The wrist real estate fight feels settled. Apple, Samsung, and Garmin keep stacking sensors onto rectangles, and most Kickstarter watches are just cheaper takes on that same playbook. Two new campaigns running right now don’t bother fighting in that lane at all.
Price: From $160
Where to Buy: Kickstarter
One is a tactical 2-in-1 from Penox that hides a pair of TWS earbuds inside the case. The other is a precision light meter strapped to your wrist, built by a UK-based engineer for film photographers. Both campaigns launched in the past week and a half. Both have already cleared their funding goals. Neither one is pitching itself as your daily smartwatch.
What Penox is actually pitching
Price: From $99
Where to Buy: Kickstarter
Penox calls the WristBuds a rugged 2-in-1 tactical hub, and the marketing leans hard on phrases like high-altitude surveillance and unified command center. Strip the copy back and the product is a smartwatch with a slide-out compartment that holds TWS earbuds locked in by magnetic docking. No charging case to carry. You press the release, the buds pop out, you take the call.
The campaign lists a 400mAh battery, a 2.1-inch display, IP67 water resistance, dual-mic environmental noise cancellation for calls, 100+ sports modes, 24/7 health monitoring, and a tactical crown for glove-friendly control. Penox claims up to 50 days of battery life in low-use mode, though the campaign doesn’t split that figure between watch standby and active earbuds use.
The chipset is listed as AB5681G, and Penox says the company has been doing audio OEM and ODM work since 2015. The AB5681G reference design from Zhongke is typically paired with a 1.83-inch screen, IP68 rating, and 240mAh battery, so Penox’s stated 2.1-inch / IP67 / 400mAh specs imply a customized package. IP67 is the rating Penox uses throughout the campaign body, including its own dedicated section. The 5ATM figure shows up once, in the Risks copy about the docking seal’s tolerance, and reads as a side reference rather than a second official rating.
What the LMW-V1 is, and what it isn’t
Calling the LMW-V1 a rugged watch is a stretch. Edward Wells, who designed it under the Increment Labs name, is pitching it specifically as a learning tool for manual photography. The Kickstarter page lives in Camera Equipment, not Wearables, and the watch sits in a bead-blasted, anodized aluminum case with a leather, rubber, or Milanese mesh strap. The packaging doubles as a film holder, per the campaign’s environmental notes, and Wells says the watch is manufactured in the UK with aerospace-certified suppliers.
Functionally, the LMW-V1 is a wearable light meter shaped like an analog wristwatch. You point your wrist at the scene, read the metering, and dial in your camera’s manual exposure. The pitch is speed: instead of pulling out a phone app or a handheld Sekonic, your meter’s already on your arm. There’s no smartwatch OS, no notifications, no health tracking. It does one job.
The funding tells you who’s drawing a crowd
Both campaigns are live, both have cleared their goals, but the gap between them is wide.
Penox set a low $1,000 goal and currently sits at $5,819 from 55 backers with 38 days to go. That’s 582 percent funded against a modest target.
The LMW-V1 set a $39,060 goal and has pulled in $80,694 from 408 backers with 20 days left, 206 percent funded on a target ten times bigger than Penox’s. The light meter watch is, by raw backer count, the bigger hit by a wide margin. A niche tool for film photographers is outpulling a tactical 2-in-1 smartwatch by more than 7 to 1 in backers, which says something about which crowd is hungrier right now.
Who each one is actually for
The Penox WristBuds is built for someone who likes the idea of one less thing in the pocket. If you already wear a smartwatch and carry earbuds, the integrated compartment is the entire sales pitch. The marketing leans hard on tactical and rugged language, but functionally this is a budget Android-pairing smartwatch with an audio twist. IP67 is fine for sweat and rain, less reassuring for serious water use.
The LMW-V1 is for film shooters and beginner photographers learning manual exposure, and the campaign’s been honest that it won’t do anything else. If you want one rugged smartwatch with earbuds tucked inside, the Penox is the only one of these two that actually matches the brief. If you want a wrist instrument that earns its spot by replacing another tool you’d otherwise carry, the LMW-V1’s the more interesting object.
Price: From $160
Where to Buy: Kickstarter
Bottom line
Two campaigns, two clear pitches, neither one trying to be your next Apple Watch. The Penox WristBuds is the actual rugged 2-in-1 smartwatch in this pair, and at $99 early bird it’s a low-risk swing if the integrated earbud trick has been on your shopping list. The LMW-V1 is the more interesting object: a single-purpose wrist instrument that’s already pulling the bigger crowd because it does one job well. Back by what you want on your wrist, not by which campaign shouts louder.
Getorli Mini PC, AMD Ryzen 5 3550H（Max 3.7GHz） 16GB DDR4 1TB SSD，Mini Desktop Computer Support 4K@60Hz Dual HDMI/USB-C/WiFi 5/BT5.0 for Home Office, Business & Light Gaming
(as of May 14, 2026 12:52 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
