This model is seen as one of the Square G-Shocks. There have been of adjustments Casio has made to the watch over time, and indeed this is not even the current iteration of the model.

Width: 43.6mm

Lug-to-lug: 46mm

Thickness: 12.3mm

The lug width is moot as this requires special straps to function in the integrated fashion Casio has gone with (or with an adapter, which are available, to use more conventional straps).

This G-Shock has 200 meters of water resistance.

The screen on the dial is perhaps best described as a grey color, with black liquid crystal used to display information. The dial face has additional colors, namely white, red, blue, and yellow, to convey various instructions and information. As a screen-display watch this has no hands. The watch is solar powered and so light recharges the battery to drive the quartz movement. The display is protected by mineral glass.

The watch offers a backlight so it can be seen in the dark.

The watch case and strap are resin, all of it in matte black. The caseback is stainless steel with module and model information and is affixed via screws. The strap is a straightforward pin-and-buckle system for sizing.

The watch does not have a crown, and relies on four buttons (two on the left and two on the right) to drive all the functions of the watch. Full instructions to use every option require a lot of explanation not worth going over here and it is best to consult a manual from Casio on how to set and use every function. The general rule of thumb is the upper-right button activates illumination and the lower-left button lets you cycle modes. So, in terms of the available functions and modes, this G-Shock:

• Offers radio-controlled atomic timekeeping

• A Timekeeping mode

• Some additional modes:

  • A World Time mode

  • An Alarm mode

  • A Stopwatch mode

  • A Countdown Timer mode

As this is a quartz movement I am not able to measure its accuracy via my timegrapher. Suffice to say, with the ability to sync to the atomic clock this watch has the ability to be exceedingly accurate.

My overall thoughts:

The positives:

• Affordable

• Robust

• Lots of functions

The negatives:

• Lack of strap variety without an adapter (I've since bought one and that makes things so much easier!)

• Mineral glass

Casio has replaced this specific version with the GW-M5610UGW which is using the 3495 module. It’s currently $150 on the Casio website. The dimensions are the same, but they’ve made some adjustments to the lighting feature, the time zones, and how some of the information is displayed. But it is extremely similar overall as it’s just an updated model.

Regardless of version, I think this is an excellent watch for the price. If you don’t want a smart watch but want a robust watch with a number of features, this is an excellent model to look to. You get the extreme accuracy of the atomic clock sync, stopwatch, alarm, and timer features, an strong lighting display for night-time checking, and the extensive duration offered by solar recharging.

While the integrated look is cool I will say the resin strap isn’t always what I want to wear with this and I would recommend looking into an adapter to give yourself more strap variety. Also, given how robust the watch is and the scenarios it is designed for I do wish the greater scratch resistance of sapphire were employed here. But overall, it is an excellent purpose-built watch. Not the sort of thing I wear to the office but my go-to whenever I’m biking, mowing, doing repairs, or anything where I’d normally worry about a watch taking damage. It’s solid enough to stand up to a lot of abuse and cheap enough that I wouldn’t feel too bad if I actually broke it.