Casio Men's Pathfinder Triple Sensor Multi-Function Sport Watch Blue Nylon Strap

If your use cases align with the strengths outlined below.TL;DR - It's a mixed bag but overall this watch is a good value and works well.I bought this watch for use at the beach and while sailing. I've had it for about a month now and found it to perform well overall but it definitely has some issues you should be aware of.The Good:Barometer - This is a great feature. It tells you the current pressure as well as how your current reading differs from your last reading (is pressure going up or down). It also has a chart of the past 2 hours (I think) of readings so you can see the trend over time. This is a great way to see if a storm might be on it's way.Sunrise/Sunset - When I'm at the beach I love to watch sunrise and sunset. This watch let's you know exactly what times these will occur based on your latitude and longitude. It's pretty easy to configure and once you have it set up the first time you can access the data with the press of a button.World Time - Having another time zone available on my watch face is really useful for conducting business in a global company. I have World Time set to LON which shows me the time in London where there is an office that I interact with often. I like the fact that you configure the time zone using the first few letters of the city name, makes it easier to set in my opinion.Weight - This watch is nice and light. Some people think that a heavy watch means quality but people also pay a lot of money to ensure their watch does not feel heavy and cumbersome on their wrist. I believe this watch is very well made based on my usage and I appreciate that it is light so it is less noticeable on my wrist.Face - Large enough numbers and generally easy to read. I have not had any trouble reading the watch face during the day (I'll discuss night viewing later in this review).Waterproof - So far so good. I spent a ton of time in salt water so far and I have not had any issues. I rinse the watch off with fresh water after it has been in salt water and that is my entire cleaning plan at this point in time.The Bad:Accidental button presses - The position of the barometer button means that I often accidentally press the button when my wrist bends at the proper angle. This happens much more often than I thought it would. It's inconvenient to want to look at your watch to see the time and the barometric pressure is showing instead. This should not be a deal breaker for most people but it gets annoying.Setting any number up or down - This one is a bit baffling to me. Maybe someone can give me a good explanation in the comments. When you change a setting and need to change a number up, you press the altimeter button which is located towards the bottom pf the watch when it is facing you. Likewise if you want to adjust a number down you would press the compass button which is located towards the top of the watch face. This is just opposite of what I expected and bothers me whenever I change a setting.Light - It's weak. It doesn't light up the watch face enough. This is not a problem after you've been in the dark for a long time and your eyes have adjusted but it's a major problem when your eyes have not adjusted yet. It could be a bit brighter to accommodate both situations.Surround color - I thought the watch surround would be more of a navy blue color. In reality it's more of a dark purple. This isn't a major issue but it could be important to some people.Compass is very sensitive to horizontal angle - The compass reading can change pretty significantly based upon how level (or not) the watch face is. On a sailboat this is problematic. This would be much less of a problem if you are hiking.Other important things to note:Watch band - The watch band is very sturdy and I have not had any issues with odors. It is a combination of fabric and leather. Any portion of the band that touches your skin is made of leather. It is quite stiff initially and takes a while to break in and get comfortable.Compass Calibration - If you really want the compass to be useful you need to calibrate it. The procedure is not easy but I found a great video detailing the steps... Go to youtube and search for "Easy Calibrate Compass on Casio prw2500 and others"Temperature - Don't even try to get an accurate temperature reading while the watch is on your wrist. It needs to be off of your body for about 30 minutes to give the watch time to equalize and shed the heat absorbed from your body.No automatic transition from timer to stopwatch - If you are into sailboat racing this is not the right watch for you. There is no function (not that I have discovered anyway) that automatically transitions from countdown (timer) to stopwatch. There are other watches out there that can accommodate this use case.Size - I have a large arm, wrist, and hand. This is a large watch. It fits my body well but if you are on the smaller side it MIGHT be too big for you. I included a few photos for reference.Would I buy this watch again? Yes, I really feel this watch is a god value overall. It has it's quirks but I am happy with it. If I were serious about racing sailboats I would look for something else.

