Mail Order Russian! The $39 Vostok Komandirskie 

That is the coat of arms of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces on the dial. Supposedly their motto is “After us, only silence”.

5/5 for not missing the opportunity to make a Chernobyl reference when you reached the subject of lume. 😁

It's not just the information that keeps me hooked it's the seamless transition of humor. Thanks again Jody

Man I love old Russian tech. First guns like the Makarov, AKM and Mosin, now watches.

Bought one on the streets of Prague in 1993....$20 US cash. It's either infra try or tank corps. Has never been cleaned or serviced and still works great.

Seriously, it’s so hard to look through Meranom’s Komandirskie catalog and not drool a little. So many wicked case shapes and really cool dial patterns, the only problem is there’s no case with a strap width option larger than 18mm.

I own two Komandirskie. One from the soviet era and a now 5 year old. Even the 34 year old one with the 2409 movement is still working good. My first Amphibia is on the way, about 35 years old, hand wind, 119 case, 2209 movement.

Although not advertised, my Komandirskie is 100% water proof. I take mine swimming, in the shower, etc., never had a single drop of water get inside. Mine is also one of the most accurate in my collection. I am amazed that these sell for so little of a price. If considering one of these, you will love it.

Thanks Jody, just spent an hour on the vostok website and have ordered two, wife just banned me from your channel 🤯

Honestly the Vostok is an absolute legend in Russia. This is something that every Russian soldier carried from the USSR to today. Soldiers are still given these watches all the time. These watches are known to be *incredibly* finicky but incredibly reliable. There are many former soviet soldiers who have carried one of these every day of their entire life since Afghanistan. Many soldiers have reported falling off of harsh drops on these and having it not even skip. Greetings from Saint Petersburg, Russia of course. Another thing for people who love video games/books: this is Artyom’s watch in Metro 2033’s original game (not last light or the redux) and book series. Also: the Cyrillic says ‘built in Russia’. You appear to have gotten a post soviet built one. They’re built the same the only differences are aesthetic. The leather on the watch is a russian soviet style leather treatment. In Russia it’s considered to be stylish.

I’m going to go broke if I keep watching this channel.

Can confirm that those straps will last a decade. I've tried it.

FYI: it actually does say "made in Russia", not "your dinner's in the oven" ;)

FYI the wobbly crown is intentional, it’s meant to protect it from shock and keep it straight. I personally like it, gives me something to fidget with when I’m bored.

Cool, but I wouldn't wear one near a voting booth.

Hi J. I have 2 kommandierskies and an Amphibia. They're robust, reliable and fun to wear. Also great conversation pieces, especially when you live in south Africa, which like Aus. Is far removed from Russia. I would imagine that 99% of the SA population have never even heard of this piece of soviet heritage. Thanks for the snappy review 😁

Your videos have pulled me into the cult!! I now own 2 Komandirskies and an Amphibia which I love....

Love mine and just ordered a second. For the pricé unbeatable. Fabulous price to enjoyment ratio.

My Komandirskie came in the post last week and mine has been running +4.8s/day. Really Happy with it

I always sandpaper my Patek Phillipe and Constintine Vacheron . After all , everybody else does .

this has got to be the best up and coming watch channel on RU-vid, I am consistently impressed with the quality of these reviews! 100k subs in no time I reckon? 😎

"Your dinners in the oven" I laughed my coke out my nose! Coke-cola that is.

Just received my Komandirski in the mail (exact same model from ebay) - looks gorgeous ... thrilled about it ... it is my first Vostok.

I just got my Komandirskie as a birthday present- love it!

Komandirskie 020706 automatic: basically an amphibia, but the case shape is awesome. Also the metal strap is way better than the one from a regular amphibia. An is just 75$ delivered, on ebay.

I love mine I've had it for years. At one point I was removing the bezel and popped of the crystal by mistake and I just popped it back on with my thumb and pressure tested it right after ( I work with watches ) and it passed 5 bar no problem. I've dropped it on tile on the street and it keeps ticking and keeping time. Bought mine for 25 dollars.

Jody you gave me a chuckle or two on this review. I’ve considered a Vostok several times but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, maybe soon for the novelty of it.

"Here's to feelin' good all the time." Great t-shirt, mate! And thanks for making me aware of this watch!

