Casio Men's Pro Trek PRW-2500T-7CR Tough Solar Digital Sport Watch

The Pathfinder PRW2500T-7CR was my personal upgrade to the  Casio Men's PAW1300T-7V Pathfinder Multi-Band Solar Atomic Silver Watch  I purchased about 3 years ago, and I'm very impressed with its performance, though I'll honestly say it's far from perfect - especially for nearly $300 (after taxes).There's a lot to cover, so let's start with the features and upgrades Casio has made to the PRW2500T to previous watches. This is Casio's latest (2001) edition of their Pathfinder Tough Triple-Sensor Atomic Solar watches - which is a real mouthful. Basically this series of Pathfinder watches really are the Crem della crem of those offered, as they include a tough design to resist damage & wear, includes some form of significant water resistance (20BAR, 200 meters), has a triple sensor (temperature barometer, altimeter, and digital compass), has an atomic timekeeping feature, and is solar powered. In short, this watch is extremely feature rich - but this is nothing new for Casio. The PAW1300T I mentioned earlier came out about four years previously and has the exact same features - save for a weaker water resistance (10BAR / 100 Meters), so Casio is certainly staying the course in offering what its most outgoing and resourceful customers want. What this watch DOES offer as an upgrade significantly is new moon and tide data, which the aforementioned watch did not have - so this is something to consider if this is what you're looking for.What makes this watch such an effective upgrade is the great display redesign that it has given compared to previous pathfinders. the PRW2500T, from the home screen, allows you to view the moon phase, day of week, barometer graph, tide chart, date, and time without pressing a button! That's a big upgrade, as previous watches required you to trade the day of the week for a barometer graph or other exchanges of information, making it more inconvenient for the quick glance. Of course, as a cost the time display is much smaller, so you'll have to look harder for this view. The watch's physical design has also gotten a serious upgrade, with resin supports around the stainless steel casing to ensure less denting and help maintain a water-resistant seal when possible. The band also connects to the watch face much more securely compared to the PAW1300T, meaning your band won't break as easily (which is why I ended up buying this watch in the first place!) and you're not going to have to replace the band as likely. Long story short, the watch has been built much better compared to the PAW1300T and is a step in the right direction for CasioThe sensors and general timekeeping are solid. Atomic timekeeping is a pain in the butt, and i have to say I've yet to get a solid update unfortunately, but bear in mind this was done in a metropolitan environment on the 4th floor, not a rural one away from buildings where it's mostly expected. Then again this is nothing different from past pathfinder watches, whichThe watch has everything you need, and only a few shortfalls. The titanium band - while strong and lightweight - is not very scratch resistant. The paint on the surface (such as on the direction dial) is also very prone to scratches, which really kill the clean and finished look I just loved when I got it. I'm a week in and it's already chipping paint and scratching up, and I've yet to take it on my first hike. Despite this, it's extremely resistant to wear and will last you years - so long as you give it the maintenance it needs every so often and keep it away from harm. It's no G-Shock, but a very good watch, and light on the hand!The titanium band is a great option that's very classy and resistant to damage - but where the watch face and band meet is connected by metal and plastic/rubber resin - which has in the past broke on my other pathfinders. The new design is much more beefy and resistant to damage, but I still feel Casio has a conspiracy to sell you titanium bands that break and get scratched up, especially when they only offer a 1 year warranty.Speaking of warranties, this thing - for what you pay - deserves a 3 or 5 year warranty. Casio's 1-year warranty is an insult, and they should really back their watches more long-term. The watch face will probably outlive you - but the watchbands are very likely to break every few years. The titanium band is an easy $70 to replace, so keep that in mind!In the end there's a lot to be said about this watch - most importantly it will suit your needs no matter your interests, whether they be personal, business, or military. I also feel I've barely scratched the surface with this watch, so please feel free to individually ask questions if you feel this review isn't sufficient of how much this watch covers. This is a watch that will go with and last just about anything you throw at it. I love it, even despite its shortfalls, and think the pathfinder is the most feature-rich watch money can buy.UPDATE - May 15 2013Nothing has changed for this watch except some wearing on the compass dial. Apparently the paint can't survive, though everything else is in fair order. I don't get why this feature is even on the watch but nonetheless it does hurt the aesthetics. Bear this in mind as you use it! Regardless it's still a fine product and everything else seems to be working great.UPDATE - July 2014Just a short update. I ended up shelving this watch for a bit as I use my smartwatch more often. My only disappointment is that the device doesn't store its charge for as long as my previous Casio (in fact this one is dead while the other Casio is sitting on Low after over a year!) which was a little surprising, but not a deal breaker.Nonetheless the unit is holding up fantastically even before I switched to a smart watch. I definitely will keep it around for the more outdoor days.

