Well I got the Timex WS4 in today. It is too early to do anything other then give my first impressions of it. What I can do is compare the Timex to the Casio (which by the way, I absolutely love) in a flurry of photos.
Hang on...
Oddly enough, My cat could care less about the Timex packaging. He was all over the Casio. My guess, the other guy had a cat and his was doing some long distance messaging.
Here we have both boxes together.
A closer look at the model numbers.
Opening both boxes, this is what you first see.
The Casio PAW1500BG-3 is the 2009 Winter Edition that comes with an extra elastic band to wear the watch over the clothing. The manual in the box is massive, and only in several languages.
The Casio comes with the nicest most comfortable bracelet I have ever seen that is not metallic in nature. It isn’t rubber, and that surprised me somewhat, even with all the research I had done previously. What makes this a knockout of comfort however, is how the band wraps around under the watch itself. Just super ergonomic.
Here it is on my wrist. It is a big watch, but it fits my wrist very nicely.
Now onto the Timex…
The model I ordered was the only one with the elastic band. As such I was stuck with orange highlights. I wasn’t thrilled with this, preferring the white rubber band model face. However, in person, the orange isn’t that bad. In fact, it looks better in person than any photograph can do it justice.
The base had a trap door where the manual can hide. Likewise, there was an unknown package taped to the inside of the watch holder. It turned out to be a neck strap so that you can wear the watch like a necklace. Now I didn’t know about this add on. What I do know is that the other WS4 watches with the rubber band will not have this included. In fact, I stayed away from the rubber bracelet models because I had read that they were not removable, meaning one would have to send it off to the factory to replace the bracelet…that and I wasn’t sure it would fit my large wrist.
Here is a closer look at the neck strap. Remove the elastic band, velcro the strap to the metal D ring, and you are set to go hiking.
The Timex WS4 came with a much smaller instruction manual. They did include this essential short guide which was a nice feature.
I must say, the Timex came in one hour late in time. I didn’t even have to look at any instructions to set it. The Timex has a nice built in user interface that guides you. This allowed them to cut back on the reading material.
Here the Timex is off its elastic strap. The strap on the right is held on with Velcro and a neat metal clasp. The clasp can be adjusted anywhere on the band. What I am not that keen on is the inconvenience of wearing the watch. I have to open the latch, and put my big paw through the elastic band. It isn’t as convenient as buckling the bracelet ends together. I haven’t had a chance to wear the watch yet, and my first impressions may change over time.
Now onto size. Both of these watches are big. I thought the Casio was huge…but the Timex beats it. Here are both watched side by side.
For a final size comparison, I have included two of my other watches. Now the first is a big watch. It is the Bulova Automatic. The second, being a Bulova Marine Star, was considered a big watch when it was bought new. Watches seem to be getting larger and larger. These ABC type watches are bigger in comparison, which makes sense. You do need space for the sensors, etc. I would say these are at the limit of watch portability though. Before I forget, not only is the Timex larger, it is also heavier.
In conclusion, I love the Casio. It has every tech imaginable. Atomic time keeping, solar power, triple sensors, moon and tide info, and it is 200m water resistant. The timex offers less, worst being the 50m water resistance. It does have the 3 sensors, and a unique display. It is also quite a bit cheaper than the Casio. MSRP for the Casio is around 400 US. MSRP for the Timex is only at 200 US. The Timex has user replaceable batteries much like those found on Suunto watches.
Now all I need to do is wear the Timex for a bit to find out how it goes.
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