G-Shock Men's Tough Solar Black Resin Sport Watch

Best watch ever, with one over 15 years of flawless service and the others over five years of flawless service or more. I am a collector of sorts and purchased the first one when it first came on the market. Each unit is very durable and I like to rotate my collection with two units on Daylight Savings Time, and the other two on Standard Time. Although they don't always pick-up the signals from Fort Collins, Colorado, they will eventually do on the second or third try, causing no problems. I was a U.S.Navy Quartermaster and exact time keeping is a very important topic when it comes to Navigation. These watches are the cream of the crop and never lets me down. I can't say enough about this watch as nothing can beat it -in my opinion. This is especially true of with my oldest unit, still working strong after over a decade of hard service. No need to change the battery as this watch is Solar Powered, and to keep all units in Receiving Time Signal, I place it in a window sill at 2000Hours, or 8:00PM, and the next morning it is self- adjusted to accuracy to one-tenth of a second all day and night. It has a night light and other features which I do not use, but to the Sporting Person can be useful as it has among others an accurate Stop Watch, Hourly Signal, Count Down Signal, Alarm Clock, and World Time. All are very durable and although dropped by accident serveral times, each works perfectly. Remember Too: Solar Powdered Also Means NO BATTERY TO CHANGE!!

This is just the best G Shock for the money. Casio has a near home run, but for the price I'd have to rate it as a Grand Slam. Yeah the three circles on the top are annoying, but compared to other models the time is larger and the date quite legible. Mine came fully charged, and I have worn it constantly. The stopwatch is very useful, and so is the count down time. I wear it with my Orient Orange Mako, which is an outstanding automatic diving watch but like all automatics runs fast (or slow). The Casio I use to keep it in time, and to supplement the timing dial on the Orient Bezel. This is more useful than you might imagine, particularly if you are timing several things cooking, The calendar is handy too when you get odd months with only 30, 29, or 28 days -- you can reset your main watch. With solar I can avoid the costly battery changes -- making the seals fit watertight is the main cost and can easily run $35 or more. I really prefer Analog Watches for daily timekeeping, but the Casio is light enough and not too oversized to wear on my other wrist without any problems. Regarding the Atomic Time Keeping. I have NOT been able to get it to automatically sync overnight. No matter what window I put the watch in. However, from say, noon onwards I have no problem in the outside syncing the watch manually to the signal from WWV (Fort Collins) or WWB (Hawaii). Having used a portable shortwave radio, I know from experience that in Orange County, California, I get a horrible signal in the evening and early morning, but quite good from around noon onwards to about say maybe 8 pm in the Summer and 6 pm in the Winter. The trick is to find an open and flat area, make sure you are getting L3 (highest signal), and wait about five minutes as the watch syncs. I've been doing this ever day and have had no problems. [Note I was unable one day to sync in hilly Brea/Placentia, worked fine as soon as I drove to Orange -- I suspect hills might be a problem]. I sometimes have to just angle the watch minutely to change from L1 (weakest) to L3 (strongest). Smart Watch? The Casio G Shock Resin Solar is a Smart Watch. It gives you accurate to a millisecond time, every day, works off solar power, has five alarms, one with a snooze, world time, a count down timer (again, this is soooooo useful for cooking), a stop watch (again useful for cooking), and is lightweight and unobtrusive without being too small to see. No it won't tell you who poked you on Facebook, or whatever, But for time related things its superb. And at this price, pretty much unbeatable. [I chose this model over the comparable but non-solar Waveceptor as there were a number of negative comments on the 200 Meter Water Resistant Waveceptor failing intermittently. My brother has a Solar powered analog/digital combo that failed, I have seen anecdotally that Casio's cheap, around $30-$40 combo watches tend to fail, being full of engineering compromises. The straight on digital only, no special features, or analog only, no special features watches work fine, though they are not particularly accurate. G Shocks seem to be pretty bullet proof. Though I would not pay $300 for the Justin Bieber model. Yes he wears one. I don't think you can go wrong with a G Shock though.]

