A Historically Reverent Pilot Watch at an Attainable Price - Bulova A-15 Hack

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[@Conundrum191]

This one is on my potential list for a cheap man's GMT/dual timezone, given it easily could be used to track another timezone, or to keep track of GMT/UTC, even if that wasn't the original purpose of the watch.

[@optimistray1]

Nice succinct review Teddy. I own this watch (my first automatic, and 'gateway drug' into this hobby) and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Salute!

[@BradyPuryear]

Love how functional this is!! Great watch 🙌🏼

[@samuelkim2611]

I purchase this watch about 0ne year ago. I enjoyed it a lot !!! Affordable, good looking and fantastic watch !!!

[@jamesherrington5606]

Hey Teddy ❤. I’ve been watching you for quite a while (and later Courtney). Thx for reviewing the A-15. I have to save for it but if I succeed I’ll hit up your store. Peace 😊

[@philspencelayh5464]

I use a dive watch for timing things, gets tricky when if more than an hour, I could see this being pretty useful.

[@SpaceG95]

Looks absolutely fantastic, in my opinion 👌🏾 Perfect size and the dual internal bezel is awesome

[@williamhill7312]

Great video

[@codykelton1384]

Just picked this model up today and I absolutely love it. It has grown on me more by the minute. If I was being nitpicky, I would say it is a little heavy, but as my first quality (although fairly budget) watch, I don't have much to compare it to other than the numbers.

[@larrybstreetfish5852]

Just ordered mine! 👍

[@codykelton1384]

No doubt you'll enjoy it, @@larrybstreetfish5852. After a year of having it, (still got it and it sees maybe 3 days a week on the wrist in rotation) my only hang up with the entire watch is that the rotating bezel that indicates the hours doesn't like to stay in one place. It's not bad, and it could be just the shape of my particular wrist causing it to turn, but it can be slightly annoying. Some days it doesn't move at all, and some days I'll look down and it has rotated about 10 minutes backwards. I still have it, so that should tell you something!

[@larrybstreetfish5852]

@@codykelton1384 Cool..thanks!

[@ozmondos]

Decrease the diameter to 40mm, increase the water resistance to 100m and put the Bulova precisionist movement in instead of the Miyota, then it would be such an incredible watch. Bulova has started to get the design right in some of their models, if they can these other things right then they can be a major force again in the affordable category.

[@johnbinford6706]

As an 8-inch wrist guy, I would actually like it to be bigger, but that's often the case with me with most watches. Would be nice to see this watch get 2 different size offerings, perhaps one around 39mm and one around 44mm. I think those 2 sizes really cover the market well.

[@user-tx4wj7qk4t]

A bunch of useless features to increase the price. You aren't swimming with this so who cares. It's a pilot watch it's meant to be big, they went up to 50mm historically.

[@simonlauridsen4825]

I got this watch 15-11-2021, and I love it. Love the historical touch (main reason I chose it), the design, the design of the dial that makes it stand out, the 3 crowns looks awesome. It felt good first time on the wrist... the strap is soft right out of the case. The luminance...couldent care less. My other watches have great luminance..... but I never use it anyway. The size.... no problem. It acually felt small first time on the wrist. Mayby becourse my 3 other watches are 45 mm. (17,5cm wrist) Only downside... I would have prefered Bulovas own quarts movement. +- 10 sec a year would be awesome. But now I get the oppertunity to build a classy watchwinder.

[@sdfswords]

Do the secondary crowns move much in a random way?

[@simonlauridsen4825]

@@sdfswords no. I dont have problems with them moving when I dont use them.

[@danielsafo213]

I’m definitely getting my hands on this one even though it will be difficult getting it in my part of the world

[@Randy-1967]

Looked at 1 in person, really wanted it to lol

[@williamthomas6106]