I like my PAG240B.The PAG240 is an upgrade of the PAG40. It’s an ABC watch (altitude, barometer, compass). Many reviews call it a mid-level ABC, but in I think it is the lowest priced ABC Casio offers (and I think the best bang for the buck).In addition to the ABC features, this watch also measures temperature.The features the PAG240B lacks over the other more expensive Casio Pro Trek watches are: Atomic (self setting via radio), tide, and moon phase. All are features I don’t need in an ABC watch.You could pay a lot for a Pro Trek which has exactly the same features, having only the addition of the atomic function.The PAG240 models have a 24 hr stopwatch, which is the minimum I would think those interested in an ABC watch would require. For example, if you were timing how long it took you to hike a long trail, or your door-to-door time in world travel, 60 minutes won’t do. A lot of the more expensive models only have a 60 minute stopwatch.There are several models of the PAG240, differing only in color and wrist band. The PAG240B is dark blue, with a high contrast screen, and has a dark blue nylon band.I prefer the nylon band for a outdoor watch, on account that it won’t scuff like a rubber band or resin band will. It also won’t break. That’s a big plus.A typical nylon band suffers the disadvantage that if you sweat, it will get into the weave and eventually smell. That can be easily remedied by washing it with soap and water. However, the inside of this nylon band has a faux leather lining. Therefore it won’t get nearly as much sweat into the nylon weave as a typical nylon band (such as Free Style). I have never had this band smell.The faux leather did eventually start to come up on the edges. I glued it back with contact cement. There are NATO bands on eBay that I have seen photos of people using if you eventually want to replace the nylon band. However, you’d need to save the pieces on your nylon band that attach to the watch and fit the NATO band into those.I’ve had my PAG240 for about two years, and so far, have not replaced the original nylon band.Comparison to the Suunto CoreThose of your considering a Casio PAG240 should also look at the Suunto Core (which also come in various colors and with various bands).My fundamental concerns with the Core is:Its not solar (to be discussed later).Many early reviews reported significant quality control problems. I don’t know if that has been resolved, but it is something to be aware of.Cost. Depending upon which models you compare, there can be a $100 difference between the PAG240’s and the Core’s.The two models have very similar specifications. But the Core appears to have more user functions. It has more logging functions, more alarm functions (e.g., bad weather alarm), can measure depth under water up to 10 m, and has a finer resolution on the altimeter (1 m instead of 5 m).Given the above, I think the real advantage to the Core is appearance. Its a stunning looking watch. You could wear it to business meetings or to a nice restaurant, whereas the PAG240 is unabashedly an outdoor watch. It looks like something an Eagle Scout might wear, and if formal appearance is something you care about, probably not the watch you would wear to the opera.The Core altimeter measures in 1 meter increments, whereas the Casio is in 5 meter increments (you can set it to feet). Some reviewers therefore say the Core is more accurate than the Casio.Comparing these watches, there are two advantages to the Casio that I see, and one to the Core.The PAG240 is solar, whereas the Core runs on replaceable batteries (to be discussed later).The Casio is less expensive. Using the REI website as an example, the PAG240B can be $100 less than the Core, depending upon which model you compare it to.The Casio Pro Trek line (Pathfinder) and the Casio G-Shock line are very different. G-Shock has, for lack of a better term, an appeal to urban youth fashion. G-Shocks come in different colors, have layered 3D-like faces, negative LCD displays, and graphics.The Pro Trek’s appeal is in the functionality. You’re not going to win a fashion contest with a Pro Trek.To get a feel for the user interface on this watch and what the various screens look like, I recommend you watch YouTube reviews of it.This watch is solar, and that’s very handy (to be discussed later).Comment on SolarThe advantage to solar is that your watch won’t die at an inopportune moment. ABC watches in particular consume a lot of power. I’ve read batteries in the Core last a little over a year. The older non-solar Casio PAG40 manual listed its battery life as 18 months.The Core battery is easy to change, and you can preemptively change your batteries before you go on a big hiking excursion or overseas trip (which is the application I bought the watch for), but that’s one more thing you have to remember to do. Cost is not an issue - batteries are cheap. It’s the inconvenience of being without a watch when you need one that makes solar advantageous.To put