Ok, so it's been about a year since my initial review of the Casio GWM500-A1. I figured it was time to give the watch a final review. Packaging: Even after a little over a year with this watch, I've still held on to the packaging. The watch comes inside a little cardboard box with all the manuals and stuff, and it is placed on a plastic watch stand. The cardboard is pretty thin, but let's be honest here, you could probably burn the box and the watch would still be fine. These G-Shock watches are tough, and you could chuck this thing across a field, and it would be absolutely fine. Initial Setup: Yep, I still remember this too. The 500A-1 was my first Atomic Radio Watch, as well as my first Solar Watch, so needless to say it left a lasting impression. Immediately after taking the watch out of the box, I noticed the time was incorrect. The interesting thing about this watch, is it I'd probably been in sleep or low power mode for a very long time. Since these watches were set at the factory, noting the fact the watch was very off time, means it hadn't received a calibration signal in a while. Being knocked around and shipping likely woke the watch back up, but being inside a metal shipping truck wasn't the best for the calibration signal. After I open the box, I also noticed the watch was at its medium power level, which was not surprising. So I got out of lawn chair, grabbed my phone, and sat out in the yard for about an hour. Not only did the watch receive the calibration signal during the day, (which was interesting because the calibration signal in the US doesn't propagate very well in the day, hence why the watch receives it at night) but it also brought the charge level up to the high level. Ever since that day, the watch has only been inaccurate one other time. I don't exactly remember the circumstances, but it failed to receive the DST change in the calibration signal at one point. No problem, popped the watch into manual receive, and 5 minutes later my watch was back to being the most accurate timepiece in the house. Features: Multi-Band 6 (Atomic Timekeeping) Tough Solar (Solar Battery Recharge) 20BAR Water Resist (200 Meters) Electroluminescent Backlight w/ Afterglow Stopwatch with pause and lap functions & 24hr timer World Time with 48 different Countries 4 Selectable recurring alarms and hourly chime Legendary G-Shock durability Well... This might take a while. First, I figured I'd start with arguably the best feature of this watch, the radio controlled atomic timekeeping. The way this process works is simple. Every night at 12:00, the watch goes into Auto receive mode. (Assuming you've not disabled this feature, it's enabled by default) Assuming it's on your wrist while you sleep or facing a window in the direction of your nearest atomic time station, the watch will try and synchronize it's time with the data encoded in the radio transmission. The strength is conveniently measured with an L1, L2, or L3. The watch can decode up to an L2, but it could take longer to set the time. If the watch has an L3 signal with no interruptions, it can synchronize in around 4 minutes. I found, that in northeastern Ohio I do not need to take the watch off to synchronize the time. In fact, I think wearing the watch at night actually helps the signal. The watch usually synchronizes at 12:04pm every night, unless I've got my arm bent a weird way while I'm sleeping. You will know this process was successful the following day if the watch has a small satellite dish symbol in the top right of the screen. The watch displays this symbol when it has synchronized with atomic time in the last 24 hours. You can also short press the forward button, and it will show you the date and time it last received the calibration signal. You can also long press this button to enable receive manually. If you long press this button, the watch will beep and you will see the current time with a flashing colon, and a small "RC" down on the bottom of the display. Then, if the signal is strong enough you will see the signal strength in a couple of seconds. Next is the other very useful feature of this watch, the Tough Solar, solar battery recharge. This is one of those "does what it says on the tin" sort of things. The internal black bezel is actually a form of solar panel, and it recharges the internal battery of the watch whenever is exposed to sunlight. It will also recharge inside. But when exposed to sunlight through a window, it will charge slower because the glass of the window filters out some of the light. It will also recharge with indoor lighting, but again much slower than if you were outside. To quote the manual "To recover from one EL function, the watch must be exposed to 5 minutes of sunlight outdoors, or 8 hours of indoor fluorescent lighting" I'm not outside all the time, but in the few hours I spend outside a day, my watch has never gone down to the medium charge level. Keeping in mind however, I don't illuminate the display all that much. And then of course there's the water resistance. This watch has a, an absolutely ridiculous water resistance rating of 200 meters!! Unless you're going scuba diving, I don't think you'll have to worry about