I picked up a baby-g for my daughter on clearance at Walmart for $11 last week. While it doesn’t have all the same features it is still a very nice Casio. Great review!
The GBD-800-8ER was my first G-shock. This version has a positive display. I bought it when I started PPL flight license classes and needed a watch with dual time function. In addition, it also has a step counter. I like it and now my collection is 9 G-Shock watches and it's still growing ;-)
Nice!!! I would really love a positive display GBD-800. I feel like it could only be better than this GMBD800. I see yours on Amazon for $140, but I kind of feel like that's too much for me personally, because I don't care for that sporty green on me. I don't come across as sporty. What is PPL?
For a long time, I’d considered trying the Bluetooth G-shock, but I always just get another with atomic timekeeping. I just replaced my 12 year old Casio with my first square version. It takes me back to the 80’s, when my friend told me his new G-shock was indestructible and hit my Datsun pickup with it. It broke the watch, but it looked cool before that.
I'm pretty old-school when it comes to watches. There is only one thing unrelated to timekeeping that I expect a watch to do: illuminate. While trying to choose my next G-Shock, I discovered that some have Bluetooth and associated apps. I figured that they would have functionality that I have no use for and/or would find annoying, and this video confirmed my initial thoughts. Since I endeavor to have a minimal amount of apps eating up space on my phone, that's another strike against Bluetooth. Sensors are another thing I don't want in my life in any large quantity. I've seen way too many of them go bad. It's kind of amazing what can be done with such technologies, but they're not for me. That said, the GBD-800-1B has the look I want in my next G-Shock: black with a few neutral accents and a negative display. I can only hope that a negative display isn't one of those things that sacrifices or compromises utility for aesthetics. Thanks for a great and very informative video!
As always, a very good video! Whenever I think of getting a new watch, I only consider either automatic or solar + BT. I Have only one with quartz movement, G-Shock GA-2100, because it wasn't available in solar + BT at the time of its launch. As soon as it was released in B2100, I jumped on it :D The reason is, almost always, no matter how skilled the person is, battery change compromises the watch's water resistance stats. I agree with all your points discussed here, and I addition to that I find limited number of cities in the watch for world time to choose (usually between 30-39), than in the app (usually 300+). Helps me keep track of clients' time and or switch the time if I were to travel to that city. G-Shock squares and some other models offer more than one WT slots, which is amazing for people like me!
It sounds like you have a very interesting life! I would never get to talk to people in other countries if it weren't for UA-cam. Your comment sent me on a very long trip down the Casio rabbit hole! I did not know about the 2100 with solar and BT. That is excellent! Yes I have heard that the water resistance is not the same after changing the battery, and I'm sure that's true. You make an interesting argument for automatic or solar. I like the look of the fabric bands they seem to have on these models. I'm afraid it wouldn't fit my wrist, though.
Very interesting. Never got what the blue tooth functions in the Casio watches would be for, so thanks for explaining. A timer beeping the last 5 seconds but stopping when the time is done is the opposite of what i want. And i am absolutely with you on how it should shut up when hitting a button! What would be interesting, but that might take a while for you to figure out, is what the BT use means for the battery life. I haven't seen any "tough solar" printing on the display (or i missed it) and nothing like the "10 year battery" i have on my old 2900. Considering how much switched on BT changes the battery life on a phone (still less than Wifi) i would guess this also reduces it considerably compared to non BT watches.
Hi! Thank you for this interesting comment, as usual. :) This watch is not solar, and it does not have a 10-year battery. They estimate only a 3- year battery life! Given that, I still think you're right that it would be a difficult thing to try to see how much having Bluetooth on affects it. But I can say that Bluetooth is usually off on the watch - it's only odd when you actually turn it on. Unless I'm looking for my phone I probably only actually need to turn it on less than once a week because I don't change my dual time zone and I usually just use the same timer set up. It's interesting because I think instead of comparing it to a 10 year battery watch. I'm kind of comparing it in my mind to a smart watch which needs to be charged nearly every day. Does your 2909 have the "secret memory" feature?
