Hands-On Review of the Norqain Wild One NHLPA Edition
Norqain has seemed to come out of nowhere since the brand’s founding in 2018 to become a big player in the watch industry. Founded by CEO Ben Küffer, he quickly brought on Ted Schneider, whose family owned Breitling for 40 years, and Mark Streit, a Swiss NHL legend, as Co-Founders.
In 2022, former TAG Heuer CEO and head of Louis Vuitton Watchmaking Jean-Claude Biver joined as an advisor to the board. Biver’s influence would be immediately seen with the launch of the Wild One, an innovative sports watch designed and manufacture to withstand extreme conditions.
Because of Norqain’s close relationship with the NHL and the NHLPA, the brand launched the Wild One NHLPA Edition earlier this year. I was able to go hands-on with this piece and came away with greater appreciation for not only the design, but the engineering that went into producing this watch.
When discussing the Wild One, the first thing you have to focus on is the case. At first glance, the 42mm case looks to be made of a carbon fiber type material. And it is, but not just any carbon fiber material. NORTEQ is an ultra-light, ultra-robust carbon fiber material created exclusively for Norqain as a result of a collaboration between Norqain, Jean-Claude Biver and BIWI SA. NORTEQ is 6 times lighter than stainless steel and 3.5 times lighter than titanium. Additionally, the black material has a slight marbling effect, that adds some uniqueness to each watch. The case has a rubber shock absorber that makes the watch shock resistant to 5000G. This makes the Wild One’s shock resistance comparable to many pieces offered by haute atelier Richard Mille (though the RM 27-04 designed in collaboration with Rafael Nadal is able to withstand an amazing 12,000G). Playing any sport with this watch is definitely not an issue.
When you look at the Wild One you can immediately see Jean-Claude Biver’s design influence. The most immediate comparison I would make is to the Hublot Big Bang. Biver was actually CEO of Hublot when the brand released the Big Bang, and some of these design cues have made it into the Wild One. The wings on the side of the case are very Big Bang-esque (though they may have first appeared on the Patek Philippe Nautilus). However, on the NHLPA edition the rubber wings as well as the rubber, shock absorbing mid-case has been mixed with an actual hockey puck, which is a fun touch.
The dial of the Wild One NHLPA Limited Edition is also very unique. Instead of going for the N motif used on the other Wild One models, the dial is white with a hockey rink design. By hockey rink design, the dial looks like it has track marks from ice skates all over the dial. It is understated but adds a lot of visual interest, when you take a closer look.
The hour markers are applied, though only a small portion has lume plots. The rest of the indices are skeletonized in polished metal. The seconds and hour markers are also similarly skeletonized with a lume area at the end. The hands are rounded at the end, giving it a more modern and sporty look in my view.
The watch runs on a COSC-certified automatic calibre NN20/1 movement manufactured with Kenissi. The watch runs at a frequency 4hz and boasts 70 hours of power reserve when fully wound. The movement is visible through the display caseback, though it is partially obstructed by the NHLPA logo as well as the notation that the watch is a “Limited Edition / One of 300”. The finishing is fine, though nothing extraordinary, so I don’t find myself wishing that the full movement was on display through the caseback. But, this is a sports watch that is meant to stand on its specs rather than movement finishings, so I don’t have many complaints there.
The Wild One NHLPA is offered either on an all black or white and black rubber strap. The white rubber strap on the piece I reviewed has black outlines, and I thought it looked pretty sleek on the watch. The strap has a mesh-like pattern on the outside and was very comfortable and high quality.
Overall, I think the Wild One offers a lot of value for its price-point. The watch looks like a heavy duty sports watch, and it certainly delivers. Norqain really focused on the delivering a product that could be used in most extreme circumstances. If you want a go anywhere, do anything watch that can take a beating (and that you never really have to take off), that also is offered in a ton of different fun colorways, the Wild One is a great option. You can pick up the Wild One NHLPA Edition for $5,590 USD.
