This is the 3rd Casio I buy in the last year... and the cheapest. I previously tried the G601-1AV and later the GW1300A-9AV, both of the G-Shock family. However, I was looking for one with analog and digital time, but easy to read and with night illumination. The G601 is nice, but the small rounded digital displays are a bit too small for my old eyes, and the night illumination is only for the digital displays!. Then I bought the GW1300 because it was advertised as having two LEDs that illuminated the whole face of the watch and was solar powered. True! but... the design is such that when the face is illuminated in the dark, it is so full of shiny surfaces and reflections that you can hardly distinguish the analog hands, and nothing of the digital displays. So, I kept looking and finally decided on this one, the AQ160W with not too much hope... and voila! it was perfect for me! Thinner than the G-Shocks and very light weight, the digital displays are big and easy to read, even if the hands are over them (the digits look gold on day light, very nice, not like the picture here which shows how it looks when the green back light is on). The backlight, with optional auto turn-on, is perfectly readable, and you can see, besides the big numbers, the silhouette of the analog hands over the background. I am ready to give up the 200m water resist, the solar power, the waveceptor auto time set, the automatic handles setting by the digital clock, all for the good design of this watch. It would be perfect if Casio added to this one the solar power and the auto setting of the analog clock. The dual world time, auto calendar, chronometer, timer, multiple alarms, are all common features of these watches however.
The only drawback for me is the extremely thin resin band, which being very confortable, does not look long lasting. I hope I can find replacements in the future.
Anyway, great watch! My search is over...
(I must say that this search would have been much easier if I had the chance to try these watches in a local store before buying, but none of these models were available where I live.)
Update 26/Oct/2009: After 2 years of almost continuous use, the battery still works and the resin band, though not looking like new anymore, has no sign of deterioration. I was wrong thinking that it would break easily. Great watch!
Update July 2010: the battery refuses to die... the resin band has no sign of cracks... so what can I say? The backlight is dimmer though, so I am buying a new one soon. I definitively recommend it.
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Casio Men's AQ160W-1BV Ana-Digi Electro-Luminescent Sport WatchProduct Description: A great choice for sporty world travelers, this Casio analog-digital stainless steel watch offers a stylish black sports resin band that will stay comfortable during your most active sport outings. The round silver stainless steel watch case features a black bezel framing a black dial face with dagger-style hands and small Arabic numeral display with small minute indexes. The center of the face sports a large digital readout that provides a view to a second time zone--a great feature for globetrotters. It offers an integrated world time function with 29 time zones (27 cities), city code display, and daylight saving on/off. Other timekeeping features include:
1/100-second stopwatch with a 60 hour capacity, featuring elapsed time lap time, split time, 1st-2nd place times
Countdown timer with 60-minute range
Auto Calendar (pre-programmed until the year 2039)
12/24 hour formats
4 Daily Alarms and 1 snooze alarm
Other features include ±30-second accuracy per month, Afterglow backlighting, and water resistance to 100 meters (330 feet)--offering protection from accidental splashes as well suitable for swimming, snorkeling, and light recreational diving.
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Beautiful watch and even more beautiful brown straps, a tag small for my son wrist, but good value overall
