Carnival C8592 Review, a neglected pilot

I have owned the C8592 for a few months now - surprisingly it seems to have left no trace in the Youtube review world. Let's have a closer look.

On AliExpress, this model is not even listed as a pilot's watch, just as a "military sports" watch, which might explain why pilot watch specialists may have failed to notice it - at about £58 it is one of the cheapest automatic pilots out there. Clearly, this is derived from a type-A dial, and more precisely: it is an homage of an IWC Mark 17 pilot watch, with the biggest distinction the white (rather than black) date wheel.

On paper, this is a spec monster: comfy size of 38mm, sapphire crystal, strong lume, basic water resistance of 30m, an unspecified 21600 movement. The latter is visible from the back, and its rotor has even been branded by Carnival.

Apropos branding, quite a lot has been branded, beside dial and rotor, also the crown, the watchband and the clasp. Yes, the clasp: this band came with a deployment clasp, not a buckle, which is most certainly an odd choice for a flieger; it is also available on a bracelet (for an extra 5er). I found the clasp more comfortable than the ones I got with my Lobinni watches, and the watchband itself, despite the dreaded but inevitable "genuine leather" markings, is quite usable. I didn't feel the need to replace it. 

Where I felt a bit misled by the pictures on Ali is the lume: these suggested an army of glowworms during the mating season, what you get is more like one elderly worm that prefers to be left alone to enjoy their ovaltine in the dark. This is a bit the consequence of thinner hands/indices/digits than the IWC with very little material to stick loom to. If you want a loomed flieger for this price you may consider the Addiesdive flieger (which reportedly has better loom, but a poor bracelet).

Overall, this is a well-specced flieger at a cheap price. I cannot say I connected to this piece, it somehow feels a bit soulless. I was even contemplating not recommending the watch, but: objectively speaking there is very little wrong with the watch, just the overhyped loom. It is still a good watch for the money. For a better flieger, I'd recommend to about double your investment. At that pricepoint, Steeldive, SanMartin, Escapement time and Cronos enter the frame.