Every hardware company claims their product is tough. We decided early on that "Engineered to Endure" would be a testable claim, not a marketing slogan. This article walks through exactly how we test Forge products, and why we test them the way we do.
Why Testing Matters More Than Specs
A spec sheet can say anything. IP68 water resistance sounds impressive until you realise the test conditions (clean, still, room-temperature water) bear no resemblance to a construction site puddle filled with concrete slurry, or a beach rinse in salt water, or a pressure washer at the end of a shift.
Our testing philosophy is simple: test in conditions worse than the product will ever face in real use. If the Genesis survives our lab, it will survive your worksite. If the Core survives our protocols, it will survive your life.
Drop Testing: Concrete, Steel, Tile
Every Forge Genesis unit is drop-tested from 1.5 metres onto three surfaces: polished concrete, steel plate, and ceramic tile. These represent the three most common hard surfaces our target users encounter daily.
The test protocol requires 26 drops per unit: one drop onto each surface from each of the six faces (front, back, and four edges), plus two corner-first drops per surface. The watch must power on, display correctly, and maintain sensor accuracy after all 26 impacts.
We chose 1.5 metres because that's the approximate height of a watch on a raised wrist when the wearer stumbles or catches their arm on equipment. It's not the worst-case scenario. It's the most common one.
Failure rate during development was initially around 15%. The octagonal case geometry, reinforced corner bolts, and recessed display reduced that to under 1% in production units. The units that fail are disassembled, analysed, and the failure mode is fed back into the next production run.
IP69K: High-Pressure, High-Temperature Water Jets
IP69K is the highest ingress protection rating for water. The test involves directing a high-pressure water jet (80°C, 80–100 bar) at the device from multiple angles at close range. The water temperature and pressure simulate industrial cleaning equipment, the kind used in food processing, agriculture, and heavy industry.
Most consumer electronics never encounter this test because they'd fail immediately. Standard smartwatch seals are designed for passive water exposure (rain, swimming, hand washing), not active high-pressure jets.
The Genesis passes IP69K because of three design decisions:
- 1.Welded sensor windows. The optical heart rate sensor and SpO₂ sensor sit behind sapphire-coated windows that are ultrasonically welded to the case, not glued. Adhesive seals degrade over time and fail under pressure differential. Welded joints don't.
- 1.Recessed buttons with double O-rings. Each physical button on the Genesis (SPORT, SEL, BACK) uses a dual O-ring seal system. The outer ring handles dust and splash; the inner ring handles pressure. If one fails, the other holds.
- 1.Pressure-equalising membrane. Behind the charging contacts, a Gore-Tex-style membrane allows air pressure to equalise without letting water molecules through. This prevents the internal pressure differential that causes fogging and seal blowouts during rapid temperature changes.
Thermal Shock Testing
Australia's climate is brutal on electronics. A watch might go from a 45°C car dashboard to a 15°C air-conditioned office in seconds. That thermal shock causes materials to expand and contract at different rates, which can crack seals, delaminate adhesives, and stress solder joints.
Our thermal shock protocol cycles the Genesis between -10°C and +60°C in a climate chamber, with 30-second transition times between extremes. Each unit undergoes 50 cycles. After the 50th cycle, the watch must pass a full functional test: display, sensors, GPS lock, Bluetooth pairing, and charging.
The Core ring undergoes a similar protocol at -5°C to +55°C, reflecting its closer contact with skin (which moderates temperature extremes) and its typical indoor/outdoor usage pattern.
48-Hour Soak Cycle
Beyond the instantaneous pressure tests of IP ratings, we run a 48-hour continuous submersion test in water at 1.5 metres depth. This isn't required by any certification. It is our own protocol designed to catch slow leaks that short-duration tests miss.
The logic is straightforward: a seal might hold for 30 minutes (the IP68 standard) but develop a micro-leak over hours as materials relax under sustained pressure. Our 48-hour soak catches those failures before they reach customers.
After the soak, each unit is dried, powered on, and run through a full diagnostic. Any unit showing moisture ingress, sensor drift, or display anomalies is rejected.
Salt Spray and Chemical Exposure
For users in marine, agricultural, and industrial environments, we run salt spray testing (ASTM B117 standard) for 96 hours. The watch is exposed to a continuous salt fog at 35°C, simulating months of coastal or marine exposure in a compressed timeframe.
We also test against common workplace chemicals: sunscreen, insect repellent, diesel fuel, hydraulic fluid, and concrete dust slurry. The Genesis case and strap materials must show no degradation, discolouration, or seal compromise after 24-hour contact with each substance.
Real-World Field Trials
Lab tests tell you what a product can survive. Field trials tell you what it actually faces. Before any Forge product ships, it completes a minimum 8-week field trial with real users in real conditions.
Our field trial panel includes:
- Concreters and bricklayers in Melbourne's western suburbs
- Electricians and plumbers across regional Victoria
- CrossFit athletes at three Melbourne gyms
- Farm workers in the Gippsland region
- Recreational hikers on the Great Ocean Walk
Each tester wears the product daily and logs any issues: comfort problems, sensor inaccuracies, charging difficulties, strap wear, display readability, and any physical damage. This feedback loop has driven more design changes than any lab test.
The field trial for the Genesis v1 prototype revealed that the original strap buckle design snagged on work gloves. We redesigned it. The Core field trial showed that size 7 rings were too thick for some users' comfort, so we reduced the profile by 0.3mm for sizes 6–8.
The Standard We Hold Ourselves To
We don't test to pass. We test to find failures. Every failure we find in the lab is a failure that doesn't reach a customer's wrist. Every field trial complaint is a design improvement that makes the next batch better.
"Engineered to Endure" is earned in the testing lab, one drop, one spray, one soak at a time.