Casio GWG 1000 Review

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC-4PtZZhW0

CASIO MUDMASTER GWG 1000 and GWG 2000 Review

 Casio Mud Master Master of G Land.

GWG 1000 and GWG 2000

Review Discussion

Last updated: 20/07/23

22/07/23

I'll tell you the stuff all the paid reviewers will not tell you about these GWG 1000 and GWG 2000 Casio watches. 

For example what does "Japan GE" actually mean? We provide the accurate answer from Casio! It's not as exciting as one might think!

The reviewers who do not actually OWN the watch but have it on loan. We own our gear!

Read on.....

GWG 1000 Vs the GWG 2000

Straight to the Point Review no BS

                                         (Photo of my actual watch a GWG 1000 model)

GWG 1000 Series MUDMASTER.

Now looking like they will be phased out of production??  Why do I think this? Well the USA Casio site clearly is promoting the carbon core mudmaster models and offering 40% off the GWG1000 models, this is also coincident with low Ebay prices too globally. But enough of price for now.

Could the GWG1000 models (2 of them) become collector's items?

 The ends at 12 and 6 O'clock position (Red arrows) bracelet fixtures are made out of carbon reinforced (PEEK) resin.

Note here in the image above, the small green arrow indicates part of the  structure and is not showing the crown of the GWG 2000 unlocked/unscrewed.

The 4 case bolts are however functional in the above GWG 2000 model unlike their counterpart in the GWG 1000, where the bolts are fake.

Making these end parts of the bezel out of such a composite allows (as they say) for a slightly thinner structure but at the same time retaining adequate strength. They talk about this being very strong but they don't say compared to what? I'll be surprised if it is stronger than the original GWG1000 models because clearly the resin (in this case PUR Poly Urethane Resin- they use various grades) in these areas is much thicker. Although it should be harder (the carbon reinforced PEEK) and more impact resistant to damage but there is always a compromise because harder means more shock transfer.

However, I will stand corrected as carbon composites can be very strong and hard under certain mechanical stresses, something which has been brought to the general public's eye in the last month or so, need I say more.

Also the the carbon core models seem to be all cased in Thailand (not true there are models cased in Japan) as apposed to Japan and not all have sapphire glass. Yes, that's right, there is a cost to having the carbon composite and that means some lessor materials in other areas. Watches cased in Thailand 

Casio Thailand factory.

can not be told apart in terms of quality I think and will only worry those who must have a Japanese made watch.

At a quick comparison there seems to be some "tidying up of the watch face display in the GWG 2000 as compared with the older but still current GWG 1000. I like how the functions of Baro, Temp and REC ST TR, now are all together and form a simple arc which looks a bit better as it follows the curvature of the dial, where as the GWG 1000 similar display, appears too occupy more room on the face. I personally don't like how the buttons of the GWG 2000 now have concentric rings upon them as apposed to the more industrial checker/knurling marks. 

 

I think the indicators for Baro Temp etc could have all been made different colors to quickly distinguish them from one another at a quick glance but this is something they (Casio) might bring out at a future date with some "Special edition" or a "limited edition" as we are already seeing with different bezel colors available (in very tacky colors if i do say so myself).

As the LASER etching shows, SAPPHIRE Glass (WG 1000) for the watch crystal. Very scratch resistant BUT BRITTLE! 

Radio time keeping.

And yes, the GWG is a multi-band 6 watch and can receive the time sync radio transmissions as long as you are NOT in Australia and probably NZ as well; you will never be able to receive such signals from China or further afield unless some serious solar activity is going on LOL! So bare this in mond all those living in Australia and New Zealand who choose to buy this watch as this function will never work unless you plan to travel with your watch to regions which are close enough to receive the radio signals.

Sapphire glass, whilst very hard is also brittle and can not stand the same impact forces as that of mineral crystal (hardened glass). Bear this in mind, it is NOT indestructible as one might think.

The stainless steel back is fastened by 4 Philips head screws hidden under the band, or rather hidden under the parts which help to secure the actual band.

What does the "Japan GE" stand for??