I got 3 my self Kamardeskie love them quirky but amazing pieces all 3 have been changed for a nicer leather strap and 200 meter water resistant in house movement, what more can you ask, great pieces to have, to any collection in my opinion, Thank you for reviewing this stunning piece.

I have the same watch, with a black face the red star, and in chrome (relatively tasteful) for $40 on Ebay, and I love it. I'm not a collector, and I was just looking for something with a cool provenance. Every criticism I have read, comes from "watch guys", and affects me not in the least. Although after many years, I had to get in the habit of winding my watch.

I've stripped the chrome off a couple disassembled komandirskies with muriatic acid. (aka the green wist specials) The brass changes over time, similar to bronze, but with a lighter shade.

'Being Russian, the lume might be plutonium' Hahahahahaha :-) Love it

Nice one Jodie you keep reviewing watches after I buy them ha!😂 Got me one on ebay recently, an Air force edition, only 17 quid, so cant moan at that price. Glad the wobbly crown is actually a design, i was thinking mine was a duffer! Cheers mate another great review. My favourite channel!

It's a solid field watch. Gold on gold is not ideal for an easy to read watch. But a change of hands might fix that. The Komandirskie I've built is one of my daily wearers and the thickness make it an easy watch to wear. And how many people buy an Amphibia and go diving with it?

I'm just waiting for the exact same model to rock up in my mail box in the next week or so. I'm building up a modest collection of Komandirskies "through the ages", and this particular piece of "post_soviet Russian bling" fits in quite nicely at the modern end, as well as being a quite wonderful kitsch contrast to the far more austere early/vintage Vostoks that I have thus far acquired )))

Yes, I have one of these. My bezel is chrome and has a nice hexagonal second track around the centre of the face. I have an Amphibia too, but the Komandirski gets a good amount of wrist time too. I have mine on a Russian flag Red White and Blue Nato Strap (some irony there :) As always, thanks Jody!

I got a Vostok Neptune GMT recently. I was surprised by their accuracy out of the box. No doubt good value.

Drop the bezel in muriatic acid (available at any home improvement store) overnight and you'll have bronze by morning. I did it to my Amphibia over a year ago and it's aging nicely.

"...and won't try and bring her mother over to live with you." HA! I just ordered my first one a week ago. (Komandirskie, that is) So excited! I've always wanted a "tank" watch.

I bought one of these a couple of months ago and it has quickly become my daily beater. I'm loving the old school Soviet asthetic, enough that I'll probably grab an Amphibian in the future. On a Bond Nato it definitely catches peoples' attention.

Nice one Jody it was a Komandirskie that got me started in watch collecting about 18 months ago have a load of them and i always swap out the strap . I find them accurate and very ledgeble . The crown is supposed to wobble as it has a clutch in side to prevent damage to the stem.

finally, after years since i've watched this video, i finally own a komandirskie today

Just purchased my first Komanderskie. Love it. It's rugged, easy time teller and reliable.

I purchased the same model about a month ago. Still waiting for it to come from Mother Russia. I’ve also got another Kommandirskie with the green and blue paratrooper dial. They’re great watches

Hi Jody! I like its dial and hands and… that's it! ;-)I'm however planning to get an Amphibia Radio Room one day or another…Thx for your channel's exquisite contents! :-)

So i actually use mine as a field watch when I work nights. Used to use an seiko 809 until the rotor unscrewed itself so i prefer handwind now. I like the komandirskie because it has the same flat gasket design as the amphibia which makes it more user serviceable than the seiko’s round gasket which warps after multiple caseback removals. I did have to replace the crap strap with a nice orange/grey/black nato though

I have 2 vintage and just got a new 819354 today. I plan on doing some modding and eventually hope to be able to service them. Also have a Slava and a Poljot. Great vid as usual. In house movement for 40 bucks, what a steal

Welcome back to the commander crew. Brilliant cheap beat the crap outta watch, that will take all you can give it and just laugh

Thanks to you being an Aussie, i just ordered my first Vostok, hello from Canberra !

