I know. The G-Shock Illuminators are one of Casio's most popular models. Most people seem to like them. And while I don't think they are completely terrible, I don't share the love that everyone else has for them. Maybe its just personal preference. But isn't everything a personal preference when it comes to watches. Anyway, that brings me to the Casio GBD-800 G-Shock. This model is available in many colour variations (The beige / sand military model is cool) and has a dark digital face. This is quite appealing due to it being a bit different in appearance to most watch faces.
However, this watch does have its share of annoying issues. At least for me. First off, the light. Indoors in low light and outdoors on dull cloudy days, the screen lights up quite well when the light is activated and the time is easy to read. But in brightly lit rooms indoors, and especially outdoors on sunny days, the light is close to useless. I like to think I have good eyes, but I struggled to tell the time on this watch under bright conditions. I think anyone would though.
Another thing I don't like is the strap. Don't get me wrong, it's fairly thick and comfortable when worn. But there are two retainer type pieces of resin / plastic at the joints of the strap where they connect to the watch pins that restricts the watches ability to be laid flat on a surface. That's why one of the pictures in this post shows the watch on its side. See below. I find this feature quite annoying. The lack of flexibility seems a bit restrictive to me. But I guess that's what the strap is like on most G-Shocks, and people who have previously owned one of these watches are probably used to it.
The Bluetooth. Never used it, but I was reading that its main use was so the watch can be paired to a Smartphone and give the watch wearer an alert when their phone is not near enough to their watch. Working as a kind of protector of the lost phone, or preventing a person from leaving home without their Smartphone. Seems a bit over the top to me, and as if Casio failed to make the best use of the Bluetooth options in this watch. Surely there are many more functions that could have been implemented. Perhaps Casio will add more in the future.
I've talked about some of what I dislike about the the Casio GBD-800 "G-SQUAD", so what about the good points. Well, one thing is for sure, it's a tough, well built watch. But all the genuine G-Shocks are. Battery life is almost always a good selling point with Casio watches, but this model seems to last a little less than other Casio models I've had. Casio state the GBD-800's battery [CR2025] will last around 3 years. Which is quite a short period if time compared to other models not G-shock, such as the
W800H with its 10 year battery life.
The acceleration sensor(s) in the GBD-800 means it can be helpful for sport / exercise. Giving the watch the ability to track steps, which can be linked to the G-Shock connected App. I haven't used this so can't confirm how well it all works. Water resistance is 20 BAR, which is the equivalent of 200 meters. More than enough for most people. I also like that it has a stopwatch, a timer, 5 alarms and an optional hourly chime sound.
Overall, the GBD-800 is not a bad watch for fans of G-Shock models who love things like the futuristic Smartphone connected to the watch technology, counting how many steps they take each day and never being further than arms reach away from their Smartphone or the watch will tell them off. Although for me it has a few too many features that I have no real use for. But even for people like me who just want a normal watch without all these extras, it can still be used perfectly fine without using them at all.
