WARNING: Long winded & opinionated review follows:
I'm a huge fan of G-Shock products and the look & design of this watch made it an irresistible addition to my collection. Atomic timekeeping & solar power have become basic requirements for all of my G-Shock purchases, this watch incorporates both of those features along with the full suite of G-Shock 'tough' (waterproof, able to withstand shock & vibration as well as High/Low temperature operating ranges) along with analog display, this watch looks great without worries of ruining it if you wear it every day. I really enjoy the look & overall character of this watch, one might consider it to be "oversized" but it doesn't seem to be huge on my wrist. Any potential purchaser should be forewarned that operating this watch will require a careful review of the owner's manual and about an hour to familiarize yourself with the watch & it's functions. When I first unboxed this watch it instantly either awoke from sleep mode or programmed it'self to my local timezone. It was accurate down to the second right out of the box as I compared it side by side with another atomic-timekeeping G-Shock watch. That is until I started pressing buttons according to the "quick start guide". Soon after pressing just a few buttons the watch was completely out of sync in every possible way, from the time to the day & date. I made the mistake of attempting to explore the watch's functions thinking that it would be intuitive like other G-Shock watches I've owned, but I was very mistaken. That being said I spent an hour tinkering with the watch & reading the entire instruction manual. I now know my way around this watch very well and have zero concerns about it being complicated to operate but I didn't reach that point without spending at least an hour of my time to figure things out. From what I can tell so far, this watch is a high precision timepiece which offers some nice features, however I was disappointed that there is absolutely no backlight, or LED for momentary lighting of the watch face. The hands, numbers & like markings on the watch face glow in the dark for approximately 7 minutes after being exposed to light. You will not be able to read time precisely with this timepiece in the dark, but you'll be able to estimate within 4 minutes at the very most. The other disappointing disovery I encountered is that the stopwatch function on this timepiece only counts up to 23m 59s elapsed. I was quite surprised that a G-Shock would not chrono over 24 minutes and I feel that this makes the stopwatch only marginally acceptable. I must admit that I probably will not use this feature very often, but I don't like the idea of limiting my timing to less than 24 minutes. This watch does offer dual timekeeping in a 2nd timezone with DST enabled or disabled. That along with a handy integrated "swap" function to allow you to switch the time displayed on the watch's primary face easily & quickly between "home" and "world" times. Secondary "world time" is tracked on the small dial between the face center & #3. It should be noted that the secondary time is displayed in 24hr format on a small face which could be difficult to read for some. I personally prefer resin bands like this watch has due to making the watch more lightweight, easy to take off & put on without the potential to wear out clasps or fragile parts which might bend or break. I also prefer the orange coloring against the black face of this watch making it very readable & details highly visible in daylight. Simply put, I dig the orange & black color scheme & I think this is a very sharp looking watch. The movement on this watch is not fluid, but it is very precise. There is good attention to detail & build quality from what I have observed. Since the case is entirely comprised of resin & the steel buttons along with the mineral crystal lens are all well recessed within the watch, I don't worry about anything denting or scratching anything off of this watch. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase & will keep this G-Shock because of it's great looks, rugged G-Shock toughness, atomic timekeeping & solar powered rechargeable battery. World time is a bonus, but again I feel the stopwatch is somewhat limited for a G-Shock. I wish there was some sort of backlight or LED to charge up the glowing hands, markings & numbers too. Overall, this is one of my favorite watches & I would not part with it over the aforementioned disappointments. Pros:
- It's a G-Shock! A virtually indestructible watch!
- Solar powered means you don't have to hassle with replacing a battery or compromising case seals which could let water in & brick the watch.
- Atomic timekeeping so you have extremely accurate time which calibrates daily in most areas and you also don't have to hassle with setting the day & date.
- Good looking watch with high visibility color scheme & detailed markings.
- Precise "tough" movement accurate while surpassing 12 G-forces.
- Dual time with integrated world timezone designations is great for travelling.
Cons:
- Initially difficult to use & set.
- Chrono/Stopwatch only tracks up to 23m59s of time elapsed.
- No backlight or auto EL feature found standard on most G-Shock watches.
- Small features could be difficult to read for some people.
- Only the primary watch hands and time markings glow in the dark for a limited amount of time before going completely dark. Day, date, 24hr secondary world time dials are not visible in the dark.
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Casio Men's GW3000B-1ACR G-Shock Solar Power Black With Orange Dial WatchProduct Description: Introducing the new large case Aviation concept watch with a 1/100-second chronograph designed to keep accurate time even under the stresses of high G forces that occur during air racing. Under in-flight conditions of centrifugal force, this full-function analog timepiece performs with extreme accuracy, reaching new heights with Tough Movement-an automatic function to correct hand position-which enhances its shock-resistant structure. A resin band meets a cockpit-like frame dial structure with orange accents and 3D indexes, allowing for easy recognition of vital information. With a self-charging Tough Solar power system, there's no battery changing and its Multi-Band 6 Atomic Timekeeping receives time calibration signals from up to 6 transmission stations worldwide.Casio's tests confirm the durability of the 1/100 Second Stopwatch and other features to function normally in a merciless environment far surpassing the 12G attained in air racing and the 5G in F1 racing.
Buy cheap Casio Men's GW3000B-1ACR G-Shock Solar Power Black With Orange Dial Watch now
This was purchased as a gift for a good friend.We both prefer fairly sizable timepieces, so its size had no bearing on our selection.This was intended, by me, as more of a high end "gimmick gift", rather than to be used to scale Mount Everest. However, we have found numerous and legitimate uses for this type of product. I own a Suunto "Observer", priced about $100 more, and can find no overt differences between the two.As a matter of fact, the edge may go to Casio because of the solar power.Both require that you remove them from your wrist for 10 minutes to get an accurate outdoor temperature reading.This seemed to be one of the common complaints about this device.That same very phenomenon is also clearly stated in a Suunto manual, Suunto considered to be much higher end and definitely more expensive.The Suunto and Casio manual also clearly states that the device is not to be used for flying, parachuting, or other potentially life-threatening situations that require extreme precision.We have found that both the Casio and Suunto are quite impressive, and in an emergency could possibly, repeat possibly, be used for the above activities (flying, would require an unpressurized cabin).It will certainly be an asset for the day hiker.I have seen a Suunto model on the wrist of a climber who had climbed Mount Everest (magazine picture).Is it worth the price?I think that all depends on what you want it for.We use these instruments for outdoor photography. Having an extremely accurate compass on your wrist really helps when estimating the position of the sun, the time, and other ancillary functions complete the package.I have found my Suunto, and my friend his Casio (this model), to be well worth the investment.
