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(More customer reviews)I recently purchased the W752D-1AV and I thought I'd review it and pass along a few things I learned from the sizable instruction manual.
First off, I'm very satisfied with the watch and the vendor (Chelsea Watch). I ordered the watch on Thursday and it arrived with standard shipping the following Monday. The package was safe and secure and the watch arrived in excellent condition.
I chose the 752 for a combination of reasons: a) Large LCD digital display, b) light weight, c) metal band and body, d) more than one alarm function, e) front mounted light button (not side mounted), f) 10 year battery and g) made by Casio. In all of these things I am completely satisfied and can heartily recommend the watch for anyone seeking this combination of features. The face of the watch is crisp and large and the numbers and display are easy to read. The metal watch and band are large and masculine looking but very light weight. There are 4 alarm functions, one of which features a snooze option, and the front mounted light button is easy to use and works fine for my purposes. I would prefer a blue backlight to the side mounted white LED, but that's a matter of personal preference and I couldn't find a watch with blue backlight and 10 year battery and the side mounted white LED works just fine. For a watch that costs around $20, having a 10 year battery is a great benefit, since they charge around $15 locally to replace watch batteries in water resistant watches. Why buy a new watch battery at $15 every couple of years when you can buy one watch for around $20 and have it last 10 years.
So ... I'm very happy with my new watch and can recommend it to anyone seeking this combination of features. However, there are a few things I learned in shopping for this watch that I thought I'd pass along.
1) BATTERY AND E.L. BACKLIGHT - To the best of my knowledge, Casio does not yet offer a 10 year battery on any watch featuring blue electroluminescent back lighting. I'm assuming it draws too much power to last 10 years.
2) AUTO LIGHT - This watch comes with the option of being able to automatically light the LED light any time you tip the watch toward your face (40 tilt or more), but they warn it will reduce battery life if you use this option. I didn't want or need it, so I leave it turned off. The front mounted button is easy enough for me to use.
3) CRACKING PLASTIC BANDS / RESIN BANDS - In the instruction manual, they explain a great mystery that puzzles me all the MORE for understanding the reasons behind it. I used to love to purchase Casio watches with plastic bodies and bands, but stopped the practice when it became clear I couldn't keep the bands in tact for more than about 18 months. They always cracked and split long before the watch itself died. This was a consistent problem I faced with at least half a dozen such watches. I never knew why they split so badly, but they always did. Well, in the instruction booklet for this all metal watch, they happend to mention that IF you get a plastic (or, as they call it, resin) band for the watch, don't allow it to stay exposed to water or perspiration for long periods of time as it WILL lead to cracking and splitting. I was STUNNED. As a person who perspires freely and lives in a humid climate, this is virtually impossible for me to do any time I'm active for long periods of time. According to the instructions, I should remove the watch if I'm going to be perspiring for long periods of time and dry the watch off when the band does get wet. WHY on earth any company would continue to use a material for wrist bands that their own instruction manuals admit will crack and split with prolonged exposure to water and / or perspiration is beyond me. Anyone out there buying plastic band watches and working in a swimming pool? You might want to go ALL metal. AS far as I know, this must be true for all or most plastic banded watches in the world, as more than just my Casio's have met this fate in the past. I long ago switched to all metal watches and I suggest the industry find a new material that doesn't scream "We want you to buy a new watch every year or two". But that's just me. Or is it?
4) 10 YEAR BATTERIES AND WATER RESISTANCE - One thing that drew me to this watch was it's 10 year battery. As I said before, it never sat well with me to have to drop $15 to have a 2 dollar battery replaced just because the watch requires special handling to preserve it's water seal. But when I read the instructions for this watch, I was very surprised to find that even though it comes with a 10 year battery ... if you want to preserve the water resistent features, you have to have the water seal replaced every 2 to 3 years. Now, this doesn't matter to me personally, as I don't bathe or swim with my watch on, but ... what exactly is the point of making a 10 year battery for a water resistant watch if you have to bring it to someone to replace the seal every 2 to 3 years? I made the 10 year battery a part of my selection process to avoid having to pay someone $15 every 2 to 3 years to open my water resistant watch ... only to find that if water resistance WAS important to me, I'd have to do this anyway. I don't really see the advantage here. So, if water resistance AND a 10 year battery are important to you, you might want to rethink your decision making. If, like me, the water resistance doesn't matter, then feel free to enjoy your 10 year battery as I plan to.
