Customer Reviews

Casio Men's MTG1000-9 G-Shock MT-G Multi-Band Solar Atomic Chronograph Watch

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Love this watch.
Good points:
- Solar and radio sync'ed with time signal, no problem syncing every night, just have to make sure I point it west (I live in San Antonio, TX). When I am where I'm not sure where the transmitter is, I wear it to sleep, and looks like I move around enough that it eventually succeeds syncing. No problem syncing in California, Texas, Poland, Holland. I'm going to Asia in a month, we'll see.
- Switching to a different time zone is easy, if a bit long due to the time zone selecton only going one direction - going from west to east is easy, east to west requires sweeping the whole globe, and if you don't push the button fast enough you have to wait until the needle sweeps. They should have programmed another button to sweep in reverse
- As a "set and forget", this is genius. Keeps the time on the nose (with sync every night, unbeatable precision), never have to wind, no battery to change (had several waterproof watches with batteries, waterproofing dies at 2nd battery change), autmatically changes date regardless of month, changes to Daylight saving.
- Tried stopwatch and down counter, they work but I don't use them much.
- Not the least, looks cool with big dial and 3 sub-dials, with metal bracelet with composite inserts. Clasp is easy to put in, and secure with the 2 buttons you need to grasp to unhook. Much better than pure friction clasp, had a few of those and they keep on unhooking by themselves.
Bad:
- Casio lost a good opportunity, would have preferred the 24 hours needle to show home time while I'm traveling - checked with customer service, not possible.
- The seconds hand is actually in the small, lower dial, the big seconds hand is actually a function indicator, takes a while to get used to it.
- Some times I accidently hit a button and put it into stopwatch mode, takes a few seconds to realize it when I consult the time, another "get used to it" thing.

Overall, the best watch I ever had.

OK, I received this watch (bought it not seeing it in person) from Amazon a few days ago and have been playing with it. A few points not mentioned in any review or blog that I've read about the MTG1000-9A.
1. Yes the watch case is big (~44 mm), but the watch face under the crystal is not that big (I measure 28 mm diameter). Thus, all the markings in the dial are smaller than you'd expect in a big 44 mm watch. So if you have eyes over 40 yrs. old, it's a struggle to read the lettering under 1 mm in size.
2. Gold on black color scheme of watch is very cool, but the world city names/time zones around the dial are in faint gold paint on a black background and sub 1 mm in size, so they are very hard to read at least for me.
3. Stopwatch can only time events up to 1 hour. If you want to time a 2-hour exam, or a 90 minute parking meter, you can't use the stopwatch. Countdown timer starts at max of 1 hour so you cannot count down from longer than that either. Kind of disappointing for me.
4. Stopwatch does not beep when you push start or stop. No way to turn on a beep either. Since the pushbuttons also do not have a tactile click, it's difficult to know when the stopwatch has been started or stopped except by looking at the moving hands.
5. As someone else mentioned, a minor nitpick: moving from home time to world time or alarm set time requires the big minute and hour hands to slowly spin around the dial, and takes a bit to get to their intended locations.
6. Smallish dial is sunken into watch face and raised plastic bezel around crystal creates the feeling of looking into a deep well. Because of this, even less light gets to dial face and again, makes deciphering the tiny sub 1 mm markings challenging unless watch is under bright light.
8. No LED backlight like in the Casio MTG1500. The luminous paint used here is OK, but Casio should have used Superluminova paint for a $200-$300 watch.
7. On plus side, plastic and stainless steel combination looks great, appears to be rugged. Very nice adjustable metal band with solid links. Exposed machine screw heads make the watch look of quality. Despite being 44 mm wide and 14 mm thick, watch is very light and comfortable to wear. I live in Southern California so time synch with Fort Collins was easy. Finally, every watch hand aligns with their tick marks precisely; none of that misalignment you see in $1500 Swiss Tag quartz watches.

Rather than reiterate what other 4 star reviewers have provided, and they are spot on, let me tell you a little more. I am a watch guy as is my son, who as a 24 year Air Force guy who really is into super complicated chrono's. My tastes are more basic than his and when I saw this very well featured Casio Atomic available for only $250, I ordered it. A few nits to pick are that it is very difficult to size and also complicated to set up with very small indices and a miniature sized manual which is hardly bigger than a match book. Anyone remember what those are?

Be very careful when re-sizing! Even if you are fairly well skilled at this and have professional style tools, including a pin remover, the Casio pins employ a minuscule sleeve style keeper that is placed inside the drilled tunnel of the inner/male side of the link. Super caution must be taken not to loose these itty bitty micro-sleeves when pushing out the pins. If lost, you will NOT be able to re-secure the pins. Unlike other brands such as Citizen who use flared ends on their link pins, Casio has what I would consider an inferior design and it is very unfriendly to novices. Not skilled? Take it to a jeweler.