 Well many people on Casio watch Forums or just watch Forums are guessing about these markings because there are different markings to be found on the same models. 

For example "Japan H" . My ten cents worth is that: "H" either stands for "Home" as in a Japanese Domestic Product (JDP) or "Higashine ko", the city name in Yamagata prefecture where there is an assembly plant; Some say GE stands for "Good Enough" (LOL) and "H" stands for "high quality" (LOL). GE probably stands for "General Export" meaning they are in fact made in Japan (the movement) but not for the Japanese market. 

BUT

What does CASIO USA say? I asked directly but as yet no answer because I reckon they don't know either. Or just delight in keeping every one not in the know. I bet if I ask Casio Japan I might get an answer.

20/07/23 Update!!!!

Casio USA replied at last!

Here is what they said in an email to me after I requested information about what Japan GE means.

Jasmine (CASIO AMERICA, INC.) 

Jul 19, 2023, 12:04 EDT 

Dear Dr. FrXXXXX XXXXXXX, 
 
Thank you for contacting Casio America. 
 
"GE" is the initials of our warehouse in Thailand.
 
Thank you for choosing Casio America.
 
Best Regards,
Jasmine

Well, there we finally have it. Unless the watch says: "Made in Japan" Then it's not.  So whilst they didn't say it is made in Thailand it probably is at the Thailand factory but with a Japanese made movement.

Pressure sensor (the thing with the hole in it of course) lies behind this small piece of gray colored plastic (looks like metal but isn't).

How about the Casio Lume???

The Casio Lume (Phosphorescent material) totally sucks if I compare it to the gold standard of Seiko's "Lumi Brite", which after owning many watches, Lumi Brite rocks, just show it the slightest slither of light and the stuff glows like no tomorrow. 

Well, the luminescent paint used on the Casio watches which feature it is very poor. Whilst the decay time is very lengthy, (ok that's good) the luminous flux output from it is very very low. One would need to be in total darkness in a cave with eyes totally adjusted to read the watch from it's luminescent output (ok, maybe I'm a bit tough here).

Hence they definitely need a light in order to read the dials in total darkness. I suppose it is a plastic watch after all.

How does the newer GWG 2000 power/charging requirements compare with that of the older GWG 1000 models?

The interesting thing for me is that there appears to be no improvement over the solar cells in the GWG 2000 model Vs the older GWG1000 model. The manual for the GWG 2000 has exactly the same charging instructions as that for the GWG1000. So the battery must be the same as well?

Certainly, if there was an improvement then CASIO would definitely be using this as a marketing tool and since it's not mentioned at all in any promo about better solar cells etc., only the carbon composite (forged, blah blah blah) "upgrade" (my words) then the model only really sees a "face lift" and no real technological improvement regarding the electronics. But comes in at a much higher retail price (now there is an official price reduction on the GWG 1000 models). 

Let's face it the profile decrease is really only seen if you pull out the micrometer and measure it. This to me means that the design could not have been improved upon much other than to make some parts from a carbon composite. Carbon composites are hardly new or high tech these days. 

The GWG 1000. It does look Super Cool though!

High humidity environment (tropical jungle) not recommended by Casio! But I don't care, a watch is to be worn as a tool for me. 

(Note those upper Hex head bolts one can see (only 2 seen in the above picture) are in fact "fake" bolts. These are not bolts but purely a cosmetic feature and serve no function to secure anything. Generally, I'm not a big fan of BS cosmetics but there you go eh?  

Japan GE mark

Casio Mudmaster vs Guyver Mega Smasher, who will win?

See here:

A: The Casio G-SHOCK!

G Shock. The G stands for GINORMOUS Damn watch!

(PEEK) RESIN

So what the heck is the "RESIN" stuff they talk about?

Most of us might think of the word "Epoxy" when we hear the word "Resin" but in this case the word "Resin" has no reference to the epoxy type of polymers, save for the fact that both are sort of thermoplastics. PEEK is a completely different  type of "resin".

So what is this RESIN, Casio are talking about?

