Recommendations considering Casio G-shocks and Casio Pathfinders

[Silkki6]

Hi!

I have been reading thread after thread after thread in these forums about these watches and still I find myself a bit confused

So the bottom line is that I need a little help from you guys for picking a suitable watch for me! This is btw my first post here! :)
I have already ordered a Casio PAW 1500T-7V Pathfinder for me, but I'm beginning to get second thoughts..

But, to the point:

The watch I need must:

- be functionable below -25/-30 degrees of Celsius (even if it only shows the time in cold (and other stuff in warmer) is good enough)
- be tough solar
- have multi-band atomic timekeeping
- be water resistant 200m or more
- be shock/mud resistant and in general won't break easily (or ever, preferably :P), I do peacekeeping in different parts of the world and hopefully in the near future I will be accepted in to my country's special forces too
- and have the usual goodies (alarm, calendar, auto backlight, stopwatch (some do have a possibility to do intervals during training too..?)
- won't scratch easily, because I would like to use the watch 24/7, in parties/work/sports

And what would be good to have, but not necessarily:

- tide graph
- moon data
- altimeter
- barometer
- compass
- thermometer
--> these would only be good to have as an backup if something happened and I wouldn't have, for example, a compass with me

So the Casio PAW 1500T-7V Pathfinder is closing my position fast, but the reason why I have second thoughts is that I fear it's too shiny/bright for military (giving away position in a tight spot), it's big lens and the whole watch generally will scratch easily and it won't operate (or battery runs empty) if it's below -30 degrees of Celsius (which we often have here in Finland during winter). I fear also that the pins holding the strap and watch together will fail from time to time.

So, what do you think of the Casio PAW 1500T-7V Pathfinder and could you recommend something else, preferably Casio (0-400 dollars), for me? And what do you think of titanium straps in terms of military use (not handy)?

Thanks in advance!
Silkki6

[cal..45]

Hi!

I have been reading thread after thread after thread in these forums about these watches and still I find myself a bit confused

So the bottom line is that I need a little help from you guys for picking a suitable watch for me! This is btw my first post here! :)
I have already ordered a Casio PAW 1500T-7V Pathfinder for me, but I'm beginning to get second thoughts..

But, to the point:

The watch I need must:

- be functionable below -25/-30 degrees of Celsius (even if it only shows the time in cold (and other stuff in warmer) is good enough) - There a a few Casio rated down to -20°. The Paw-1500 is none of them.
- be tough solar - Why? A watch that runs on a CR2025 Lithium is much more reliable and it can take decades before the battery runs empty
- have multi-band atomic timekeeping - Nice, but far from necessary, considered the precision of a avarage quartz watch today
- be water resistant 200m or more - Yepp, it is but also not necessary.
- be shock/mud resistant and in general won't break easily (or ever, preferably :P), I do peacekeeping in different parts of the world and hopefully in the near future I will be accepted in to my country's special forces too - Then why not go with a G-shock in the first place?
- and have the usual goodies (alarm, calendar, auto backlight, stopwatch (some do have a possibility to do intervals during training too..?) - The Paw-1500 has only a 60min. CDT which alone is a dealbreaker for me.
- won't scratch easily, because I would like to use the watch 24/7, in parties/work/sports - Usually all Protreks and G-shock's have a mineral crystal, but G's are better protected (crystal is often deeper recessed)

And what would be good to have, but not necessarily:

- tide graph
- moon data
- altimeter
- barometer
- compass
- thermometer
--> these would only be good to have as an backup if something happened and I wouldn't have, for example, a compass with me

So the Casio PAW 1500T-7V Pathfinder is closing my position fast, but the reason why I have second thoughts is that I fear it's too shiny/bright for military (giving away position in a tight spot), it's big lens and the whole watch generally will scratch easily and it won't operate (or battery runs empty) if it's below -30 degrees of Celsius (which we often have here in Finland during winter). I fear also that the pins holding the strap and watch together will fail from time to time.

So, what do you think of the Casio PAW 1500T-7V Pathfinder and could you recommend something else, preferably Casio (0-400 dollars), for me? And what do you think of titanium straps in terms of military use (not handy)?

I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Protreks/pathfinders in general, mainly because I consider their Altimeters and Barometers to be the worst in the whole industry. Compasses are usually pretty decent but won't work at night, if you turn the backlight on. If you are really looking for a serious ABC watch, look somewhere else (Suunto, Tech4o for instance) and forget about Casio (and the whole solar nonsense). If you are looking for a truly tough and sturdy watch, my recommendation is the G-shock G-7900 series (NOT the GW-7900 series), I wrote a review about it, in case you are interested: A tribute to a (almost) perfect G-Shock - the G-7900MS all-black


cheers

[Silkki6]

Thanks mate, lots of good info there for me (first time ever that I'm considering to buy a watch that costs more than 10-30€)! That G-7900MS really looks like a nice and functioning watch, it's definitely going to be a canditate to be bought!

Vielen Dank! :)