Bear Grylls, former British Special Forces Reserve turned survivalist, is no stranger to adventure—but you already knew that. He first got his claim to fame for shattering his vertebrae in a parachuting accident, before becoming the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest just 18 months later. The man will burrow inside a dead camel for warmth on a Tuesday, then eat goat testicles for sustenance on a Wednesday. I could go on, but you get the idea—Grylls is someone who is dedicated to staying alive in the harshest of environments, using the harshest of methods.

To match that level of grit, you can imagine the kind of tools he brings on his expeditions, especially since his life quite literally hinges on many of them. Naturally, the watches he wears into the wild must meet the same uncompromising standards.

So when Grylls joined Luminox as an ambassador in 2020, it made all the sense in the world. After all, for the brand to have previous endorsements from the US Navy Seal to Austrian Military Police and even partnerships with Lockheed and Martin—its watches had to be tough.

Five years and over 30 watches later, you’ll find Grylls' influence etched onto signature collections across Luminox's Sea, Air, Land and Mountain series. Many, if not all of them have a rugged, extreme sports-like quality. Think dials dense with information, uni-directional dive bezels, and compasses lodged onto rubber straps—qualities which make for a beefy mass of masculine energy. Each model bears Grylls’ mantra “Never Give Up” on the dial and caseback, though, an easy way to tell if it’s a Bear Grylls watch is whether it has an orange crown.

But the new Bear Grylls Survival Land 3710 Series takes a different path. It subverts the brand’s usual visual intensity with a cleaner, more refined approach to adventure watches. Gone are the tenacious black-and-red colourways in favour of a more subdued-neutral-toned aesthetic. Available in Sand or Anthracite, the new palette draws from the terrain itself, reiterated by a sandblasted dial that further toys with the balance between abrasiveness and calm.

But the differences don’t stop here—most Luminox watches are built on a carbon-based material (otherwise known as Carbonox) known for its durability and scratch-resistance. The new 43mm model, instead, uses an aerospace-grade aluminium case (called Aluminox), which brings its own host of benefits. It’s not only much lighter than its carbon counterpart, but also anti-corrosive, which offers superior immunity against the natural elements (staring at you, moisture).

But other than that, familiar elements of Luminox remain. Tritium gas from the brand’s signature Luminox Light Technology still runs through the gas tubes behind each hour marker, ensuring 24/7 visibility for up to 25 years without ever looking to an external light source for power. A rubber strap of either black or sand flanks the watch, preserving that bouncy, kinetic allure we’ve all come to know Luminox for.