Casio patents show it is in fact, PEEK which is Polyether ether ketone, a structural synthetic thermoplastic of which the new GWG 2000 Mudmaster range (only some components) are made from but the GWG 1000 outer bezel is a grade of Poly Urethane Resin or PUR. The bands are also made from various grades of PUR. If you look carefully you can see the PUR mark upon the inner surface of the their bands for example. If you are a skateboarder of old, skate board wheels were once made of of PUR materials. It is a well-known engineering plastic/resin.

In the case of the most recent Mudmaster series (GWG 2000), which has been reinforced with carbon fibre in a non-woven way (hence they can obtain a slightly smaller overall structure of the case due to the fact that the the carbon fibres within the PEEK help to create a structure -probably- as strong as the larger Mudmaster's, whose case is not reinforced with carbon fibre) . 

I wonder though at the long tern affects water would have upon the carbon core watches, especially if they get scratched up a lot and constantly subjected to water, if that water could traverse the carbon fibres???

See this paper (note it's year of publication too in relationship to the recent Titan submersible disaster.

Composites Science and Technology

Volume 72, Issue 6, 27 March 2012, Pages 656-666

Investigation of the long term effects of moisture on carbon fibre and epoxy matrix composites

Author links open overlay panel, , , 

Chemical Resistance

(the GWG 1000 is basically a PUR resin based watch).

PEEK is very strong and resists many chemicals except strong alkalis. It is used in the aerospace industries in the most demanding applications for structural plastics. 

Poly Urethane (PUR) resins are also very strong and in tough and abrasion resistant, it depends upon the grades used. To get an idea of chemical resistance , see the table in this blog. PLUS follow the manuals instructions as regarding chemical resistance.

On saying the above, there are also strong warnings in the manual (eg for GWG1000 series/Module 5463) that the watch case/bezel should be protected against coming in contact with organic solvents such as but not limited to: thinner, gasoline, oils and fats! 

OMG! I was doing the old stir fry the other night and the watch got splattered in boiling peanut oil! Not to mention getting burnt all over my arm!  Seriously, in other words use common sense, don't wear the watch doing an oil change!

If you read the authentic manuals for the Mudmaster (and probably many other G-Shock watches, you will note that CASIO makes a point of reminding the wearer, NOT to wear one's watch in the shower using: soaps and other detergents of alkali nature. This is because even though PEEK and some Poly urethanes  are incredibly resistant to many types of very aggressive chemicals, it is susceptible to attack from alkali solutions and since soaps and detergents are generally alkaline in nature then one would be wise to follow their instructions and no one but Casio know what the actual grades/formulations are.

Just because it's a plastic does it mean it will easily melt?

Melting at over 340C, PEEK resins offer all of the (almost) indestructible features one could wish for in a (G Shock) Mudmaster. Despite being a thermo plastic, this particular thermoplastic has a very high melting point. TPU (thermoplastic) PUR resins have melting points higher than 150F. Don't worry, these polymers are also tough!

Shown below is NOT from Casio but rather a general table showing some of the characteristics of PUR resins.

It is as Casio says, injection molded (PEEK ) at high temperature and is a thermoplastic which can resist very high temperatures before deformation.

Water Resistance.

WOW 20 bar rated!

200m depth rated, worth of pressure against the seals provided they are not actuated UW. ie Do Not press the buttons whilst UW or when the watch is wet they recommend. 

It is rated ok for snorkelling but not SCUBA diving. The reason being is that: 1) It isn't a dive* watch and has not been certified as such to any ISO standards associated with this activity.

2) the buttons shouldn't be pressed whilst snorkelling (buy a Casio Frogman if you want a Casio SCUBA specific dive watch).

3) Snorkelling/free diving could be done at least to 200m (if possible, record 214m!!) without any water ingression. 

 An old dive buddy of mine once took his Casio G- Shock on a dive just to see and it easily handled 22m without any water ingression, it was fun to see. So 200m rating, yeah no problems LOL! However, I wouldn't at all recommend a non ISO watch for SCUBA, one has to trust their lives to an reliable time piece at depth.

