What is the BEST WATCH for $500? - Buy This Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical NOW! 

Buy this Hamilton on Amazon (my affiliate link): amzn.to/3KXNQW7

I have the older LL Bean version and I love it’s design and execution

awesome review!

Very nice review. This and the Pilot Pioneer Mechanical are the two that I alternate between.

Great review Guy 👏I agree with most of what you have covered I bought the 38mm auto after your review also the spb143. I have since bought this dial and white dial mechanical on strap as, don't think it suits the bracelet personally. Like you say the winding feel and sound is amazing, I could wind this forever, sad when fully wound 🤣 I am eyeing up the pilot pioneer now just worried might be too small.

The KFA 38 and KFM 38 redefined what watch comfort means to me. I have 7.5 inch wrist and llove them on factory bracelets. The khaki field is really all I want to wear and will buy KFA 38 in silver and KFM in white, then purchase the factory bracelet for each.

Hey Guy, It’s a great watch. I own three. The first one is the older version with the two piece navy khaki strap with date. The second is the previous version to yours with the higher beat ETA. The third is like yours but with white dial. All 38 mm models. Last two green material straps. Very nice!

I got a khaki field mechanical on green NATO. It's awesome. For under £500 you cannot go wrong. Accuracy is pretty much perfect when wearing. More accurate than my bb58

A great review of this watch Guy. I've had this watch for quite a while although I went for the green NATO strap version. I usually go for the bracelet versions of watches but on this occasion I was not a fan of it, simply put I'd be unlikely to wear it on the bracelet. We all have our preferences and that is totally fine. The watch itself in my humble opinion is a brilliant tool watch . No bright polish anywhere and a very clear dial that can be read at a glance. As you mention it does wear a little bigger than the dimensions but I think that is partly due to the longer lug to lug length. My example has been consistent in its +/- second accuracy (something that my other PM80 derived movements have exhibited but not as accurate per day if that makes any sense) well within COSC parameters. As you mention the winding experience is a pleasant one and I tend to wind mine each day at the same time, if something crops up or I forget I know its still good for another day or two. My old Speedy is no where near as easy to wind as you mention. In my view it has just the right amount of aged look to the lume and to be honest out in the field do you really wat a torch strapped to the wrist? If you need a an extra light you'll likely have one with you. Water resistance at 50M should be fine for the vast majority of us and from new it'll probably better that by a large margin. It's also a manual wind so by winding it it will have some friction wear against the 'O' rings so de-rating compared to the automatic version makes sense. Many thanks for sharing Guy.

I've owned one for years & total agree with you I didn't buy it on the bracelet because they didn't offer it then & i payed $339 best deal I've ever bought .

I’m satisfied by the lume and have not had an issue being able to read the dial all night and into the sunrise in the morning.

I own the polar version which came on the nato and I love it. I just don't like the bracelet and how it looks on that watch. This watch feels best on a nato in my opinion. I agree with you that this watch is a great choise, but when I propose this one to "normal people" without watch-addiction they mostly like the watch but not for the money. Even 500 bucks is not cheap for a first or second wristwatch which you technically don't really need nowadays. Therefore it is mostly easier to convince people of the value of the Khaki Field auto. Saying that I am thinking of getting that Auto as well to have then my third Hamilton in my collection besides the Interstellar Cooper and the Polar Field watch. Keep on with the good work and thanks for this honest video!

Love the bracelet, I have this watch on a NATO, plus another on a canvas strap. Good advice about buying it on the bracelet 👍 I made that mistake twice! I will get a bracelet for them though.

I really enjoyed the breakdown of the "negatives" mentioned about this watch. I think most people focus on something that's not really that big of a deal when considering a watch. As you said, how many people really need 200m of WR and who's buying a watch that absolutely needs the kind of lume that lights up like a neon sign? I work in a very industrial area and often times during the wee hours of the morning and the lume on a watch seldom factored in to my preference of a watch like the Hamilton Khaki in this video. So for those reasons, I really enjoyed this review of a awesome and classic time piece.

I have the polar version and really like it. I have it on a leather nato that I am not a fan of, but the hammy was barely used and I got it for $250, I agree with you get it on the bracelet if you can.

Great review!…also bad, because now I want this watch!…lol….By the way, the Serica 4512 is manual wound with a screw down crown rated at 200m water resistant. Thank you!