@@thevineclimber Thanks very much for the reply! I thought the BT would be constantly on because of the timer and alarm settings via app. (so they'd get synchronized) But when that's not the case it of course won't be draining the battery much. (like you said) Yes, it has the memory feature. But to be honest that is the only feature i never used on it🤫. I had a normal casio before it during the 90's and as we know, back then telephone numbers needed to be memorized in ones head or on paper, but said watch was able to store up to 25 or 30 numbers i think. So i viewed that feature on the 2900 like the phone memory of the old watch which i didn't need anymore due to a mobile phone. (I still know 3-5 numbers in my head but the rest is in the phone contacts. 🤓)
5:36 - Workouts or multitasking while cooking! Some recipes has a very rigid set of cooking times at different temperatures and such, sound pretty great for that. I think the one thing I miss in a watch like this is message notifications from my phone so I can keep it on silent and just get a small buzz on my arm instead. Also having control over volume / tracks from your watch is really nice, i tend to bicycle a lot and being able to put my phone in a backpack or such and still control music is pretty awesome. I dont think what I want exists though, its pretty much just a mix between one of these and a smart watch without the drawbacks of either. Closest ive seen is options from Polar and Garmin but those look a bit wack for everyday life and they are 1200 bucks
Yes, I actually know just what you mean! I wonder if you could get an apple watch and turn off most of the features. I had a Samsung Gear watch of some sort, and that actually may be able to do some of what you are talking about. Hm, I should go see if I can find it. But if course it lacks the G Shock aesthetic. I did not think of recipes with complicated timing instructions. You could program a whole recipe into your watch! Thanks for watching and sharing your good ideas!
@@thevineclimber Oooh yeah! A gear s3 frontier with most of the smartwatch functions turned off, and a month of battery life would be perfect actually. I really like the ring you can scroll with, goes a long way to prevent finger marks on your watch all the time! Hey I really like the content and the down to earth presentation of it :D
I dont have either of these but when you said the beeping is obnoxious, I thought of my Casio W735H vibration timer / alarm watch. Maybe you can try it out? 😁 It is not a very strong vibration but if you're awake and the strap is on a bit tighter than you normally have it, you'll easily notice the vibration when it happens. ☺️
LOL I LOVE that watch! Even made a video about it. I've got a 735 (I think - the one with the section that fills up as time passes) and a TRT110H and a GD350. SUCH a great watch. It usually wakes me up - I got it just for that reason! Thank you so much for this comment! :) love to talk about the massively underrated vibration watches.
I often wear a Casio W-735H (it's one of their "budget" models) because I can set the alarms to vibration mode. However, I recognize it is a chonker of a watch and may not fit well on wrists smaller than mine (my wrists are 8 inches around).
I just checked and it's at $190 from one seller. That is only $40 less than the Leatherman Arc with magnacut blade. 😳 Another selling for $205. 🤔 I'd probably Arc at those prices. 😋
@@earlgrayman982 I saw spirit for $90 but spirit x for $190.🤔 $45? Hmm, I would have tried it then. Oh well. I'm getting Roxon KS2 elite with D2 steel blade soon.😁 $38 on Amazon. I have the tiny Knipex cobra XS pliers.👍
I have two Casio watches with bluetooth functionality. I decided to check it out but when I downloaded the Casio app and was confronted with yet another app that wanted me to create yet another online account I'd have to create yet another password for and give out my email address and so on I just deleted the app. I don't want to create an account or give out my information to use the very simple bluetooth capabilities of my watch.
Absolutely!! Some Casios have no Bluetooth (so maybe you don't count that!!!) Then this watch is like low-level BT - it can connect intermittently and get the time or set alarms or something. These don't have to be charged. Then some are always connected to your phone via BT, and can give you a display of your text messages and things - more like a smart watch. Like the DWH5600 www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.DW-H5600-2/ I think these need chargers.
Thanks for the vid. I'm getting this watch just for the "find phone" feature, since I regularly have to call my cell phone from my house phone to find where the heck I put it. Do you have to download an app to your phone to work with the watch, and does it come with that wonderfully obnoxious ring tone? (I hope so, since it will make it very easy to find the phone.) With all of the obnoxious noises this watch makes, they should have called it the Casio Anxiety Attack. (The Casio PTSD would also have been acceptable.)
Yes, you need to have the app installed and BT on all the time for it to work. There are three ring tones to choose from, and your phone better not be connected to headphones or earphones.
@@thevineclimber I don’t know what that is. I’ll try to look it up. I got the idea from some kickstarter type of thing. I took apart a tiny knife and made a tiny kydex sheath for my watch band. 🙂
Interesting watch. Almost a smart watch but not. I a Garmin Tactix that is workout/navigation focused and allows the same functionality but you can do it from the watch or some of the apps. However, these are much more expensive than the Casio. Having said that, I still love my Rangeman.