As to setting up the watch, well let's just say first that you need very good eyesight and perhaps a magnifying glass. The instructions are just OK and unless you've been through similar drills before, you may need to repeat steps. Pushing button "A" for about 5 seconds and waiting to hear a 'beep' is a lesson in frustration tolerance and unless you have super hearing, forget the beep...unless you are holding the watch to your ear. However, after going through all the set up steps (more than once) the watch runs beautifully thereafter. Remember, this is a perpetual calendar watch so the original set up is critical to being in the right year, month and date. Miss a step and you may need to make monthly adjustments for short months and days of the week.

Once it is properly set, however, this is a deadly accurate and quite good looking timepiece with lightweight durable construction. It's the best Solar Atomic Analog Chronograph for the price. If you're a digital person there are other choices but for my money, traditional analog is still better looking than any digital display. If the small dial is a problem for your eyes, you may be better off looking at an alternative Citizen model but be prepared to pay more.

I've had the Casio MT-G1000 for over a year now and it is by far my favorite watch for day-to-day...that's saying a lot because I own a Rolex and Breitling as well. The Casio looks great to wear day to day all the way through the weekend. I often get people grab my wrist to take a closer look at the watch...everyone compliments the look and then are surprised to discover it's a Casio.

The atomic time feature is also great, especially for a business traveler. I often times would forget to change the time, especially on day trips to other time zones. This watch has corrected that by automatically adjusting to the appropriate time...it just take a bit to pick up that signal. The luminosity of the hands and markers make it very easy to read at night. I find myself wearing the watch sometimes 3-4 days straight, including when I jump in the shower.

I've worn this watch at the office, in they gym and doing rough physical outside projects. Where other watches would be ready for the trash this thing has resisted scratches no matter what I throw at it. Overall, this is a great watch! Looks great, accuracy is great, quality and durability are second to none. I am very happy with this watch and would highly recommend it to anyone.

I love the rugged design of the watch, the solar powered feature and its auto-time-update. However, the user interface is awkward. Buttons are used to select modes and functions, but all time based settings rely on the relatively slow motorized motion of the hour and minute hands. For example when checking the alarm time, the watch will move the hour and minute hands to the alarm time, which can take a few seconds if there is a large time difference between the current time and the alarm time. This "slow" interface can be frustrating.

I own 3 Casio watches 2 are the G-Shock's & 1 is a Waveceptor, the MTG1000G-9A is my newest and so far I'm quite pleased with it. After carefully reading a printed manual I downloaded from the Casio Timepiece website, it actually took only about 5 minutes to set my Home City Code, the first step for receiving the correct time each day, 6 times a day beginning at 12:00 midnight and each hour thereafter until it calibrates to the US time center in Bolder Colorado. I really suggest visiting this website before buying any of these watches and downloading a manual of the watch you're considering to determine if it's what you really want.

This can be easily done by going to the Casio website, then choosing "timepieces", then select the "support" tab at the top of that page and select "manuals" next. The "manuals" webpage will ask for the watches 4 digit "module" number that can be found on the "Timepiece" page when selecting information about the watch of interest. It's listed in the "Technical Specifications" area. This watch's timing module number is "5022", and I recommend downloading the manual and reading it before you buy. Try: [...]

I'm not far from retirement and my eyes aren't as good as I'd like, but with my glasses, I can easily read the very small numbers, dials and text while setting it up without any problems. By the way, the recessed face that someone mentioned is an asset as it prevents some glare with lighting more often than not. If you can use a computer, press a few buttons and read, anyone can set this up. As for the other features like stop-watch functions etc., honestly, I didn't buy the watch for these so there not as important to me.

I purchased this watch for international travel, and for its looks, performance and ruggedness. I can't afford to have a battery run down when I'm someplace where watch batteries are limited at best or nonexistent, and each watch I've had prior like my Luminox, Whitenuer and Wenger, although all are fine watches, I've had to replace a battery when I least expected it. In addition, I need exact local time of where I traveling to, kind of what we buy a watch for anyway. For now, only Casio, Casio Oceanus, are atomic and offer solar power with other features that are important to me.

I received the MT-G1000G 9A two days ago. When I opened the box, the watch was completely dead... obviously, it had probably been stored for some time.

Left the watch under a reading lamp for about four or five hours, until it finally charged sufficiently to have the second hand move! Only had enough charge to allow me to set the home city... not enough to sync with the Denver Atomic station. Once I took it outdoors the next day, it received sufficient charge to work completely.

The MT-G is solar powered (Tough Solar, in Casio-speak), which means that you shouldn't have to worry about replacing the batteries... well, until it can no longer hold a charge, which could be 8 years, 10 years... who knows. Casio also implemented some battery saving features... the watch will go into "Sleep State" when kept in the dark (a drawer, for example) for more then 7 or 8 hours, at which point the second hand is stopped.

After 6 or 7 days, all functions (hand movement, atomic syncing, beeps) are stopped,other then internal time-keeping, until the watch is taken out and exposed to light. At that time, the watch will return to normal, with the hour and minute hands automatically moving into their correct, current locations. Very clever!

