Every watch brand has a watch that fits the Goldilocks proportions: a watch that fits a variety of wrist sizes and looks good even on extremely small or extra-large wrists. The 2 prior Spinnaker watches we reviewed were larger watches. Spinnaker has finally come out with their Goldilocks watch, the Cahill Midsize.
On the Wrist
When I first put the Cahill Midsize on, I was pleasantly surprised how good it felt. It’s one thing to make a smaller-sized watch; it’s entirely another thing to make it fit well. On-wrist comfort is something that is sometimes ignored by both watch designers and other watch reviewers. We are often so caught up in how a watch looks that we forget that we are going to wear it all day. Comfort is important.
The Cahill Midsize had some thought put into it by Spinnaker when it came to how it wears. Despite having a longer lug-to-lug distance of 50mm, it doesn’t feel that long. The lugs curve down dramatically, giving an on-wrist appearance and fit that feels closer to 47mm.
Spinnaker opted for the tried-and-true Mercedes handset with large hour markers, aiding in readability. I’ll cover more on the dial later, but despite being legible it is one of my gripes with this watch. Spinnaker has proven they can get creative when it comes to watch design and I would have liked to see them put more creativity into the handset and markers.
Dial Details
Spinnaker’s calling card seems to be becoming gravel-textured dials. The Cahill Midsize is no exception. The execution of the texture is well done. They do a great job adding an applied logo as well as the markers and other text. It adds a nice depth to the dial that would be lost if it were flat or a sunburst.
As I mentioned previously, the handset and markers are where I feel the Cahill is lacking. Mercedes hands are synonymous with two things: Rolex and Rolex homages. I have no doubt that there are watch buyers out there who love Mercedes hands, but I am not one of them. The Cahill Midsize would have benefited greatly in its overall aesthetic if a different handset had been used.
With that said, the markers are large and very legible. The markers and handset are filled with the best lume application I have seen from Spinnaker. The red seconds hand also adds a pop of coordinating color to the dial. The bezel of the Cahill Midsize is fully lumed, easy to grip, and has little to no backplay.
Case & Bracelet
The case is where the Cahill Midsize truly shines. The 40mm diameter, 20mm lug width, and 50mm lug-to-lug distance are right at home on a large variety of wrists. The lug-to-lug distance also shouldn’t scare anyone off.
One thing that will be a take-it-or-leave-it scenario is the branding on the side of the case. Spinnaker engraved their logo on the left side of the case, which I haven’t seen them do on the other watches I’ve reviewed from the brand. After wearing the watch for a few days, I realized I didn’t even notice it was there and it did not affect my enjoyment of the watch.
Included with the Cahill Midsize is an H-link bracelet. The bracelet is comfortable, and the links articulate well enough to conform easily to the shape of the wearer’s wrist. Spinnaker also made the end links the correct way with a female center link. This helps keep the watch wearing truer to size than if male center links protruded past the lugs.
The movement Spinnaker chose for the Cahill Midsize is serviceable but also an odd choice to me. It is powered by the Miyota 8215 which should present no problems as far as durability and repairability. The movement doesn’t hack but does hand wind. For the price of the watch, a Seiko NH movement should have also worked and would have added hacking. Nevertheless, there should be no problems with this movement and it was probably chosen to keep the costs down.
Final Thoughts
Spinnaker has proven time and time again that they can bring a good-looking watch to market with a solid feature set and make it affordable. The Cahill Midsize is no exception. They have put together a great package for $350 that shouldn’t be overlooked by those in the mid-level-Seiko buying category.
A few small tweaks could make the Cahill Midsize an absolute category killer, but even without them, it is hard to argue with the value it brings.
| Case Width | 40mm | Thickness | 13mm |
| Lug-to-lug Height | 50mm | Lug Width | 20mm |
| Crystal | Domed Sapphire | Strap | H-Link Bracelet |
| Water Resistance | 150 meters | Lume | Yes |
| Movement | Miyota 8215 | Price | $350 |
More Images of the Spinnaker Cahill Midsize
Check out the Spinnaker website
Check out more Spinnaker reviews from The Watch Clicker
Recent Comments