I tested the best Casio solar watches to help bring out your inner rugged manliness. Here's my personal ranking along with hands-on reviews.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. Casio Men's G-Shock - Tough Solar Sport Watch
Top-rated: 3,675 ratings | 210 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Japanese quartz movement with digital display.
Helpful review: "For the record, I am by no standards a "watch guy," and have never been. But recently, I have wanted a watch but wanted a watch that would be rugged yet also show the day, day/month, and time, along with a few timers and such, and this watch has ALL OF THAT and more! My mom bought me this watch for Christmas. I knew I wanted a watch, so I did some research on Amazon and knew I wanted a Gshock. After lots of researching, and a lot of review reading, I told her to get me this Atomic Gshock...and it was the best choice for me!
I've had it for almost 3 weeks now and I absolutely love it. Being a solar-powered watch, it is a little picky but just read the manual and you will know how to make it work great. Basically, just make sure it gets some sunlight every now and then, and put it by the windowsill at night, and you're good to go!
RELIABILITY:
I have been on two backpacking trips so far, both of which temperatures ranged from 30 degrees during the day and 10 degrees at night. With the temperatures, chopping wood, being by the fire, hiking, snowing, getting it wet...this thing survived everything so far. I even put it in the snow overnight to see if it would survive the cold/wet, and it did. This was about a week ago and it is still going strong.
It is obvious that these Gshocks can go through a lot, which is good for me as I am frequently doing outdoor activities such as hunting, hiking, kayaking, and shooting. Oh, which by the way, this Gshock handles the recoil if guns fine. I have been to the shooting range 2 times since I have had this watch, and it has been fine with numerous calibers all the way up to a .357 mag revolver.
COMFORTNESS:
This watch is very comfortable. The band is "resin", which I believe is a very hard/durable rubber. Some people complain of some Gshock bands being uncomfortable, this watch is ANYTHING BUT. I have worn it everyday for 2½ weeks and at no point have I find it to be annoying or uncomfortable. At the same time, I think some people wear watches too tight. In the manual, it says it should be snug but loose enough to wear you can slide a finger between the band and your skin, which is exactly how mine is worn.
APPEARANCE/SIZE:
I personally think the size and look of the watch is perfect, not too small and not too big. I like how the time size is big, so is the day. This makes it super easy when I need the date for a document or the time if someone asks. I get A LOT of compliments on it, especially since I never wore a watch, so now when friends or coworkers see it on my wrist, they immediately say, "nice watch! when did you get that?" The look is rugged, which goes along well with my wardrobe (outdoorsman), yet also goes well with nice outfits. I don't think you could pull off wearing this watch with a suit, as you would want more of a stainless steel "nice" watch for that, but hey, this watch does look THAT good that I would try wearing it with a suit :D
The watch has a bright LED background light, which you can turn on manually, for 1 or 3 seconds for it to be on for. This watch also has a cool "auto light" mode, which when you're in low-light, the watch will turn on the background LED light when you bring the watch up to your face to see the time (must be 45 degrees). This "auto light mode" can be turned on and off. This is a really cool feature, which I find using frequently at night, especially when I am outside chopping firewood, fishing, hiking etc.
The three circular indicators on top are (from left to right) - amount of solar energy watch has (high, med, low), middle circle has the different timers, stopwatches, alarm settings, and the right circle is seconds by 2's (2 seconds, 4, seconds, 6 seconds, and so on to 10). All of these settings inside the circle itself will light up if they are "on," which is awesome as you can easily see if any alarms are on and how much solar energy your watch has.
So right now as I look at my watch, the "high" setting is lit up so I know that my watch has a "high" charge of solar energy. I have one (of 5 possible) alarms on, so one of my alarm settings is lit up as well. At work, I put the 'mute' setting on, so that will light up as well if it is on. If any are off, they do not light up.
Now one important thing is when I say "light up," I do not mean they literally light up as if you were to turn on the LED background light. If you look at the images of the watch, you will see some of the settings on the 3 circular indicators at the top of the watch will be "bold" if they are on. This is what I am talking about.
OVERALL:
I rate this watch a 5 out of 5 for the almost 3 weeks I have had it. I thought I would wear it every now and then, but I find myself wearing it day in and day out, to work, going hunting, watching tv, everything. I love the way it looks and I love that it has the time/day/month and seconds, as well as the 3 circular indicators, all very easy to see. One thing I did not go into was the numerous alarm functions, stopwatch, timers and all that jazz. Yes, it has all of that, but I don't use them. All I use is the alarm settings, but I think I will use the other functions in the future.