damaging the internals of this watch. However, I would not wear this watch when showering. It might be beneficial to occasionally clean the watch if you wear it very regularly, but soap and detergent may damage the rubber seal inside the watch. Casio does not say anything about this to my knowledge, but I have had watches that do warn about wearing them in the shower. I get my watch wet very regularly, but it's just a garden hose. I would also not recommend pushing any of the buttons if the watch is submerged in water. Probably not an issue, but I personally do not do it. Next I'll talk about the electroluminescent backlight. A fairly standard backlight for a G-Shock, but it works well enough. My dad has had watches that have that glow powder coating the face inside. This allows the watch to glow all night after being exposed to sunlight all day. I believe this watch works a similar way, but to lliuminate the back light you need to use energy from the battery. In this case, the battery is somewhat small, so repeated illumination can drain the battery somewhat quickly. I have not tried this, but don't go pressing the elimination button 30 or 40 times in a row unless you want your watch battery to die. Next I'll talk about the stopwatch. What can I say, it's a decent little stopwatch for the occasional times I'm bored or actually need it for something. I don't use it a lot, but it's always nice to have it if I need it. It's got all the usual stopwatch stuff. The timer on the other hand, is a large step up from my last, rather basic Casio watch. My old Casio watch only allowed me to add 5 minutes increments to a timer. This watch allows me to make a fully custom timer, with a maximum length of 24 hours. Very handy for cooking stuff, I don't use it regularly, but it's very nice to have. The next thing I'll mention is the world time function. This is probably handy for somebody who travels a lot, but seeing as I don't, I don't use it hardly at all. It is a neat concept however. The watch store is all the UTC shifts for each different country, and can show you the exact time in up to 48 of them. (In their local timezone) It will also show you UTC time as well, which is handy for some people. And then of course, there's the alarms. This one is a bit of a weak aspect of the watch. The alarms work well enough, and you can even set four of them to go off at different times in a day, you can also set them to repeat daily or just go off once and require you to manually restart them. There's a snooze function to, but unfortunately they are fairly quiet. Probably the only downside to this watch, is I wouldn't rely on it waking you up from a dead sleep, unless you're a light sleeper. And finally, there's Casio's legendary G-Shock quality to mention. What can I say? It's a G-Shock, these things have been taken to space, ran over by a 24 ton truck, and some people have been using theirs for 20 or more years. These things simply don't quit, and thanks to their internal shock dampening, you could probably drop this out of an airplane or throw it out of a car driving on the freeway. I'd even go as far as to say it's Nokia 3310 levels of durability. Look and feel: This is somewhat of an afterthought, but I suppose I should go through it anyway. In my objective opinion, this watch looks professional enough for business, and yet it will stand up to the punishment of sports, dirt and mud, and plenty of water. It's certainly not a small watch, but it will fit under most long sleeve shirts. However, I don't recommend you regularly wear it inside your long sleeve shirt, since it needs light exposure to charge the internal battery. On my moderately sized wrist, the watch fits perfectly and does not slide around too much. I do not like corrugation marks on my wrist though, so the watch is a bit loose on my arm. I can freely slide it around with my fingers, but it stays in place just fine. And I wear this watch nearly 24/7, only taking it off to shower or clean it. The resin band seems durable enough, however I will say that it does not have standard mounting pins for 3rd party bands. This may actually be a good thing, because it's got relatively thick screws that won't be breaking anytime soon. I would honestly trade modular watch bands for higher durability any day. After a year, it does not show any signs of stress, and minimal wear. Conclusion: This is an absolutely fantastic watch, especially if you can get it for $60 like I did. With the inclusion of atomic timekeeping, 200 m of water resistance, and solar charging along with many other things, you cannot go wrong with this watch, point blank period. I suspect I will be replacing the resin band several times before the watch itself finally dies for whatever reason. Or maybe it simply won't die, and I'll just keep replacing the battery every 10 years. Once the watch finally does kick the bucket, if I can't fix it myself, I'll send it to Casio have them fix it. If it's not possible to send it to Casio anymore, I will keep it on my nightstand. Forever remembering that excited 15 year old, who had just got his first high quality wristwatch. (Wrote this review on my Dad's Amazon account) 5 out of 5 stars.

