Stowa Classic 40 VS Laco Karlsruhe Pro - Battle of the Fliegers - Best pilot watches

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[MasterChristopherAllan]

Great Video. I have the LACO Pro and if you select the top grade movement you are closer in price. I have a few Stowa watches and their build quality is fantastic. The reasons I selected the LACO was they had it in a 37mm solid case back with a 200mm water resistance. also as I have the Stowa Marine the Flieger would have been the same watch with a different dial and hands. The LACO Pro line you can select your movement, case size, dial and case back to customize what you want. Stowa though makes great watches with more a smaller company independent feel. Both great watches and the German watch companies I find pay more attention to quality than the normal Swiss brands.

[workspilot.]

I just bought the Flieger Classic 40 Baumuster B because of this review! Thank you for this good content!

[adk]

Looks like you can’t go wrong with either one. Thanks for the great comparison!

[VeliborPetric]

Laco all Day long, i like my watches waterproof and i like that slightly domed crystal

[chriscon]

Very nice watches. I’ve got a 39mm Islander “Type B” flieger coming to me; it was $149 on sale! I’ve been eyeing them for a while now & the sale did it for me.

[laurencehogg]

Really enjoyed that, thanks. I have a Laco 'amateur' - a heritage brand watch for micro brand money - you cant go wrong.

[davidhoey]

For me the thing that put me off the Laco was the screw down crown on a manual wind watch. For whatever reason I just prefer a push-pull crown on a manual wind.

[GalorOffroad]

Nice comparison 👍 The thinness is a major difference when wearing a watch. I would take the Stowa 🙂

[jcshannon]

I have a Laco B type and I love it. I was stationed in Deutchland for 3 years and wanted a flieger made in Germany. I am a bit of a WW II buff and ya gotta love a retro watch from that period. Stowa is a good choice as well, as they are a great brand. Great review James! Any truth to the rumor that dive bombing Kookaburras are stealing watches and laughing as they fly off? Hey, thats what I heard.

[johanvandersandt]

Id have to go Laco on this. It just suits my tastes a little better! Take care James!

[ikeman]

I believe you made the right decision, James. I like the case better on the Stowa. I also like the beveled bezel better on the Stowa as well. It's sits just inside the case showing just a skant of the case around it's edges. The onion crown, to me, is more in line with classic Fliegers.

[JohnBowman-utdz]

Hi james this is a good comparison video but it would have been great to have a iwc pilot to compare two the bigger brands thanks John 👍

[haping]

Great watches. Enjoy your Stowa. A screwdown crown on a manual wind? Wonder how long the thread lasts. And what happenes when it is fully wound? Or is the design like a Vostok?

[stephenmundane]

Enjoyed that, thanks James. For me, a decorated movement that peforms as well as the "lesser" version in the Laco plus a mm or so reduced thickness isn't worth an extra 200 euro, so I'd buy the Laco -- each to their own eh. Which is probably why I own a Fortis ;-)

[griggsbuild]

I have been wanting to get a Dekla for some time because of the customisation available.

[MidEnginedFan]

I like in-the-metal side-by-side comparisons and this was well done. I do like Jody's JOMW paper tallying but I've found that to sometimes be subjectively skewed/biased. Your comparison was well done and presented. Good job!

For me, the more robust water resistance would have been the deciding factor because they are optically the same watch to me (but I'm not into flegier styling so take that as it is).

[jt]

I own the stuttgart Pro 40 Sb A type Hw and a stowa 40 ltd green dial. And a stowa 40m old logo, old, bezel old crown. Both are great. The laco is superior, better case finishing, better lugs, better crown, better build quality, better diamensions, better anti reflective, better water resistance and its also more attractive. Laco have overtaken stowa. They innovate far far more now. Nothing wrong with stowa. I really like them, but they are making the same watch they did 10 years ago. Time for them to update the design. Especially the crown thats a bit weak. Which is why i bought an old stowa..that onion crown in hand is terrible on the stowa, wobbly.

[canadianwatchmonkey]

I own the Stowa Clasic 40 no date in the A dial and the Laco Kempton at 39mm in the B dial and they are completely different but both equally great. The main difference between the 2 is that one is more dressy and the other far more toolish

[stevenmccarthy]

That skinny Stowa is nice but out of my budget. How does that Laco compare with the Escapement Time which cost me $175 Canadian?

[thegorn]

The Stowa is so thin (and so pretty underneath) that it's like a flieger-inspired dress watch, which is not my preference. I also like the engraving on the Laco. It's the more "tool watch" of the two. The cost saving is a nice bonus. I'd put that savings to a "top grade movement" Sellita upgrade. I'm not saying I don't like the Stowa - it's a great watch which I'd be proud to own - but for my money it's the Laco.