This watch is AWESOME, and if you want everything that I mentioned in my review in a watch (reliability, durability, nice appearance, solar-power, comfortability), then I highly suggest you get this watch! Let's just put it this way - if this watch breaks, screen cracks, or anything of the above in the future, I will be sure to buy another one in a heartbeat." — Andrew Richardson
Get it from Amazon now: $140.00 & FREE Returns
2. Casio Men's 8CR G-Shock - Atomic Stainless Steel Sport Watch
Top-rated: 3,079 ratings | 204 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 4 daily alarms and 1 snooze alarm.
Helpful review: "If you want a simple and accurate digital watch that will last for a long time, I can think of no better watch than this watch. Growing up I wore many Casio digital watches and they all took a tough beating and kept on working. None of those were even a G-Shock watch. The biggest issue I had years ago with Casio watches was that the plastic band would eventually get a bit brittle and break after several years of wear. This watch has a stainless steel band that should hold up for years and years.
The stainless steel bands are also more comfortable on the wrist and won’t create hot spots on the wrist like plastic watch bands can, especially if the band is thicker or stiff.
It is a bit tricky to size the watch band. Most of the links don’t have holes on the sides of the links to use a standard watch band tool to remove the links. It gives for a cleaner looking design, but it makes it a bit hard to resize, especially if you’re not used to these types of watch band links. I was able to use a very small flathead screwdriver to remove the pins. There’s a notch on the inside of the band that allows you to get to the pins.
Attaching the links back seemed like the harder part at first, but it seemed easier towards the end when I held the pins from the outside portion of the band instead of the inside portion with the notch. The pins started clicking in easier.
The watch lights up using an indigo backlight similar to how many Timex watches light up. It doesn’t get very bright. The worst part about the night illumination is that it only lasts about 2-3 seconds or barely long enough to read the time. You might want to light the watch up 2-3 times to read the time in complete darkness. I’m sure they were trying to save battery life, but they should extend the time it stays lit to 5-6 seconds.
The watch came fully charged for me, unlike for some. The time has been perfectly accurate in comparison to the time on my phone, computer and cable tv box. With the syncing to the atomic clock, this watch should always be very accurate. And unlike those Casio watches that I had growing up, with this watch being solar powered, I shouldn’t have to worry about the battery for a long long time. The old Casio watches the original battery would last about 5 years and any replacement batteries would last about 2-3 years.
The watch seems very comfortable. The watch is a bit thick due to the G-Shock protection, but it’s not very noticeable.
If you like watches with big watch faces, this watch probably isn’t for you. It has more of what I’d call a standard size watch face. The characters are plenty large enough to read though. It looks like it has some stopwatch capabilities, but other than that it just keeps accurate time. If you want a simple, comfortable, accurate, long-lasting watch that can take a beating… This is that kind of wristwatch." — Keith Sinders
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3. Casio Men's Quartz - Stainless Steel Sport Watch
Top-rated: 1,292 ratings | 66 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Rechargeable battery with 6-month power.
Helpful review: "A decent lightweight, solid field watch at a reasonable price. With the solar charging function, remembering to replace batteries won't be an issue.
But that band the watch comes with is one of the most uncomfortable I've ever experienced on a watch even at this price point.
One of the reasons why I originally purchased this watch was because the watch band looked cool, but it's extremely uncomfortable. I ended up swapping out the band for the Ritche 22mm Military Ballistic Nylon Strap With Black Heavy Buckle Watch Band, and I swapped out the spring bars for the Wellfit Watch Pins to be safe. This combination is far more comfortable when wearing the watch while working or doing other active tasks.
The illumination on the hands is also not great. The hands are exposed to direct sunlight most of the day and they're not visible once it gets dark. Charge the hands with a UV light and they glow for a couple of seconds and then go dark.
Despite the shortcomings of the illumination on the hands and the strap, if you're looking for a good looking, budget field watch style watch that you won't mind losing or breaking, that has solar charging this isn't a bad option.
