Landmaster SLA071: a mountaineer's titanium twerp with a bezel like nothing else. Lovely, but at £2,400, get rid of it
Something out of left field
The Hattori clowns are back with yet another clock, and this one is really out of left field. Come on, bros, get excited, it's the Landmaster, the SLA071. It's a mythological twerp, not one I've had any experience with, but Seiko Steve tells me it's quite good and I need to hurry up and review it before he kills me.
A very, very niche clock. It's designed for a specialised segment of the market, a specific group of people. This twerp will never be mainstream. But I love it. Is it a field watch? Is it a diver? What is it? I'm going to find out.
History and size
The Landmaster series was introduced in 1993. This is a recreation of the original, with a compass scale bezel. No one notices Landmasters, but for a certain group of people they're very, very respected. Ultimate field and mountaineering watch.
It's 42 mm, 12.6 mm thick apparently, though I'd call it 13, and 50 mm lug to lug. For many people that's massive, but my wrist is 19 cm and it's really not big. Perfectly wearable for everyone. And it's titanium, extremely light, lightweight as anything.
That bezel
I cannot explain this bezel. I have never felt anything like it. It's a friction bezel, there's no clicking because it's not a diver, but the feeling is so satisfying. It has a heavyweighted, magnetic sort of feeling, and it won't just flop around. It's titanium, no insert, all painted in. What a bezel that is.
Dial, crystal, case
Look at this gradient dial. It's said to represent the view from the top of Mount Everest, where the sky has no diffused reflection of light and looks dark even in the day. That's another Seiko load of bollocks, but I like how they do it. They talk a load of rubbish and we lap it up. In the flesh it is very, very impressive.
This is the most invisible Seiko crystal I've ever seen. In daylight you will not know there is a crystal on the twerp. Seiko Steve says it has dual AR, extremely unheard of for Seiko. Because it's not a diver, it has an applied logo and applied indices. The handset is not offensive, but I wouldn't say I love it, and the hour hand is a bit of a bell end. The lume is bizarre and insane, and I'm doing a whole lume video soon. Massive crown at three with great bulbous shrouds, zaratsu slivers on the flanks. Beautiful case.
The bracelet is similar to the 081's, very good. The clasp is a big diver clasp, because you'll wear it over some thick mountaineering suit, but it's not as nicely finished as the Marinemaster clasp.
Verdict
It's 200 metres, in case you get stuck underwater at the top of a mountain, the 8L35, 50 hours, all the usual. This one's number 336 of 1,000. This is not my kind of twerp, but I can see why a lot of people like it. You can't argue with the case design, titanium all day long. I do love him and I would wear him and I would buy him, but for £2,400, get rid of it. Seiko Landmaster. A very nice twerp.
