece. 





Now that my Kenneth Cole Reaction watch is back in action, I can go back to my imaginary life as a cat burglar on the French Riviera.  This watch fills the "stealth watch" void in my collection perfectly without busting the budget.
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 Overall Kenneth Cole Reaction Watch Review

Overall, I really like the look of the Kenneth Cole Reaction Camouflage Watch.  It does look cool.  However, I was disappointed in the durability and length of the original leather strap.

The NATO strap greatly improved the look of this wath and brought it back into my collection for about $10.  However, that is $10 I would rather spend on something else.

While I still enthusiastically wear this watch and love the stealthy looks.  However, I would give this watch a 3 out of 5 star review for the feeble faux leather watch strap.  It may still be a good value to add to your watch collection depending on the price.