Well I’ve trawled long enough and I’ve decided on my pick for a Combo model for this month. But with serious reservations it has to be said.
To remind myself of the basic requirements I was looking for – were –
* It must be shock resistant and case tough *It must be Water Resistant to 100m+ * Readable in the dark and a non-shiny case (military style?) * Intuitive digital function set (without constant referral to instructions) * Uncluttered (dial or case).
A fairly simple set of basics, yet tricky to actually get and as a result I’ve had to discard a surprising number of models. Some looked good but in reality were less than satisfactory. Common issues are faint digital displays, cluttered dials, no use in the dark, reflective dial components, sub-dial mania + unnecessary dial data, bezel overkill, too many controls, less than ideal bracelet or strap fittings – to name just a few.
Many of the “faults” seem to be “fashion design” I have to say majoring on looks rather than function or practicality.
So after all the searching around for a suitable combo model I’ve landed with the Casio GA-1000-1AER Pro-Trek.
A lot bigger than I first thought – the case may have a diameter of 45mm but with the G-Shock moulding including pushers is ends up at a very large a 52mm+ across. It is also 16mm thick, so sits very proud on the wrist. However, not heavy at 85gms, which is good considering this is a steel and resin case. But not for wearing (if you could that is) under a shirt cuff as it IS very high and does not have a smooth top surface either.
Where it scores is that it meets one of my most important criteria – it has a really good “all night” light. The analogue solid filled hands have a bright green luminous coating with an excellent afterglow along with the minute dot markers, so reading the time is very easy – against a surprisingly dark dial background. There is also a Neon Illuminator light system which uses UV light to highlight the 12, 3, and 9 numerals in green plus the dot markers in a striking neon blue, at the same time highlighting the tip of the seconds hand in bright green. It’s really quite spectacular though as the analogue hands luminous afterglow is so good I don’t really need it. The luminous quality of the analogue hands lasts all night easily with little loss. Overall I am very pleased with it’s “in the dark” clarity.
Just a “quick glance” is required to read the time as the analogue hands stand out clearly without the dial background intruding. Owing to clever accenting and emphasis of the hands, numerals and markers and muting of the dial background, it is a surprisingly good dial set up.
This model is an excellent “travellers” watch too, as not just content with having a 48 City & 31 Time Zones World Time function, from a practical aspect it has two neat features.
First, different time zones are as usual represented by City initials but often folks are confused as to where they refer to – fear not as once selected, the City is spelled fully by first scrolling and then finishing on the initials of the City. And Secondly it features a Home City swap function. By pressing two buttons instantly the analogue hands will move to the time of the selected digital World Time City time zone. In other words your Home City and City to which you are traveling can be swapped from the Digital display to the main analogue time display. This is very handy when approaching your next time zone destination on a plane.
Initial set up –
When you first get the watch often the Home City or City time Zone is set to Japan, but it’s very easy to set your own Home Time. You can tell if your Home City code is not your own (well the time will be wrong – yes?) by reading the lower display, which has a small indicator showing the time of the set Home City. For example if your Home City was London and 1oclock, the small curved indicator will have a tiny edge marker pointing to the same time.
So to set your own Home Time zone –
Once you are in the normal time display – press and hold button A (top left) until ADJ appears with SET flashing on the lower display, then use the top right (west) or bottom left (east) to scroll through the City Codes. Once you get to your City Code – press the lower left button (D) – this will show DST in the lower screen – you can toggle this ON and OFF using the lower right pusher (E) – when happy with that simply press the upper Left pusher (A) and that’s it. The analogue hands will immediately move to your new time setting.
Another good point about this module is the ease of doing almost anything. The main Adjust selector pusher is top left (A) and in normal time mode pressing this and holding it will move into ADJ (adjust mode) – and will flash SET in the lower display, then pushing the lower left Mode button (D) repeatedly you can cycle through the various functions – and most on or off settings are toggled by use of (E) lower right pusher. It does become intuitive after a bit.
In the background of the dial, between 10 & 11 we have a selector indicator like a small aeroplane pointer, which basically is a current function reminder. It is again quite low key and does not distract from your reading of the dial.
The big surprise function of this model however is the inclusion of a Digital Compass, operated by a direct push of the large and well protected centre left pusher. On selecting, the seconds hand becomes a NORTH pointer and upper digital display shows your general direction (for example ENE or East North East) of the 12 position on the dial and the lower display shows that heading in degrees. To cancel simply press the lower left (D) and you return to normal time. This model also features a bearing memory function using the lower display, but it’s a little too involved to explain in this Post.
Additionally there is a Stopwatch, Timer, 4 Alarms plus Snooze, Time Signal and a Thermometer, which you can optionally use or otherwise. This model features an Automatic Calendar. The illumination back light system can also be set to Auto coming on when the wrist is tilted towards the wearer, though I would not recommend this as this model is NOT solar but battery only, so not clever to constantly operate the light when not really needed.
Conclusion –
A great specification and easy to use – But it is FAR TOO BIG big and thick and a considerable lump on any wrist and for me, that’s a no no. I would also contend it may well be a serious consideration for may buyers.
However soon I’m treating myself to maybe the ultimate Combo model and it’s not Casio. In September (I have a pre-order in) the Tissot Expert Solar T-Touch will be available and it could well dent Casio sales. The night clarity is outstanding both analogue AND digital and digitally it does everything a Casio can do, having an ABC function set AND looks more like a conventional watch. I’m so certain that this is the one for me, the above Casio will not appear in my collection after all.
In fact, my display boxes could be reduced by a few as I’m sure the Tissot is going to be a winner!
Watch space 