5) SIZING THE METAL WATCH BAND - While I found the manual that came with my 752 very informative, it said absolutely nothing about HOW to adjust the size of the metal band with which it is equipped. I assume this is because the 752 body is available with many different bands. The process isn't all that difficult, but there area few things you'll need to know and to have handy to resize the band. The band itself comes in a size that was about 2 links too large for my medium/large sized wrist. There are two possible downsizing solutions offered: A) Move the mounting pin on the main outer clasp so that the pin rests closer to the push button release and/or B) remove one or more links.
There are 4 sets of holes the mounting pin can rest in. I moved the mounting pin from the position furthest from the push button release to the one closest to it. That cut the "too big" factor by about half. I realized I would also have to remove a link. Here's how to do both:
MOVING THE CLASP MOUNTING PIN
The clasp mounting pin sits between pairs of small holes in the main clasp (4 pairs to choose from). Use a small metal object (fine point metal pencil tip, a thick pin, thumb tack point, tiny tipped scredriver for glasses) and carefully push one end of the pin intward and to one side. This will remove the end of the pin from it's hole, allowing the pin to be wiggled free from between its current pair of holes. BE CAREFUL ... there is a spring inside this mounting pin and if you're not careful, once it's out of it's mounting holes, it may want to SPRING away from you. Once the pin is free, move the pin to one of the pairs of mounting holes you think will work best for your wrist size and place one end into one of the holes. Next, slide the other end of the mounting pin along the inside of the clasp until the other end of the pin pops into the opposing whole of your chosing. The spring inside the pin will allow the free end to compress as you slide it closer to the hole and will then push the end into the hole when you reach it.
REMOVING LINKS
If the band is still too big after moving the mounting pin as far as you can, now it's time to remove a link or two. If you're going to remove links, decide first from which side it will make the most sense to remove the link or links. If you take them front he wrong side, you might find the watch fits perfectly, but sits crooked on your arm. That's what I did the first time. The watch fit fine, but it sat funny on my arm.
To determine on which side it will make the most sense to remove links, put the watch on your wrist and close the clasp and center the clasp on the underside of your arm and check to see where the watch body now sits on your wrist. If it sits more to one side or the other, be sure to remove a link or links that will leave the watch face directly opposite the clasp as much as possible. For example, if, when you put the watch on, the body already sits directly across from the clasp and you need to remove two links, be sure to remove one from each side, or the watch will sit crooked on your arm.
This band comes with a fairly easy to use system for removing (or adding) links. Several links on either side of the clasp feature a hole on the back surface (the side that lays against your skin) into which a very small screwdriver can be inserted. (If you don't have them already, I'd suggest spending a dollar or two on either a glasses repair screwdriver or one of those super small sets of screw drivers you can find in most grocery, drug, electronics and mass merchansizing stores as well as any home improvement center.) Use the smallest diameter screwdriver you can find and insert it into the whole on inside of the link you wish to remove and push very firmly and very carefully in the direction indicated by the arrow that's stamped into the back of the link. (Don't push toward the arrow, push in the same direction indicated by the arrow). If you don't have much hand or arm strength, you may need to have someone else do this for you. By pushing repeatedly and firmly in the direction of the arrow, you'll eventually push the connector piece out one side off the link. Keep pushing until the connector piece extends far enough beyond the end of the...Read more›
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Casio Men's W752D-1AV Multifunction Sport WatchMade with a stainless steel case, bezel, and bracelet, the Multifunction Sport Watch features a light-up blue digital clock display with a day, date and month calendar. The perfect watch for running enthusiasts and sports buffs, the LAP Memory 60 function on this Casio watch allows you to store up to 60 records in its memory bank. Each record includes the date, lap time, split time, and distance covered. Runners will love the watch's unique pacing function that, when set, emits an audible pace signal to help you maintain your desired pace. Powered by quartz movement, this Casio timepiece is water resistant to 330 feet and comes equipped with a 10-year battery life.
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