Casio G-Shock GW-9200RJ-4JF Men in Rescue Orange

Yesterday I wore and took pictures of (but didn't have time to post about) a Casio G-Shock I bought just over two years ago. It's a GW-9200RJ-4JF Riseman (not to be confused with the original Riseman) and is part of the Men in Rescue Orange series. Not to bore you with minutiae, but the watches pictured in that link are actually the "export" versions. The U.S. got the export version, but I bought this from a person who imported it from Japan. In the case of the Riseman, the main differences are the lack of radio controlled atomic timekeeping (Multiband 6) on the U.S. version, and a different caseback. The caseback on the U.S. version has an engraving of a dragon while the Japanese version has a flying squirrel. Both versions have the orange-tinted display and very cool backlight graphic, described by Casio as "a special multi-purpose rescue tool". The watch is great for a number of reasons: It's bright orange, and I love bright orange, so I love wearing it (especially if I'm wearing some coordinating orange clothes or shoes.) It's big and chunky, similar to a Frogman, but somehow looks more futuristic. It has great functionality, including a thermometer, barometer, altimeter, world time, 5 alarms, etc. Second only to my Pathfinder PAW-1300 in functionality, which adds a compass but gives up some water resistance. This is one of my watches that gets worn very regularly, especially in the summer, and I don't believe I'll tire of it anytime soon.

Timex Helix T_S

Today I'm wearing my most "beaterific" watch, my Timex Helix T_S. While yesterday's main feature was the analog/digital display, today's is the thermometer. I suppose the "T" in the name stands for "thermometer" and perhaps the "S" stands for sport. The temperature is constantly displayed by a bar at the top and can also be selected to display numerically instead of the date. It's similar in design to yesterday's Helix, with this one always reminding me of a space alien in a futuristic gas mask. This is the other watch I wear when I probably shouldn't be wearing a watch at all. Most of the signs of abuse you see on this one came from landscaping, carpentry and deck staining. Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. Not bad for a truly cheap watch.

Casio Pathfinder PAW-1300T-7V

Today I'm wearing my newest Pathfinder, a PAW-1300T-7V. PAW for Pathfinder (in the world outside the U.S.A. these are called "Protrek" and the model numbers start with PR,) 1300 for the series (newer than my 1100,) T for Titanium, 7 for silver accents, and V for international (non-Japanese) version. This has all the functions of my PAW-1100T but weighs less and is much slimmer (only 11.5mm thick, while the 1100 is over 14mm thick.) This was the ultimate Pathfinder, all the functions available in a Pathfinder in a package that made it very wearable under most conditions. Of course, Casio couldn't rest on their laurels, so the PAW-1500 series is the newest King of the Hill, which adds tide graph, moon phase and 200m water resistance to the long list of features. I'm not sure if I'll get a 1500 or just wait for whatever comes next. It's almost certain that Casio will keep improving their technology and packing more features into smaller, more durable packages.

Casio G-Shock DW-9800J-1B Wademan

Somehow I forgot about this watch when I was doing the "Non-Stop G-Shocks". It's not like it was hidden or anything, it was just sitting there with the rest. And it's not as if I don't like it, I do, I like both of my Wademen very much and wouldn't mind having more. I think it's a combination of having a whole bunch of yellow watches, and also trying to get the EL backlight working on my Eric Haze 6900 when I got down to only a few Gs. Anyway, I'm wearing it today. It has a compass and thermometer just like my Men in Khaki Wademan and is pretty much identical except for the colors, strap keeper (MIK has a nylon keeper, this has a regular resin one) and no picture in the backlight. This was just a basic version, and it was also available in black with red details. I can't say enough good things about the Wademan (still the only G-Shock with rotating bezel) and I like it a lot. I suppose I should keep an eye out for the other Wademan models, but there are so few that even the "basic" ones are pretty rare.

Non-Stop G-Shocks: DW-8600YJ-9 Men In Yellow Fisherman

Today I'm wearing my last Men In Yellow G-Shock, my DW-8600YJ-9 Fisherman. I always thought the Fisherman models were pretty much the same as the DW-9700 Gulfman models, but it appears that the Fishermen use a different module (a 1629 vs. the Gulfman's 2080) which includes a temperature sensor in addition to the tide graph and moon phase which both models have. The Fisherman model seems to be the rarest of the Men in Yellow series, but I don't know if they just weren't popular or if they were produced in limited numbers. I bought this brand new one on eBay recently, and hadn't seen any for a while before that, but have seen at least one since. As you can see from the Men in Yellow group shots below, it's similar in size to other G-Shocks, although it seems to wear a little smaller, like the modern Gulfman. The Fisherman has a unique nautical look to it, maybe because of the shrouded stainless steel ring around the bezel and grey accents; it just looks like it would be at home on a boat. It has an interesting buckle on the strap, sort of a double buckle, which keeps the loose end of the strap tucked under and out of the way. It also seems like it would be well protected from impacts and would be low profile enough to keep from snagging on things in a fishing environment. I'm not a fisherman so I'll probably never try it under those conditions, but I like it and it's a fine addition (and conclusion) to my Men in Yellow G-Shock collection.

Non-Stop G-Shocks: DW-6100CF-3 G-Python

Shortly after I wore and wrote about this watch I found a brand new green camouflage version and bought it, and today I'm wearing it. So, everything about the other watch also applies to this one. I am a little disappointed that the watch has black "G-SHOCK" writing at the top, and the orange "G" at the bottom is kind of a muted orange, unlike the picture here. But it's a small nitpick, and I'm very happy to have it. Of course now I'm looking for the blue and grey camo 5600s to complete my G-Python collection.

Casio G-Shock DW-6100CF-8 G-Python

I didn't really want to wear another G-Shock today, but I remembered I hadn't worn this one yet and I really couldn't resist. It's a Casio G-Shock DW-6100CF-8 from the G-Python series. It not only has a very attractive grey camouflage case and strap, it also has a thermometer with a graph showing change in temperature over time and a very cool "Sunrise, Sunset Time Display" which is in the little "eye". It's actually a 24-hour dial as it has a blinking digital "hand" that shows the current time, but it also has two non-blinking lines that show the sunrise and sunset times based on the latitude and longitude you enter. This watch also happens to be my only G-Shock with an old-style incandescent night light, pretty much the same thing you would find on the original G-Shocks. I would love to find the green camo version of this watch, especially in the same condition as my current one.