I’ve been going through a bit of a resurgence in my love of watches over the last six months or so and starting to think about how I can share one of my other passions on my blog. My first post is around finding that one watch that is both minimal and functional. After looking through my collection I settled on the Casio F-91w as my favourite minimal watch.

It’s got everything I need (date and stopwatch) and is light and small enough that I don’t even notice I’m wearing it.

The only thing I miss is being able to see the time at the same time as running the stopwatch.

At less than £20 this is the perfect watch to buy if you want to get away from a smart watch or just start wearing a watch again.

Had to pick up one of my favourite watches in one of my favourite colours. Currently £9.99. (On sale because it’s been discontinued).

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.

The Casio F-91w is still my go to no fuss watch, there’s a lot to love and at £20 or less then it’s a watch most people should have in their collection.

As I’ve said before I’ve worn some form of this watch since the 80’s and it continues to be one of the lightest and most comfortable watches I own.

There’s only two downsides

1. The light is dreadful but remember the cost here. It hardly lights up and in the middle of the night I find I can only see the hour element.
2. When you are using the stop watch you can't see that time. Coming from an Apple Watch this is the one thing that I miss. I set a lot of timers and not being able to see the time when running one is a little frustrating.

In terms of how it’s held up, few dings and scratches but great.

I can still read the face ok and the buttons all work great.

The straps usually fall apart after a few years but mines fine, bear in mind until recently I haven’t worn it every single day and night.

I’m not sure how much longer I’ll wear this one but that’s just because I want an orange or yellow variant but there’s only two areas the be prepared for if I keep on using this one - battery change and a new strap (which may turn out being more expensive than the watch).

At £20 or less this is the only watch to buy if you’re after something to begin your watch collection with or want to take a break from a smart watch like me.

I’ve been wearing Casio’s since the 80’s and after testing out the really great G-SHOCK 800 with it’s Bluetooth and step tracking I’m going back to the F91.

It’s light, has a stop watch, backlight and most importantly it’s simple. I got a bit frustrated syncing step data to the Casio app and in my bid to be more at ease with my technology I gave up on it and going back to what might be my favourite watch of all time - well, with my budget 😀.

This announcement looks pretty interesting from Casio. I’m enjoying my step tracker G-SHOCK but it seems Casio are joining the smart watch crowd. Not for me I don’t think as I’m keeping it simple but I’d be tempted to give it a test.

12 month battery for step tracking, 14 hours for heart rate and GPS.

No UK retail price but quick conversion seems to work out around £380.

I’ll see if I can pick one up closer to the time.

I’m a couple of days in with the G-SHOCK 800 and it’s been a nice step back from something too smart.

I’m taking stock of the tech around me and taking a break from Apple Watch was top of my list. I’ve been struggling with a few issues lately and the Apple Watch has made things worse but I didn’t want to stop wearing a watch. I’ve been into watches as long as I can remember and whilst I’ve been wearing old school Casio and automatics lately I looked into Casio options for something that could keep me honest with my activity.

The 800 series had an accelerometer on board to monitor steps, something that I wanted. A more basic way to tracking felt a bit less heavy handed.

It’s also a G-SHOCK so super durable and the soft strap is comfortable.

I’m still getting to grips with the iOS app but it works fairly well but doesn’t sync with Apple Health, a bit of a bummer.

Overall for £80 I’m really pleased so far and I’ll have a full review in the coming weeks.

If you’ve been following along I’m taking a step back from the Apple Watch, something I’m not ready to go into just yet but it’s let me get back into watches. I’ve always been fascinated by watches and have a nostalgic love for Casio so I picked up the AE1200 for £24.

It’s retro look reminds of something that might see in films such as Aliens and Blade Runner and I love it. At less than £25 it’s also a bargain. I’ve been wearing the F-91w a lot but still find it a little small sometimes, especially with my ageing eyes.

I mean it when I say it’s the only digital watch you’ll need though. It has a good backlight, has nice large numerics, a timer and stop watch. The main selling point is as a world timer but I work for the UK arm of the company and the majority of my friends are UK based so have little use for it to be honest. Having this though doesn’t add any complication to using it day to day, it doesn’t get in the way.

You’ll see from looking at it (especially side on) that it bears some resemblance to a G-Shock but aside from water resistance it won’t be as durable. This is where my two negatives come into play. The screen is plastic (what else would I expect at less than £30) so it’s scratched up. Secondly the buttons aren’t recessed so they get hit accidentally, quite a lot. If you wear any sort of bracelet alongside then you’ll be changing time zones multiple times a day.

I’d love to see a new model with recessed buttons and a bit of a tougher screen, I’d happily pay double for it. A white version would look great too, some free tips for you there Casio.

For less than a video game you get yourself a great daily wear watch that has a lot of functionality that you’ll use throughout your day. It’s resin strap is comfortable as most Casio are and the light is outstanding.

If you’re after a digital then this is the place to start looking.

I’ve been wearing my trust Casio F-91w on and off for a few weeks now but been looking over at the G-Shock wondering what I’m missing. I don’t need to go into the background of these tough watches but as a fan of space travel it’s the only “space watch” I can afford, yes it’s certified for space travel. The Omega Speedmaster isn’t within my reach anytime soon but this astronaut approved Casio was.

First off the time and illumination is spot on. Easy to read and lights up the entire screen, something the much cheaper F-91w struggles with. I can see the time clearly at any angle and checking the time in the middle of the night is easy.

The case is sturdy but not too big but the buttons are harder to press.

The strap is made of the familiar Casio resin, which I find to be great. Doesn’t get clammy in the summer and is light. The strap on the 5610 is thicker and more rigid than the F-91w so bear that I’m mind. I find the F-91w disappears when I’m wearing it, the 5610 not so much.

If you’re after a hard wearing digital then you can’t go far wrong with the 5610 but for me it ended up being a little too big for my tastes and I went back to wearing my F-91w.