 Our group somewhere near the Erg Issaouane, Algeria
Our experience test was not an academic one. That means, we did not have any controlled experiments with repeatable results. The suggestion to strap the watches to the car's bumper bar, and to see if they survive 50 kilometres of 'corrugated track', was not considered seriously - LIMES would be thankful to hear. This 'corrugated track' is a rough and stony track, which develops a surface with many large ripples in regular distances. Driving over the ripples is causing serious strain to the equipment: Everything in and on the car is most violently vibrating, until it is loose or broken.  Instead of such kind of watch killing, the two LIMES watches were to be subjected to more normal hazards during our journey: Every one of our group's nine member should wear both watches for several days, reporting about its wearing comfort, legibility, ease of use. At least one day, each watch should spend on the wrist of our bikers, who speeded through the Sahara on their KTM motocross racing bikes. This meant really 'good vibrations'! Besides this, the sand was the most imminent hazard to all parts of our equipment. It crept everywhere; it seemed impossible to keep it out. Even now, months after the journey, Sahara sand keeps trickling out from our car's radio. Digging out cars stuck in the sand, which was a rather frequent activity, brought the watches into direct contact with the menace.  At 46 degrees Celcius, this is no fun! High temperatures brought further possible problems for the mechanical movements, and it interested if the accuracy was affected by these conditions. Global Positioning System gave reference time for the accuracy measuring, since Algeria is too far away for radio-controlled clocks.
1.) Ergonomics: a) Legibility: During the day, both watches were very easy to read. The contrast of the dials was more than sufficient, and the reflections on the non-coated crystals were far less apparent than originally anticipated. The flat surface of the crystal made it rather easy to avoid the reflection, by simply changing the angle of view a little bit. Our bikers reported good legibility even during their dash over the stone-covered 'hamada'. Due to the unscrewed pushers, using the stop function of the chronograph was easy, and the results were easily read from to the bright red hands. Only small minus is the lack of markers for the half hours on the 12 hours-counter.  When the daylight fades, the situation changes completely, and not for the better: Like many other modern watches, both "Outback 2" suffer from what I call the "Super Luminova-problem": In complete darkness, the luminosity of hands and numerals is strong enough to ensure a good legibility, at least for most of the night. After about five or six hours, however, it is nearly impossible to read the time. Even worse it is when there still is a little bit of ambient light, at dusk, for instance, or at the campfire: Then the human eye looses much of its resolution capability. The rather small numerals and hands on a wristwatch just are not contrasty enough any more, and the eye transmits shades of grey rather than a sharp picture of the black and white dials. This happens with all wristwatches, no matter how much contrast there is between markers and dial. Without leaving civilization, one can easily repeat the situation in a theatre: It is nearly impossible to read the time then, since there is not enough light to recognize the hands, but too much light to see the glow of the luminescent elements. I do not know how to overcome this problem with the currently used type of luminous mass. I have seen barely a watch that can be read easily in these conditions (without having been 'charged' with strong light directly before, of course). Yet most of my companions told me they had no problems at all reading the time from the LIMES watches; only to pull out a flashlight when I asked them for time in the evening.
b) Wearing comfort: The watches are not too large and sit very well on the wrist, despite their weight. Although my companions had vastly different sizes of their wrists, it was no problem to fit the watches onto them. The bracelet, which normally can be sized only by pushing out pins, can be adjusted quite well at the clasp only, and together with the extension, this made it fit to all of the guys.  They had no need for a watch: Touareg caravane The high temperatures (46 degrees Celsius in the non-existent shadow), sweat and the strong radiation from the sun made the skin very sensitive, especially at the wrist's inner sides. This made the encounter with the sharp edges of the bracelet's clasp a painful experience. In addition, the pushers of the strap's deployment clasp are thin and have sharp edges, which after some days of wearing, resulted in visible irritations of the skin. A small change in the production of the clasp would improve the comfort considerably. A simple buckle, however, would have been the most comfortable alternative. Additionally, the ubiquitous sand was caught in the gaps of the bracelet, only to function like sandpaper on the skin. The leather strap was felt to be much better in this respect.  Dunes in the Erg Tiffernine
2.) Toughness: Overall, both "Outback 2" watches dealt extremely well with all the hazards described above. However, hits and the permanent attack by the sands did leave traces: The brushed steel cases showed many small scratches afterwards, as did the steel bracelet. While I am sure that it would be no problem to remove the scratches by re-brushing the steel, they result in an interesting 'patina', proving that the watch has seen some activity far away from the computer desk. The only visible nicks have appeared on the raised bezel rings, which I had suspected to be the only weak point of that tank case design already before the journey.  Thanks to the screw-down design, the sand did not damage the crown or its thread. Astonishingly, the non-screwed pushers were not affected either, which proves the high precision of their integration into the case. The only loser in this chapter was the steel bracelet. Besides the numerous scratches it received, the sand that crept between the links also caused the links to be stuck, compromising the bracelet's flexibility. The folding clasp was nearly impossible to open or close again after two weeks. Only after thorough cleaning with a brush, it worked again as it should. The same fate met the leather strap's twin folding clasp. It, too, was blocked by the sand and could be opened only by force. As I already said in the ergonomics chapter, a simple buckle would be the better solution under similar conditions. The leather strap maintained its shape, but the lining looked as if the strap had been worn permanently for at least two years: Heat, sweat and sand made it black and unattractive. Generally, a rubber strap with a buckle would be the toughest and most convenient way to hold a watch on one's wrist in the desert.
3.) Accuracy: Before the journey started, both watches had a 'break-in period' of several weeks. After that, the chronograph gained 7 seconds, and the automatic watch 4 seconds per day. These values did not change during the trip, with the sole exception that the chronograph gained 10 seconds on the day when it was worn by one of our bikers. The steadiness of the watches' performance is impressive, and proves that mechanical watches are not inferior to electronic counterparts, even in adverse conditions. 
4.) Conclusion: Both LIMES "Outback 2" watches impressed our group with their toughness and reliability. Their sturdy cases and the good accuracy of the movements made them invaluable companions on a difficult trip. I would not hesitate to take them with me on any similar journey again.  Track along the Atafaitafa mountain range However, as the better always is the worst enemy of the good, there are some minor issues that could be improved: First of all I would replace the bracelet with one that better corresponds with the high quality of the casework. Maybe LIMES should offer that at a reasonable surcharge, with the strap version being the base model of the "Outback 2" series. Further, I'd like to see an optional rubber strap with buckle. In case LIMES decides to rework the dial design, I would suggest improving the night legibility by means of better luminous material. This would greatly enhance the watches' versatility. 
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