MY NEIGHBOR’S REVIEW:
I bought this watch a couple of months ago because I needed a solar powered watch that's able to take a beating. I am very impressed with the utility. It's accurate and easy to read. There have been complaints about the illumination in previous reviews. The hands of the watch illuminate well but the numbers do not. It doesn't really matter to me if I can see the numbers or not at night because the position of the hands makes it obvious about the time. I like having the second sweep hand, it is precisely on the tics - just what I wanted. The green arrow tip of the second sweep hand is cool.
As far as ruggedness - I've swam with it, showered, hiked up rushing tropical streams and waterfalls, been down in the mud - and with a wash - it looks great. The crystal is hard and no scratches after a beating. There have also been complaints about the band. Actually, I like the band - I find it comfortable and keeps the watch firm on my wrist.
The price was very reasonable - the watch was delivered quickly in good packaging but not over-packaged. And, I'll never have to replace the battery! You won't be disappointed!
A FEW WORDS FROM A FRIEND:
The watch it’s really nice. I just got it and it’s what I expected. I read in the reviews that the band that it cakes with is not so great. To be honest, it really is not! The feeling is that it’s kinda ok. I didn’t like that between levels on the band, one goes too tight and the other feels really loose. Maybe it’s how I am built, idk. I already knew this from the other reviews so I ordered a different band for it and I’m pretty sure I will like it way more. The watch it’s great. I’m planning on using it for work so let’s see!" — Erik Costas
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4. Casio Men's Illuminator - Solar Combination Watch
Top-rated: 6,720 ratings | 7 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Neo-brite luminous hands and markers.
Helpful review: "I needed an inexpensive watch to remind me to take medications, and I wanted a Casio as opposed to a no-name because of their reputation with inexpensive digital watches. With five alarms and a good price, this seemed like a good choice.
SO FAR SO GOOD:
I've had it for about a week, and so far, it works fine. The alarms are loud enough for what I need, but not annoying. For me, all the rest of the stuff (shock-resistance, water-resistance, solar power, digital display options, etc.) is a bonus: unexpected and nice to have at the price point I wanted.
CHARGING:
There is a lot of fussy language in the documentation about exposing it to sun and keeping it charged. I don't think you need to worry about it. On arrival mine had a middling charge. After only a couple hours outside, it was fully charged. The documentation says a fully charged watch can work up to 10 months without further light. So, don't drop it in a drawer and forget it--wear it once in a while and don't fret about charging.
SETUP:
It takes a while to set up (an hour or so) but that's expected for a multi-function digital watch. Once you figure out the buttons and how to cycle through the digital display menus, it's fairly easy.
CONS:
I have three small issues. One, the documentation that came with is a VERY tiny print. (I assume there is a digital version that is easier to read.) Two, although the large analog display (the watch "hands") is large and easy to read, the digital display is tiny, hard to read, and parts of it are often hidden by the hands.
Practically speaking, the digital display is mainly for setting the watch up, checking battery, etc., and occasional informal use of stopwatch, date, battery indicator, universal time, etc. If you use such features a lot, you will find this watch frustrating and you should look for something else. Three, it's a little larger than I prefer, but that's not a huge issue.
OVERALL:
Assuming it holds up, and assuming you don't use the extra digital features a lot, it's a surprisingly good value for the price.
A FEW WORDS FROM A NEIGHBOR:
I have had this watch for less than a week and am really happy with the way it looks, the construction, the set up, the low price, and all the perks. I've broken too many of these types of watch bands, that I knew right away I needed a replacement. I ended up with a Nato type watch band which is a nylon strap. To me, it is more comfortable than the band that comes with the watch. It does need an adapter, so I found one on Amazon to fit this watch. Link below. Other than that, I plan on having this watch for a long time." — Chris Belvedere
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5. Casio Men's Pro Trek - Triple Sensor Sport Watch
Top-rated: 1,933 ratings | 183 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Full auto-LED (Super Illuminator) backlight with afterglow.
Helpful review: "I decided to put this review up as a few reviewers have issues with the accuracy of the altimeter readings, and may not understand the limitations of these watches:
DESIGN:
The PRG270 is smaller than some of the older Protrek models, due to the smaller sensor, and they have moved the sensor location from the 10 o'clock to the 9 o'clock position. The triple sensor makes these watches sometimes called ABC watches as they have Altitude, Barometer & Compass readouts. The smaller design makes it easier to wear everyday, however the face is still relatively busy, with the case having front raised sections (at the 12, 3, 6 & 9) with indents. The sensor at the 9 o'clock position sits higher than the raised section at the 3 o'clock position. The crystal is recessed nicely as usual on Casio G-Shocks and Protreks.
