S. Zimdahl

28 de julio de 2021

Great watch

My review is for the watch face and not the band, because I absolutely cannot stand the polymer wristbands on modern watches, this watch being no exception. Replaced with a canvas band and it's now the best and most comfortable watch I've ever owned.I needed a watch that was waterproof, shock resistant, and that had solar charging. This is the best watch I could find that has those features that was relatively affordable. The additional functions just seemed interesting and were a bonus to me. This review may not stand up for someone who uses this watch for adventuring, and personally I wouldn't want all those functions in a watch vs a dedicated tool if I was trying to accurately judge the weather, altitude, navigation, etc.The functions, as far as I can tell, are accurate. Barometer seems to line up with the weather patterns in my area though I'm not an expert on it and only have some light reading as reference as to what the readings actually mean. I don't climb enough mountains to say if the altimeter works, though it is accurate to the elevation of my home. Compass seems consistent and accurate, which is one of the only functions I actually use regularly, and granted I'm not doing land NAV so I only need a general sense of NSWE. I don't know if I would trust a digital compass for navigation unless it was getting location data from GPS or something but it's accurate enough to find your way back to a main road if you got turned around in the woods.More importantly to me, the time is very accurate. I've had it for several months and it is still accurate down to the second when I initially set it (compared to my phone's clock which gets updated daily). The solar charging works great. I haven't had to leave it exposed to sunlight to charge it like many people online recommend to do; it gets plenty of charge just from me wearing it and whatever ambient light is inside my house. I haven't gone more than a week without having it on outside so your mileage may vary, but I expect even sitting on a dresser is enough to keep it charged. Also something I didn't realize I needed but that comes in extremely handy is the automatic light mode. You just lift the watch to eye level and the light comes on. Working early morning shifts before the sun comes up it's really nice to see the time without having to press the button, which is especially difficult if you're wearing gloves.My only complaint is the learning curve of the buttons on this thing. The 3 buttons on the right side are labeled and the left 2 buttons are not. The left side is what gets me mixed up as it controls additional timer/stopwatch/alarm settings and cycles various data displays on the other modes. With some practice the left side buttons become easier to use but without referring to the manual I struggled for the first week or so remembering how to use half the timing functions on this watch. I still sometimes hold down the wrong button to get back to standard time mode and end up going into the programming mode. Not a big deal because you can just press it again to get out of it but when you're just trying to see the time it can be a little irritating. I think it also reverts back to the time mode after 30-60 seconds for whatever mode you're in so if you REALLY can't figure it out, it will eventually do it for you. If I used the other functions more often I'm sure I would get better with it so I think this is a use case for me, and not necessarily a typical user.Ver más

