Today, we’re going to bring you a review of a watch that has about the best endorsement I can give – I actually bought the thing!  The watch in question is the Casio Pathfinder PAW1300-1V, and was purchased as a gift for my dad.  So, why did I settle in on this one?

I ended up getting this watch because it packs quite a lot of technology into its resin case.  Let’s just do a quick run-down of the functionality that it offers:

• 24 Hour countdown timer
• 1/100th of a second stopwatch
• 12/24 hour format selection
• 5 daily alarms
• World time (30 cities loaded)
• Digital compass, altimeter, barometer
• 5 band atomic time synchronization
• Solar charging

As you can see from that list, this is more than a simple digital beater.  What first drew me to this watch were the solar power and atomic synch functions.  Basically, this means the watch will always be accurate, and is going to run for a good long time, so long as it’s out in the sun now and again.

All of the other features were just icing on the cake.  My dad is out in the woods quite a bit backpacking, so the digital compass, and other features, will definitely come in handy for him.

Rounding out the watch, you’ve got water resistance to 100 meters, EL backlighting (which can turn on as soon as you tip the watch to look at the time), and a 47mm resin case and 21mm band.  Now, that case size sounds like it would be a big watch – and it is, but it wears much smaller than you’d think.  In large part, that’s due to the light weight of the watch.

Coming in at around $200 or so, this measures up as a good deal –  and it’s a simple watch to operate.  Without even digging through the manual, I was able to figure out all the settings.  If you’ve been on the fence about any solar-atomic watch, this would be a great choice for you.

Today, we’re going to take a look at a watch from Casio’s Baby G line, the BLX100-7B.  As this line, and this particular model, is most definitely not aimed at men, I’ve enlisted the help of my lovely wife to review this watch.

To anybody with even a passing familiarity to the G-Shock line of watches, there aren’t a lot of surprises to be found.  It’s shock resistant (of course), water resistant to 200 meters and has a variety of stop watch and timing modes.  Also like any other (digital display) G-Shock, you have a very effective backlight.  In this case, it’s a white (not blue or greenish) backlight, keeping in style with the watch itself.

One unique feature of this particular model is the fact that it has a tide display.  After you input your longitude, it will display (above the time) the current tide level.  Here in the midwest, that’s not a particularly useful feature, but I suppose over on the coasts it might be more useful.

Now when my wife picked this watch out of the lineup to have a closer look at, she felt that this might be a good watch to wear to the gym or while out exercising.  And with a resin band, you might be tempted to agree.  However, this is not the rubbery resin band we might expect on a G-Shock.  Rather, it’s more of a shiny, plasticy resin.  While that’s not a bad thing, in and of itself, it places the watch more into the fashion camp that she would’ve preferred.

Also, to her tastes, she felt it would be too big, and too flashy, of a watch to be wearing in the office.  So, while it was an easy-to-operate watch, in the end, it wasn’t really one that my wife was wanting to add in to her collection.  My take on it?  They took a functional sport watch, and really have made it a fashion watch with some sport aspirations.

Of course, since it is a fashion watch, this is a harder one to judge.  While it’s not for my wife (or me), it could very well be for you, your spouse, or other woman in your life.  If so, this watch (or ones just like it in a variety of color combinations) can be had from Casio for a suggested MSRP of $89.

Our thanks go out to Nicole and the folks at Casio who gave us an opportunity to review this watch!

In order to grab the coveted Dudes-Who-Look-Like-Turtle-from-Entourage market, Casio is launching a bigger G-Shock, a massive, wristband-like addition to the G-Shock line that is, in Casio’s own words, designed for “sports players like basketball players.”

While many of you playing at home would suspect that sports players would probably wear something slightly more expensive, G-Shock has made their living on selling their brand of ironic nostalgia to hip-hop-loving teens everywhere and this new model is no exception. It looks like a watch no on would wear and so millions will wear it.

Not many features to speak of but it’s big, bold, and saucy. Look for it this holiday.

The G-Shock is a tough watch to love. They’re Casio’s answer to the Timex Ironman and, while they’re quite rugged, the line has drifted towards Swatch-esque fashion models. Well, I’m glad to report the GA-100 brings it all back home with a world-time feature and stop watch that brings to mind the Citizen Skyhawk series with its dedicated readout windows below bold hands.

The so-called “Three Eye” design (I guess the three dials – one analog and two digital – are the eyes? Whatever) and huge hands make this thing quite readable. The watch is light – about 70g – the watch is surprisingly cheap at about $99. It has a 1/1000th of a second stop watch, countdown timer, 29 time zones, and four alarms. It is shock and magnetically resistant, so you can wear it in the hatch in Lost.


