I don't think it's necessary to beat a dead horse and write a comprehensive review of Skyland as RWG Breitling section archive is FULL of them.
Flaws
This rep came out in '08 and there's nothing left to say. The "biggest" flaw is the lume application on '1, '2 and '4 markers. The fact is that you either get your Skyland rep with those markers badly or moderately screwed up. My watch definitely belongs to the latter category. The dots are very reasonable and the misalignment is almost impossible to see with naked eye. Rest of the markers are pretty much "rep perfect".
Sure there are other flaws but they're very insignificant. The grey dial was actually lighter than I thought. Maybe the member pics are often contrasted or photographed in insufficient lighting? Factories used the grey one as an example so I guess the color is pretty close to the gen? I have never owned a grey dial watch before so this was welcome variation.
Why v2?
I asked around a few veteran members and a few Breitling enthusiasts in the community, and they all said the same: "v2 is the best version, get that one". The initial batches came with bad movements but mine has one from the newer production run. A decent one, according to Importr. Runs smoothly and has good PR. v3 is very good replication as well and has some advantages over v2. I don't bother to list them as Yodap has already written an excellent guide of the different versions. You can view it here. It would be interesting to hear different views on this matter, especially from people who have owned both. I guess you can't go wrong with either version.
The size issue?
Yes, Skyland is a big watch. Very thick and massive. But if you have a large wrist I would say you can pull it off. It's huge but not ridiculous by any means. This is how it looks on a '8 wrist.
(Also notice how amazingly shiny the bracelet is after heavy Unipol metal polishing paste & car wax treatment. I spent a lot of time to clean up this watch and the results were very satisfactory. The bracelet shines like a mirror.)
Everyone is familiar with the Steelfish. And it's big but not overly so. Skyland is almost the same size but Fish wears a bit smaller because it's thinner. But I don't think the difference is that big, really. If Fish looks good on you, I think you're good to go with Skyland.
How about comparing it to Rolex Explorer II? Well... like I said, Skyland is a big watch. I disagree with people who say that it's impossible to wear smaller watches after getting used to XXL ones. I have no problem wearing my Explorer II after Skyland, it doesn't feel too small at all. Just different. Variety is the spice of life.
Do I like it?
That's the main question for us all, isn't it? It doesn't matter if the rep model is popular if it's not a watch for you. I just recently reviewed the beautiful and hugely popular graphite BCE and it didn't grab me at all.
To be honest, I wasn't sure about Skyland, either. It always looked a bit clumsy and maybe even a bit plain, boring. The dial doesn't have the amazing "quillouche" that Steelfish has, and the the exaggerated thickness and polished bracelet made it look almost tasteless in my eyes.
But on the other hand, that's exactly where the attraction is: Skyland is a bit gross and definitely very "Breitlingsque". I really like this new style of Pro bracelet and the recessed SELs combined with very high lugs create this watch a massive, masculine look. I would never call it a "beautiful watch" but Skyland has some sort of weird, unexplainable charm. Funny how I didn't like the polished bracelet on Navitimer and BCE at all, but find the Skyland bracelet very attractive. But then again the Blacksteel version doesn't do anything for me, and Skyland on a leather strap (which seems to be very popular combo) kills this watch completely, imho. I'm a steel man through and through. Different strokes...
Summary
I wanted another Breitling and I need at least some variation in my collection. Skyland is different enough, but still very much "my kind of sports watch". Andreww, Mickey Padge, P4GTR and others who said that I'd like this watch were right. I don't know why it took me almost 2 years to realize it.
As I said, the only flaw worth mentioning is the lume at '1, '2 and '4 but even those are excellent on my watch (compared to average rep dials). The dial looks excellent unless you take a macro photograph of it. Untreated rep braclet felt really lousy, and even after heavy treatment (which improved it 200%) it's not like the gen Pro2 bracelet, which is actually one of the nicest bracelets out there. But it's very good rep bracelet when treated properly. I can't stress this enough... you HAVE to oil and polish it. The end result was good enough for me. If I ever want a perfect Skyland I'm sure I'll find one from TZ or WUS sales forums.
Special thanks to my friend Importr. He said that the watch "was in excellent condition". He never mentioned that the new watch was brand new, in plastics... and a good rep example to boot. Once again it got proven: best reps come from fellow RWG veteran members... perfect QC, usually picked up from dealer previews of the actual watch, etc. One of the best reps ever and one of my best rep purchases ever... a keeper for sure. Thanks again!