The watch is pretty big on my wrist - bigger than I was expecting from the pictures. The sensors on mine works just fine but there is some silliness to it. This should be expected -> The temperature reading is affected by body temperature, so to get an ambient temp reading you have to remove the watch and put it in the environment you want to measure for 20 to 30 minutes. Why not just pick up your smart phone an get the accurate local current weather and forecast. What about the barometer and altimeter -> Well if you think of a hot air balloon you realize temperature has a huge impact on air density and on instruments that measure air density like a barometer or altimeter. (Barometric air pressure drops about 1 inch of mercury per 1000 feet of altitude as you go up in altitude. And temperature has a big affect on air density too, so in aviation there is a concept of density altitude where on hot days you compare the density of a hot day atmosphere (say 100 degrees F) to a standard atmosphere day (say 59 degrees F at sea level) and you see the air is less dense and you have to accelerate to a much faster speed to take off on a hot day. The acceleration to a faster speed uses up more runway length so you have to check if you have enough runway to takeoff at all. So how does all this affect the watch -> If you take the watch off your wrist where it was at a temp of ~83 degrees F and move it to an ambient temp environment with different temp it is also going to experience an air density change and think it has changed altitude and barometric pressure as well. So this is how I use my watch -> I don't use it to measure temps - I just leave it on my wrist so I don't expose it to the air density changes it experiences off my wrist. Then I use it to see relative changes in barometric pressure and altitude. For the barometer I watch the trend - for centuries the barometer, all by itself, has been a break through weather predicting instrument. If I am a sailor and I see the baro take a pretty fast dip I know a storm is brewing and I need to respect that and take appropriate action, etc. For the altimeter, when I go bicycling, I like to see how much relative change (going up hill and down) I have made - I know (or look up) the MSL elevation of the places I start from, and I set the watch on my wrist to the start elevation. Now I can watch pretty good relative changes in elevation I achieve going up an down hill for me as a cyclist. I like the quick reference for the moon phase and the tides as well. Like my old Red-Rider BB gun I also enjoy the compass in the stock - it works and I actually use it. The watch is tough - I was about half way through working under on my wife's car putting on a receiver hitch for a bike rack before I realized I still had my watch on and was banging it around on stuff under the car. It didn't get scratched or damaged but it is not a hammer. The atomic time setting works well. We live in the SE in GA far away from WWVB in Colorado. The signal strength meter in the watch works well to find a place to put the watch where it can receive the weak WWVB signal and set itself to the Bureau of Standards atomic time keeping. Mine sets every night to WWVB, and its pretty neat to have dead nuts accurate time right on your wrist. So in summary - I'm a geek, and - besides real accurate time of day - the watch gives good relative readings of baro trend, altitude, moon phase, tides, and compass and it's size and impressiveness compensates well for any other personal deficiencies I may have. I really enjoy the thing, but it you want quick or accurate data (other than time of day) - pickup your smart phone.

First, there's something you should be aware of: The watch is made from resin. The band is titanium, and I believe the bezel is as well. Also, this is a big watch. It fits my wrist perfectly, but if you have smaller wrists it may be wider than your wrist. YMMV.Now that that's out of the way, I love this watch. This is one of the only metal watch bands that doesn't pinch the hair on my arm (always a plus). The watch is solar charged and the battery lasts awhile when face down. It's atomically synced (just make sure to tell it which zone/freq to look for). Your standard ABC (Altimeter, Barometer, Compass) features are helpful for us aviators and outdoor enthusiasts. The tidal indicator I thought would be useless, but I've used it a couple times (not many, mind you). It's more aesthetically pleasing than anything. Also the moon phase indicator helps me get a good wag a the nightly illumination before it's even night. The barometric trend (The stairs next to the wave) also helps you to determine if the weather is deteriorating or improving.After a year of hard use, the watch is scratched on any surface I could possibly rub against a foreign object. The bezel has done a great job of protecting the screen, as that isn't scratched at all. The watch receives it's updates like clockwork (get it. Heh heh). All sources of light charge it (and I've left it face down on my nightstand for a couple days at a time, and it was still on Medium charge). One annoying this is how the watch seems to push it's own barometer button... haha. Idk how I keep pushing it. But seems like every time I look at the watch it's on barometric pressure.Pros:Lots and lots of tools in a small packageLightweightDurableSolarAtomicABCLooks cool ... ?Cons:None noted