I wore this piece for a few days and was pleased by the size and readability. My biggest pet peeve is the lume/light combo that is just silly. The pips and hands are lightly lumed – you can technically read the time in the dark – and there is a small LED light at six o’clock that casts a pale orange glow over the face. A little backlighting would have been great here. Instead, you get something that looks like it should be flickering inside a pumpkin.

That said, for under $100 you’re doing just fine. It comes in multiple colors including black-out (dark face and hands), orange, and white. It’s a great sports watch and should survive underwater without many problems. If you’re looking for a weekend beater, this is one to watch.

Here’s a bonus video… in Russian. Just turn down your speakers.

Product Page

Call me a sucker for a Pathfinder, Casio’s monstrous sports watches designed for hiking, camping, and cage fighting. The PAW5000 uses the same quad-sensor movement as the other Pathfinder models including a digital compass, altimeter, barometer, and thermometer.

Instead of an LCD display, however, the central seconds hand acts as the main indicator, offering a physical view of the various read-outs and cleaning up the face considerably.

The watch will be available in May for $450.

Equipped with Casio’s traditional Pathfinder triple sensor technology, the PAW5000-1 includes a digital compass, altimeter, barometer and thermometer, making this the all-in-one tool necessary for high energy, rugged, outdoor adventures. The PAW5000-1 has a unique second hand that acts as a compass needle while the hour and the minute hands are specially designed with cut-outs for greater visibility of the dial underneath which assists with reading the digital display and dial indexes. With a resin band, the watch provides a lightweight feel offering durability and comfort on every trip.

The newest Pathfinder features Casio’s innovative self-charging, self-adjusting technology, tough solar power and Waveceptor Multi-Band 6 Atomic Timekeeping Technology, alleviating concerns about changing the time for daylight saving time or leap years. This timepiece automatically synchronizes with Coordinated Universal Time broadcast continuously by stations linked to atomic clocks within the US, Germany, the UK, China and two in Japan based on the user’s home city setting. Tough solar power adds to the Pathfinder’s efficiency while the unique power saving function allows the watch to power down when not exposed to light for a certain period of time, thus conserving power.

It may not do much – it’s basically a feature watch with stopwatch, alarm, and 24-hour time – but it’s nicely designed. This Casio, called the Poptone Cubic Puzzle Watch, comes in blue or black and has buttons stacked up, Tetris-style, on the bottom.

The watch is available for $89 on good old TokyoFlash. Might be good for your “Back to the ’80s” party this Halloween.

A new Casio movement for the GS-1200 Tough line – a radio controlled watch model built for shock resistance – has internal LEDs that calibrate the analog hands of the watch.

The movement has a structure where the gears for second, minute and hour are sandwiched between the LED and the phototransistor. With this setup, it is possible to detect the positions of three gears by one sensor. The LED emits light 16 times a second to check the positions of the 300mum diameter detection holes that are formed on the gears.

Most mechanical analog watches eventually slip out of alignment due to the internal motor. Buy adding the tiny LED and photosensor, the watch processor can tell exactly where the hands are on the face and ensure that the user won’t have to recalibrate the watch later.

This is similar to the methods used to sense positions in the old-time mechanical mice.

I’m a mechanical man, but sometimes you need a sports watch to withstand the hard knocks associated with heavy activity like “drinking at a bar” and “sitting on the back porch with a beer.”

I’ve worn Pathfinders for years now – my first one was a large titanium model with that is basically a cousin to this one. Pathfinders are part of Casio’s outdoor line, designed for hiking and skiing. This model has a compass, barometer, thermometer, altimeter, and stopwatch built in along with a tide graph. It is water resistant to 200 meters.

Read more…

Excellent video review of the Oceanus 5 Motor by Christian at WatchReport… hmmm… maybe the Scorpion will get similar treatment.

Review of the Oceanus 5 Motor (OCW600TDA-1AV) [WatchReport]

WatchReport.com posts a review of his favorite Casio to date, the PAW1200 with multi-band atomic timekeeping, compass, barometer, altitude alarm, and world time. Great stuff.

What makes the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 series special is the fact that it brings so many features together into one watch. I’ll get into plenty of detail on each individual feature shortly, but most notably, the PAW1200 series is the first to bring together the triple-sensor functionality of the Pathfinder line (compass, barometer, and thermometer), atomic time calibration, and solar power.

Review of the Multi-band Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 [WatchReport]