Hardcore Watches for Hardcore Individuals
NOW WHAT??????!!!!!!!
WELL THE WIFE WENT AND BOUGHT HERSELF THIS: (December 2018)
CASIO PROTREK PRW3000-4B -THIS MODEL THE "HOT PINK" AND BLACK WITH HOT PINK ANODIZED ALUMINIUM AND RESIN CASE, WITH STAINLESS STEEL CASE BACK, MADE IN THAILAND.
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| At home (and on my wrist, being tested BCT style LOL) at the beach and surf, Casio PROTREK. |
WHY NOT TEST IT OUT AT THE SAME TIME? (WELL NOT SCUBA DIVING ANYWAY!)
Casio PROTREK, synonymous with "high tech functionality" but also synonymous with "Big" on the wrist (G shock- "G for ginormous"- just joking!) have got something for those who want PROTREK high tech but don't want to wear a clock on their wrists! The PRW3000-4B. Even the hot pink model is manly, none of this sissy baby pink. Mineral glass, Tough Solar, PROTREK is the choice for THE OUTDOORS. NO BATTERY TO CHANGE, ready within 5 min or less of seeing sunlight (CHG flashing) from no power. The watch needs at least 15 hours in full sunlight, ie 50,000 LUX to reach the peak of "M" reading or Level 2 and then a further 4 hours from level 2 to reach Level 1 or "H" reading on the watch LCD. This in my experience equates to several days worth of exposure under full summer sun. Now this means more than several "WWDFS" (Watch Wearing Days in Full Sun- you read it here first LOL!). So do not be perturbed if your watch hangs around the "M" mark for some time despite being blasted by the sun. BTW it took 3 full days of intense Australian sunlight to reach the level "H" being displayed upon the watch face, that's approximately 24 hours!
The band
The soft urethane band is comfy on the arm, although if one sports a hairy exterior then you might find this type of band will grip those hairs. It really depends upon what one is used to when wearing a watch. I'm a dyed in the wool 24/7 watch wearer, yes that's right 24/7, so don't ask LOL. Mt watch is part of my arm. I'll be exposing it for 2 solid months to the full UV blasting from the Aussie sun to see if this glowing fluorescent band will hold it's color. One thing I don't really like is the fact that the band can not be laid flat. For me, this would make better sense as it would make it easier to lay the watch flat so the solar cell faces directly towards the sky for charging. It would also help to prevent the watch accidentally falling off whatever you put the watch on.
The watch looks the part with a sturdy looking case back and a aluminium and resin case. Although the aluminium is easily dented by a simple knock (so I doubt it is made from T series alloy but i will check with Casio) If you are wondering, the "black looking" outer ring (looking like a bezel) of this watch forms the solar cell.
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| Under the harsh Australian UV light, hows does this "plastic" (urethane) band hold up??? Is it color fast??? Is this a woosy color??? No siree! Get with the program, it's funky color with a bold statement to be made. (it does however belong to the wife and soon I'll probably get the fluoro Yellow model LOL!) but in the meantime I'll be putting it through it's paces BCT style. |
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Whilst not certified for diving, the PROTREK PRW3000-4B is resistant to 10 bar of static water pressure. What does that mean? Remember your physics??? P=F/A, ie Pressure equals Force divided by Area. Or simply stated as Casio says:
"Wearable around sinks, snorkel diving, poolside diving, no jet skiing or scuba diving (You will need the Casio Frogman for SCUBA diving). Shallow snorkel diving is ok".
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Pros and cons of a Quartz watch.
Quartz watches on the other-hand (solar powered), never need a battery, keep very good time, no moving parts (if digital) but lack that feeling/look of a "real watch" This watch can receive a radio signal/atomic signal in order to accurately keep time, if the watch is worn basically in any country except Australia LOL, as we have no capabilities for this: come on Aussies, let's get our acts together with the rest of the world LOL!
Super accurate time keeping.
Run forever really, ie the other parts of the watch will fall apart before the module stops working.
Totally shock resistant and unaffected by magnetic fields (excepting a MRI LOL!)
The cons:
Throw away if water ingression occurs, lacks the look of a "real watch". Why do I even point this out??? Yeah it's an ego driven thing. Watches are things that people notice. You wear them on your arm. Even today in the corporate world, one can get asked (rightly or wrongly) what kind of watch are you wearing and be told that it isn't appropriate for the job! I remember when I showed my Quartz Seiko Diving watch to a new employer (a large US firm), in response to being asked this question. The look of shock which followed and this comment: "I'm sorry but a diving watch is inappropriate for a Product Manager's role, you need to be wearing a watch like this" (he proudly pulled up his sleeve to reveal a Rolex (not a Submariner model). I said I might consider purchasing a TAG Heuer diving watch (if I couldn't afford a Rolex equivalent), even then he wasn't impressed. Too bad I thought, as I really didn't give a shit about his stupid Rolex and had actually no intention of buying a TAG Heuer diving watch, why would I?
My trusty Seiko (at the time) had already seen plenty of Shark action and got used for real diving not "desk top" diving, it had a stories to tell (like my Citizen diving watches-also with plenty of big teeth action LOL!). Don't get me wrong, maybe if I had more goulash I'd have that TAG Heuer watch but it wouldn't make me a better SCUBA diver and I'd always be worried about scratching the crystal LOL! Besides, it looks cheap even if it isn't! A printed carbon dial and only one more jewel?????? What's with that??
There is no question about it the Seiko model 08SRP639 otherwise known by watch aficionados as the 'Baby Tuna" is no Nancy boy watch and begging to go diving. Don't wear one if you haven't done your tour of duty, otherwise you may find yourself in an embarrassing moment when asked" Where do you dive"? Just joking!