That Garmin watch looks awesome! Big though, if I remember. I love the navigation! Totally in a different class. Lol I keep looking at the Rangeman line up... Thank you for watching and commenting!
I have both. And to be honest, when is anyone without a cell phone today? The cell phone gets its time, continually updated, from the service provider, and guess where they get THEIR time? The atomic clock. Any difference between syncing with the atomic clock and going through Bluetooth through a phone through a service provider from the atomic clock can't even be measured. You are going to get a better signal through Bluetooth with your phone than finding the radio signal in many areas, and it is MUCH faster. Then there's the ability to interface the functions of the watch through the phone, much easier than cycling through menus by pushing watch buttons, and the phone is easier to read. There are two circumstances when the world clock is a better option - when you don't have a cell phone with Bluetooth capability (a rarity today) or if you are somewhere with zero cell phone reception (and there is more cell phone reception globally than world clock reception; there are entire continents without world clock capability).
I picked up a baby-g for my daughter on clearance at Walmart for $11 last week. While it doesn’t have all the same features it is still a very nice Casio.
Great review!
WHAT!?!? That is a great deal! Nice job!! They have some GREAT Baby Gs. Love the ana-digi ones.
The GBD-800-8ER was my first G-shock. This version has a positive display. I bought it when I started PPL flight license classes and needed a watch with dual time function. In addition, it also has a step counter. I like it and now my collection is 9 G-Shock watches and it's still growing ;-)
Nice!!! I would really love a positive display GBD-800. I feel like it could only be better than this GMBD800. I see yours on Amazon for $140, but I kind of feel like that's too much for me personally, because I don't care for that sporty green on me. I don't come across as sporty. What is PPL?
For a long time, I’d considered trying the Bluetooth G-shock, but I always just get another with atomic timekeeping. I just replaced my 12 year old Casio with my first square version. It takes me back to the 80’s, when my friend told me his new G-shock was indestructible and hit my Datsun pickup with it. It broke the watch, but it looked cool before that.
I'm pretty old-school when it comes to watches. There is only one thing unrelated to timekeeping that I expect a watch to do: illuminate. While trying to choose my next G-Shock, I discovered that some have Bluetooth and associated apps. I figured that they would have functionality that I have no use for and/or would find annoying, and this video confirmed my initial thoughts. Since I endeavor to have a minimal amount of apps eating up space on my phone, that's another strike against Bluetooth. Sensors are another thing I don't want in my life in any large quantity. I've seen way too many of them go bad. It's kind of amazing what can be done with such technologies, but they're not for me.
That said, the GBD-800-1B has the look I want in my next G-Shock: black with a few neutral accents and a negative display. I can only hope that a negative display isn't one of those things that sacrifices or compromises utility for aesthetics.
Thanks for a great and very informative video!
Hi Anne !!!
Great Video as always.
I like these features.
Casios are the Swiss Army knife of watches. Tough stylish & practical.
Thank You
-- Joe --
Hi Joe! Thanks for the comment. Yes, they are! Lol some even come in red. But not many.
As always, a very good video! Whenever I think of getting a new watch, I only consider either automatic or solar + BT. I Have only one with quartz movement, G-Shock GA-2100, because it wasn't available in solar + BT at the time of its launch. As soon as it was released in B2100, I jumped on it :D
The reason is, almost always, no matter how skilled the person is, battery change compromises the watch's water resistance stats.
I agree with all your points discussed here, and I addition to that I find limited number of cities in the watch for world time to choose (usually between 30-39), than in the app (usually 300+). Helps me keep track of clients' time and or switch the time if I were to travel to that city.
G-Shock squares and some other models offer more than one WT slots, which is amazing for people like me!
It sounds like you have a very interesting life! I would never get to talk to people in other countries if it weren't for UA-cam.
Your comment sent me on a very long trip down the Casio rabbit hole! I did not know about the 2100 with solar and BT. That is excellent! Yes I have heard that the water resistance is not the same after changing the battery, and I'm sure that's true. You make an interesting argument for automatic or solar.
I like the look of the fabric bands they seem to have on these models. I'm afraid it wouldn't fit my wrist, though.