This watch has a special place in my heart, as it was the first I ever purchased. It was the gateway to my newfound love of wrist watches. I have owned this watch for 4 years now and have worn it a pretty good amount. Many have reviewed and gone and depth about the features, so I won't waste time in being redundant. Instead, I'll give my general overall thoughts about the watch. Casio continues to show why in many aspects they're the greatest brand on earth. Of course not the most expensive, but they just make exceptional timepieces for the price. You truly can't go wrong with Casio at any price range. This watch is no exception. This G-Shock has all the tools you need to make a dependable everyday watch. It has solar power, so forget a battery. Atomic time will ensure this thing is accurate at all times. And it's a g-shock. It's tough as hell. On top of that, it's 200 M water resistant, so there's no scenario that this watch cannot tackle. I like the sleek look to it and it's a good size. A lot of G-Shocks tend to be very large and this one is much closer to the square g shocks in terms of overall size and thickness. All things considered, you can slide this under just about any long sleeve which is great! My only small gripe is I'm not a huge fan of the band that it comes with and it's proprietary. For those who don't know, that means there really aren't any replacements for it. That's a bit of a bummer as the band's just not really that great, and it effectively forces you to keep it. It's pretty stiff and you can't lay the watch down flat. If it had the standard resin band that many of the square g shocks do, that would have been absolutely perfect. Nonetheless there may not be a better watch in the world under $75. It's got everything you need out of a watch. Tough, sleek, and ready for anything you throw at it, Casio just continues to hit home runs. It's not a coincidence why they are so unbelievably popular. As I stated earlier, this was the first watch I ever purchased. I have now moved on to more expensive watches, so it doesn't get a lot of wrist time anymore. But I still love it and appreciate all that it gives you at such an affordable price. if you're looking for a great beater watch under $100 this is as good as any watch out there. Casio for the win! (Again)

I was looking for a functional watch that's easy to operate to replace a Timex Expedition that I lost. I like these types of watches when I travel or for daily wear especially when I have to work on my backyard. I have a few expensive dress watches, but I typically don't wear them as they are more like jewelry and just impractical compared to watches purely for function. I don't like to worry about a few thousand dollars on my wrist. I looked around at several brands, such as Seiko, Casio, Timex, Swatch, Skagen, Bulova, Accutron and decided to focus on Casio's products (specifically the G-shocks). The G-shocks has models that appear to be more usable (that I don't have to worry about banging them up), more functional and durable, and has both the solar charging and atomic timekeeping. I checked out all the G-shocks, and decided on this watch for several reasons : - the appearance looks and feels high quality compared to some of the other G-shocks that has a glossy finish (which looked like toys) - the size and weight - 54.1 x 46.6 x 15.3mm / 67g , which is a great fit for me as I have a slim wrist. This watch also fits well on my tween kids. If you have large wrist or you are looking for a huge bulky watch - this is not the right model for you. The watch is very light, but feels very solid. A slightly smaller watch is the model GW2310FB-1 which looks very cool. I picked that one up for my kid for $110 including shipping (Retail is $150). Also bought G7710-1 for $86 including shipping and a Baby-G BGA151-1B for $85. G-shocks are nice watches, and the kids love them. - atomic timekeeping and solar charging for zero-maintenance - the time sync so far has worked well - the resin wristband - I wanted either resin/rubber wristband or velcro wristband so that I don't have to worry about scuffing up my laptop when I work - the price - $75 including shipping from J&R Music thru Amazon (Retail price is $120). Very fast shipping - got it the second day after I ordered. At this kind of price - I won't feel bad if I break or lose the watch. There is an all-black version of this watch ( GWM530A-1 ), but it's $130 + shipping. So - the model GWM500A-1 at $75 including shipping wins. The finish on the watch is excellent. The silver bezel on the face of the watch appears metallic, but it's probably high quality chrome finished plastic. The combination of chrome finish and satin finish on the face is a really nice design. The watchband is comfortable and easy to use. There is a notch at the end of the band to prevent the band from slipping out of the holster, and I really like that. The lighting is bright, and you can program the watch to light up automatically when you raise your arm to look at the time. The display is legible under both bright and dim lighting conditions. You can also program the duration of the light. The operation of the watch is simple - much simpler than the Casio Edifice EQSA500B-1AV that I also have and love (the Edifice looks very cool - feels like a sports car). The buttons on this G-shock are easy to press, and the date/time is easy to set. You don't really need to go thru the manual every time after the first setting. I'll be in big trouble if I ever lose the user manual for the Edifice. The atomic clock sync is very simple - leave it on automatic, and it'll sync in the middle of the night. You can try the manual sync to test the signal. It only takes a few minutes of direct light to fully charge the watch. I'm looking forward to not having to spend money to replace batteries. I'm very happy with this watch.

