Customer Reviews

Casio Men's GW2500-1A G-Shock G-Aviator Chronograph Sport Watch

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The 3 Issues:
1. No second hand. You need to rely solely on the small but daylight-readable digital display. This omission may have been to save energy, given its solar power.
2. Non uniform illumination. The mechanical hands & dials are well lit, the "6" at bottom is overly bright, but the digital displays are barely readable. I solved this problem for the lower display by sticking, using thin transparent weather stripping tape, a small aluminum foil reflector over the "6". It is shaped like a circular segment (also circle segment-see wikipedia), with the flat edge lined up with the bottom of the lower digital readout and the curved edge allowing you to just see the tip of the minute hand. It may take a few trials to get it right, but it greatly improves illumination of the more-important lower display, including seconds, and blocks the glaring "6".
3. The alarm is not very loud and directional (loudest facing the front), I can't imagine hearing it in a noisy cockpit and it definitely won't wake me from a sound sleep. But my wife says it's loud, so it may just be that my age 66 hearing notch happens to match it's frequency.

Everything else is very positive. It came on the day before we switched back to EST and automatically adjusted well before the other two atomic clocks in the house. I have the "SIG" enabled to double beep every hour and it aligns EXACTLY with this Mac laptop's hourly time announcement. The mode dial is well thought out and tells you at a glance what is going on. After less than an hour in sunlight, the charge level has remained at "H" with just normal exposure inside. All of the functions are well designed and intuitive, so you don't need to carry the book after a day or two. It's big, but feather weight compared to the similarly-sized Timex IronMan it has replaced, which also wasn't very loud.

I bought this G Shock as I do like the analog/digital look to it. I must admit that I would prefer a full analog; but they are now discontinued.
I choose the negative display so the watch would have a full analog look to it, and for this it is spot on.
One will have to spend some time to get familiar with this watch as it has many features, some which can change or turn off if not to your liking. One of those I turned off others may not is the auto light feature. This turns the LED light on when wrist is turned a certain angle. This bothered me so I turned it off. I would suggest you go to Casio's web site and download the manual and yes you may have to read it more than once as it is like many user manuals that are written by some geek and not your common Joe.
This is my third G Shock and all have surpassed my expectations. This readily stays fully charged when exposed to light and easily receives the atomic signal,(even when put into a drawer for many days). One good feature is if it is placed into a dark spot it goes into a power saving mode, thus not running down the battery.

I wanted a watch that I could wear every day. This fits me perfectly. The most attractive feature to me is the solar power. I've had other waterproof watches before that required battery, but when you replace the battery, it breaks the waterproof seal. I've yet to have a watch be damaged by water after changing batteries, but it still puts doubt in my mind.

What I like:
1. Contemporary design. Not overly huge like some other g-shock designs. I'd say this is a medium size watch as far as g-shock watches go. Nice metal bezel.
2. g-shock reputation for durability. I've had several g-shock watches in the past, never a problem. Only thing I didn't like about them is they do tend to run out of battery quicker than a typical quartz watch. Probably because they have so many functions. Solar power eliminates this annoyance.
3. Very light weight. Can't feel it at all on my wrist.
4. Atomic time ensures accuracy.

What I think can be improved:
1. A second hand. Never know how much I'd miss it until I don't have it. There is a digital seconds read out. But it's not the same. Also it's not visible in the dark.
2. Controls could be a bit simpler. The manual is very clear. But you'd better not lose it.
3. Only the hour, minute, 12, and 6 are illuminated. Why not at least illuminate the 9 and 3?
4. LCD is difficult to read during day. Impossible in the dark even with LED illumination.

I feel that at around the $150 range, this is an excellent value in a durable, functional watch.

Edited 11.18.2010
I knocked one star off after my recent trip to Taiwan. One of the major reasons that I bought this watch is the atomic time function. Perhaps it's my misconception or that I simple don't know how to use this watch, but during my 2 week trip, this watch did not adjust to the new time zone. As I mentioned before, the programing of this watch was so complex that I could not figure out how to set the time and the zone without the manual. My mistake for not bringing the manual, but a watch should be reasonably simple to use.

Update 01.12.2012

The watch has stopped charging and is now dead. The major reason that I bought a solar powered watch is that I don't want to have to change the battery, a process which compromises the water seal. This watch didn't even last as long as a typical non solar battery watches. I've reduced the rating to one star.

was excited to get this one but sent it back the day i got it. unless you have x ray vision you will not see the lcd readouts. icant believe they left this one leave the factory at casio.