Curious, does the new Seiko 5 line get a bad rep?

I think the new Seiko 5's have a great selection, following and get ,overall , great reviews.

The SKX line was the watch to get for years as an "entry level" diver but times change. With the advent of newer movements the 7s26/36 movements became less and less desireable, looked at as dinosaurs by some. The SKX watches are plentiful on the used market.

All in all  I think Seiko made the right choice

Yes, I think the new models get a bad rep and they are good watches in their own right. They do suffer from the misfortune of is being tied to Seiko’s decision to also discontinue the SKX.

Wrongly or rightly, the 5 Sports series watches are the successors of the SKX - though I am not sure Seiko has come out right and said as much. For many, with no history of the watch behind it, they will be very happy. For others, they will see the new model and only see the things they’ve lost.

I am in the latter camp, however I am not so much sad at the loss of the SKX (long in the tooth) or with the new model itself… more so disappointed that Seiko (again in my opinion) failed to realize what made SKX so special in the first place: 1) An affordable divers-rated watch, and 2) The driving force behind modding a watch and what that end product means to the owner.

Perhaps I am overthinking that second aspect but as a person who creates/designs things all the time… it’s the actual act of mod/personalizing something that makes that thing that much more special. Their is an increased sense of ownership - something that I don’t think you can get by just selecting the blue-dialed one vs the green-bezel one vs the two-toned version.

Seiko for their part recognized this as one of the best parts of the SKX - it was canvas/starting point for folks to personalize their watch… but rather than feeding that aspect, they chose to just offer the same watch in as many flavors as possible. It’s not the wrong answer, just the one that doesn’t resonate with me as much. Just my two cents!

It seems like the the initial animosity towards these particular Seiko 5 sports has eased off. Whilst there are similarities, the new watches have gone in a different direction. 

If you want an actual divers watch then the prospex line has options at different price points. But for something that could be a stylish daily wear with plenty of styles to choose from, this is it. Plus the drilled lugs make it great for swapping straps.

I'm currently wearing the blue with cream chapter ring on a blue seat belt strap. Which then has a completely different feel and look when on the steel Milanese strap it came with 

I think the comparison to the SKX is somewhat unfair. That was supposed to be a tool and it was an ISO certified diver. The new 5 line has its advantages (such as 4r36 movement) but then also lacks the iso 200m certification and unidirectional bezel. it will never be as much of a badass stripped down tool as the SKX is because it was never intended to be.

That being said, I do miss the more tool kind of watches of Seiko's recent past. It seems that they are shifting towards more fashionable pieces (although still honest watches in their own right)

I can’t help but wonder if the initial hesitation was a bit of sour grapes. 

That shit is FFFFIIIIYYYYAAAA (FIRE) 🔥