*Dive watches need to be (should be) ISO rated against water ingression (eg like the Casio Frogman) over a certain period of time underwater and at depth and if any buttons can be pressed either purposefully or accidentally, they must not allow the ingression of water into the watch.

Temperature Measurements and Charging.

Note the temperature only after a few minutes sitting outside in afternoon full sun during winter on the north east coast of Australia.

Firstly read your manual (if you have one). Maybe you didn't get a manual because you may have purchased the watch secondhand or as a "gray import". However, the manual has some gems of information within it's pages of fine print!

With the Mudmaster there are some quirks and what Casio do not make a big deal about, because it is a HUGE negative for those who actually want to use this watch model for it's intended purposes and not just as some wanky daily wearer to look cool (because if ur looking cool then maybe one doesn't care whether all the functions are working or not-sorry, no apologies, that's the facts Ma'am!).

The Parts you should know about charging (you should have read this if you are an owner)

It (GWG 1000 and GWG 2000) requires at least 8min of 50,000Lux sunlight  for one day of operation. 50,000 lux is like a sunny day but not without some clouds. For example, a 100,000 lux is a full sunny cloudless day.

So therefore  30 minutes of exposure of this type would result in approximately almost 4 days of operation.

@ 10,000 lux (full sun through window) 30min for one days operation.

@ 5,000 Lux (cloudy day through window) 48 minutes for one day.

@500 Lux (Fluorescent lighting) 8 hours for one day operation.

This "day" of operation though is dependent upon what power level one is at. In other words for full functionality one must be at power level M and at least the "top" part of M, ie power level 2. (read on below for an explanation).

Compare the above with say, a Citizen Promaster 300m Professional diving watch which requires around 2min of full sun (100,000 lux) for one days operation. 

We must remember though not to compare because the G-Shock Mudmaster has many functions to provide power to and not just power up some hands on what is basically an uncrowded watch face if compared to that of the Casio Mudmaster.

If you (foolishly) let your Casio Mudmaster G-Shock go flat then you will be in trouble, especially if you happen to live in regions of the world where full sun is not predicable or in little supply. Eg. the United Kingdom but not limited to.

Why? Why can't I just charge it up under the fluorescent lights?

 Surely this will be ok? Not if you want to actually wear your watch and use all of it's functions.

Here's why:

Dead Flat level 5 to Power level 3   @50,000Lux, this will take 3hrs in FULL SUN!

10,000Lux (full sun but through a window). 7hr!

5,000 Lux (light through a window, cloudy day). 10hr

So what works at power level 3? Well basically nothing LOL!

Auto, manual receive, illumination, beeper and sensor operation, all disabled and secondhand jumps every 2 seconds. One does not want to see the second hand jumping every 2 seconds because in reality it will take a lot of dedicated effort to charge the battery properly, just look at the times above.

What does work? Timer, alarm stopwatch???? Maybe, it doesn't exactly say.

NEXT

At the bottom of level 2 power setting, 23 hours of full sunlight is required (50,000 lux) to the top of level 2. That's at least an hr per day seeing full sunlight over 23 days, something which is probably not going to happen if you work in an office with tinted glass windows.

(all functions work at level 2, which corresponds to "M" as displayed upon the LCD when in "TIME" mode.

@10,000 lux Bottom of level 2 to the top of level 2, this will require 85 hours! So don't let your watch get to the bottom of level 2!!!!!! Unless you are prepared not to wear it for some time as you charge it up!

@5,000 lux equates to 137 hours!!!!!!!!! IT WON'T HAPPEN LOL in reality.

Indoor fluorescent lighting, going from the bottom of level 2 to the top, ie M, It's not going to happen either and there is no data provided by Casio for this scenario. This should be remembered for ALL office workers! OR underground miners (the latter, this is an unsuitable watch).

To get from the bottom of level 1 (which corresponds to "H" in the time mode) to the top will only take 6 hours of full full sunlight at 50,000 lux.

So if you could charge your Mudmaster GWG1000/GWG2000 for 7 straight hours in FULL SUN you would provide approximately 1.7 months of full operation if already in the "H" range.

The Crown is RED!

