Evolution of the Casio G-Shock Origin (2021)
fratellowatches.com
fratellowatches.com
It really helps me to get some visibility into my health, and closing the rings does motivate me to work out more. I also love the "stand up" notifications, that get me to get up and take a short break from work.
I'm also looking forward to longer term trends, which I think will help me to see if I'm going in the right direction or not =)
Edit: I was not a watch wearer for the past 10 years. The Apple Watch shouldn't be seen as a watch, but as a health device.
In any case, I wear it mostly for the health monitoring. Notifications as described above are a benefit for me, but I would probably not wear it for that alone.
The problem is I don't wear watches anymore.
The last time we talked about it he said it had been a great watch and he wouldn't go anywhere without it.
I don't wear watches or other jewelry (except wedding band) and haven't worn a watch since the late 1970's when I found a Timex in the dirt while walking a pipeline looking for oil spills in central Texas. I picked it up and cleaned the dirt from it and it started ticking. It was an auto-winder model. I wore that for a couple years and eventually gave it away since my own internal clock keeps me accurate to within 15 minutes all day long and if I really think about it I can be accurate most times to within 5 minutes by mentally replaying my day.
I learned to time my scuba-diving safety stops by singing songs. Makes for more interesting dive planning, have to choose the right songs for the dive profile.
Evidence of accuracy is that I am writing this post.
The radio-sync may have stopped working due to simple geographic limitations? Where I live, I'm on the edge of the Berlin radio-signal, and I find it sometimes fails (atmospheric conditions?), but then you can always try apps that synchronize with a sound signal.
I actually have no idea how, but they do actually work! I've used one called Clock Wave from the Apple appstore[0], and it has worked flawlessly.
I'm totally loving my G-Shock. Mine is also solar-powered - which is such a liberating feeling. And includes a barometer, thermometer, compass and altimeter (the altimeter is pretty useless unless barometer-pressure is constant, though - but it's incredibly accurate for elevations of short duration).
I was using my iPhone as my watch for a while, but each time I took it out of my pocket to check the time, I'd get distracted and drawn into some meaningless cellphone activity. Now I check air-pressure and where North is instead :)
To that end I picked up a dw-5600 square g-shock a few years ago. I gave it a bit of thought and went with the battery model over the solar model(they are almost the same price) because as far as I can tell the solar model still has a battery in it but the battery is considered non replaceable, I would rather just replace the battery every seven years. I picked up an adapter for a one piece nylon strap(sometimes called a nato or zulu strap, there might be a difference but I can't tell what it is) mainly because I like the nylon straps more than the resin ones.
So far it has been a good serviceable watch, I shall now do it a disservice and enumerate what I don't like about it.
1. the buttons are too small, especially "adjust" which on this model is inset further.
2. the strap lugs are very small(16 mm), this necessitate some sort of adapter if you want a solid nylon strap(usually 24 mm).My experience is that cost of ownership of solar models is much lower versus battery models, with less hassle (esp. if atomic syncing is an option). I just had the solar cell in an 18-year-old 5600 replaced. Not because it urgently needed it, but because it was clear the endurance without charging was declining a bit, and I was at the shop, anyway. (And I was pushing it on the seals.)
An OEM spec cell is ~$15-25 with retail markup, but my guy charged me about that for the swap, including new seals and a pressure test. OEM resins are still available for that model, too. I'm still running the original resin, but on other watches when replacing it I always bank a spare for the next swap.
Not that the battery models are bad, and they are definitely more field-serviceable given the comparative difficulty of finding suitable solar cells in more remote parts of the world.
There's really no bad G-Shock, just what works better for one's preferences and requirements.
As a kid, I've always liked the toughness of G-Shock watches. Especially grew fond of the tough solar multiband radio-synched ones.
As I grew up I wanted a sleeker look, less dorky, smaller footprint, ideally analog, or at least not looking like digital = cheap. The kind of thing that just looks like a Swatch would, but with the good old features. The Lineage brand is just that, offshoot of the latest G-Shock models. Someone else mentioned the Edifice and Oceanus lines as siblings, they're worth a look too, with different featureset.
[1]: https://www.casio-europe.com/euro/products/watches/radio-con...
It has a big, readable digital display and easy to press buttons. It costs £20.
I could spend five times that and get a bulky G-Shock with a less readable display and harder to press buttons, and then it would be less likely to break. But I don't want those compromises and I'd rather enjoy the benefits of this one even if I have to replace it more often.
I think the essence of a watch is still timekeeping, as most of the other functions can be provided by other things (online mapping, paper maps, dedicated GPS, etc.). So if you just want a timekeeping device and want it to be really indestructible, G-shock has that appeal. It's like the omega dive watches but digital and more practical financially speaking (a bit of 80s tech nostalgia doesn't hurt).
I admit Garmin Instinct is where they start to compete with G-shock, and on a feature-by-feature basis, the Instinct should come ahead. I don't really understand sometimes why Casio isn't trying to introduce slimmer GPS watches, as that should be their niche. At the same time, the Garmin Instinct just hasn't had as much time as the G-shock watches to establish a reputation. So even if 30 years from now people are talking about how their Garmin Instinct 2s are still ticking, and they acquire the same reputation as a G-shock, that's still 30 years from now.
Casio also seems to really favor - or at least appeal to someone looking for - rock-solid implementation of established features in firmware/hardware. The app issue you're mentioning is telling, in that my guess is Casio's core customer base really doesn't care about a phone app. They don't want their watch to sync with their phone.
For a beater sports watch I wear a Pro-Trek PRW-60Y https://www.casio.com/sg/watches/protrek/product.PRW-60Y-1A/ Tough solar movement, more comfortable, better dial to body ratio, large buttons, better interface, has barometer, altimeter, compass, thermometer, looks better and mature.
For a casual watch check out the Casio Oceanus line.
Also check out the premium G-Shock models mentioned in the article: MTG and MRG. The MTG in natural metal color is a very mature G-Shock you can wear with almost anything that is not a formal suit. And has a fit and finish that is unbeatable for the price.
Possession of an F-91W being used as evidence of being a terrorist trained in bomb-making for purposes of detention at Guantanamo Bay was highlighted as something ridiculous because of how common the watches are. There's ample evidence that al Qaeda bomb-makers were quite fond of the watch, yes. But as prisoners at Guantanamo pointed out, apparently in vain, many guards there wore the same watch. It's just that common.
For anyone from wanting to go on vacation to Guantanamo bay: strap a few of those on you wrist when crossing the border /s