I love this watch. Bulova was essentially commissioned by the Army Air Corps to take the existing A11 Hack watch issued to soldiers and create an elapsed time watch that would be more appropriate for pilots than the standard issue A11. The Army Air Corps wanted a watch that could easily track "elapsed time" to use for Pilots using dead reckoning navigation on long range bomb runs. (Fly in this direction for so many hours, then turn to this new heading and fly in this direction for so many hours, etc.) Bulova made 500 pieces and provided them to Army Air Corps pilots for evaluation. The Army Air Corps eventually passed on this watch. We don't know why. It could have been that the war was winding down, that navigation technology improvements made dead reckoning all but obsolete, or perhaps the addition of clocks and timers to cockpit instrument panels, that rendered the entire watch moot. Whatever the case, what you're left with is a vary unique variation on one of the most recognized watch styles from the 40's, the A-11, which was nicknamed the watch that won WWII, due to it's widespread use by the Allies, and the widespread manufacture by multiple watchmakers of the time. You can use the bezels a number of ways. You can use the watch as a 60 minute timer with the hour bezel representing a second time zone, or even as a GMT indicator. You can use both bezels to create a 12 hour timer. And in certain circumstances, you could even incorporate the "hack" feature to create a poor man's 12 hour chronograph. So you get a really unique watch with all this additional functionality without any modification to the movement itself. This would have made the watches actually easy to certify, and the A11 had already proven itself in the field. Talk about outside the box thinking. The classic A11 Hack watch style face gives the full vintage WWII vibe plus additional functionality you wouldn't find in a typical Hack Watch from other manufacturers. I looked at a lot of other "hack" style watches, even the Hamilton Khaki Field Watch that Teddy swears by, but settled on this one. Yes, the Hamilton is probably better constructed and more accurate, and Swiss Made. But something about this piece spoke to me and I don't regret my decision at all for this being the "representative" of the field watch genre in my watch collection.

[@hugo2fiscalrn]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Hugs from Brazil

[@johnbinford6706]

The history behind this watch is cool. It's a great one to add to the collection. Always great to see a faithful reproduction of a historic watch by the original manufacturer.

[@KEN-du2iz]

Picked one of these things up and I'll go pawn shop believe it or not. Was looking for old military surplus stuff and I happen to catch this out of the corner of my eye as I was walking out. They only wanted $240 bucks I figured at that price it was worth the gamble. I do see some shortcomings but again for the price I think it's a good deal it looks nice something I wouldn't mind wearing just as a casual watch.

[@WestCoastAce27]

Great review; weak lume is disappointing (blue is a great choice though); and not enough holes? Why?

[@markaustin614]

Use the timer “ function” all the time!

[@RafaelSantos-vg3jd]

Purchased one recently. Love the dial but the crowns at the 2 and 4 position rotate too easily with the slightest movement. These really should have been screw down.

[@heysmitty1231]

This is a nice watch from Bulova. Little bit of affordable Longines maybe perhaps..

[@planetdee3587]

I have a few Bulova watches and they have the best straps.

[@collaborativedataaccounts3249]

I disliked the Lunar Pilot strap. I immediately switched it out for a NATO.

[@jb6027]

I saw one of these a a local watch vendor last week. Although it was nice, in person the yellow on the 24 hour numbers was too bright, making it look a bit cartoonish. If they has kept it the same color as the rest of the markers - or at least had muted the yellow, IMO it would have been a nicer watch.

[@travisreese7229]

Teddy and team: on your watch shop website the lug-to-lug is listed at 47mm while the video lists this at 50.2. I'm supposing this review is accurate, but, to be sure...which is it? Thanks.

[@japd7897]

Si, 50mm.

[@cesarespinozaspain]

Replace the strap and it's nearly perfect. The lume is ok could be better, and at MSRP it could use a better movement. However as of this moment its $355 at Amazon. nearly half the MSRP! Thats a fair price and I wouldn't pay any more than that. Mine runs fast at +3 minutes a day so there's that too. I'm not a fan of Miyota movements, and this is one reason why so for me that's another complaint, but Citizen owns Bulova so no choice there. Despite the flaws it's a beautiful watch. It pairs wonderfully with khaki and earth tone outfits.

[@toddjohnson5506]

Is it to large for a 7” wrist?

[@jasonwinter8716]

This goes for 310.00 at Jomashoop, can you match that?

[@theprogressivegoldbug1134]

The irony that this re-issue watch has a Japanese movement is not lost on us boomers.

[@lookatwrist]

The whole watch is Japanese. Bulova, an iconic American watch manufacturer, is now owned by Citizen.

[@timshull59]

As my WWII vet father use to say "getting their ass kicked by us was the best thing that ever happened to Japan"

[@bizmonkey007]

The band is not great. I have a 7.5’ wrist and when I tried the watch on I had to use the last rung on the strap. The quality is also not the best. Definitely swap it out if you’re interested

[@MrNorcal81]

Beautiful watch and a Sapphire crystal make this one tempting but a lot of reviews note that the movement has significant accuracy issues so, for me, it's overpriced. If Bulova had used its marvelous 262khz quartz movement with a silky smooth seconds hand, the watch would be far more attractive. I have the Bulova 262khz 96B229 military model. It's fantastic and its seconds hand is smoother than many automatics. It does only have a mineral crystal but its accuracy is spot on and it shows what the A-15 model could have been.

[@togafighter6812]

Beautiful. But in the cesspit excuse of a country called Bruzundanga, it costs 1,000.00 USD. Cheers.