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Keith Travels

Great ABC triple sensor watch with a great price

I decided to put this review up as a few reviewers have issues with the accuracy of the altimeter readings, and may not understand the limitations of these watches:Design======The PRG270 is smaller than some of the older Protrek models, due to the smaller sensor, and they have moved the sensor location from the 10 o'clock to the 9 o'clock position. The triple sensor makes these watches sometimes called ABC watches as they have Altitude, Barometer & Compass readouts. The smaller design makes it easier to wear everyday, however the face is still relatively busy, with the case having front raised sections (at the 12, 3, 6 & 9) with indents. The sensor at the 9 o'clock position sits higher than the raised section at the 3 o'clock position. The crystal is recessed nicely as usual on Casio G-Shocks and Protreks.I wish the design could look more like the PRW3000, which is cleaner and more stylish IMHO Casio Men's PRW-3000-1ACR Protrek Digital Display Japanese Quartz Black Watch, but is also 3 times more expensive. The display is similar to the other Protreks, divided into three sections. The top section has a dotmatrix display and can show the date, or altitude/barometric graphs, the middle section is the time, and the lower section is the seconds.The watch is light, mine weighs about 67 grams (2.36 ounces), and has 10Bar water resistance, which means it is ok in a rain shower, or shallow swim, but it wouldn't be ok with a scuba dive. I have only had this watch in the rain, and it functions fine.One issue with the PRG270 is the strap uses a 18mm spring lug, so if you wanted to put a wider Nato/Zulu strap, you'd need an adapter.Features=======- EL backlight, this is nice and bright, and the EL button is still on the front, they have moved the adjust button on older Protreks from the front to the 10 o'clock position. You can still set this for Automatic, and set it for 1 or 3 second display.- Date display - on the Time display, you can change date to Day&Date, or Month&Date, or Barometric Graph only (no date).- Setting time - this is a breeze. when you get the watch is preset to Tokyo time. Changing the Time zone to your location, and checking if Daylight Saving Time (DST) applies, and voila - the time is set and easy to change if you travel. The secondary timezone is set by picking various preset cities. I have not had any issue with the time accuracy so far.- Stopwatch/Countdown TImer (24 hours max)/Alarm - All standard, but the alarm lets you have 5 individual alarms, and the alarm is louder and longer than my Suunto Core watches.- Sunrise/Sunset - this is also a breeze to set. The PRG270 lets you input the longitude and latitude of your location for accurate sunrise/sunset times. Compared with my Suunto Core watches which only lets me choose nearest cities.- Power save - I have set this to on, and the watch will display will go off overnight, or after a period of unuse to conserve battery. You can wake it up by pressing any button.Altimeter/Barometer (This is from my previous reply comment to a review on the altimeter readings)=======All altimeter watches without GPS embedded will calculate the estimate of altitude by changes in air (barometric) pressure.Air pressure can change due to many things, like change in elevation, change in weather, your physical location and wind. So for example, if you get a low pressure system coming through over night, while you leave your watch on the table, it could appear that you have ascended a few hundred feet in your sleep. Similarly, if you take the watch on a commercial airplane, it will not give you a reading on the actual altitude, but a lower altitude, based on the pressure within the cabin. If you fly in an unpressurized aircraft, it will give you a more accurate altitude reading. I have taken a Suunto Core with me when I've been in a few prop aircraft, and used it as a secondary altimeter in skydiving, and it has been fairly accurate after calibration. I'll take the Casio up next time and see how it goes.Also, I have found that the altimeter and barometer readings tend to vary with temperature, and gives marginally more accurate readings off the wrist especially if I have been hiking and my wrist is warm.I also have a few Suunto Core watches, and the Suunto Core is quite clever in the way it calculates the altitude. If you leave it in altitude logging, it will gain elevation as you physically climb up, as the barometric pressure changes faster than it does when the weather changes, so it realises you are climbing. But once you stop climbing for a while, it realises this and any slight air pressure changes it takes as weather change, and not altitude gain or loss. The Casio doesn't have this feature.For accurate altimeter readings you still need to calibrate your altimeter watch to your reference altitude on a fairly regular basis. I do this when I want to log altitudes before a hike/climb. An easy way to do this is to check Google Earth which gives accurate altitude readings when you put your location. You can then calibrate the barometric pressure from your local meteorology service (I take mine from their website on the day I calibrate).If kept properly calibrated during a day that has fairly stable weather, they should prove to be very accurate overall. In varying weather conditions, you will see some variation. Again, it's essential to know the reference altitude to get back on track.Still, this can vary, and the altimeter watch is not a scientific instrument, but only designed to give you an estimate on current altitude. For example, on a recent trek to Mt Everest Base Camp, I ran a few loggers, including a barometric altimeter, and on the return trek later in the day because I was exhausted, I didn't recalibrate the altimeter at the known peak height, the altimeter log showed an altitude difference of about 10 metres (see here imgur.com/8XrW0iD)So if you are after an altimeter watch for accurate altitude readings at specific location, without daily calibration, the Casio PRG 270 it is not the right tool for you.The accuracy of the altimeter when properly calibrated is pretty close when I've compared it with my Suunto Core watches, Garmin handheld GPSs and altitude markers on trails. I usually the watch strapped to my backpack strap when hiking, so it doesn't get thrown out by my body temperature.Also, I haven't checked how fast the altimeter updates. It seems ok for hiking, but I haven't taken readings and monitored it while bike riding for example. The newer V3 Sensor has reduced the time required to measure altitude from 5 seconds previously to 1 second now, and the altitude measurement unit has been improved from five metres to one metre.The temperature reading in the barometer was pretty accurate, but I've noticed it can get wierd with rapid changes in temperature. For example, if you have left the watch by the window to solar charge, the temperature will be wrong for about half an hour until the watch and sensor cools down, and you get a more accurate measurement. You should only calibrate the temperature when the watch has cooled to normal temperature, and I have done this with a high accuracy thermometer. The temperature reading it gives includes 1 decimal place. In my Suunto Core, it only displayed the nearest degree, but after calibration, both Suunto watches and the PRG270 are pretty accurate on temperature off wrist.Altimeter logs - the watch has enough memory to store 30 logs, and 14 trek logs, but I think the Suunto is better here as it can record more.Compass========As with all electronic compasses, it will get interferences from other magnetic sources, and may not be accurate on boats, planes, trains, or even in some buildings where the ferroconcrete magnetism causes inaccurate readings. That said, I have had good experiences with the compass, in those conditions. The magnetic compass can be set for magnetic declination, and you can still display the time in Compass mode. The top section can be set to display the bearing (0°-360°) or the direction (N,S,E,W, etc).You have to have the watch level with the ground to get an accurate compass reading, and it is easy to calibrate by holding the adjust button down. You should only calibrate when way from other magnetic sources. I do this when I'm starting a hike, away from the car, but always carry a real compass and maps if going out bush.If you leave it in compass mode it will stop the compass to save battery.Summary=======Overall, for the price, this is a very good triple sensor watch that because of the smaller size from previous Protreks you can use for everyday wear. If you understand the limitations of ABC watches (they are not intended as precision instruments), this is a great first ABC watch.