I wish the design could look more like the PRW3000, which is cleaner and more stylish IMHO Casio Men's PRW-3000-1ACR Protrek Digital Display Japanese Quartz Black Watch , but is also 3 times more expensive. The display is similar to the other Protreks, divided into three sections. The top section has a dotmatrix display and can show the date, or altitude/barometric graphs, the middle section is the time, and the lower section is the seconds.
The watch is light, mine weighs about 67 grams (2.36 ounces), and has 10Bar water resistance, which means it is ok in a rain shower, or shallow swim, but it wouldn't be ok with a scuba dive. I have only had this watch in the rain, and it functions fine.
One issue with the PRG270 is the strap uses a 18mm spring lug, so if you wanted to put a wider Nato/Zulu strap, you'd need an adapter.
FEATURES:
- EL backlight, this is nice and bright, and the EL button is still on the front, they have moved the adjust button on older Protreks from the front to the 10 o'clock position. You can still set this for Automatic, and set it for 1 or 3 second display.
- Date display - on the Time display, you can change date to Day&Date, or Month&Date, or Barometric Graph only (no date).
- Setting time - this is a breeze. when you get the watch is preset to Tokyo time. Changing the Time zone to your location, and checking if Daylight Saving Time (DST) applies, and voila - the time is set and easy to change if you travel. The secondary timezone is set by picking various preset cities. I have not had any issue with the time accuracy so far.
- Stopwatch/Countdown TImer (24 hours max)/Alarm - All standard, but the alarm lets you have 5 individual alarms, and the alarm is louder and longer than my Suunto Core watches.
- Sunrise/Sunset - this is also a breeze to set. The PRG270 lets you input the longitude and latitude of your location for accurate sunrise/sunset times. Compared with my Suunto Core watches which only lets me choose nearest cities.
- Power save - I have set this to on, and the watch will display will go off overnight, or after a period of unuse to conserve battery. You can wake it up by pressing any button.
ALTIMETER/BAROMETER:
All altimeter watches without GPS embedded will calculate the estimate of altitude by changes in air (barometric) pressure.
Air pressure can change due to many things, like change in elevation, change in weather, your physical location and wind. So for example, if you get a low pressure system coming through over night, while you leave your watch on the table, it could appear that you have ascended a few hundred feet in your sleep. Similarly, if you take the watch on a commercial airplane, it will not give you a reading on the actual altitude, but a lower altitude, based on the pressure within the cabin. If you fly in an unpressurized aircraft, it will give you a more accurate altitude reading. I have taken a Suunto Core with me when I've been in a few prop aircraft, and used it as a secondary altimeter in skydiving, and it has been fairly accurate after calibration. I'll take the Casio up next time and see how it goes.
Also, I have found that the altimeter and barometer readings tend to vary with temperature, and gives marginally more accurate readings off the wrist especially if I have been hiking and my wrist is warm.
I also have a few Suunto Core watches, and the Suunto Core is quite clever in the way it calculates the altitude. If you leave it in altitude logging, it will gain elevation as you physically climb up, as the barometric pressure changes faster than it does when the weather changes, so it realises you are climbing. But once you stop climbing for a while, it realises this and any slight air pressure changes it takes as weather change, and not altitude gain or loss. The Casio doesn't have this feature.
For accurate altimeter readings you still need to calibrate your altimeter watch to your reference altitude on a fairly regular basis. I do this when I want to log altitudes before a hike/climb. An easy way to do this is to check Google Earth which gives accurate altitude readings when you put your location. You can then calibrate the barometric pressure from your local meteorology service (I take mine from their website on the day I calibrate).
If kept properly calibrated during a day that has fairly stable weather, they should prove to be very accurate overall. In varying weather conditions, you will see some variation. Again, it's essential to know the reference altitude to get back on track. Still, this can vary, and the altimeter watch is not a scientific instrument, but only designed to give you an estimate on current altitude. For example, on a recent trek to Mt Everest Base Camp, I ran a few loggers, including a barometric altimeter, and on the return trek later in the day because I was exhausted, I didn't recalibrate the altimeter at the known peak height, the altimeter log showed an altitude difference of about 10 meters.
