Casio G-Shock GBA-800 review

I’ve been using the Casio G-Shock step tracker for a good few weeks now and feel like I’m now in a position to share some opinions on using it.

Design and comfort

I feel that with G-Shock you either love or hate them, for me Initkwlly I wasn’t sure. It’s chunky but not uncomfortable when bending your wrist. If like me you tend to wear beads or wrist bands too then the buttons are stiff enough to also not be activated, something that happens with most of my other digital watches.

The design has grown on me though and I’m now really into this look, also glad I got the sand colour. As much as I like bright colours the bright neon version might have been tough to pull off.

The strap is thicker than your typical Casio Resin and feels like a different material. Soft but fairly rigid. I find it comfortable but does get a little clammy on walks or when it’s hot. I found myself loosening it a few times over the day to keep it comfy.

Overall it’s not as comfortable (for me) as something like an F-91w.

Legibility

Here’s where the experience falls down for me. Having both an analogue and digital display is nice but I find the digital one almost useless. With the reverse LCD it’s hard (almost impossible) for me to see that display without turning on the backlight. It’s a pain when you need to set a timer as it’s on this smaller display. It’s also impossible to see in bright daylight. In fact it might be reason I never wear this watch again to be honest. Coming from an easy to read F-91w where I can quickly glance and see the info I want I struggle to do the same with this one.

If like me you wear glasses or struggle generally with smaller fonts or display colour then check it out in store first.

The backlight is bright and very good.

Step tracking and Bluetooth

It’s got Bluetooth on board and uses this connection to sync accelerometer data to your phone. It’s basic but work’s reliably.

The app experience is pretty bare bones but gives you an overview of how active (in my case inactive) you’ve been.

You can view steps today or get a more in depth look over the weeks or months. It’ll also use your phone location services to show on a map, I work from home so not much here for me.

It doesn’t hook into Apple Health at all and if you’re used to an Apple Watch then it’ll seem a bit rubbish.

For me though it’s been quite nice going back to basics.

It does have functionality around setting timers if your into interval training but as someone just walking then it may as well not be there.

Value for money

I picked mine up at an outlet mall so the retail was lower, I paid £70. Retail is around £100 at the time of writing, which I feel is a little high. £50-£80 seems about right here. I think I’ll carry on using it intermittently but my trusty F-91w is the watch I gravitate towards still on a daily basis.

If you’re looking at a non fussy way to track your activity levels then I can’t recommend it highly enough though. It’ll take a beating, comfortable and sync setup (follow the instructions!) is pretty straightforward. Just make sure you don’t pay more than £80 for one.

Lee Peterson @LJPUK