[@iamepimethus]

Screw down crowns….. I’d buy it now! Sorry Bulova

[@BikerJim74]

Why is the case scratched up so much?

[@pierrelabbe3173]

Love M.T.L Canada

[@talatoskay8693]

Removing the bezel and making it at size of 40mm would make this a favourite go to watch for me. But it big for me with its current measurements.

[@japd7897]

If you remove the bezel, then it is not an A-15 anymore, it would be another model.

[@MeTaLISaWeSoMe95]

So... the Bulova Hack? The bezels are literally the whole point of this watch.

[@MikhailGilbert]

Potential Buyer. Curious if any owner finds the 30m of water resistance to be something they find themselves frustrated by. I wouldn't go swimming in this watch but any worries with day-to-day activity? washing hands, giving the kids a bath, etc.?

[@tonyochoa7097]

Nah,but with the leather band,I don't shower with it.It's a VERY cool watch,looks good,and in my work,I frequently have need of two elapsed time counters,which the gmt function works perfectly well for-in fact,I use the gmt for elapsed time,more then the elapsed time counter,becauase it's easier to read.And mine,the crowns do not ever move,unless I turn them.I've been looking at a seiko prospex alpinist,special edition from japan,for $700,but really,the only advantage to it,is it could be used for dress

[@metoo5037]

Is that a autocorrect typo, or did you mean to say “Historically Reverent”? 😉

[@mattys1467]

I found myself strangely drawn to this watch. I typically haven't taken to Bulova but this one I will most certainly look out for.

[@tayne5009]

Is it nighttime out there, or have you just got window blinds that fit?

[@garyzimmerman6367]

Good review. However, I tried the watch on and it has a major problem. The crowns at 2 and 4 rotate when your wrist twists and moves, turning the internal bezels. For me, that’s a major problem for this watch and a “no buy” for me.

[@lukerabin5079]

Great looking face.

[@Benderrr111]

30 m WR? :(

[@peteygnyc]

No lume shot? How disappointing.

[@gtaylor2770]

Historically "reverent"? Do you mean historically faithful? (Faithful and reverent are not the same thing.)

[@CH-yp5by]

Thats one looking sexy watch !

[@DarthJabba504]

they could just make one of the rotating bezels external which will make it easier to use, wear smaller, simplify the look, and improve WR

[@MeTaLISaWeSoMe95]

It's a pilots watch, it's not supposed to have high wr. Further, it wouldn't be an a15 if one of the bezels was on the outside.

[@user-tx4wj7qk4t]

No

[@user-tx4wj7qk4t]

​@@MeTaLISaWeSoMe95these comments have issues

[@Xxorliss360xX]

Pareces una fusión de andrey garfield, drake Bell, tobey mcg, tom holland xd

[@waynesellers4078]

If this had 100m wr it would be great, 50 would be acceptable but 30m at this price is a no. Personally I would also remove the 1-24 and just use markers.

[@lookatwrist]

It's trying to look like the original prototype from the 40s.

[@user-tx4wj7qk4t]

How about you stop swimming with a pilots watch

[@gmotionedc5412]

$700 for a minute a day accuracy? Bulova done lost they mind! Seriously put a quartz or nice movement in the watch!! Make the lug to lug 48 and BAM💥💥winner chicken dinner all day long!

[@user-tx4wj7qk4t]

You lost your mind. It's $300 regard

[@yootoobercritikk1555]

Just about the only thing Bulova got right with this watch was the sapphire crystal...other than that, it is an insult to be selling this watch for anything over $150 dollars. Bulova could have done so much with this watch but they simply let it go. Adding a Bulova precisionist movement, make all three crowns screw down crowns with more friction movement on the upper and lower crowns, increase the ridiculous water resistance of ONLY 30 meters to at least 100 meters and a fully brushed case without the scratch prone polishing...AND THEN THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE HELL OF A PILOT WATCH!

[@user-tx4wj7qk4t]

Delusional takes lol. Also no a pilots watch doesn't need to dive 100m

[@gregakablackie]

Hey Teddy, I doubt you'll see this, but were I go anyway. I really love the DESIGN, but the movement and the water resistance is a deal braker. Do you know of a Swiss or German manufacturer that makes a model that is REAL CLOSE to the A-15? I could see paying $2,000 to $3,000.

[@user-tx4wj7qk4t]

Lmfao paying $3k for water resist in a pilot watch. You can't make this up

[@scottlauren3145]

Bulova are just charging way too much for Miyota 8000 movements.

[@spazz99ful]

3 bar!!! not god enough.

[@derekshearer9049]

Excellent advertising. Hardly a review however.

[@jamied931]

Bulova has a lot of garbage looking overpriced watches. This is one of the few that isn’t.