LibertyToad

15 de febrero de 2026

Crazy amount of features--great watch.

What a nice watch. It has a ton of handy features--especially if you are a hiker. The time is very easy to see. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be, but the digits are easy to see.It is solar powered which I demand that all of my watches have. I typically prefer analog watches but this makes more sense as a digital because of the features. It has a barometric pressure gauge, altitude gauge, altitude tracking (min, max, etc), a compass, sunrise and sunset times, world time, a number of alarms, a snooze alarm, a stopwatch, and a countdown timer.The barometric pressure is surprisingly accurate on this. The altitude also works well but since barometric pressure affects altitude it will drift after a number of hours so you need to set it to the height of your location prior to setting off on a hike. It seem to be very accurate as well. Just going upstairs in my house shows a change in altitude.The compass works well too. You can set magnetic declination for it and also set a travel bearing. It is not nearly as accurate as a dedicated compass, but I think it is accurate to about 10 degrees which does give you your general direction of travel.It has a temperature sensor, but you need to take the watch off for a few minutes to get the current temperature. It does seem to be accurate.It is water resistant to 100 meters. This makes it okay for swimming and snorkeling (but not for diving). I wish it was good to 200 meters, but 100 meters is acceptable.If you set your latitude and longitude it will show the sunrise/sunset times at that location. You can also look back and forward for a few weeks to see what it will be on different days.The alarm volume could be better--it is a little too quiet. The backlight works very well. It has world time so that if you go on vacation you can set it your destination and display the current time there.It does not have atomic time. There is a new model that does have it, if you want it--I didn't want to spend that much but it is available. I can say that it is a pretty handy feature to have, but you really don't need it.It isn't the best looking watch, but it is very functional and has a ton of features. I really like it and have been wearing it more than my $600 Citizen (analog, solar, atomic time, world time, 200 meter water resistant).

Carpria

5 de noviembre de 2014

Solid watch

This is a good watch that provides solid value for your money. As the entry level in the Pro-Trek series, it gives good functionality at a reasonable price. I was really torn between replacing my previously owned Mudman 9000ms with another or, with this watch. I preferred the band of the 9000ms (I actually liked the nubs on the back) but, the readability of the PRG-270 is much, much better. It is very readable in bright light or at night using the back light. The band however, is not as comfortable and frequently pinches and pulls. I had reservations about a solar battery but, it has worked fine thus far, showing a full charge despite my wearing long sleeves most of the time. I'm not a mountain trekker, just someone who lives and works at high altitude. I can't really speak to compass functionality or temperature but, altitude and barometer work fine for my purposes. Keep in mind that altitude is displayed in meters, if you need to know feet, you'll need to multiply by 3.280. This is a mild inconvenience but, it is what it is. Lastly, the manual... printing a booklet this small is simply ridiculous. I have to pull it up online to enlarge it or start looking for a magnifying glass. This is supposed to be a manual, not a used car finance contract.Summing up, great value for the price but, take off a star for the band and the manual.Ver más