I kept looking on Amazon and this exact watch kept coming up and after watching this video, I decided the price was as inexpensive as a Timex weekender and this has 100 times more appeal and bought it. No ETA but that's ok since using Amazon, it's always fun to get presents in the mail. I am new to watch collecting and this is the perfect piece, and I actually ordered two Vosock and my second one is the submarine style military watch for the same price. I also ordered this watch with the black/red band since the leather wasn't appealing and the black with red stripe looked like it was a better look.

Currently wearing my blue-dialed Komandirskie 211398. It’s been my most worn watch since I got it 5 months ago. Plus it’s one of the only classic Kommies that I’ve seen that doesn’t look too crazy for everyday wear. The stock strap is garbage but I have replaced it with a cheap brownish orange leather strap on it which makes the watch look great. Regulating it is very easy, the regulation lever is not so hard to push compared to other movements. Mine only gains about a couple seconds a day now. Polywatch works great on the crystal! Two downfalls about the Komandirskie non-automatic mechanicals is the lack of quick-set date and proper quality control. I’ve already had a few duds.

I have about 8 Vostoks .... they are just fun

Underrated gem. I have two (one serious, one goofy) and greatly enjoy them both. Have to get rid of the strap ASAP though

It's pronounced "KomanDEERskie". Yes, as in "deer". Komandir in Russian means Commander (usually armed forces), so that name means watch that belongs to a Commander.

honestly that original strap looked better than any other straps in this video

Now, my take on this watch (and the amphibia) is they make a good first mechanical watch - inexpensive, tough and a good introduction to the very different ownership experience of a mechanical watch to quartz watches. The reason I say a good first one, is because you'll then have a better understanding of the refinements present in more modern designs. I've had one of these for a few months now and I really like it. I changed the bezel for one off an amphibia and I much prefer the look. In terms of the water resistance being 30m, it does have the same case back design and a rubber gasket and screw down crown like the amphibia, and, I've got mine wet a fwe times with no apparent consiquences. I'm not a Vostok fanatic, but the Amphibia christment present I recieved a few years ago was my first "something more" watch after many years of £10 casio watches that do the job and did start an interest in watches.

This is a fun watch, with all of its... keys say les than perfect construction. That Sir makes this piece intriguing, and affordable to say the very least.

Bought one w/tank on dial in 1/14. WAS my watch for good occasions. Since I purchased a Восток self wind last month, it is now my everyday watch. Just replaced original band this year due to sweat. Love its accuracy and I only wind it every 36 hours. Would buy another one again.

I've got two of these, and the first thing I did was to cut off the straps and bin them. Didn't even remove the pins. A black 20mm NATO really makes an improvement.

The crown is designed to work loose like that, They all do and always have as it's part of the waterproofing and shock resistance design.The crown has a clutch that makes it seem broken when un-screwed. It is separated from the movement so if there is a shock it does not damage the internals ....... not poor quality but actually genius design.....

"do a bit of modding with sandpaper..." i've heard it all.

This is the first video I’ve seen on the watch without the chrome plating. Looks better than I expected it would on camera.

Great video and review, comrade Jody.

“Could say your dinner’s in the oven” LOL😆

I have just purchased a Komandirskie & I pick it up tomorrow. I'm from New Zealand & managed to get one here. Less than a week for delivery. I can't wait to get & will be changing the strap.

I liked this watch. That eagle really screamed. But Amfibias have the most beautiful cases, my favourite of the 3 Amfibias I have being the "barrel" case, the very epitome of mid-century modern.

Got the same one (same case different dial. After alot of back and forth, I've decided to sand it down and egg force patina it. I'll let you know how it goes if it turns out well. Thanks for the idea.

Wow! Really love it. Amazing!

Man.. I swear we have the SAME thoughts.. Just lastnight I ordered the "star" style case design (has the 4 triangles around the case) I like my 1St komanderskie

Fun watch! Thanx Jody!

Love the Kramer shirt! Been looking at the red dial version, haven’t pulled the trigger yet

Great review. I just ordered one.

That eagle is Russian Aero-Space Forces logo. We have air force and SPACECOM combined in one branch of the military here in Russia.

Bought the same one a couple of months ago, put it on a black nato and wear it occasionally. Not bad for the price indeed.

