Casio - mens watches Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic (GW2310-1)

I bought this watch in Feb 2017, so it is nearing 9 years with me as of the writing of this review. Not much to add from what others have said here. It is kind of a Goldilocks of watches really; rugged, easy-read display, comfortable, water resistant, solar, atomic time keeping. After all of this it is affordable too? I have a hand me down Apple watch from my kiddo, and like this Casio better! The only complaint I have is that one of the retaining bands (it comes with 2) used to hold the strap slack in place gave out on me and the other is very worn. Replacement straps are not easy to find even on Amazon, and the authentic "Casio" replacement has few reviews and many are negative. I still give it five stars because I'm a fan of the company and because they have corrected this issue with most of their releases over the last decade.

I purchased this G-Shock model for three primary reasons: 1) atomic timekeeping, 2) solar charging, and 3) readability. I have found over the years of owning G-Shocks that these are the three most important features to me. Atomic timekeeping means that this is a "set and forget it" timepiece. Solar charging means that I never have to open the watch to replace a battery, keeping it water-tight for the life of the watch. Finally, have you ever noticed how "busy" and crowded some of the G-Shock watch faces are? In some cases, it makes it really difficult for older (not ancient, mind you!) eyes to read the time at a quick glance. This model is a basic, no-nonsense EDC. It doesn't have an altimeter, heart rate monitor, GPS, thermometer, or whatever. The watch I wear doesn't really need those things because I think there are better specialized tools for those jobs anyway. It does have the tools I do need in a watch though like a stopwatch, timer, alarm, day/date, back lighting, military time display, and world time. If you need more in terms of lap timers for swimming and fitness training activities, there may be better options for that. Otherwise, this is a tremendous watch. The atomic function works flawlessly. It actually works while on my wrist. I was up late gaming with one of my sons and I noticed that it was setting the time while I was playing on the PS4! My atomic watches in the past were much more finicky. Those things had to be placed in a particular spot in the house, pointing in a particular direction, the voodoo witch doctor had to shake a chicken foot over it, and then maybe it would pick up the signal. Not anymore! When I received the watch from Amazon, it was completely dead with no charge at all. It appeared to have come directly from the manufacturer and had not been out on display or anything like that. It took a couple of days (it's winter time and cloudy up north right now), but now it's good and charged up. Be advised that it can take a little time to get charged to the "High" level, but once there, these watches tend to hold the charge for a long time with the power save feature active. Give it a good bit of sunshine once every few months and you'll never have a problem. The readability on this watch is excellent. Casio did a nice job of keeping the view uncluttered. Many of the G-Shocks suffer from lots of "stuff" on their faces. The older models suffer from the three-eye syndrome that shrinks the size of the useful information you want to see in lieu of useless little circles that nobody needs or cares about. This watch increases the size of the useful information and uses a white background to increase readability. The obvious thing about this watch, of course, is that it's a G-Shock. It is essentially the toughest mass produced watch in the world. Good luck killing it in the normal course of everyday wear. Among other things, I like to go snorkeling and skin diving on vacation, so this will be going with me for those activities with no worries. If these are good enough for Navy SEALS and law enforcement personnel, they're probably good enough for the rest of us. Go ahead and beat it up. It laughs at you for trying to take it down! I do have one small gripe about the watch, more specifically about the strap. Why does Casio insist on producing the world's toughest ADULT watch and then slap a child-sized strap on the thing? I am an averaged-sized, athletic male (6' 2", 230 lbs.). I have to wear the watch right at the end of the band, so it just barely fits. To be honest, I wish there were just a little more band poking through the holder. I worry about losing it. In short, the band could be longer and more robust. All in all, this is a great watch. Get it, charge it up with some intense sunlight, get it set up (it's easy to do, just read the instructions), and you're good to go.

This watch is excellent. I have had several Casio watches in my life. Usually there are two things that go wrong: 1) the watch band breaks after about two years of medium to rugged use and 2). after two battery changes the watch is no longer fully waterproof (the face will fog up in the shower or heavy rain etc.). While I expect to have to replace the band in a couple or three years, the problem with loosing waterproof status will NOT be an issue because this is a solar watch. Wonderful. Also, the watch arrived beautifully packaged AND with the time and date set to my time zone. All I had to do is just put it on my arm. Great product and great service. One more really cool thing, the display will go into "sleep mode" when it is dark for more than an hour, but only between 10 PM and 6 AM. This saves power significantly. It will remain asleep until it receives light once more or any button is pressed. Really a well-designed watch. UPDATE! After a full year of having this watch I will add that it has worked perfectly. It sets itself via the atomic clock and stays fully charged with just my normal time outside walking or working in the garden. Best watch I have owned. UPDATE! Going on three years now and not a single issue. Great watch. UPDATE! 4 1/2 years after purchase, my watch works perfectly and I have only set it once since I bought it. Even the watch band is in great shape. Best watch I have owned.