Very interesting. Never got what the blue tooth functions in the Casio watches would be for, so thanks for explaining.
A timer beeping the last 5 seconds but stopping when the time is done is the opposite of what i want.
And i am absolutely with you on how it should shut up when hitting a button!
What would be interesting, but that might take a while for you to figure out, is what the BT use means for the battery life.
I haven't seen any "tough solar" printing on the display (or i missed it) and nothing like the "10 year battery" i have on my old 2900.
Considering how much switched on BT changes the battery life on a phone (still less than Wifi) i would guess this also reduces it considerably compared to non BT watches.
Hi!
Thank you for this interesting comment, as usual. :)
This watch is not solar, and it does not have a 10-year battery. They estimate only a 3- year battery life!
Given that, I still think you're right that it would be a difficult thing to try to see how much having Bluetooth on affects it. But I can say that Bluetooth is usually off on the watch - it's only odd when you actually turn it on. Unless I'm looking for my phone I probably only actually need to turn it on less than once a week because I don't change my dual time zone and I usually just use the same timer set up.
It's interesting because I think instead of comparing it to a 10 year battery watch. I'm kind of comparing it in my mind to a smart watch which needs to be charged nearly every day.
Does your 2909 have the "secret memory" feature?
@@thevineclimber Thanks very much for the reply! I thought the BT would be constantly on because of the timer and alarm settings via app. (so they'd get synchronized)
But when that's not the case it of course won't be draining the battery much. (like you said)
Yes, it has the memory feature. But to be honest that is the only feature i never used on it🤫. I had a normal casio before it during the 90's and as we know, back then telephone numbers needed to be memorized in ones head or on paper, but said watch was able to store up to 25 or 30 numbers i think. So i viewed that feature on the 2900 like the phone memory of the old watch which i didn't need anymore due to a mobile phone. (I still know 3-5 numbers in my head but the rest is in the phone contacts. 🤓)
5:36 - Workouts or multitasking while cooking! Some recipes has a very rigid set of cooking times at different temperatures and such, sound pretty great for that.
I think the one thing I miss in a watch like this is message notifications from my phone so I can keep it on silent and just get a small buzz on my arm instead. Also having control over volume / tracks from your watch is really nice, i tend to bicycle a lot and being able to put my phone in a backpack or such and still control music is pretty awesome.
I dont think what I want exists though, its pretty much just a mix between one of these and a smart watch without the drawbacks of either. Closest ive seen is options from Polar and Garmin but those look a bit wack for everyday life and they are 1200 bucks
Yes, I actually know just what you mean! I wonder if you could get an apple watch and turn off most of the features. I had a Samsung Gear watch of some sort, and that actually may be able to do some of what you are talking about. Hm, I should go see if I can find it. But if course it lacks the G Shock aesthetic.
I did not think of recipes with complicated timing instructions. You could program a whole recipe into your watch!
Thanks for watching and sharing your good ideas!
@@thevineclimber Oooh yeah! A gear s3 frontier with most of the smartwatch functions turned off, and a month of battery life would be perfect actually. I really like the ring you can scroll with, goes a long way to prevent finger marks on your watch all the time!
Hey I really like the content and the down to earth presentation of it :D
@@kvernesdotten Awesome! Thank you!!
I dont have either of these but when you said the beeping is obnoxious, I thought of my Casio W735H vibration timer / alarm watch. Maybe you can try it out? 😁 It is not a very strong vibration but if you're awake and the strap is on a bit tighter than you normally have it, you'll easily notice the vibration when it happens. ☺️
LOL I LOVE that watch! Even made a video about it. I've got a 735 (I think - the one with the section that fills up as time passes) and a TRT110H and a GD350. SUCH a great watch. It usually wakes me up - I got it just for that reason!
Thank you so much for this comment! :) love to talk about the massively underrated vibration watches.
I often wear a Casio W-735H (it's one of their "budget" models) because I can set the alarms to vibration mode. However, I recognize it is a chonker of a watch and may not fit well on wrists smaller than mine (my wrists are 8 inches around).
Hi Anne, thank for this great video. I like these functional. None of these is available with my Seiko SKX😂
Lol no that is true, but we both know you win!!!
Hi Ann, just so you know, the Swisstool Spirit X has been heavily discounted on Amazon the last few days.
