Introduction

I have been an avid watch collector for quite some time now and, during this time, I have owned a number of inexpensive classic watches such as the Seiko Orange and Black Monster, Samurai, Turtle, Spirit, Flightmaster as well as classics from other manufacturers such as the Citizen Skyhawk, Omega Seamaster, Fortis Cosmonaut - the list goes on.

I’ve always admired Casio for their rugged, comfortable and useful watches - especially their ‘Tough Solar’ models - and have owned several of them in the past. The Casio Protrek  PRW5000  is the latest to join my collection and what a striking watch this is.

Although the watch has been on the market for quite some time now, it’s still remained stylish and ‘current’ and, thanks to it’s sensible size, doesn’t look too out of place in pretty much any setting. Don’t get me wrong though, this is still a big watch - especially when you compare it against my 36mm Explorer homage that I find myself frequently wearing these days.

The watch is an ana/digital type and although the LCD display is fairly ‘low-res’ when compared to the smartwatches out there, it’s still easy to read and does what it’s supposed to do. The analogue hands are used to show the time (obviously) and the seconds hand is used for the ABC (Altimeter, Barometer and Compass), as well as show city time zone information. 

Primarily made of their resin material, the watch does feature a metal bezel/front plate. The strap is made from the same material and appears to be hard wearing. The crystal is the standard mineral-type but is nicely protected by the overhanging bezel. The watch features a backlight but this doesn’t light up the digital display - only the analogue hands (which are not lumed). I think that this could have been improved - for example the backlight actually activates the lumed face and hands sufficiently for a few minutes of non-active ‘afterglow’. and also have the backlight illuminate the LCD display as well.  All in all though, this is a well thought out and practical watch.

I have to be honest here and admit that I’m not exactly an outdoorsman - so the additional functions on this watch are really nothing more than ‘fun toys’ for me - I strongly suspect that there are many owners out there who also fit into this criteria. The ‘analogue’ aspect of these functions from the seconds hand is backed up with numeric data in the digital display - again, a nice function. The altimeter recording can be saved in the watch’s memory and the scanning frequency can be changed when necessary.

So far the watch is showing full-power but I do keep it by the window when I’m not wearing it. The atomic clock synchronisation appears to work flawlessly - I’ve never had a problem with any of the Casio watches I’ve had in the past that have this feature. Always accurate - all of the time.

In conclusion, this is a great watch. It’s not as bulky as some of the G-Shock’s I have. The ‘wings’ make sure the fit is always comfortable and doesn’t ‘jiggle’ about on your wrist. The solar cell appears to be nicely efficient - I’ve not experienced any low power issues and I consider this to be one of my most reliable watches.  High praise indeed.