Customer Reviews

Casio Men's PAW1300B-4 Pathfinder Slim Solar Atomic Watch

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So far so good. I bought this Pathfinder a month and a half ago to replace a Casio Atomic Solar G-Shock whose recessed buttons had become too difficult to press without resorting to the tip of a ballpoint. My son says it's because i have fat fingers. I don't. And anyway, they're no fatter now than they were 18 months ago when I bought the G-Shock and had no trouble with the buttons. G-Shocks seem to do that. On the other hand, I beat the tar out of watches, which is why G-Shocks have always been my first choice. They really can take abuse and shrug it off. I've always felt they had everything I needed, so I was tentative about shelling out twice as much for a Pathfinder that seemed to have a lot of things i didn't need. On the other hand, I do a lot of hiking, have no sense of direction, often gear my agenda by the weather and I'm busy enough for it to matter to me how much time things take. Besides, I had to buy something.

So here, at the 50-day mark, is how that decision turned out. The PAW-1300B-4 (hereafter referred to as simply the Pathfinder) is billed as "slim," and I guess by comparison with most other expedition-type watches it is. It doesn't dwarf my wrist, but it's clearly a presence (the unnecessary bronze color may have something to do with that) and its footprint if not its thickness makes the old G-Shock look small. On the principle of bad news/good news, here's the bad news in my opinion: Some may like the bronze colored bezel; I don't hate it, but I'd have preferred simple black, which i didn't find available. The shiney black inner liner just inside the bezel has a lot of hashmarks and gradient arrows. That's frippery. And like virtually all the type on the surround of the watch the identifying type on that ring is too small to read easily. That's a function of a watch designed by folks who never tried out their designs in practice. Both the black and bronze bezels scratch immediately. Mine already has two scars, acquiring the first minutes after I opened the box. Another piece of silliness is the indigo-colored ring on the extreme outside of the face itself. A black dot travels around the indigo track indicating the passage of seconds. Why? This is a digital watch and it shows the changing seconds digits in the lower third of the face. The little indigo racetrack just absorbs dial space that could have been better used to make some of the ancillary symbols and type (which are now much too minute) larger. More self-congratulatory design candy. Space allocation in the design of the face is adequate if not optimal. For example, in barometer mode, the most useful element, the weather trend graph, is crammed into the smallest space. You can read it, but you have to squint. Meanwhile, the inches of mercury (I changed mine to those units because it's what I'm used to) numbers are huge, even though they're arguably less immediately useful. The thermometer has so far been useless. It's always higher than the true temp. If it consistently read the same amount higher than the true ambient temperature, minor mental math would make it useful. But it varies all over the map, sometimes 15 degrees too high, sometimes as many as 25. That failure disappoints me because an accurate temperature reading would have been a useful feature. I've never tried to use the altimeter feature because, frankly, I don't care how many feet above sea level I am and since I don't climb mountains, and no longer rock climb, I probably never will. The watchband, made of plastic that does not remotely look like leather, with cheap looking contrasting stitching, with a bronze accent patch and a recessed inset strip of some grey material that looks like plastic but seems to absorb water, is in my opinion another triumph of cosmetics over common sense. Of course some people will like it. Some people may even like the velcro-adjustable strap that secures the tail of the watchband. Why velcro? Why adjustable? When I rest my wrist on a desktop it feels like I've put it down on a marble. And that bulky strap invariably catches and hangs up when you pull on the sleeve of a sweat shirt or shrug into a jacket that has tight cuffs. I would have preferred the tough black resin watchband used on the G-Shock. And this little confection can't be changed for something better.

