moeharri
June 1st, 2009, 06:02
CASIO MUDMAN GW9000A-1 G-SHOCK ATOMIC
List Price: $150
Purchase Price: $91
Movement: Quartz digital, solar powered, atomic
Dial Color: Black
Case: Resin
Crystal: Mineral
Back: Stainless Steel
Hacks: N/A
Handwinds: N/A
Lume: Full Auto EL
Water Resistance: 20 Bar (600 feet)
Purchased: May 2009
Purchased From: Amazon
DIMENSIONS
Width: 46.00 mm
With Crown: N/A
Lug Width: 25.25 mm
Height (lug to lug): 51.05 mm
Thickness: 15.30 mm
WHY I PURCHASED THIS WATCH
I’ll admit that previous to purchasing this watch, I was sort of a digital snob. I didn’t understand why someone would want to wear a digital watch when automatic (self-winding) watches were so intriguing to me. However, I have now seen the (Full Auto EL) light :-) A digital watch is very versatile when I would dare not wear one of my “precious” automatic watches. When it came time to buy a digital watch, I looked no further than Casio’s G-Shocks. I knew that they represented quality and decided to go with this Mudman.
QUALITY (fit, crystal, lume, bracelet)
Quite simply, the quality of this watch is amazing. It is much lighter weight than I would have expected, but that is fine. It also wears much smaller than I thought it would. When I saw the measurements on Amazon, I worried that this watch might be way too big for my 6.5 inch wrist. All of my worries were for naught as it fits perfectly. I also read that the buttons are hard to push, but using a “squeeze/pinch” method with my thumb on the opposite side of the watch, I find the buttons take a perfect level of effort to push. The nubs on the back don’t irritate my skin at all and do a great job of helping keep the watch in place.
At first I had difficulty synching my watch, but I placed it in a window and did a manual synch and about 7 minutes later, it was properly synched; excellent! I LOVE the full auto EL. It works every time when I raise my wrist and doesn’t require any awkward movement to get it to turn on.
Now on to my biggest complaint about the watch. I wish the EL would remain on longer or ideally be configurable. I find the approximate 1.5 seconds to be too short and would love about 3 (or perhaps 5) seconds of illumination. I understand that this runs down the battery, but being solar powered, I’d be willing to accept the need for more light exposure to keep the charge up.
I do wish the strap keeper was tighter as well. Luckily for me, I wear the watch on the 6th set of holes and can keep the strap keeper all the way up at the top where it is tighter. This is a weird oversight to me though from Casio and could be an issue for people with larger or smaller wrists.
One last “issue” is that my wife refuses to go in public with me wearing this watch. She thinks it looks nerdy, but I have hope that she’ll come around, especially since I am typically nerdy--she should be used to it!
ACCURACY
This of course is great with the nightly synching and digital precision.
HIGHS
Size
Great fit
Feeling of quality
Full Auto EL
Double tangs
Perfect effort level to push buttons
LOWS
Illumination duration is short and not configurable
Loose strap keeper
Wife thinks it looks nerdy (still a digital snob)
SCORES
Fit/finish: 9/10
Crystal: 5/5
Dial/Bezel: 5/5
Lume: 4/5
Bracelet/Strap: 4/5
Accuracy: 5/5
Value: 9/10
Overall (not an average): 9/10
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/2229/img1571g.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8628/img1575b.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8922/img1574g.jpg
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/9339/img1573k.jpg
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9932/img1587.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1341/img1583.jpg
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/8690/img1579t.jpg
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8066/img1585m.jpg
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/685/img1580.jpg
Size comparison to Orient Mako
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/56/img1576f.jpg
MY BACKGROUND
Here is some background information about me. This may help clarify my point of view and what shapes my opinions. If there is anything I can do to help you with more information about the watches in my reviews, if you’d like more photos, etc, please let me know and I’ll try to help.
I am a computer programmer/analyst from a very small town in central Wisconsin. I am a husband and father to two boys, ages 3 and 1. My interests include digital photography (Canon SLR’s), watches (Japanese mainly), Apple computers, cars (Japanese and German), and LED flashlights. I am a self-professed perfectionist and appreciate an extreme attention to detail and like to have a sense of value for my money. I believe this is what draws me primarily to Japanese watches. I have written my reviews in an attempt to provide information that I found difficult myself (at least before finding WUS) to obtain. I typically research a new watch purchase for about 20 hours in an attempt to make sure I’m happy with my purchase.
TECHNICAL INFO
My measurements were all performed with a digital caliper accurate down to .01 mm and rounded to the nearest .05 mm. I believe these to be as accurate of measurements as I have seen anywhere and may differ from official specs and other websites. For reference in the photos, I have approximately a 6.5 inch wrist.