I have the ggw113 from 77

Intro music giving strong Crisis Core vibes.

U should try a perlon strap with it.

Which khaki do you still have and how is your experience with the movement long term?

I agree with you on the fetish some watch reviewers have for water resistance and lume. (I'd add "hacking" to that list. Seriously, who cares?). This watch is stylish, comfortable, legible (AR coating apart), accurate and has a long power reserve. It's a great watch.

I own this watch but on a strap, I don’t think it’s bead blasted, it looks more a coating designed to emulate bead blasting in my opinion. Look carefully at the junction between the mid case and bezel: material has been added not removed. Love it tho

I’v never heard anyone call a male endlink a “t shape endlink with a protruding horn” lol. Love the video BTW, I just thought that was funny

The 38mm Hamilton Khaki Auto fixes some of those issues: No fauxtina, milled clasp with no divers extension. Unfortunately still has poor lume and no AR.

I personally prefer the 38mm Khaki Field Autos more modern dial, but either are cracking little watches and good value.

I have read reliability with this movement. How do you properly wind this specific movement?

I'm curious what the price was in your affiliate link before your video went live. Now it's up to $650

I would have bought one of these if they left the beat rate alone which used to be 28,800 for a smoother second-hand sweep. Instead of the longer power reserve. I remember when these were under 400 dollars. I think it came with a crappy cloth strap. The metal bracelet is better. They could make a better clasp for it through.

I have the PVD version of this and it is far more accurate than my Rolex Submariner. It is only 17 seconds out per month! Almost quart accuracy!

I give mine a blast with a uv torch before I go to bed and I can still read it in the dark at 5 am. Maybe I got lucky?

Great watch but the only 3 cons for me are the lug to lug length. For a 38mm size watch, the lugs are just a little too long for me. The other con…. The lug holes are almost on the edge of the lugs. On a strap there’s a noticeable gap between the case & strap. 3rd con… on a NATO this watch sits really high on wrist. For a 38mm with thin long lugs? It looks awkward and becomes top heavy. I tried to bond with the bronze version. It just didn’t do it for me, so I sold it a few weeks after I bought it. Which is unfortunate because this is a great simplistic affordable watch. It’s a true field watch, and for me it would suit my lifestyle. I can deal with the 50 meter water resistance, and the push pull crown. The dial is perfect, the movement is ok, the beed blasted finish makes sense, the price is just right. Just shorten the lugs and it would be way better than it already is. Other slight improvement would be a brushed or polished bezel.

I have liked it for a while, but non-AR crystal is probably the deal-breaker.

The new Times field watch is an even better bargain in the sub $400 range.

It cost 625€ now

With all those faults, the price is just too much. Nice video.

I agree on all points - except for the metal bracelet. It is ugly and does not fit the watch. I have one with a black dial and one with a brown dial, both with the ETA 2801. I wanted the option to regulate the watches by my own. Never needed it, but I also like the smoother sweep of the second hand. It is the watch, wich I wear the most.

Ive been a hamilton fanboy for years but hamilton cut corners on this model. If it had a milled clasp and AR coating for this price i would jump on it. If it was $350 maybe 400 id probably buy one but i already have the khaki field day date so this would be a bit redundant in my collection anyway. All in all, it's definitely a good looking watch. Oh, hamilton lume has always been shit. i think we all know what to expect from hamilton lume by now😂.

I love classy post-war military watches, and I believe nobody would care about the Hamilton if decent alternatives existed and if tacky "military style watches" in general didn’t suck as much as they blatantly do. With its pointless 38 mm oversize, (to my knowledge) mediocre lume, water resistance barely suitable for swimming and its not particularly versatile style the Hamilton just does not cut it, and mere "history" is not a reason for buying. The fact of Halmilton offering a 42 mm version proves that they are not taking the watch seriously and that its supposed "history" is a mere marketing pretense. No, thank you.

There are MANY watches better than this one for the same or less. Atlas Momentum Automatic and Islander Mitchel Automatic Field Watch to name just two. Both are cheaper, have 100M WR, have better AR coating, and have a screw down crown. I owned the Hamilton Khaki for about 3 months and sold it because I wanted a watch I could take hike AND not worry about falling into a creek.

Worth 300£ max...overpriced

Overrated and to expensive...