I just checked and it's at $190 from one seller. That is only $40 less than the Leatherman Arc with magnacut blade. 😳 Another selling for $205. 🤔 I'd probably Arc at those prices. 😋
@@Northanteus you're looking at the cs model, the spirit x is 96/97 depending on the buyer you select
oh no....its $95 now but the low for it was $45 at one time. Inflation and amazons crazy price tactics on customers.
@@earlgrayman982 I saw spirit for $90 but spirit x for $190.🤔 $45? Hmm, I would have tried it then. Oh well. I'm getting Roxon KS2 elite with D2 steel blade soon.😁 $38 on Amazon. I have the tiny Knipex cobra XS pliers.👍
@@earlgrayman982 $45?!?! Wow. Missed that one!
I have two Casio watches with bluetooth functionality. I decided to check it out but when I downloaded the Casio app and was confronted with yet another app that wanted me to create yet another online account I'd have to create yet another password for and give out my email address and so on I just deleted the app.
I don't want to create an account or give out my information to use the very simple bluetooth capabilities of my watch.
Hi Anne, can you elaborate what you mean by 3 levels of Bluetooth available for Casio?
Absolutely!! Some Casios have no Bluetooth (so maybe you don't count that!!!) Then this watch is like low-level BT - it can connect intermittently and get the time or set alarms or something. These don't have to be charged. Then some are always connected to your phone via BT, and can give you a display of your text messages and things - more like a smart watch. Like the DWH5600 www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.DW-H5600-2/ I think these need chargers.
Thanks for the vid. I'm getting this watch just for the "find phone" feature, since I regularly have to call my cell phone from my house phone to find where the heck I put it.
Do you have to download an app to your phone to work with the watch, and does it come with that wonderfully obnoxious ring tone? (I hope so, since it will make it very easy to find the phone.) With all of the obnoxious noises this watch makes, they should have called it the Casio Anxiety Attack. (The Casio PTSD would also have been acceptable.)
Yes, you need to have the app installed and BT on all the time for it to work. There are three ring tones to choose from, and your phone better not be connected to headphones or earphones.
@@abhinaybuiss thanks
Great video. I didn’t know such a thing (Casio with Bluetooth) existed.
Thanks, Jack! Yeah, it's pretty cool, actually. Nice enhancements, and the Bluetooth itself isn't the problem for me.
The GD-350 has a vibration alarm.
Great video! Cheers, Anne!
Thanks David! Have a good week!
👍🏼I like Casio very much but I just got another cheap smartwatch. $28.
It has a flashlight. And I added a tiny knife to the band. 😆
LOL oh my gosh! Is it the tiny knife seen on. Excessorize Me??
@@thevineclimber I don’t know what that is. I’ll try to look it up. I got the idea from some kickstarter type of thing. I took apart a tiny knife and made a tiny kydex sheath for my watch band. 🙂
@andrewfett142 oh my gosh!! Did you put this on your channel?
@@thevineclimber yep I made a vid. Watch knife flashlight or somethiig like that😁
@@thevineclimber
Smartwatch knife and flashlight
ua-cam.com/video/oNsUHuZeGkY/v-deo.html
Interesting watch. Almost a smart watch but not. I a Garmin Tactix that is workout/navigation focused and allows the same functionality but you can do it from the watch or some of the apps. However, these are much more expensive than the Casio.
Having said that, I still love my Rangeman.
That Garmin watch looks awesome! Big though, if I remember. I love the navigation! Totally in a different class.
Lol I keep looking at the Rangeman line up...
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Hello Anne
Hi Rich
I'll take Atomic Time over Bluetooth.
Yes that is more accurate, and it happens without any button pushing! Some folks can't get it though.
I have both. And to be honest, when is anyone without a cell phone today? The cell phone gets its time, continually updated, from the service provider, and guess where they get THEIR time? The atomic clock. Any difference between syncing with the atomic clock and going through Bluetooth through a phone through a service provider from the atomic clock can't even be measured. You are going to get a better signal through Bluetooth with your phone than finding the radio signal in many areas, and it is MUCH faster. Then there's the ability to interface the functions of the watch through the phone, much easier than cycling through menus by pushing watch buttons, and the phone is easier to read.
There are two circumstances when the world clock is a better option - when you don't have a cell phone with Bluetooth capability (a rarity today) or if you are somewhere with zero cell phone reception (and there is more cell phone reception globally than world clock reception; there are entire continents without world clock capability).
Short answer : NO
None is best.