Casio G-Shock: amazing survivalist watches
14th May 2015
Casio G-Shock
5 years later, at the end of April 2015, I lost it
.Looking for a replacement, I found that:
- Casio seems to no longer make affordable models with the same functionality and a metal band – only polymer;
- a similar used model from Casio (MTG-something) costs upwards of 70 EUR.
I was quite sad about that. Any survivalist-minded person can easily see why:
- Solar-powered, with integrated rechargeable battery lasting 8 years or more. On full charge, it can operate up to 6 (or 9?) months without further exposure to light. Note: there exist non-solar watches claiming up to 8-10 years off a single battery. And yes, mechanical watch is above any electronic competition in this regard.
- Digital display (for precise time readout) and functionality: stopwatch, timer, alarms, multiple timezones. Mechanical watches cannot match this.
- Precision: +/- 15 seconds a month.
- Radio time synchronization with atomic clocks (feature currently referred to as Waveceptor, but previously also known as Atomic). Modern Casio Waveceptor watches can receive signals from China, Japan, USA, and UK/Germany/Europe. I write UK/Germany/Europe, because these radio signals (depending on weather conditions) can travel thousands of kilometers. If the watch synchronizes successfully every night, then you are guaranteed to have +/- 1 second precision for the entire following day – neat!
- And, of course, shock/vibration protection, and 200m water resistance.
- Adding to the above, metal band should last way longer than any plastic or leather or fabric band.
This is why Casio G-Shocks are awesome 
And no, I am in no way affiliated with Casio, and I do not get any personal benefits from writing this post.
Fortunately, my watch was found and returned to me a few weeks after it was lost – so yes, people are good, on average. It will easily serve me many more years. I may, though, consider buying a newer Casio model (with similar functionality) if the accumulator in this one loses capacity, because battery replacement may worsen waterproof properties… But that is still some years away from now.