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GearGuy

19 de enero de 2015

Incredible value; great learning 'toy'; wish it had one more feature

This is my third ABC watch; I also have the original 'Pathfinder' and a Suunto Vector. Here's a few reasons why which might help you make your decision to buy this:- This watch is just the right size; big enough to operate with heavy winter gloves but not comically large.- The response time from button push to readout is very quick with this third generation sensor, about a second.- Unlike my other ABCs, I'm not concerned with draining the battery by taking frequent readings because this one is solar powered. - The battery life is estimated by Casio at 6 years, based on # of charging cycles and battery 'memory'.- The auto-light which activates when I flick my wrist is nice for one handed viewing at night. I don't find it too bright. User can select 1/5 or 3 seconds.- I like having the Sunrise/Sunset data one button push away (bottom right button while in time mode). I find myself checking it every few days to observe how that cycle is changing.- Like other ABCs, it shows pressure trends so basic forecasting can be done (assuming true altitude has been relatively constant)- The altimeter is more sensitive and precise than my other ABCs. Like some other reviewers have mentioned I can raise the watch and watch the altitude readout change by ONE meter, then back down again.The altimeter is 'precise', but to be 'accurate' you must tell it the current altitude before you start your climb. These watches interpolate altitude from a pressure/altitude lapse rate formula. The readout will track that ratio perfectly accurately, but that lapse rate (m/milibar) is only accurate in a NOAA 'standard atmosphere', which is a nominal average. Real world lapse rates vary and so will your indicated altitude for various reasons (which are all interesting to learn about). For example on a colder than standard day it will read high, and on a hotter than standard day it will read low.This watch IMO would be a great tool for a child or anyone who wants to studying many interesting subjects, lapse rates, adiabatic cooling, pressure effects on weather, and so on. Calibrating the altitude is simple, press the set button and increment the readout to your current known altitude. Having to tell an ABC watch the altitude is not absurd, and works as follows: on a recent climb of Fuji my group started from the station 5 bus terminal which we knew to be 2,300m. The summit is at 3776m and there are huts every few hundred meters of elevation. It was nice to know how 'far' until the next hut, especially the one we slept at, and then how far to the summit. A simple calculation using the altitude and time from the watch such as 'the previous 100m took one hour' gave a rough estimate of ETA; which helped to keep the group motivated.After years of using these watches, I wish Casio would incorporate one feature which I call 'altitude lock' or 'base-camp lock'. If the user knows his/her true altitude will not change for several hours, he should be able to lock the altitude readout at its current value. Any attempt to use the altimeter would show "LOCK". Then, when the climb resumed the next morning, the indicated altitude would NOT have drifted up or down due to weather changes over the past several hours; it would not be any less accurate than it was the moment the watch was locked. The new Suunto Core might have this. But one can't have it all for about $100.For what I paid, $104.99, this watch is an incredible deal; especially since I won't be spending valuable time and real money on batteries for several years.

Ultrajosh

31 de mayo de 2014

Better than expected

This watch is a great value (on Amazon) for a fully featured ABC watch (Altimeter, Barometer, Compass). It wears smaller than I expected; from the pictures I saw I was afraid it would be huge but it looks just right on my 7 1/4" wrist. It's more subdued in real life than in pictures, which I like; not flashy and it's utilitarian in appearance. Lightweight and comfortable. The display is cleaner and less busy than earlier Pro Treks and Pathfinders, with minimal extraneous graphics. It has the latest V3 sensors, identical to what's in the pricier PRW-3000 series but without the Atomic time feature; I don't miss this feature, the watch keeps great time and I'm not a super-spy who needs to synchronize watches with anyone. I couldn't justify an extra $100 just for this one feature. I was considering the all-black model with reverse LCD but I was concerned that it would be difficult to read, so I went with the positive LCD. This is also the most affordable color scheme. They have versions of this in various colors and with a nylon strap, but they are more expensive for some reason. The front of the watch is very dark gray, not black, but the strap and case of the watch are black. I really like the auto-light feature, activated by a turn of the wrist. Also, the barometer graph in the upper panel in time mode is really nice to have, and seems to be quite accurate. I wish it had the dual-LCD display of the earlier Pro Treks, with the colored compass lines, but you can't have everything. The dots for the compass display are less sexy, but get the job done. One minor glitch is that if you have power-saving mode on and leave it in the dark, the alarm doesn't go off in the morning (since it's asleep). I turned off power saving and now the snooze alarm wakes me up every day and I've never run out of juice. I think the lack of the Atomic feature actually increases the solar battery life so power saving isn't really necessary. According to other reviews the alarm is louder than older models, but I sometimes miss hearing it in a noisy environment like a restaurant or on a city street. I'm glad I went for this one, it's a bargain on Amazon, and I don't have any remorse or guilt about the purchase. Not sure I would feel the same way if I had spent $200+ for it.Ver más