When people speak of a “Seiko 5,” many are thinking specifically of a single line within that vast family of awesomely affordable automatic watches — the cult-classic, dirt-cheap, but seemingly discontinued SNK field watch. In today’s era of everything-old-being-new-again and everything Seiko being highly hyped (and not without good reason), it would’ve been pure folly not to bring the SNK back in some form, and the new SRPG is it.

Kind of.

The Seiko 5 Sports line is the brand’s (still recently) resurrected family of entry-level automatic sport watches — and like everything Seiko does today, it’s generally more refined and cohesive than beloved beaters like the original SNK and SKX dive watch.

The dive-style models that debuted the modern Seiko 5 Sports are the descendants of the SKX, and when the brand introduced models with smaller cases and sans the dive-style bezel (but otherwise with an identical design), many watch fans thought that it was meant to represent the SNK as a field watch-type of option.

But the people want proper field watches, and that’s what the new SRPG line delivers. It’s the first to join modern Seiko 5 Sports with a totally different case and design, and it’s the smallest diameter in the collection yet at 39.4mm.

If you know your cheap Seikos, however, you’ll recognize that the basic design of the SNK was passed over for another model from the old Seiko 5 line known as the SNZG: It was bigger than the new models, but otherwise most elements from the dial design to the hand set to the crown positioning at 3 o’clock are straight from the SNZG.

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Seiko’s holding out on the SNK for now, but the new field watches should be crowd pleasers nonetheless. They have a classic military look, 100m of water resistance and should wear smallish, field watches often do. With day and date displays, they’re powered by the same movements as their contemporary siblings in the line, the in-house automatic 4R36 with 41 hours of power reserve.

Like its predecessors, the new field watch is among the most affordable Seiko 5 Sports. It’s priced at full retail the same as the “bezel-less dive watches” mentioned above, and only $20 less than the most affordable dive-style models.

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At launch, it’s offered in seven variants with different dial colors, strap options and even a steel bracelet — but these will probably always feel the most appropriate on NATO straps. Available now directly from the brand online, the new Seiko 5 Sports SRPG field watches are $275 regardless of whether you choose steel bracelet (more value here) or nylon strap. (One gradient-dial version costs $315 and hints at more variants and special editions, just like we’ve seen explode among the rest of the Seiko 5 Sports offerings.)

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