it in perspective, suppose you were on a tour in Europe where there are tightly scheduled activities every day. If your watch dies, you either have to buy another watch, go without, or spend half a day looking for batteries, which means you might miss one of the activities that you paid for. Watch batteries dying on a trip are not common, but I’ve seen it happen more than once.For travel, I highly recommend a solar watch. Casio makes a host of solar watches. So does Citizen (their Eco Drive line).If you’re thinking of buying a used solar watch on eBay, there is something you should be aware of. Some solar watches (though none of mine - and I own several) have been reported not to hold a charge. I leave mine in bay window, but not in direct sunlight.I have seen pictures of used solar watches on eBay (e.g., the Casio GW2500) whose charging indicator shows M. That’s “medium”. I saw a used PAG240B that showed M. That could indicate the watch is not holding a charge. I’d recommend not buying a used solar watch if the picture shows the charging anything less than H (high).I know a guy who has a Citizen Eco Drive that has been running over ten years. I know of a guy that has a solar Swatch that has been running over twenty-five years. I expect my solar Casios to run upwards of thirty years. But if you get one and have reason to believe the battery is not holding a charge like it should, return it and have the re-chargeable battery replaced. I’ve never met anyone who has had this problem, but you will read an occasional rare blog where that seems to have happened.AccuracyMy PAG240B keeps unusually good time. Initially it lost about one second every ten days. After about six months it begain to gain one second a week. That’s exceptional. My three other G-Shocks gain about 15 sec/month. The PAG240B is listed at +/- 15 s/mo, but does far better than that. I’ve read other reviews that say the same. I have read reports that the accuracy of the Core is not particularly good.Minor comment on setting the PAG240B seconds:After ten days, when my watch is 1 second behind, I reset it. To do this, I put it in the set mode (seconds flashing), wait until the 59 comes up, and reset. What I’d like to point out, is that even though I do this at 59 seconds, the minute still rolls over.So if the reading is 5 minutes and 59 seconds. And I reset the seconds. It will jump to 6 minutes and 00 seconds - which is exactly what I want.That’s a nice little feature.Casios Will ScratchCasio advertises their watches as “tough”. In particular, that is the motto of the G-Shock line.While it is true they are very shock resistant (versus a mechanical windup type watch), and they are very waterproof, one thing they are not “tough” about is that they scratch easily. This is because they are made of plastic.This watch is definitely larger than average, will bulge out more on your wrist than with your other watches, and therefore is even more vulnerable to your accidentally banging it into things.Treat a Casio well. Don’t do things like change the oil on your car, or go rock climbing, while wearing any watch, let alone a watch like this. If you have to pick up heavy things (furniture, boxes), take your watch off and put it in your pocket. That’s good “watch hygiene” in general, but particularly important for a Casio.Eventually you’re going to be doing something like hiking down into the Grand Canyon, slip on some gravel on the trail, put your hand out to break your fall, and lo and behold, your watch is going to be scratched. Its unavoidable. But if you treat it well, you can keep it to a minimum.Casio advertises the PAG240T as “titanium”. I haven’t examined one in person, but my reading says that only the band on this model is metal. The case and bezel are still resin. Some people like metal link bands, but I don’t think the face of the Titanium model is going to be anymore scratch resistant than any of other PAG240’s.If you get a model of the PAG240 other than the B or T, they will have a rubber strap (T has a metal link band). When putting the watch on and off, try to keep the resin or rubber strap straight (don’t bend it) when passing it through the buckle. If you bend the band, it will eventually break. Casio bands are often hard to find and expensive.That’s an advantage to the B, which has a nylon band. It will never break. I will say, the loop that you slide the band into to keep it from flopping, is made of plastic. I wish it were nylon weave. I suspect its possible the loop will break or tear if not treated carefully. I treat mine well, but if it does eventually break or tear, I’ll just make another one out of nylon.If you get a Casio with a resin or rubber band that you think you are going to keep a long time, it might be worth considering buying an extra band (they are often available on eBay).ABC Watches are a Supplementary ToolIf your life depends upon a compass, get a good magnetic compass (e.g., Brunton).If you’re application is traveling in a foreign