So if you are after an altimeter watch for accurate altitude readings at specific location, without daily calibration, the Casio PRG 270 it is not the right tool for you.
The accuracy of the altimeter when properly calibrated is pretty close when I've compared it with my Suunto Core watches, Garmin handheld GPSs and altitude markers on trails. I usually the watch strapped to my backpack strap when hiking, so it doesn't get thrown out by my body temperature.
Also, I haven't checked how fast the altimeter updates. It seems ok for hiking, but I haven't taken readings and monitored it while bike riding for example. The newer V3 Sensor has reduced the time required to measure altitude from 5 seconds previously to 1 second now, and the altitude measurement unit has been improved from five meters to one meter.
The temperature reading in the barometer was pretty accurate, but I've noticed it can get weird with rapid changes in temperature. For example, if you have left the watch by the window to solar charge, the temperature will be wrong for about half an hour until the watch and sensor cools down, and you get a more accurate measurement. You should only calibrate the temperature when the watch has cooled to normal temperature, and I have done this with a high accuracy thermometer. The temperature reading it gives includes 1 decimal place. In my Suunto Core, it only displayed the nearest degree, but after calibration, both Suunto watches and the PRG270 are pretty accurate on temperature off the wrist.
ALTIMETER LOGS:
The watch has enough memory to store 30 logs, and 14 trek logs, but I think the Suunto is better here as it can record more.
COMPASS:
As with all electronic compasses, it will get interferences from other magnetic sources, and may not be accurate on boats, planes, trains, or even in some buildings where the ferroconcrete magnetism causes inaccurate readings. That said, I have had good experiences with the compass, in those conditions. The magnetic compass can be set for magnetic declination, and you can still display the time in Compass mode. The top section can be set to display the bearing (0°-360°) or the direction (N,S,E,W, etc).
You have to have the watch level with the ground to get an accurate compass reading, and it is easy to calibrate by holding the adjust button down. You should only calibrate when away from other magnetic sources. I do this when I'm starting a hike, away from the car, but always carry a real compass and maps if going out bush. If you leave it in compass mode it will stop the compass to save battery.
SUMMARY:
Overall, for the price, this is a very good triple sensor watch that because of the smaller size from previous Protreks you can use for everyday wear. If you understand the limitations of ABC watches (they are not intended as precision instruments), this is a great first ABC watch." — Keith Travels
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6. Casio 7CR Pro Trek - Triple-Sensor Digital Watch
Top-rated: 748 ratings | 103 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Water resistant to 200 meters (660 feet).
Helpful review: "My ProTrek PRW-3500T-7CR (Module 3134) is an emergency replacement for a tragically and irretrievably lost PathFinder PAG70-T (Module 2872).
While the PAG70-T has no Atomic Clock sync capabilities, what it has, in spades, is a very sharp looking, "dressy" appearance, as great looking with any suit as with any wilderness survival loadout.
The PAG70-T's case is Titanium-clad-over-resin, with a stainless steel back and titanium wristband; no rotating outer bezel (which I have no need for). At the time of loss, my PAG70-T was still going as strong as Day One on it's original CTL1616 solar recharged battery.
Even though the built-in calendar was due to expire in 2039, I was only going to cross that bridge in 2040, The countdown timer has final 1min, 50sec, 40sec, 30sec, 20sec, 10sec then 1sec interval warning beeps before the final countdown chime. If left uncancelled, the countdown timer would automatically lap and repeat the original countdown. I found that to be an unbelievably useful countdown feature. All PAG70-T alarms are clearly audible across a reasonably quiet room and/or under a jacket sleeve. I seriously miss that PAG70-T. For all that I put it through, not a single scratch or nick anywhere on it.]
On paper, the PRW-3500T-7CR out-classes the PAG70-T's specs. Atomic clock sync (which works every time for me, on a daily basis, some 2000kM from Fort Collins, with a "L1" signal strength, as reported by the watch). Built-in calendar through 2099. 200M static water resistance. So-called "V3" triple sensors. Etc. But I'm still getting used to the PRW-3500T-7CR, and I'm not quite as impressed with it as I hoped to be.