Good. Now take a look at the Vostok Classica pls. I would define it as The Better Bambino. It's just better than that beautiful watch in almost every regard, highly recommended.

i just love its beautiful quirky looks and the fact that its made in russia!! i orderdered 5 of those komanderskie watches from amazon at usd 50 each...now waiting for them to be delivered!!

I've been wanting a Kamandirskie. Perhaps with a different case and bezel, but great review on that watch.

How long have you searched on their website, before deciding to buy this one? I've got a hard time deciding which one I'm gonna buy with so many choices.

I get so many compliments on this exact watch - crazy... People just love the thing.....

If one were to go with a non-amphibia Vostok, it's the GMT with the sub seconds dial you'd want to go for.

Ha ha that title though. The Vostok is a great watch for any collection from entry level to high end .

From what I've read, the gold coated koms are harder to mod to brass than a silver kom. Also, soaking in acid works very well. Doesn't quite patina naturally though

just received mine, L-o-v-e IT, "gold" with black/grey dial. After amphibia my second vostok. It clear I'm fan.

Great video! Would you ever consider doing a review on some vintage Timex watches, very affordable and lovely design! Also, I'd be interested in seeing your opinion on the Indian made HMT vintage watches - fully in-house movement and a fascinating history!

I just picked up two Wenger watches on Amazon for $39.99 each. I'm the proud owner of six Wengers now. You can't beat a Swiss watch for less than $40! Both came on decent leather straps and the lume on the Urban Classic lasted all night.

I have a submarine logo Komandirskie, I love it!

It’s hideous but strangely lovable.... Amazing amount of watch for the money. Great fun review!

I bought the blue one with a submarine on it last year for $35 on eBay. I did not like the non quick set of the date when I had a rotation of 15 watches. It's a cheap way to find out if you like manual wind though. I did not. I flipped it for $30 again on eBay. Buyer messaged me a week later to ask if I had regulated it because it was running at +5 seconds per day. I had not, but it shows how good the movement is for so cheap. Another great review! PS I get my SARB 035 soon. Can't wait!

I highly recommend the Komandirskie K35 auto with the 24hr window and day/night indicator, on a Nato strap. They're really cool.

Great, interesting watch. Can't go wrong for the price. I suggest getting the hand winders only. The autos are are a little "iffy" in quality.

I have a couple of these and they are fun and mostly bullet proof. And at the price you can just have a few for play. Just ordered one like the one you reviewed. Should be a good conversation starter given the bling. But there are some examples that are pretty conservative, such as steel models with quite attractive dials in almost any color you might want. The loose crown (which is actually a design feature rather than a flaw) is quirky, but I soon got used to it when I realized, yes, this is normal for Vostoks. The price is just astonishingly cheap. Paid $36.50 on eBay for this latest purchase, WITH free (albeit slow) shipping from Russia.

I'm looking at getting the komendernski, I live the look of it and it would happily join my line up of lovely watches

I've got the same cased as yours but the more ornate bezel with little pillowy additions kinda giving it a 2 tier look to the bezel. The dial is the digitally drawn looking large bomber following the pole star at 12 over a digital blue landscape on a black background. Keeps very good time, its on its original Sov strap but its hard to source a decent bracelet for these TiN coated watches, gold tone looks awful and finding any of the original brass bracelets Vostok did make is like rocking horse poo in the rarity or insane prices if you find one. I do love my "brassers" and my next find is hopefully a star or run over frog case with the 2 o'clock winder position, I have a Komandirskie Cadet in the splatted frog case and crown style but not a full size one.

I have several Vostok. They are fun. They are far tougher then my Seiko 5’s which need a trip to watch maker if they fall off end table.

Well I just got one just like that one. After my making an offer and my $10 coupon on eBay, I only paid $20. How can I go wrong!

I'm not a team of the vostok amphibious, but I like this one. I may be buying one just like yours in this video.

Mine is green. I put a strap from a defunct SNK809 on it. I thought that the SNK strap was awful but it had nothing on the awfulness of the original Vostok strap. I love my little Komanderski, though.

Looks good on the suede!!!

And with the Russian Rouble in the doldrums, now is the time to buy. You really can take advantage of the exchange rate.

I think the original leather strap is not bad in function. Very robust and very comfortable. In my eyes, it suites the watch much better. It's a soviet watch, so a NATO Strap is a bit strange on it.