I only paid $62.50 for this watch as an Amazon Prime member when I bought it 2-3 weeks ago. I've been very satisfied during this short time, and I must say that I like it better than some of my other, far more expensive watches. It gets a lot of wrist time. It worked as promised right out of the box. The solar battery was fully charged when I got it and has stayed that way since I bought it. The atomic radio-controlled timing adjustment has also worked every time that I put it on a window at night. The materials are fine. Although I've heard that the band breaks, if subject to hard use, and it is hard sometimes to find a new band. I haven't had the watch long enough to break the band, but I did take the precaution of ordering a new model-specific one from Amazon for $16.95 (it was the only one in stock), just in case the original doesn't last. The mineral crystal is recessed in the face, which helps protect it from scratches. The blue-green EL background light functions fine. If activated, it will light up bright and clear for 1.5 or 3 seconds, depending on how you set it. I leave it on the 1.5 second setting, which works well for me. I have a small wrist , but the diameter of the watch doesn't give it a bulky look, nor does it sit too high when I wear it. The rubber surrounding the stainless steel case protects it pretty well. I use this watch for daily and athletic activities. I only have two objections that you should think about before you purchase this watch: 1. The buttons will be a little difficult to push as they are inset. I suspect it's one reason for why it's water resistant to 660 ft. My fingernail is long enough to operate the buttons, although it's easier when you remove the watch from your wrist. 2. The alarm volumes are too low. This is the reason why I did not give it 5 stars. If you need a watch to wake you in the morning, this is not the one. Also, ambient noise will often mask the sound. The water-resistant construction of the case again may be a reason for muffling the sound. I've read that this is a common problem in G-Shock and Pathfinder watches, but you would think that Casio, with all of its technology and experience, could design an alarm that could get your attention. In most reviews that I've read, people don't even mention the loudness of the alarm, but they should. Still, it wasn't a deal breaker for me. After a year of wear, I'll update you on any additional impressions that I have about this watch. As of now, I'm suitably impressed and plan to wear it a lot.

I'd have to rack my brain to find anything bad to say about this watch. 1. Built tough. I camp, work on the car, play sports and do just about everything with this on and install looks new (after 8 months of good solid use). 2. Batter is awesome. I have the setting turned on for the auto back light on. It goes off all the time without me meaning too but the battery has seemed to stay in fine shape. I've had that setting for about two months and the battery indicator still says high. 3. Lightweight. The fact that it has a rubber/resin type band means it is nice and light. I have a titanium Luminox (Another fantastic watch) with a nylon wrist strap and the Casio is still lighter than even that. 4. Solar. Love that. I hate replacing watch batteries because I always seem to mess something up when I try it. I don't expect to have to change this battery for a long while. My grandpa has had his for 10 years and hasn't had to replace it yet so I'm not worried. 5. Accurate time. This guy sets itself every night automatically. 8 times out of 10 it can do it even if I leave the watch on my wrist. Most of the instructions say to put it near the window in order to pull that off. I do sleep right next to the window so, that might help. But it also says to leave it still or the signal won't be detected. Haven't had issues with that really either. It even works out in the wild. Every time I've gone camping it still sets itself during the night. 6. Accurate. The time is usually only off by a few tenths or hundredths of a second to my phone and computer so I like that they are basically synced at all times. To be honest I can't really think of anything bad to say about this. It is definitely one of the best watches you can get for your money. I highly recommend it.

Bought this watch as a replacement for another well-loved and well-used G-Shock, whose battery is long overdue to be dead; but surprisingly still ticking. Please be aware that I have not had the chance to wear this watch for recreational Scuba diving as I did with my previous G-Shock, but I do not expect any issue there. PRO: - Atomic synchronization: If I have to go through the agony of going through the daylight saving procedure one more time, I'm moving to Arizona, where such nonsense does not exist. The synchronization works well for me; and the watch is accurate as my watch and my employer's atomic clocks are merely a few seconds apart. - Solar: Longer battery life. The watch power off when solar energy is low - especially at night - to save energy, and comes back on in about 2 seconds when I need to check the time. The slight delay may annoy some, but it's perfectly OK with me. - Value: An atomic and solar watch for $66.99 plus the G-Shock construction, quality, and reputation to boost ? Sold ! - Accuracy: I've compared this watch against other atomic digital clocks - including those at my work place, and the difference is never more than 3 seconds. - Overall Quality: The watch feels solid and well constructed - as a G-Shock should. And the band feels softer and more comfortable to wear than my previous G-Shock. Also, the day-glo button illumination button is ergonomically placed, unlike the previous G-Shock - which pleases me. CON: - As some other customers pointed out, the design seems excessive and cluttered. I don't like it either, but it is not really an issue for me since I have accepted it as a G-Shock 'trademark'. - Again, not a big issue, but for those who are concerned, please be aware that whereas previous G-Shock is assembled in Japan or Thailand, this one is assembled in (communist) China. In brief, although this watch is not perfect for me, for the price, it is a perfect value in almost every way. ---- Update: Initially, I got this watch for work due to the need for its accuracy; however, it is now my favorite every day watch out of my collection even though I was never a fan of digital watch before.