Casio

Casio Men's PAW500-1V Pathfinder Solar Atomic Watch

• Quartz movement
• Tough Solar Power; shock Resistant; auto EL backlight with Afterglow
• World Time - 29 times zones (30 cities), city code display, daylight saving on/off

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Casio Pathfinder Atomic Solar Watch #PAW500-1V is a trim, rugged watch designed to meet the needs of serious outdoor athletes. With twin sensor data, reliable altimeter and barometer readings, a world clock, and five daily alarms, this watch is ready to take on any adventure. Tough Solar power keeps it running, while Multi-Band Atomic Timepkeeping uses calibration radio signals ensure the time display is accurate. A durable, 45-millimeter resin case, resin band, and unique metal bezel with textured accents compliment the detailed digital display and keep this timepiece looking cool. This watch is water resistant to 330 feet.

The Casio Story

With the launch of its first watch in November 1974, Casio entered the wristwatch market at a time when the watch industry had just discovered digital technology. As a company with cutting-edge electronic technology developed for pocket calculators, Casio entered this field confident that it could develop timepieces that would lead the market.

In developing its own wristwatches Casio began with the basic question, ""What is a wristwatch?"" Rather than simply making a digital version of the conventional mechanical watch, we thought that the ideal wristwatch should be something that shows all facets of time in a consistent way. Based on this, Casio was able to create a watch that displayed the precise time including the second, minute, hour, day, and month — not to mention a.m. or p.m., and the day of the week. It was the first watch in the world with a digital automatic calendar function that eliminated the need to reset the calendar due the variation in month length. Rather than using a conventional watch face and hands, a digital liquid crystal display was adopted to better show all the information. This culminated in the 1974 launch of the CASIOTRON, the world’s first digital watch with automatic calendar. The CASIOTRON won acclaim as a groundbreaking product that represented a complete departure from the conventional wristwatch.

Casio transformed the concept of the watch — from a mere timepiece to an information device for the wrist — and undertook product planning based on this innovative idea. We developed not only time functions such as global time zone watches, but also other radical new functions using Casio’s own digital technology, including calculator and dictionary functions, as well as a phonebook feature based on memory technology, and even a thermometer function using a built-in sensor. The memory-function watches became our DATA BANK product series, while the sensor watches developed into two unique Casio product lines of today: the Pathfinder series displaying altitude, atmospheric pressure, and compass readings.

In 1983, Casio launched the shock-resistant G-SHOCK watch. This product shattered the notion that a watch is a fragile piece of jewelry that needs to be handled with care, and was the result of Casio engineers taking on the challenge of creating the world’s toughest watch. Using a triple-protection design for the parts, module, and case, the G-SHOCK offered a radical new type of watch that was unaffected by strong impacts or shaking. Its practicality was immediately recognized, and its unique look, which embodied its functionality, became wildly popular, resulting in explosive sales in the early 1990s. The G-SHOCK soon adopted various new sensors, solar-powered radio-controlled technology (described below), and new materials for even better durability. By always employing the latest technology, and continuing to transcend conventional thinking about the watch, the G-SHOCK brand has become Casio’s flagship timepiece product.

Today, Casio is focusing its efforts on solar-powered radio-controlled watches: the built-in solar battery eliminates the nuisance of replacing batteries, and the radio-controlled function means users never have to reset the time. In particular, the radio-controlled function represents a revolution in time-keeping technology similar to the impact created when mechanical watches gave way to quartz technology. Through the further development of high radio-wave sensitivity, miniaturization, and improved energy efficiency, Casio continues to produce a whole range of radio-controlled models.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001A67KYC
• Item model number: PAW500-1V
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,317 in Watches (See Top 100 in Watches)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good all-round watch., January 29, 2009

By 

Daniel Berke (CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Casio Men's PAW500-1V Pathfinder Solar Atomic Watch (Watch)

I have had this watch for about two months now, and am quite happy with it. Compared to my old watch (a very cheap Casio) it is much better.
There are several points, specifically, that attracted me to this watch:

1. Its overall durability. The strap, for instance, instead of connecting directly to the body, connects to a little hinge that prevents it from being broken off(the way it did on my old watch).
2. Multiple alarms (5, to be exact). Very useful for when you need to store several times.
3. 24 hour count-down timer. Useful for all sorts of little things.
4. Solar power and auto-synchronization. No more batteries to worry about (although people in more northerly latitudes will probably have to give it an occaisional boost with indoor lighting), and you know that it's never far off from the correct time(according to the product specs, it's accurate to about a half second per day, so even if you can't synchronize every night, it's no big deal). I haven't had too much trouble with getting it to synchronize each night, either. As long as it points towards a window, it seems to be fine.
5. The barometer, altimeter, and thermometer are nice extras, although I don't rely too much on what they say. You can calibrate them to be more exact, but I haven't really felt a need to do so. The barameter readout of the pressure over the last few hours is handy, as it can inform you of a low pressure system moving in.

Overall, I found this watch to be just what I expected, a sturdy watch with enough extra functions (stopwatch, timer, alarms, etc) to be useful, without becoming so complicated you need a degree to use it. Its size is a good fit for my medium-sized wrist, and is relatively unobtrusive. Congrats to Casio for making a such a great product.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Casio PAW500-1V Review, December 16, 2008

By 

B. Wong "i/t storage solutions" (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Casio Men's PAW500-1V Pathfinder Solar Atomic Watch (Watch)

I selected this model of Casio since it is slightly smaller and lighter than the models with the directional features. It is a tough watch that you can get wet and drop. The temp, barometer are great for fishing along with solar power and exact time syncing. Probably my only complaint is that you have to adjust the temp calibration due to the sensor being close to your body. I found that if i take it off and take the temp the reading is more accurate. For $150 - well worth the value.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor service, August 29, 2009

By 

Michael O'Connell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casio Men's PAW500-1V Pathfinder Solar Atomic Watch (Watch)

I had 2 major problems when my Casio PAW500 watch arrived. One was that the alarm and timer emitted no sound, and other was that the altimeter varied by over 100 feet as I stood still and took successive readings.

But the major problem is repair and support. Their web site forces you to choose the problem from a list, but my problem wasn't there. When the watch was returned, same problem, so I sent it back. The web site tracking system that Casio has showed a mismatched combo of the first repair trip and the second one, and they emailed me that the watch was fine and was being returned. I waited a week and emailed them to find out why I didn't have the watch, and they told me that it had just been sitting there. If I hadn't asked about it, it would probably still be sitting on their shelf somewhere. When I finally got it back, I tested the alarm signal, and finally realized that the tone was so weak that I could barely hear it if I held the watch to my ear. And my hearing is fine. They also told me that the altimeter operated within specifications.

I've bought my last Casio product.