List Price: $150
Purchase Price: $91
Movement: Quartz digital, solar powered, atomic
Dial Color: Black
Case: Resin
Crystal: Mineral
Back: Stainless Steel
Hacks: N/A
Handwinds: N/A
Lume: Full Auto EL
Water Resistance: 20 Bar (600 feet)
Purchased: May 2009
Purchased From: Amazon
DIMENSIONS
Width: 46.00 mm
With Crown: N/A
Lug Width: 25.25 mm
Height (lug to lug): 51.05 mm
Thickness: 15.30 mm
WHY I PURCHASED THIS WATCH
I’ll admit that previous to purchasing this watch, I was sort of a digital snob. I didn’t understand why someone would want to wear a digital watch when automatic (self-winding) watches were so intriguing to me. However, I have now seen the (Full Auto EL) light :-) A digital watch is very versatile when I would dare not wear one of my “precious” automatic watches. When it came time to buy a digital watch, I looked no further than Casio’s G-Shocks. I knew that they represented quality and decided to go with this Mudman.
QUALITY (fit, crystal, lume, bracelet)
Quite simply, the quality of this watch is amazing. It is much lighter weight than I would have expected, but that is fine. It also wears much smaller than I thought it would. When I saw the measurements on Amazon, I worried that this watch might be way too big for my 6.5 inch wrist. All of my worries were for naught as it fits perfectly. I also read that the buttons are hard to push, but using a “squeeze/pinch” method with my thumb on the opposite side of the watch, I find the buttons take a perfect level of effort to push. The nubs on the back don’t irritate my skin at all and do a great job of helping keep the watch in place.
At first I had difficulty synching my watch, but I placed it in a window and did a manual synch and about 7 minutes later, it was properly synched; excellent! I LOVE the full auto EL. It works every time when I raise my wrist and doesn’t require any awkward movement to get it to turn on.
Now on to my biggest complaint about the watch. I wish the EL would remain on longer or ideally be configurable. I find the approximate 1.5 seconds to be too short and would love about 3 (or perhaps 5) seconds of illumination. I understand that this runs down the battery, but being solar powered, I’d be willing to accept the need for more light exposure to keep the charge up.
I do wish the strap keeper was tighter as well. Luckily for me, I wear the watch on the 6th set of holes and can keep the strap keeper all the way up at the top where it is tighter. This is a weird oversight to me though from Casio and could be an issue for people with larger or smaller wrists.
One last “issue” is that my wife refuses to go in public with me wearing this watch. She thinks it looks nerdy, but I have hope that she’ll come around, especially since I am typically nerdy--she should be used to it!
ACCURACY
This of course is great with the nightly synching and digital precision.
HIGHS
Size
Great fit
Feeling of quality
Full Auto EL
Double tangs
Perfect effort level to push buttons
LOWS
Illumination duration is short and not configurable
Loose strap keeper
Wife thinks it looks nerdy (still a digital snob)
SCORES
Fit/finish: 9/10
Crystal: 5/5
Dial/Bezel: 5/5
Lume: 4/5
Bracelet/Strap: 4/5
Accuracy: 5/5
Value: 9/10
Overall (not an average): 9/10
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/2229/img1571g.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8628/img1575b.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8922/img1574g.jpg
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/9339/img1573k.jpg
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9932/img1587.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1341/img1583.jpg
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/8690/img1579t.jpg
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8066/img1585m.jpg
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/685/img1580.jpg
Size comparison to Orient Mako
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/56/img1576f.jpg
MY BACKGROUND
Here is some background information about me. This may help clarify my point of view and what shapes my opinions. If there is anything I can do to help you with more information about the watches in my reviews, if you’d like more photos, etc, please let me know and I’ll try to help.
I am a computer programmer/analyst from a very small town in central Wisconsin. I am a husband and father to two boys, ages 3 and 1. My interests include digital photography (Canon SLR’s), watches (Japanese mainly), Apple computers, cars (Japanese and German), and LED flashlights. I am a self-professed perfectionist and appreciate an extreme attention to detail and like to have a sense of value for my money. I believe this is what draws me primarily to Japanese watches. I have written my reviews in an attempt to provide information that I found difficult myself (at least before finding WUS) to obtain. I typically research a new watch purchase for about 20 hours in an attempt to make sure I’m happy with my purchase.
TECHNICAL INFO
My measurements were all performed with a digital caliper accurate down to .01 mm and rounded to the nearest .05 mm. I believe these to be as accurate of measurements as I have seen anywhere and may differ from official specs and other websites. For reference in the photos, I have approximately a 6.5 inch wrist.