You're probably wondering why I gave the Pathfinder four stars. Okay, the good news: Casio packed a lot of functionality into a watch case that can be worn without making accommodations. I love the atomic timekeeping for obvious reasons. Ditto the solar. I think you'd have to live in a cave to have power problems. I've never had less than full power. I wear a watch to know what time it is--the digits that do that are large and easily read and the day and date are clear. It's all the key information in one shot, no buttons. Speaking of buttons, one of my prime complaints about my old G-Shock was the recessed buttons. Yes, I understand the logic. Nevertheless, inherently bad idea. By contrast, the Pathfinder buttons are large, pressed easily, and the action is crisp and positive. And I've yet to find that any of the buttons have been pressed by accident. If you orient the compass properly initially, it works quite well and matches the accuracy of my in-car compass and a lensatic compass that I've used in the past when hiking in more remote areas. The degree reading on the compass is twitchy, but it's consistent which is more important than accurate. I haven't tried it on the water yet, but it works fine for land navigation. The barometer function is where the Casio really shines. The trend graph though small has been dead accurate, maybe a little more so than my pricey bedroom weather station, and the pressure readings are remarkably close to those on the weather station.

So far I've worn this watch hiking in misty rainy conditions, while playing tennis, building a deck, stripping paint with a vibrating rotary stripper and nothing has fazed it. The band may not be to my taste, but it soldiers through sweat and spray from a power washer and dried off quickly. Using the stop watch while driving is a piece of cake and the countdown timer has been extremely useful in the kitchen. I do wish this Pathfinder had been ruggedized to match the G-Shock and given the same resin case. And I'd be delirious if Casio would figure out that alarms should be optionally audible or vibrating or both, as is the case with cell phones.

Only time will tell how well this Pathfinder will hold up, but so far, so good. If asked today would I buy it again, knowing its plusses and minuses, the answer would be "Yes."

So far so good. No problem receiving the atomic time updates and after calibrating, I get good results from the compass, atlimeter. My favorite function is the barometer which has proven very reliable in predicting rainy conditions 12-24 hours in advance. Like many reviewers have mentioned....body heat does affect the temperature, so if you want the true temperature you need to take to watch off for about 20 minutes. I have found that I can estimate the temperature within 1 or 2 degrees by monitoring the differential between the actual temperature and the temperature shown on the watch while I am wearing it. In almost all cases during normal use, the watch tempurature is exactly 20 degrees higher than the actual temperature. There are so many other functions that I have yet to become familiar with. I would recommend this watch to other hikers, and to gadget geeks for daily use.

The watch performs very well, the strap is the problem.

The strap on this model Pathfinder is a composite of leather/synthetic, and as designed the strap is stitched with a folded over flap on the INSIDE of the band. IMO this is a design flaw because the thick folded flap is beginning to rub my wrist raw. The watch is being returned because Casio advises there is no solution to this problem.

[...]

Pros: casio quality & all functions
Cons: not very comfortable (stiff band). A/B/C (alt/barom/compass) less accurate than Suunto.. especially Temperature

This is a highly-functional watch and should be reviewed in that perspective. Which means its main competitor is Suunto (there are few other makers for ABC watches). In general, I've found -- and you'll find it documented by enthusiasts -- that ABC functions is slightly less accurate than Suuntos. The absolute readings are not as accurate, and it tends to have a little more "drift" (requiring more frequent calibrations).

For a fun watch it is fine. But I imagine if you were to do truly rely on the ABC measurements (ie for a JOB, not for casual hike), you would already be using a professional instrument.

The watch of this model "PAW1300" comes in a few different configurations (color & straps). This particular model is the "B-4" which I like for the copper bezel. However I must say the strap is stiff and it doesn't "settle" or wear very well on the wrist. (There is another configuration that has a full wrap-around strap that is probably more comfortable).

Otherwise, I'm a big a fan of casio outdoor watches for the full functionality: multi-band, solar recharge, auto-EL, time zones, multiple alarms, etc etc etc.

This is a very neat watch. It does about everything except cooking a meal. I especially like the auto illumination feature which allows you to read your watch in complete darkness with just your wrist movement. It is the most feature rich timepiece I have ever owned. Great looking,no battery required,completely accurate atomic timekeeping. A perfect watch for the gadget freak.

I almost returned this product. I rely on the alarms of my other (Casio) watches...this alarm is virtually unusable. It's inaudible further than 2-3 feet from your ear, in a quiet room.

