Awhile ago, Luke Smith made a video talking about how Toyota cars are the ThinkPads of cars. I'd like to draw attention to what is the ThinkPad of watches: the Casio watch, or, more specifically, the G-Shock.
To start with, G-Shock watches are indestructible. They have a high water resistance rating of 200 meters of pressure - this doesn't necessarily mean you can go diving with it up to 200m (because when you move your hand underwater you quickly create pockets of high or low pressure around the watch), but it does mean that you can do light diving as well as any swimming or showering with it on without issue. I've thrown my DW5600E-1V to the bottom of chlorinated swimming pools multiple times, I've swam with it in the Pacific Ocean, and I shower with it on every day with no problem - it still looks brand new. The name "G-Shock" also specifically refers to its resistance to physical shocks from being dropped from heights - again I've tossed my DW5600 off of a second floor balcony onto concrete and it was fine. Mine have also survived in 110 degree Farenheit heat in both a desert and humidity. This is combined with a reliable and accurate quartz movement, and a long-lasting battery. The rated battery life, usually two years, assumes you press the light button like 5 times a day; if you only press it once every couple days, then it will last a significantly long time, usually outlasting the resin strap of the watch.
With the DW5600, the display is extremely easy to read as well from any angle besides the extreme right side. It's visible even in low light conditions, and there's also an electro-luminescent backlight which is fantastic. Overall, the watch has this nice rugged appearance to it that is only really matched by a ThinkPad laptop - with the chunky, squared, black aesthetic.
I personally own a DW5600E-1V and a GA-100L-7A. I have done almost everything I've done with the DW5600 with the GA-100L-7A as well and it also survived it all, but the latter has this obnoxious ana-digi display which is very hard to read depending on the time of day (the clock hands can block the digital displays) and the light conditions (impossible to read at even moderately low light, the only light the watch has is a single LED which barely illuminates the hands). It's a little expensive too, at $75-100. Ultimately, I much prefer the 5600 which only costs around $40 and is much more legible, and therefore practical, in many more situations. Really there's just more information visible on the face all the time and it's all much clearer to read.
Again, to emphasize, the price of the DW5600 (which I would probably recommend) is only $40. Pretty much a steal for that price. If it was to somehow break, or the battery died/strap broke, you could just buy a new one without any major heartache.
The only negative I have with the DW5600 is that it has a recessed adjust button. This is good for keeping you from accidentally adjusting the time on your watch when you're doing various activities, but the problem is that the adjust button is also used to reset the timer and stopwatch, and the button is (to me with my big fingers) extremely hard to press. This makes the watch annoying to use every day, even though I do prefer it greatly over the GA-100L-7A still.
G-Shocks also use a resin (soft plastic) strap, which some people can be allergic to or get a rash from. I don't personally have a problem with it, but if you do, there's strap adapters so that you can swap out the resin strap with a cheap and effective nylon (NATO) strap instead. I've heard that nylon straps are a little uncomfortable when wet, which is not a problem with the resin strap, but I also know people who strongly prefer it even in water, so it's really a personal preference thing.
If I had to recommend a model, it seems that the DW9052-1V, though a little different from the DW5600 and not as aesthetically pleasing, has much easier to press buttons and all the same features and information on the digital display, which might make that model (or similar ones, there's tons of colors of every G-Shock model) one of the best buys. I highly recommend owning some G-Shock or watch in general in any case - it reduces your dependence on cell phones and computers and makes accessing the time quicker and easier than pulling out a cell phone the size of a VHS tape and blinding yourself with white light to see the time in the middle of the night. Even with my gripes about the adjust button, the DW5600 is one of my best purchases I've ever made, and I highly value it.
June 27, 2022