city where you don’t speak the language, get a hand held GPS (e.g., Garmin eTrex for $100).I have a $100 GPS, and its great. I mark my hotel before I go out. It doesn’t have street maps, but I can check that the hotel is three miles “that way”. I’ve used it a number of times when I was mildly lost.And don’t forget this important travel tip; always take a hotel card with you from the hotel desk, so that if you had to hire a taxi to get you back, without speaking the language, you could just show the hotel card to the driver.If navigation is your application, and you can only afford one item, get the Garmin eTrex ($100), and just wear a less expensive watch. The Garmin should be a higher priority. You can get a solar Casio G2310 for a hundred bucks on Amazon. That and a Garmin eTrex are about the same cost of a PAG240.Having said that, ease of use counts for a lot. It means you are more likely use it. An ABC watch is on your wrist and always on.Comment on the Altimeter and CompassThe altimeter is barometric. That’s a good thing. If it were GPS it would consume a lot of power (which means it couldn’t be solar) and would be a lot more expensive.A barometric altimeter needs to be calibrated, however, when the pressure changes due to weather. A lot of reviewers don’t seem to understand that. Its not a problem. But it means just sitting on your porch, the altitude could show to vary by a hundred feet over the course of the day, if a storm moved through.This watch has a reasonable altimeter. You just need to know its barometric.The compass.One problem with the compass is that I find I have to calibrate it frequently. More frequently than the compass on my Casio Mudman G9300. The good news is that it can be calibrated.The virtual needle displays only to 16 points on the circle (every 22.5 degrees). But the digital readout is to every degree.What that means, is that if your watch was pointed at 13 degrees, it would display at NNE (22.5 deg), but read out 13 degrees.In the above case, I rotate the bezel to about 13 deg in the top position.That’s not a problem for what I do. Just something you need to know.Of course you can buy a regular magnetic compass that will do more, and cost a lot less. It just won’t be as convenient, and won’t be as fun.The Alarm is Weak?Several reviews have claimed the alarm on this model is unusually quiet.I have compared the alarm on the PAG240 to two other solar Casio G-Shocks I own (GW5600 & GW7900), and it seems to be the same volume and duration. The countdown timer on the Pro Trek is shorter duration.HOWEVER, my solar watches have half the duration of my battery powered Casio G9000 Mudman. The G9000 even has a flash alert, which is handy.Solar powered watches are more stingy with their energy than a conventional battery powered watch.If this is potentially a big issue to you, I suggest you try to look at the watch in person. REI carries them. I’ve never heard the alarm on a Suunto Core, but I read a review that said the alarm was the same volume as that of the Casio.I consider the alarm supplementary. If I really need to wakeup, I don’t rely on it. A small $10 quartz travel alarm does the trick.You Can Download the Watch ManualThe manual is thick. This watch has a lot of features and you won’t remember how to do everything. You can download pdf manuals for free from the Casio website. The pdf is very readable on my Google Nexus. Handy pointer for traveling.Eyesight and Digital WatchesFor a digital watch, either you have to have good eyesight, or you have to wear glasses. I wear progressive lens glasses, and can see the smaller numbers on this watch. If you only wear reading glasses, you’ll find any digital watch frustrating. That’s because you’ll have to pull out your glasses and put them on every time you want to see the face, but particularly for a complex multifunction watch like this.The regular time display on the PAG240 is substantially larger than on most other Casio watches.A Couple Cons to the PAG240- The rotating bezel has deep grooves around it which isn’t obvious in photos. While it rotates smoothy and performs its function well, I would not want to get sand or dirt in the grooves. All rotating bezels have this vulnerability, but this one it would seem in particular. That being said, as of yet, I have gotten no grit in the grooves.The two buttons, ADJUST & LIGHT, which are side by side, are small and relatively stiff to press. They’re stiff for a good reason. You don’t want to accidentally press Adjust. But I wish the buttons were a little bigger.The PAG240B is FunMore than anything else, this watch is fun. That’s the point. Its not a Tricorder, but getting there.I think this model is the best bang for the buck in the Pro Trek line. Its the lowest priced ACB watch Casio offers, yet has the functionality of the expensive units.Wearing a watch like this probably makes you look like a geeky tourist. Big deal. You’ll fit right in with the other hikers, birdwatchers, and physically fit travelers.