Pros: 1) Good sport/industrial looking, heavy band w/velcro keeper. 2) Battery holds a charge for months in a dark drawer in 'saver' mode. 3) Time keeping is PERFECT, of course, and the signal is not hard to pick up where we live. 4) Although bulky and prone to getting whacked on things as you move, I like the appearance. 5) The main display is easily readable. 6) Compass works well.

Cons: 1) Alarms, beeps, alerts are so faint and weak they are useless. 2) The altimeter is more of a novelty than a useful tool. It will vary up to 600' from day to day at the same elevation, w/out being moved! 3) The barometer is fairly accurate for short periods but needs to be reset to a reliable source every couple days. It would also be better if it displayed closer accuracy than .05 inches Hg. 4) Owner's manual is huge, operation and settings are fairly complex.

The thermometer feature works as advertised--will give you your wrist temp unless you remove it for 5+ mins.

IMHO this device would be better if it did fewer things really well, instead of being loaded w/esoteric features that are marginally useful.

I gave this watch as a gift to my son, and overall am quite happy with it and so is he. The one complaint I have is with the watchband. This definitely needs to be improved, as it is not the most comfortable to wear. The watch does function very well.

I've had my watch for 3 week now and I love it. It is very light weight and smaller that other Casio models. I live in the North Dallas area and the atomic sync feature works great, it has automatically synced every night. The digital compass seems to be reasonably accurate as well. The watch came with a full charge and based on my experience with other Casio solar watches, there will be no issues with keeping the power level on high.

Only real concern is with the band. It fits well and is comfortable but the band does not attach in a stand way so if you need to replace the band, it might be difficult.

While the Casio Pathfinder PAW1300B-4 (in my case) looks like an excellent all-in-one design, application in the field has proven very mediocre performance. Additionally, there are serious "issues" with the watch strap design that anyone considering purchasing this watch needs to be aware of.

>> DEFINITELY look at this watch in person before making a purchase!! <<

Need-to-knows:

The four functions of this watch that work reliably well are the thermometer (when left off your wrist for several minutes), the time keeping (atomic, sets itself if within range of Shortwave radio station located in Fort Collins, CO), the power management (solar cell built-in to watch face) and finally, the Compass (when away from metallic items). The altimeter and barometer are extremely variable and spend more time being inaccurate than they are accurate. The altimeter, for example, can vary +/- 300 feet when left at the same location over several days. The barometer is essentially worthless.

The wrist band is GARBAGE. Yes, "GARBAGE" in upper-case. Sorry to shout, but Casio really blew it on the watch band. It's made out of some kind of funky synthetic leather meets pseudo-rubber combination with a overly-restrictive, very bulky velcro closure. Ahhh, Velcro. I love Velcro, but have you seen what happens when your new Casio Pathfinder watch wrist-band touches your brand new Nike Dri-fit T-shirt (or any other athletic wear made of polyester)? I ended up with damage (snags, primarily) to my new shirt (and shorts, actually) where the velcro on the wrist band was lightly brushing up against my shirt and my shorts as I walked. That's just the beginning, though: Do you sweat? If so, and you sweat while wearing this watch, be aware that sweat decomposes whatever crappy material Casio made this wrist band out of. It ends up stinking, like a dead cat or some other furry critter left-for-dead. And you can't wash it off once it starts "decomposing", either. You can't even bleach it out. Whatever nastiness is going on inside that fake leatherish material seems permanent, and I've seriously considered boiling the watch band to try and eliminate the smell knowing full well that the watch band will likely disintegrate in the process. I don't wear the watch because the smell is bad. How's that for "eww, gross?"

Final Opinion: My watch is 8 months old and I regret my purchase. I work as a hardware design engineer in an air-conditioned building. I was NOT hard on this watch and it still "stinks".

Good luck.

this is a great watch i've always wanted one. so the watch band is stiff, the one i got has the nylon style band and its takes some wear for it to be comfterable. the watch functions are cool, the owners manual is easy to read and to understand. they sensors may need to be calibrated but i dont need then to be that accurate, i checked mine agienst a GPS for the altimeter and was within 200ft. i dig this watch and its cool for those who are outside all the time.