Customer Reviews

Casio Men's GW700A-1V G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is the best digital watch I have had. The other watches were "water resistant" but I found out that the water resistance went out the window once the seal was broken by replacing the battery which always seemed to be needed sooner than I expected. Since this is a solar watch I do not expect to have to replace the battery (and break the seal) for years. It was charged and at the correct time out of the box. It automatically resets the time every day from a signal in Fort Collins, CO. (No problem in IN) which is supposed to cover all of the USA. It also adjusted automatically to DST. In addition it has 5 alarms which are easy to set so I have used them through the day as reminders. The weak "link" so to speak may be the plastic band. It will likely break before the watch and I'm not sure it can be replaced.

Delighted with this purchase:
1. High degree of functionality (solar-powered atomic watch, day/date/month calendar, times in multiple international cities (good for travel) stop watch, alarms).
2. Easy to set up out of the box.
3. Very helpful knowing that a watch always is accurate (synchronizes with atomic clock daily).
4. The watch/strap are heavy, but much of this is attributable to having a watch that (i)has a radio receiver, and (ii) is solar-powered (solar panel infrastructure + rechargeable battery).

I spent a few hours online researching my next Gshock. The first one ran out of batteries and after window shopping I ended up liking the features of the GW700A-1v the most. I considered the Casio GW500A-1V, but preferred the look of the 700. My reasons behind purchasing and recommending it are:

Bonus of having
Atomic time update
Multi city time zones as well as dual time option (I travel to Europe and have relatives in other countries so this is a personal bonus).

I don't think the watch is really all that heavy. I wanted a workout/summer/go anywhere watch and with the solar power and atomic time updates I really think I'll enjoy it for years to come.

It definitely pays to surf the net and compare pricing too.

I have very specific requirements when I look for a watch. I am a career Army officer and I look for a watch that is rugged, has 12/24 hours clocks, has dual time zones, stop watch, alarm and is very accurate. This Casio answers those requirements. The traditional G-Shock construction is very rugged. The light is easy to use. The GPS synch makes the watch perfectly accurate and the solar power makes battery failure a non-problem. The only minor issue I have had was with the band. The piece that holds the tail down, is a little tight and has to be placed correctly to get the tail through. This is a minor issue and the watch has performed extremely well. The GPS feature does NOT work overseas so the watch will be as accurate as a normal G-Shock during deployment.

I bought this watch around a year and a half ago. After about a year the battery would not hold a charge all day. By evening the watch blanked out and stayed that way until given several hours of bright light or sun. The back light started coming on by itself as well when the watch was moved. So the watch is good until it stops working.

This is a nice watch from Casio. it has everything I am looking for except the alarm sound is so low, can't hear it in a noisy environment. I recommend it to friend.

I have had this watch for just over a year. If the watch has been indoors for one day, the battery is discharged in the morning. Casio'sesponse is, "All batteries have a finite life. Sorry".

Casio should pay me a commission for saying this but to the reviewers whose watches quite working after a year or more, the owners manual clearly states that solar battery wears out and needs to be replaced. Mine worked fine for over 2 years

After some research (including reading these reviews) I decided to replace my Timex expedition after I had to replace the battery for about the 5th time (OK, I've had it for a while). Wanted solar, the Atomic setting function was a plus, but I wasn't sure how well it would work in northern New England. Got it on Amazon and then 2 weeks later they dropped the price $17 - but they graciously refunded me the difference so I was impressed not only with the watch, but how Amazon handled my transaction - after the fact.

Pro: Solid, well built, accurate - yes, it does sync with the Colorado Springs signal if I leave it in the window as the instructions describe. It came fully charged and I've left it in the sun a few times since and the battery meter hasn't budged. Has more features than I'll use - Haven't thought of a great use of the time recording function yet. Auto backlight is cool and handy if you don't have an extra hand to push the light button.

Con: It is large and a bit heavy, but as one reviewer said, you do get used to it after a couple of days. Wish the backlight would stay on just a bit longer - I know it's to save the battery, but I'd gladly charge it more often to keep the light on an extra second or two.

I've only had this watch for a few weeks, so I can't really evaluate the battery life, which is my biggest concern. But so far, this watch is great. The display is easy to read, and (most of) the functions are easy to figure out (especially if you've had a g-shock before). I love the the watch's ability to receive a signal that sets the time automatically. The alarm and stopwatch functions are pretty typical, but I've got no complaints about them. I like the light button, which is different from the g-shock I had 15 years ago. I'm not so sure about the time recorder function, but can't really offer an opinion because I haven't spent any time playing around with it yet. Over the long term, I am skeptical about the solar-charged battery, but Casio seems to claim that battery charge will not be an issue for anyone other than permanent cave-dwellers. This is a pretty big watch (although it does not seem terribly heavy), so be prepared to have a lot of plastic and metal sitting on top of your wrist. I would never pay the $125 (or so) retail price for this watch, but for the $50 "sale" price I am very happy with this watch.