Change watch mode from "Time-keeping" to "Alarm" mode, and watch as the hour and minute hands spin around, moving to the time you've set for the alarm function to go off! Change to another time zone, and again, watch as the 5 motors within this watch move the minute and hour hands, as if by magic, to the correct time for the city which you've selected! Want to set the alarm and the hour hand is at 2, and you want to set it to 8? Press and hold a button for two seconds,then release it and the hour hand begins to spin, continuing to spin until you tap the button again to bring it to a stop. No twisting knobs, pulling out tiny crowns... just press and hold a button, let go, and watch as the hand moves by itself! Pretty clever, and cool to watch!

The watch, as I'm sure you already know, is also Atomic, it'll sync with one of five atomic stations daily. The watch will attempt to sync at midnight, 1am, 2am, 3am, up to six times, stopping as soon as a successful sync is achieved (saving battery power).

This truly is a "Set and forget" watch! Other then setting your home city, the watch pretty much takes care of itself... staying synced and, with normal use, fully charged!

This is a G Shock watch.

What that means is, you don't need to pamper this watch! There's a review on the internet where the reviewer has tested the G Shock's capabilities of this watch... he froze it, boiled it, and it kept on working fine, with no signs of wear! He then hit it FOUR TIMES with a sledge hammer! First strike shattered the band, but the watch kept on working! Second strike with a sledge hammer scuffed up the black bezel around the face, but the watch kept on going... 3rd strike, nothing happened! NO damage apparent to the watch. Fourth strike... the crystal showed a crack, but the watch continued to work! Sounds amazing, but he even furnishes photos of the smashed MT-G1000!

There are tons of features.. stop watch, alarm, countdown timer, 27 city World time, 200m water resistant... I could go on and on... some features I'm sure I'll seldom use (alarm is WAY too quiet, and I use my cell phone to remind me of things in any case), and I don't really see the need to use chronometer, but if you're looking for a high tech watch that doesn't look too geeky, this may be the one for you!

Great combination of looks and function, in one tough package!

By the way, there is a newer model out, the MT-G1100. Currently, Feb. 2010, it's going for $550.00 with only a few added features.

In short, a person could have only this watch and no other and would pretty much be able to wear it 24/7: nice enough for a business meeting or dinner date, and tough enough for a daily use watch. Not a wide face and the plastic ridge around the face is raised, so both of these designs help prevent crystal banging and scratching. Face is wide enough to see clearly. Even though the face is not wide, the case itself is wide so that it's not a small, dinky watch. It has presence. Price fluctuates, but if $275.00 or less it seems well worth it. 300, maybe. Above that, no. All features work well. Fluorescent paint has a good light-duration rate and brightness...not fantastic but better than average. The "gold"-color accents are not garish looking and are appropriate accents.

The only potential negative: some people may feel that it needs a light. In reality the fluorescent paint is good enough that a light may not really be missed by the average wearer. Lights do drain solar battery power, so it actually is very reasonable for there not to be a light on this watch. Some of the other solar watches with lights only stay on for what seems like 1/2 second per button press! -- in which short time you'll probably have to press the button a *second* time to be sure you saw the analog time correctly! Given such a situation, this watch is actually more reasonable in just having good fluorescent paint.

This watch is pretty much the top of the G Shock "analog" line, unless you want to pay thousands for the MRG. In my mind a great value, especially the $260 I paid at Amazon.

Like a lot of collectors, I have a bunch of G Shocks,as well as a pile of other more expensive brands and while I can say that I like them each for their own unique reasons, I think the MTG1000g is in my top five.

Size is good. The watch is substantial, without being overly heavy...nice and thick, and big enough to draw attention without being too big and/or looking ridiculous. Overall this watch has excellent "wrist presence". The watch feels solid, and looks very well finished. The gold highlights on the dial are interesting, although in some light conditions they appear a bit "blingy". However, this is one watch I feel very comfortable wearing whether I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt on the weekend or my business suit every day to work. It does not look out of place with either situation. Heck, I might even say it would do in a pinch as a black tie watch because of the excellent finish and the gold highlights.

The lume is adequate if it gets a substantial charge, but truth be known, it could be better. But even my Tags and Omegas that cost thousands have lume that leaves something to be desired.

Accuracy is excellent due to the daily radio sync with the nearest atomic clock. Setting the watch and using the functions takes a little memorization, but that is common with Casio's analogs. They pack so many features in, its hard to remember them all!

Adjusting the bracelet is easy, but as another reviewer pointed out, there is a tiny sleeve that holds the pivot pin in place--take care not to lose that! Although the other reviewer found this arrangement to be a "con", I think it is a decent setup...and is very similar in configuration to the pin style on my $3000 Omega Seamaster.

Overall a great watch. I don't think I can find fault with it.

The watch is great. Got so many compliments about it. It can be worn with anything. Ive worn it with jeans and a shirt and also with a suit and it goes great with anything you wear. Would have given it 5 stars, but the controls are just a little confusing. You just have to read the manual step by step. But other than that, I highly recommend this watch to everyone.