Review: The oddly satisfying Flightmaster

The Seiko SNA411 "Flightmaster" should not be a watch that I like to wear, but somehow I manage to find at least one pros for every cons and the result is a watch that will stay with me for a long time.

Its's too large: At 42mm diameter it's almost half a centimeter wider than what I like. However with its round shape and ridiculously short 44.2mm L2L, it actually wears smaller than many 38mm watches.

It's quartz: Yes I know - mechanical chrono are cool and quartz chrono are not. But it's a good quartz movement with a smooth 5 tic/sec chrono hand. Beside, it makes a lot of sense to have a thin and precise quartz movement in a watch that is supposed to be able to measure split seconds like you know...a chronograph.

It's too busy: The dial is small and crowded and you need a manual to understand how to use the bezel. But it's also one of the most legible chrono that I own and despite the diminutive dial I never had a problem reading the time.

It's cheap: The polish is simply done and the sub dial hands looks like they were stamped out of a tin can. Actually there are plenty of features in the SNA411 that I wish they existed in newer and more expensive models. Like the fact that everything that could be applied is applied, like the well aligned chapter ring, the symmetrically located (and legible) date window and the useful alarm/dual zone complication.

The pushers are hard to use: Screw down pushers are harder to used than press down pushers. This is true, just like the fact that they also offer more water resistance and mechanical protection.

Mineral glass: It's called Hardlex but it's the same thing. My crystal has no scratches yet and glass is less reflective than sapphire. So I don't have a problem with the crystal using a cheaper material.

The bracelet is meh and 21mm is the devil: It's true that bracelet is nothing to write home about and that the 21mm lugs with their extremely short length are making it difficult to find straps or making them fit. But there is also the fact that the Flightmaster morph and adapts its look with every strap change like no other watch in my collection. The only straps that I stopped using are the MN straps from Erika's Originals and NDC because wearing them is like begging to be accepted to the cool kids corner, pretty much like what @Aurelian and @Porthole claimed about the BB58.

My conclusion is that the SNA411 is a rare beast. An affordable quartz chrono which was done right, and with the right set of features. Obviously it had to be discontinued because (a) the movement didn't allow for changing the dual time zone sub dial to the more modern and absolutely useless 24Hr indicator and (b) there was no place left on the dial to stamp the equally useless and annoying Prostate logo.