Customer Reviews

Casio Men's F105W-1A Illuminator Digital Watch

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

1999 - one of my other watches had a broken glass - so, I was looking for some watch, which I can use for 1 or 2 months before I can buy a fancy one. I was driving on I35 in Austin, drove into a walmart, saw a couple of watches and made a quick decision to buy this casio which then costed me about $14.

7 years have went by, I never bought another watch - I have received a few watches as gift during product promotions etc. But this is the best. It is on my wrist atleast 15 hours a day - office, sports (not swimming), special occasions ...

It is a fully functional, no-nonsense watch - Illuminator, alarm, large format display of time, day and date on the same screen.

My friends cautioned me against using the illuminator and the alarm - saying that it might reduce battery life. But, I have abused this watch more than anybody else could do, set daily alarms, use the illuminator maybe 4-5 times a month ... - I had to replace the watch strap once due to my misuse.

I have no plans of replacing this watch until the battery lasts. After the battery dies, planning to buy a new one - ofcourse it will be a casio (or maybe a citizen ecodrive).

I've been wearing this watch for over a year now, and I've been quite satisfied. Here are all the disadvantages I could think of. I think this list would be longer for other watches -- I am just nitpicking.

1. Sometimes the button to switch between AM/PM and 24-hour time gets accidentally pressed, so I have to press it again to change it back.
2. The illumination button serves a double purpose as a reset button. I think having two separate buttons would be a little nicer.
3. The rubber ring into which the strap goes just broke, so I am buying a new one of these.

But I think this is watch is really up there in its class for a number of reasons:

1. I think it looks elegant, solid black with some blue, even though wearing a cheap digital watch is not very macho.
2. The backlight is great. It's not one of those crappy little green bulbs. It's an even, easy to see, cyan glow, and it doesn't even get washed out by the sun on a typical day. Very nicely done.
3. The display is very nice, as another reviewer mentioned. The digits are crisp, and a good size. The normal display shows the day of the week and day of the month -- very handy.

Overall, I am impressed. They got a lot of things right that most digital watches screw up. It's nice and well-designed, and very inexpensive.

I purchased this watch as a replacement. It is a great, inexpensive, sports watch. The screen illumination is really bright and easy to read. I like that it is not as bulky as the current "in fashion" watches are.

I ended up returning it because it didn't have a feature which I use a lot, and thought all of the Casio digital watches had, which is a countdown timer. Except for that, I would have kept it. The original watch I had from Casio had is still available, but has a very dim light, so it is difficult to read. I ended up getting the W-93, which has a bright backlight, and countdown timer, but is a little more bulky.

Great Watch! I have smaller wrists and this watch not only fits but looks great!! It's very light and ,working on bikes alot and being very active, it's nice to have such a cheap yet sturdy timepiece!

Like the old Timex adds... "take a licking and keeps on ticking" err guess that can't be used for a digital that doesn't tick ;-) but you get the idea.. IMHO for the price you can't go wrong... I wear out two or three bands before the watch and most times it is because i beat the case up too much not that the watch failed.

My G-Shock that I've had for years was beginning to show its age, and since I couldn't find a good wristband for it, I picked up one of these. I'm sure it can't take the beating of my G-Shock, but it's lighter, smaller, and doesn't get caught in sleeves or gloves. It has a nice, clear display and is easy to set- things I can't say about my G-Shock (mostly based on the stiff plastic buttons on the G). Well worth the price if you're looking for a no-frills, solid watch.

If the bands wouldn't break so much, I'd give it 5 stars.
I've been using this watch for years, but the band on mine usually breaks-the clasp ends up cutting through it. I usually figured it was 'bout due for replacement when the bands broke, but this time I went shopping for a replacement band and found one locally at a big box store. The band can be found on Amazon (wouldn't let me add a link) by searching for 'Voguestrap TX1852'-the band is 18mm wide. It matches the OEM band so closely that I replaced only the broken long strap so I could keep the OEM black clasp (the Voguestrap comes with a silver clasp). My OEM band may be stiff from age, but the Voguestrap feels more supple than my OEM band.

Anywho-back to the watch-it does what a watch should do-keeps time accurately! I have a clock that is set by radio signal, and used to check it with the government time site but it was always correct. This Casio may vary a bit each month, but it keeps pretty darn good time-it may gain a couple of seconds one month, then lose them the next, but it seems to average out and is usually darn close.

PROS
Can handle swimming
Keeps accurate time
Intuitive operation
Indiglo backlight
CONS
The clasp always ends up cutting through the long band.

I've been using the Illuminator for at least 20 years. It's light on the wrist, tells accurate time, has a stop watch and an alarm AND as an extra benefit can be illuminated for late-night time telling in the dark. The watch's "illuminator" is so strong it casts enough light in a dark room, tent or outdoors to see your way or to identify objects. It's cheap which means no tears shed when the battery wears out after a year or so or if it's lost (as has happened from time to time). I've been buying these for friends who, like me, view a watch as a tool rather than a piece of jewelry. My only caution is if you have a really large wrist, it may not fit. But, for $13 or $14 you can always give it to your kid. Great for guys who spend a lot of time outdoors for recreation or work. Durable and can take occasional immersions in water.

I decided a few months ago that I needed an another wrist watch in addition to my Seiko. I didn't really want to spend much, I just needed something that was going to be simple, easy to read, included a few basic functions (stopwatch, alarm, light, 24hr time etc.), but most of all was CLASSIC!

Of course, I looked no further than an original design by Casio, and the F105W was watch to watch. A good sturdy design, made well from excellent materials, well sized, and is actually quite comfortable to wear. Basic and conservative design is accompanied by user-friendly functions. The beep on the watch is very audible and distinct, but still discreet enough to not stand out too much. The manual was also well written and took about 5 seconds to get all the info from it.

Being a fan of all things 80s, I had to get it, and the fact that it was so cheap made it a 100% sale. The light is the perfect colour for darkness, and provides total clarity when viewing under illumination. Also the interface is set out well, and all functions and displays are all in logical positions. A total hit with all my friends, and would suit any arm on any person.

In conclusion, I couldn't be happier. If you're looking for a simple yet classic watch, this is the one to use. You can check out other models higher up in the Casio range that have higher levels of water resistance and even stainless-steel construction, but if you just want a black digital wrist watch with no strings attached, grab an F105W Illuminator, and you'll be set!

The Casio F105W-1AWCF Men's digital watch presents a lot of features like regular timekeeping, hour, minute, second, am/pm, day, 12/24-hour formats Accuracy - +- 30 seconds per month, battery that last 7 years
Electro-luminescent backlight, 1/100 seconds stopwatch Measuring mode - net time, split time, 1st-2nd place times and daily alarm


Pros:
Easy to set up all presented feactures
The electro-luminescent backlight (the blue light) much better than the dim green backlight.
Wrist band is antiallergic. Who has problems with metal or leather, this is the right answer.
The seven years battery is great feacture.
Price is really convenient for all these above feactures.

Conts: Lateral buttoms, sometimes changes the display when you move your wrist (flexion. The buttoms could be protected like the other Casio databank models.
The wristband does not last for long (about 6 to 12 months) depending on your use (like handling chemicals or washing your hands with detergents).
The original Casio-wristband available in the web is more expansive than the watch.
In overall it is a great watch from Casio if you are looking for confort, functionallity and simplicity in a watch.