Overall a very fine offering in the G-Shock line-up. I really appreciate the convenient and hassle-free feature(s) of a solar charged battery and radio-wave atomic time-keeping. I also like the simple and clean layout of the display. I'm not one who cares for a cluttered watch face, redundant feature displays, over-sized cases, and garish looking labeling that serves for nothing more than unashamed company marketing. Thankfully Casio has kept all that to the bare minimum here. Fit-and-finish are what you'd expect from the now venerable G-Shock line, and overall this watch does look and feel sold and well-balanced on the wrist. I'm only deducting one star because I feel like the numbers are a bit too small compared with the rest of the watch. To me watch design should strive for functionality, balance, and symmetry in its overall presentation. Case-in-point, the day of the week is displayed in large bold lettering and in a place that's very convenient to read at a glance. This is fine of course, but in my opinion they should have downsized this and made a bit more room for larger numbers for the date and time displays. Also, many reviewers here have complained about the relative shortness of the band which I can understand if you have a large wrist size. I do not, so it hasn't been much of an issue for me. That said, I would suggest to Casio to perhaps provide a clasp that would fit around the end of the band in a tighter more secure fashion. Making that simple change would effectively prevent the clasp from moving up, or worse, completely off the end of band. Another solution would be to fashion some form of raised lip on the end of the band that would hold or catch the clasp thereby preventing it from sliding in either direction. Other than those small quibbles I think the watch is an outstanding value and I do find myself reaching for it more often in the mornings over many other watches in my collection.

The G Shock line has been widely known as the toughest, most durable watches made for over 40 years now. That reputation is not lost on this one. Great offering with some really nice features. Was looking for something that would be a no nonsense, low maintenance style watch that is always ready to go. Something in contrast to my mechanical watches that need far more attention. This G Shock has fit the bill perfectly. The tough solar feature means never having to worry about a dead battery and the multiband 6 feature means this watch will always tell perfect time without any help from me. On top of that, you get a calendar, multiple alarms, stopwatch, world timezones and countdown timer. Not to mention the usual durable G Shock resin case that can take a beating, plus 200 meters of water resistance. Great watch, exactly what I was looking for and an amazing value at the current pricepoint.

This is, hands down (no hands, actually––it's digital), the best watch I've ever owned. I was looking for a solar charged watch that I wouldn't have to replace the battery for (at least for a few years). At full charge with typical use Casio rates the battery to last a month. Of course, the watch charges while you wear it under sunlight or even some synthetic lights. Whatever Casio rates it to, in my experience the charge hasn't dropped from "HIGH" with everyday use. I simply leave it on my window sill at night to charge off the morning sunlight and receive the radio signal syncing it with the atomic clock in Colorado. What also makes this watch the most awesome is that it's water resistant to 20 BARs. I don't expect to subject it to anywhere close to that, but getting caught in the rain or swimming with it on should be care free. The icing on the cake is that, once you set it up to do so, the G-Shock syncs with the nearest atomic clock (Fort Collins, CO for most of us in the USA). The body of the watch is rather chunky but I believe this provides some of the shock absorbency. The buttons and the glass are recessed which, in combination with the chunky body, give this watch a really sturdy feel. It has all the features I need: day, date, and time; world time; multiple alarms; stopwatch; and timer. The backlight can even be set to turn on automatically when you tilt your wrist towards you. I tried this feature briefly and found it too trigger too often when I didn't need it. To conserve battery power I'll just press the button for the backlight when I need it. I bought this watch with backpacking in mind but it's a functional all-around watch that looks good too.

This watch ticked every item on my most desired features list. I was gifted a great watch a couple of years ago, but it couldn't light up in the dark. Another watch would light up but I had to replace batteries in it every year and it wouldn't keep very good time. Finally, I found out about this Casio! It is a G Shock model, so it can handle everyday bumps and smacks. It powers the 10 year battery with solar or any strong light source. (I use an LED device made just to power these kind of watches.) And, best of all, it connects to the time standard radio signals every night in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. These are the cesium "atomic clocks" which keep the world running on time to an extremely exacting standard. If, like me, you live in a location where mountains or tall buildings block that signal (in the USA it comes from NIST shortwave radio station WWVB in Fort Collins, Colorado) just use a fantastic Atomic Clock emulator app on your handy smart phone. My new Casio GW2310-1 digital watch is correct to the second every day I have checked it. So if you are a time nerd like me, or are shopping for a gift for your very own lovable time nerd, I think this is the perfect watch!

It's a fine watch, like all of my Casios. I ordered it because I was going on a trip, didn't want to bring the Casio with the metal band, and the numbers were fading on my other, older Casio. But I'm older so I like larger numbers, and I also want the day and date. Based on the reviews, I thought this fit the bill. But as you can see from the photo, it (the middle one) is smaller with smaller numbers than my other two so just be aware of that. I also don't find that the Atomic feature updates any more regularly or consistently than my others, which manage to update sporadically at best.