Timex WS4 First Look

[Queen6]

Just recently picked up a WS4; Had the choice of all colours, the white is stunning and absolutely epitomizes the look of a 21st century high tech super sports watch, however after only one day in the shop and some casual handling it was already showing signs of soiling The yellow and orange are also perfect for sport and leisure activities. the blue and black/green are more restrained, the blue version looking far better in real life, with it`s brushed steel bezel. I settled for the black/green I want to use it on work related field trips and prefer the lower profile it offers. The WS4 will never fly under the radar due to it`s tremendous wrist presence; coming to a ScFi movie near you soon

Initial impressions; WS4 is a large watch and wears big, in the same league as a Casio PRG-80. The build quality is good, exceeding my expectation with fit and finish all being spot on. the WS4 has a solid feel and yet remains light weight. The buttons are firm, responsive and tactile, no false pushes so far

The Altimeter in the last 36 hours has shown zero drift , equalling Highgear`s Altis and Suunto`s Core, nor has on or off wrist temperatures resulted in any deviation. All were exposed to the same conditions with barometric pressure fluctuating enough to skew the Protrek`s by 10m

Barometer has also been 100% accurate in comparison to all other calibrated & thermally compensated ABC`s and most importantly the local airport METAR data. the WS4 displays both MSL & absolute barometric pressure, the bar graph is particularly impressive 36hrs with a good level of resolution, giving a clear window on weather conditions

Compass is standard fare, and as such accurate once calibrated, has declination adjustment. The real difference is in the display of data; direction (i.e. SSW), bearing in deg & analogue representation simultaneously

Timing features are typically sports Timex so no complaints here, 100hr Chrono with 99 lap, 100hr CDT with 99 repeats, which is far more realistic for a field orientated watch. T1 & T2 (no world time), auto return to primary time, no need to continuously scroll, unlike Casio & Highgear.

Logging is above average offering; min, max avg for all measurements including temperature, total accent & decent, altitude above target, and most with the excellent bar graphs

The alarm is reasonably loud, sounds for 20sec increasing in frequency, if left untouched the alarm will automatically repeat (once) after 5 min, can be set for multiple events, daily, weekly, weekend etc, and also flashes the EL. hourly chime is an option, as is button mute for the tactically minded.

INDIGLO is great only illuminating the fonts, graphs & analogue hands, it has the Night Mode feature and very useful in low light conditions allowing any button to activate the EL for 2-3 seconds (active for 7-8 hrs).

The WS4 is comfortable on wrist, with the resin strap quickly forming, no rubbing or digging. the strap is very wide (30mm) and suits the watch, as often ABC`s can look imbalanced, having a large watch head married to an emaciated strap. The feel of the watch on wrist reminds me very much of the PRG-80 hugging the wrist, which is no bad thing as the Casio for such a large watch exceeds the comfort level of many smaller watches.

Operation is not as intuitive as the Protrek`s, and would put it on par with the Highgear Altis, which is fine given the complexity of the device. Setting the watch will require some looking at the manual, and I suspect a breeze for long term Timex fans

The WS4 comes boxed in a Pelican look a like ABS box with the usual cardboard outer & inner inserts. I do wonder at Timex`s irony as the WS4 comes with worlds smallest manual (not shortest) and the ABS box is about 3 time larger than is strictly necessary, all the same it`s not badly done and sets off the package as a whole.

The Bad
Strap is proprietary and how long it lasts, has to be seen, a swap to the yet unreleased velcro/NyLon strap might be a future long term solution. The strap is too short for over jacket use and I would like to have seen the inclusion of an extension for this purpose. The crystal looks to be acrylic, given the shape and size this makes sense, although scratching may become a problem in time. The bezel could do with being deeper allowing for more protection of the crystal, it`s a better than the Altis, but not by much. The displays contrast level is a slightly less than Casio & Highgear offer, this may just be a facet of the slimmer digits and present lighting.

The Good
WS4 is accurate as the Altis & Core in all respects so far (early days mind), the display of data is fantastic, (too much to list without a detailed review). the 36hr bar graphs offering high resolution, allowing you to get a much fuller picture on local weather conditions & altitude, and is a welcome change from Casio`s continuous reduction in resolution of this key ABC feature. Most balanced feature set of recent ABC`s, with some marque`s constantly leaving you frustrated by the lack of accuracy (altimeter) and others by their weak timing features.

The feature set offers alternative display modes for the ABC features. Many have commented on the Altis`s lack of CDT, the WS4 has all the timing functionality a good sports watch rolled into an accurate ABC, and most importantly unlike Casio & Suunto, Timex has managed to strike a fine balance between the two, without overly compromising the watch as a whole.

In short if you are looking for a field watch and can deal with the physical size, I recommend the WS4, there is no reason not to buy one, other than the style not fitting your tastes, reliability & longevity, time will tell. The WS4 has significant advancements over some of it`s competitors and the pricing is lower than most that offer similar features. I am still sticking to my original comment; WS4 will either be a New Star or a Black Hole, either ways if you want one, dont wait too long, they might not be available for all the right or wrong reasons



Q-6