If you don't know, the Casio G-SHOCK GWG1000 series has a screw in crown for added water resistance to 200m (remember it is NOT a SCUBA diving watch.

If you see a RED crown then either you are changing some settings or you have forgotten to screw it back up again. This is Casio's way of helping the forgetful not to trash their watch when hands next go under water!

Here in the above image you can see the screw in crown in the unwound state (red ring clearly visible). For me this is a really great idea from CASIO. How many screw in/down crown watches have met their demise because a wearer has forgotten to screw up the crown or only partially screwed up crown has come undone by rubbing on some item and then let water in to fry the electronics or the mechanics? 

Casio even state in their manuals not to wear these watches in environments of high humidity??? Are they joking? What's the point of wearing a watch if you are going to be taking it off every 5 seconds?? Come on Casio, what gives?

One of the things we learn as proficient divers is to always check the crown of our dive watches. Now the GWG 1000 and 2000 series of watches are not dive watches but all the more important for wearers to make sure the crown is always secure after using it to change various functions within this model range.

Long Term Durability of the MUDMASTER

Know that these essentially plastic watches easily get dinged up compared to full metal bodied watch cases. They are after all built mainly out of plastic; call it resin or whatever, it's still plastic. So if this will bother you, then stick with a regular full metal bodied watch case, as they will never let you down when it comes to heavy physical abuse to the case.

Being a polymer, the MUDMASTER'S despite their great resistance to chemical attack, we are still warned in the manuals not to expose these watches to organic solvents such as gasoline and thinners. These solvents would not of course have any effects upon a metal case watch, although probably affect the respective band materials in some way.

How Tough is the GWG 1000??

The Mudmaster promotional videos also suggest toughness but that's one thing they are definitely NOT and that is tough, they can resist shock like no tomorrow but in order to do this they really need to be made out of plastic (with exceptions of the premium models where much science has gone into making them both tough and shock resistant (at a price of course).

This nasty gash was sustained after I tumbled upon my gluteus maximus  whilst out adventuring. My rucksack taking the brunt of the fall and my arms and legs like some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle flailing in the air and in so doing, the watch bashed into the said rock and got that small gash! Of course, it is after all as I said plastic and not steel.(and as I understand a replaceable part from Casio) but I'm over it now :(!

Fogging Issues

Unfortunately, this model has been plagued with fogging issues right from the very start. So bad is it that Casio even acknowledge this in their manuals by stating that it is NORMAL for the watch to fog up briefly after rapid temperature excursions from hot to cold. The above picture was taken moments after the watch, equilibrated at around 24C  for several hours was plunged into rather cold waters of below 20C in a tropical/sub tropical environment! (for this review) 

Ever so slightly fogged**. The fogging did however pass the moment I wiped my much warmer thumb across the watch crystal, ie with just a slight temperature change from my not so vampiric body heat.

For me this (the humidity issue) is not really acceptable and demonstrates that Casio have a problem with manufacturing in high humidity environments and haven't bothered to solve this issue. Either that or the resin is capable of outgassing over time and readily absorbs water at east on it's outer structure and once cased up this moisture become apparent.  Even my Citizen dive watches ad Seiko dive watches DO NOT and have NEVER ever FOGGED up even with temperature extremes of 20C!!!! 

So if you decide to purchase one of these watches then you may have to accept possible fogging under high temperature differentials.

When a manufacturer has to give some "excuse" about their products means that they just can not solve this issue.

Ok enough said; If I haven't put you off (because it is a great watch) please check out my many video reviews showing it in action in the real world and not on someone's desk being handled with cotton gloves on. These videos tell it like it is in the real world.

Plus here's a neat hack for a TPU screen protector, which is perfect to lessen a direct impact to the sapphire watch crystal.

BCT

PS, If you have never worn a "plastic watch" before, an added advantage is that it is virtually not possible to  damage anything accidentally by belting against it with one of these plastic cased watches. The number of times I've accidentally scratched some item because of my watch; I've lost count!

**Actually (18/08/23) I've tried to duplicate this again and could not produce it! Who knows???