But I digress here:
Cons of the LCD Casio Protrek. Well you need 2 hands to read the time in the dark-one that is the wrist on which it is borne, one the hand's fingers to press the button for the illuminating light to read the time.
You can not see the time on a flat screen LCD watch face unless a specific angle is met between the watch face and the wearer's eyes, otherwise we simple see a mirror- that's physics for you. (angle of incidence ) Therefore this necessitates a twisting of the wrist in order to see the digits/information on the LCD panel, unlike an analogue watch where, even at a large angle of incidence (if the dial markings are big enough), one can still tell the time.
The altimeter if used for trekking must be continually calibrated for safety, as it works via reading the barometric pressure and this is not entirely accurate. Read the manual carefully if you want to use this watch for high altitude trekking. (see all pages from Section E, related to Altitude).
Cold resistant up until -10C
ResultsFebruary 2019
I have put this CASIO PROTREK PRW3000B through the wringer. Numerous snorkel dives down to 25 feet, water full of sand, rocky and beach entries, surfing, fishing in the surf, vibration and constant submersion during water activities. Keeping perfect time (zero radio signal in Australia-so it's not synchronizing against any atomic clock, in this country- as there isn't one around!
The bright fluoro band hasn't faded or broken, some very very light scuff marks from anodizing being removed (probably by me knocking the watch against rocks underwater!). I did put a screen protector (used a good quality tablet screen protector-cut to fit) on the mineral crystal face. Compass works great, temp needs to be read off the wrist obviously, very comfortable and light weight for a triple sensor PROTREK-most are the size of small clocks LOL!.
See the full video field review on BushCampingTools. I'll add more to this blog as time goes on (no pun intended!).
PS to get the most from this watch one needs to thoroughly read to thoroughly read the manual, all 112 pages of it (well almost).
Quartz watches on the other-hand (solar powered), never need a battery, keep very good time, no moving parts (if digital) but lack that feeling/look of a "real watch" This watch can receive a radio signal/atomic signal in order to accurately keep time, if the watch is worn basically in any country except Australia LOL, as we have no capabilities for this: come on Aussies, let's get our acts together with the rest of the world LOL!
Super accurate time keeping.
Run forever really, ie the other parts of the watch will fall apart before the module stops working.
Totally shock resistant and unaffected by magnetic fields (excepting a MRI LOL!)
The cons:
Throw away if water ingression occurs, lacks the look of a "real watch". Why do I even point this out??? Yeah it's an ego driven thing. Watches are things that people notice. You wear them on your arm. Even today in the corporate world, one can get asked (rightly or wrongly) what kind of watch are you wearing and be told that it isn't appropriate for the job! I remember when I showed my Quartz Seiko Diving watch to a new employer (a large US firm), in response to being asked this question. The look of shock which followed and this comment: "I'm sorry but a diving watch is inappropriate for a Product Manager's role, you need to be wearing a watch like this" (he proudly pulled up his sleeve to reveal a Rolex (not a Submariner model). I said I might consider purchasing a TAG Heuer diving watch (if I couldn't afford a Rolex equivalent), even then he wasn't impressed. Too bad I thought, as I really didn't give a shit about his stupid Rolex and had actually no intention of buying a TAG Heuer diving watch, why would I?
My trusty Seiko (at the time) had already seen plenty of Shark action and got used for real diving not "desk top" diving, it had a stories to tell (like my Citizen diving watches-also with plenty of big teeth action LOL!). Don't get me wrong, maybe if I had more goulash I'd have that TAG Heuer watch but it wouldn't make me a better SCUBA diver and I'd always be worried about scratching the crystal LOL! Besides, it looks cheap even if it isn't! A printed carbon dial and only one more jewel?????? What's with that??
There is no question about it the Seiko model 08SRP639 otherwise known by watch aficionados as the 'Baby Tuna" is no Nancy boy watch and begging to go diving. Don't wear one if you haven't done your tour of duty, otherwise you may find yourself in an embarrassing moment when asked" Where do you dive"? Just joking!
But I digress here:
Cons of the LCD Casio Protrek. Well you need 2 hands to read the time in the dark-one that is the wrist on which it is borne, one the hand's fingers to press the button for the illuminating light to read the time.
You can not see the time on a flat screen LCD watch face unless a specific angle is met between the watch face and the wearer's eyes, otherwise we simple see a mirror- that's physics for you. (angle of incidence ) Therefore this necessitates a twisting of the wrist in order to see the digits/information on the LCD panel, unlike an analogue watch where, even at a large angle of incidence (if the dial markings are big enough), one can still tell the time.
The altimeter if used for trekking must be continually calibrated for safety, as it works via reading the barometric pressure and this is not entirely accurate. Read the manual carefully if you want to use this watch for high altitude trekking. (see all pages from Section E, related to Altitude).
Cold resistant up until -10C
ResultsFebruary 2019
I have put this CASIO PROTREK PRW3000B through the wringer. Numerous snorkel dives down to 25 feet, water full of sand, rocky and beach entries, surfing, fishing in the surf, vibration and constant submersion during water activities. Keeping perfect time (zero radio signal in Australia-so it's not synchronizing against any atomic clock, in this country- as there isn't one around!
The bright fluoro band hasn't faded or broken, some very very light scuff marks from anodizing being removed (probably by me knocking the watch against rocks underwater!). I did put a screen protector (used a good quality tablet screen protector-cut to fit) on the mineral crystal face. Compass works great, temp needs to be read off the wrist obviously, very comfortable and light weight for a triple sensor PROTREK-most are the size of small clocks LOL!.
See the full video field review on BushCampingTools. I'll add more to this blog as time goes on (no pun intended!).
PS to get the most from this watch one needs to thoroughly read to thoroughly read the manual, all 112 pages of it (well almost).