The alarms on the PRW-3500T-7CR are surprisingly and disappointingly WEAK. A covering jacket or other thick sleeve is more than enough to smother these weak alarms. The countdown timer has no final minute intermediate chimes and cannot be set to auto-lap when left uncancelled. Alarm durations are 10 seconds, at best, and are not configurable for longer notifications. One of the five daily alarms is a "snooze" alarm that repeats at intervals for 30 minutes. But what good is a snooze alarm if you can't hear it?
I'm forced for the time being to wear my PRW-3500T-7CR on my right wrist. For some reason, after several reference temperature calibrations, the V3 thermometer gives closer to actual room temperature readings, while uncovered wrist worn, than the PAG70-T; typically less than 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than ambient air temp. Sleeve cover will obviously skew wrist worn temperatures higher than ambient room, due to confined body heat.
- The V3 compass is very accurate when compared with GPS readings and the PRW-3500T-7CR compass can be calibrated (by 1 degree increments) for declination (the PAG70-T has no compensation for declination).
- The V3 barometer is reasonably accurate following a 12-day series of daily calibration check/settings at constant reference altitude.
- The V3 altimeter is surprisingly and sometimes wildly inaccurate when compared with GPS, even more so than the older PAG70-T. I am seriously doubting that any amount of altimeter calibration is going to achieve more accurate readings, but I am optimistically still continuing with once daily calibration checks at reference altitude.
Sunrise and sunset times are highly accurate, once longitude and latitude are manually and correctly entered into Settings. This is not the same as merely setting the Time Zone, unless you happen to actually be located in one of the preset Time Zone cities.
My PRW-3500T-7CR illuminates very evenly across its face in a dark room, even though there is only a single light source, emanating from the left side of the watch face, If yours doesn't illuminate evenly across the entire watch face, then you may have a lemon worthy of prompt return/replacement.
The PRW-3500T-7CR is significantly larger than the PAG70-T, which may present problems for smaller wrist sizes. I had to remove four (4) wristband links, two on each side of the locking clasp, in order to achieve a functionally comfortable fit.
WRISTBAND ADJUSTMENT NB:
Each link pin of the titanium wrist band is retained in place by a single 1 mm diameter split "clinch barrel ring" that too readily slips in and out of the one "receiver" side of the short prong of each link (when disassembled). When fully and properly assembled, the link pin passes through this tight clinch barrel ring and the clinch barrel ring prevents the link pin from sliding out of the wristband (preventing band failure) by sheer friction with the link pin.
What is not immediately apparent to an inattentive observer is that the link pin also holds the clinch barrel ring in its proper place, between wrist band links.
Once a wristband link pin is removed, THAT CLINCH BARREL RING WILL IMMEDIATELY FALL OUT OF PLACE AND CAN BE VERY EASILY LOST. I know of absolutely no source for replacement clinch barrel rings for this wristband.
When I disassembled my wrist band, I did so over a reasonably large disassembly tray (18inx18in), with a surrounding raised lip edge (1") and a non-bounce white tray liner.
As each link pin was carefully removed (observing the directional arrows engraved on the wrist-side of each removable ink), using only the force absolutely necessary and a proper pin removal tool, I could see the TINY clinch barrel ring fall onto the tray liner (and then set it aside for safekeeping).
When reassembling shortened links, I had to use needle tip tweezers to place the clinch barrel ring back into the RECEIVER SIDE of the stub link, oriented UPWARDS toward me, so that gravity would hold it temporarily in place. Then I used a positionable vice grip to hold the two links together, while I reinserted the link pin, through the links and the clinch barrel ring.
The vice grip temporarily held the links together in-place, such that I could rotate the band, with the clinch ring now facing downward, as I gently drove the link pin back into place from above. This was the least tricky and most first-try successful way to adjust the length of the wrist band.
Should you decide to adjust your own wristband, whatever you do, do not lose the clinch barrel rings. Without them, the link pins will fall out and you will have band failure. The only durable and reasonable kludge for a lost clinch barrel ring would be "red"-grade (permanent) ThreadLock on BOTH sides of a fully inserted link pin.
FINALLY:
As always, Casio Customer Service is DISMAL at best. If you get a lemon, replace it with the seller right away for one that works 100% as advertised. Casio Customer Service depends on their products not failing -- and for the most part, when a Casio watch works AOK from Day One, it will continue to do so until you lose it or destroy it. Casio Customer Service has never ever "been there for me" and I have learned that lesson only too well." — William Trey
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