peterh
November 11th, 2006, 20:37
This watch marked my re-entry into the Sports Digital watches... more out of necessity than out of desire. I needed a watch with a countdown timer, and with a countdown timer that I could actually read - and, at 48 years, one does tend to get a little farsighted.
Being a lover of watches with hands (a couple Seiko's, a Christopher Ward and an old Omega Genève), I made the mistake of buying a Casio G with hands and two digital displays. It took me less than a few hours that, in dim light, I stood no chance whatsoever of actually reading the displays.
So I thought... okay, if I need a pretty watch, I'll wear the Chris Ward or the Omega, if I need a watch that's pretty as well as darn accurate, I'll wear a Seiko, and if I need my egg timer (countdown timer) for shooting or for model airplane flying, I might as well throw pretty out the window and wear a digital watch.
So, I ordered the GW800.
Having had the thing for some time, I feel egligible to comment.
Whatsitdo?
Basically, all you expect from a digital watch:
- stopwatch with lap times
- egg timer (which is what I needed)
- date/time/day timekeeping
- wave ceptor (the ability to synch with an atomic clock - all five of them)(which is what I wanted - I'd feel horrible if this watch would be less accurate than my most-worn watch, which is a Seiko quartz - more on that later)
- tough solar (which is what I wanted)
- excellent durability (hey... it's a G-shock).
Howsitwork?
Excellent, thank you.
The atomic clock reception is nothing that I'll complain about - it resets just fine every night. But then again, I am not in a position to complain, since, what with me living in atomic clock reception Nirvana (The Netherlands), I am less than 200 miles away from TWO out of the five atomic clock transmitters (Rugby and Frankfurt) that this watch supports.
As a result, this watch should be every bit as accurate as is my Seiko Quartz (7T92 movement) - which is effing accurate to begin with. When we switched back from daylight savings time last October, the Seiko was less than 2 seconds off... and over 7 months, I think that's a stellar achievement.
The egg timer (countdown timer) leaves nothing to be desired for a farsighted 48 yrs old. When you use the egg timer to time your model airplane flights (they DO run out of fuel) or your time at the shooting range, the display is perfectly readable, and the alarms are audible enough not to escape your attention.
Button operation is positive enough to not be a problem in real life, even while wearing (thin) gloves (hey.... Novembers can get cold where we are).
The Tough Solar bit: ever since I had this, it hasn't gone down from "fully charged". I do leave it behind our bedroom window if I don't wear it.
I haven't tested the thing to conform to G-Shock standards (meaning, I haven't thrown it on the concrete from 10 meters up), but from the build quality, I would think it would meet these criteria. What I do know is that it takes quite a lot of abuse to even scratch this thing. I've abused it quite a bit, and even today, I could wrap it up in the tin and sell it like New In Box.
So... whatsitdo? It keeps effin' accurate time, it takes severe blows without even blinking an eye, and the user interface doesn't interfere.
Standalone, when it comes to time keeping, the Seiko 7t92 is probably a better watch - without relying on external atomic clock sources, it is every bit as good between daylight savings time switches. But then again, I do need to reset the Seiko at daylight savings time... and I never need to touch the Casio GW800. So, from a convenience point of view, the Casio is the better watch.
When I'm wearing a suit, the Casio is a no-go. I would probably revert to the Omega or the Chris Ward at times like these.
And when WWIII would destroy both Rugby and Frankfurt (the atomic clock locations), the Seiko 7T92 would probably be the most reliable timekeeping device that I would have.
But when I go out into the sticks to ride my bike, or to shoot my air rifle on the range, or to fly my model airplane, or on vacation, the Casio is the only watch I'll take.
peter
Being a lover of watches with hands (a couple Seiko's, a Christopher Ward and an old Omega Genève), I made the mistake of buying a Casio G with hands and two digital displays. It took me less than a few hours that, in dim light, I stood no chance whatsoever of actually reading the displays.
So I thought... okay, if I need a pretty watch, I'll wear the Chris Ward or the Omega, if I need a watch that's pretty as well as darn accurate, I'll wear a Seiko, and if I need my egg timer (countdown timer) for shooting or for model airplane flying, I might as well throw pretty out the window and wear a digital watch.
So, I ordered the GW800.
Having had the thing for some time, I feel egligible to comment.
Whatsitdo?
Basically, all you expect from a digital watch:
- stopwatch with lap times
- egg timer (which is what I needed)
- date/time/day timekeeping
- wave ceptor (the ability to synch with an atomic clock - all five of them)(which is what I wanted - I'd feel horrible if this watch would be less accurate than my most-worn watch, which is a Seiko quartz - more on that later)
- tough solar (which is what I wanted)
- excellent durability (hey... it's a G-shock).
Howsitwork?
Excellent, thank you.
The atomic clock reception is nothing that I'll complain about - it resets just fine every night. But then again, I am not in a position to complain, since, what with me living in atomic clock reception Nirvana (The Netherlands), I am less than 200 miles away from TWO out of the five atomic clock transmitters (Rugby and Frankfurt) that this watch supports.
As a result, this watch should be every bit as accurate as is my Seiko Quartz (7T92 movement) - which is effing accurate to begin with. When we switched back from daylight savings time last October, the Seiko was less than 2 seconds off... and over 7 months, I think that's a stellar achievement.
The egg timer (countdown timer) leaves nothing to be desired for a farsighted 48 yrs old. When you use the egg timer to time your model airplane flights (they DO run out of fuel) or your time at the shooting range, the display is perfectly readable, and the alarms are audible enough not to escape your attention.
Button operation is positive enough to not be a problem in real life, even while wearing (thin) gloves (hey.... Novembers can get cold where we are).
The Tough Solar bit: ever since I had this, it hasn't gone down from "fully charged". I do leave it behind our bedroom window if I don't wear it.
I haven't tested the thing to conform to G-Shock standards (meaning, I haven't thrown it on the concrete from 10 meters up), but from the build quality, I would think it would meet these criteria. What I do know is that it takes quite a lot of abuse to even scratch this thing. I've abused it quite a bit, and even today, I could wrap it up in the tin and sell it like New In Box.
So... whatsitdo? It keeps effin' accurate time, it takes severe blows without even blinking an eye, and the user interface doesn't interfere.
Standalone, when it comes to time keeping, the Seiko 7t92 is probably a better watch - without relying on external atomic clock sources, it is every bit as good between daylight savings time switches. But then again, I do need to reset the Seiko at daylight savings time... and I never need to touch the Casio GW800. So, from a convenience point of view, the Casio is the better watch.
When I'm wearing a suit, the Casio is a no-go. I would probably revert to the Omega or the Chris Ward at times like these.
And when WWIII would destroy both Rugby and Frankfurt (the atomic clock locations), the Seiko 7T92 would probably be the most reliable timekeeping device that I would have.
But when I go out into the sticks to ride my bike, or to shoot my air rifle on the range, or to fly my model airplane, or on vacation, the Casio is the only watch I'll take.
peter