For the record, I do not own the featured image on this page. It is property of Casio America, Inc.
I will never be a Special Forces Operator.
Heck, I will [probably] never be in the military to begin with because of my disabilities.
However, since my teen years, I have had a preoccupation with tactical grade equipment.
I have worn a watch on and off since the age of six, but almost permanently since the age of eighteen.
Everyone in my immediate circle will comment on how punctual I am-and I will agree with them 100%.
Me being so punctual is admired by some but it also irritates others, especially those coming from cultures and ethnic backgrounds that do not realize the need to be on time. Let me just say that the feeling is mutual and that I get just as if not more irritated by those who are frequently late!
One of the items I use to aid me in being so punctual is, of course, a wristwatch.
But I am on a fixed income due to being disabled, so I cannot afford most of these high end watches.
However, as long as it is very accurate and reasonably rugged, I am happy!
Meet the Casio G-Shock!
Yes, I know, there are some G-Shocks that cost hundreds and even thousands of American Dollars. I know I’ll likely never be able to afford them.
However, I can afford an entry-level G-Shock once every few years.
I bought my first Casio G-Shock, a DW-5600E-1BV, in March of 2016. I wore it daily until the Summer of 2018. At the time, it was more accurate than any watch I ever owned. It was even more accurate than the Swiss-made Victorinox Original and also Swiss-made Wenger I had purchased as an upgrade to it. I did have a little extra money that Summer and I promised myself I would always buy a Swiss watch if I ever had some extra money. But this Casio G-Shock was off only 1 or 2 seconds per month if that. By the way it is specified to be accurate within 15 seconds a month. My Swiss watches were off by between 30 and 35 seconds a month.
By the way, I synchronize my watches and clocks with The American Atomic Clock at the beginning of every month.
At some point my first G-Shock started going on the blink. I don’t know if it needs a new battery or if there is some damage to it, but it will randomly reset itself which is very frustrating for me. The display also fades in and out which is also annoying. So, for now and until I can get it fixed, it will be a shelf queen.
From January of 2019 to early January of 2020, I pretty much wore a Casio Databank CA53W-1. I wore other watches as well, but this was my go to watch and I plan to write a review of it as well in time.
In December of 2019, I had been wanting another G-Shock. So I planned to get one for myself as a birthday present (my birthday being in early January.)
I did a little bit research and finally decided to get the Casio G-Shock G100-9CM, of which this review will be about.
I ordered it on eBay a day after my birthday and it arrived in my mailbox on January 10, 2020.
It features two digital times, an alarm clock, a stop watch, a calendar and an analog time. The digital portion has an electroluminescent display and the hands and markers glow in the dark.
Initially I was quite frustrated because while the digital times were easy to set, the analog time was a nightmare to [precisely] set.
For the first day, I went about with the wrong time on the analog portion of my new watch. Granted it was only off by a minute and some seconds, which wouldn’t bother most, but it drove me pretty insane though I was able to conceal it. Well that and my sister was getting married, so I couldn’t let it bother me too much.
My digital times were right on the money because I had synchronized them with my Atomic Clock receiver, but my analog time was off.
Then on the evening of January 11, 2020, I eventually figured out how to properly synchronize it.
One must hold down the H-SET button continuously until the hands point to just a minute before the current time. Then when checked against a clock with a referential time such as The Atomic Clock wait for the time to hit 59 seconds past the minute then when it strikes the next minute, press and hold the MODE/SET FWD button and it will advance to the next minute then quickly release and the analog portion of the watch will be synchronized. Yes this is a pain in the rear end, but once set, it keeps time very accurately. Theoretically, unless traveling across time zones one should only have to do this twice a year, unless one is like me and will do it once a month if necessary. By necessary, I mean not exactly synchronized with The Atomic Clock. Still, I am taking some points off for this. Another annoying thing is that one can only go forward, not reverse, so if one passes up the time while holding the H-SET button down, he or she must start over. Another area to subtract points.
However, this watch looks very attractive on the wrist and it seems to be quite rugged, though I have yet to put it through anything stressful.
According to Casio’s website, the G100-9CM has:
Shock Resistance-could be worn as a beater watch.
Water Resistance to a depth of 200 Meters-more than enough to take swimming.
Magnetic Resistance-perfect for an industrial setting where heavy machinery is involved.
Accuracy +/-15 seconds in a month-probably even better than that.
and
Runs on a 3 Volt Lithium CR2016 battery-will give the end user up to three years of service before needing to be replaced.
Mine has the module 5158, so hopefully it’s automatic calendar is preprogrammed between the years 2000 and 2099.
The MSRP is $99, but I only paid $47.95 and free shipping for it. Thank God for eBay!
I do like the stylish yellow against the black in my particular model.
Casio G-Shocks are frequently worn by special forces operators around the globe, so even though I will never be a special forces operator, I get to feel at least a little bit like one when I wear this watch. Well that and I will be turning 34 in less than a year which is the average age of an officer in the special forces.
I sincerely hope this lasts longer than my other G-Shock, but I like Casio watches in general because they are so accurate.
All in all, I give this product a 4.25 out of 5 stars due to the difficulty of setting the analog time.
This therefore concludes my review of the Casio G-Shock G100-9CM, I hope you, the reader, have been informed and maybe even entertained…