The Casio Pathfinder PAW-1500 T - Part 5 (final part) - Pros and Cons

After having worn the watch for some time, I made a list with pros and cons :

PROs

1. Very clear readable (BIG) digits for the time and other main fuctions.
2. Versatile watch. I don't think there's another watch at this moment that is packed whith so many features.
3. Once you've done the initial settings, the watch is easy in its use.
4. Price versus quality = good
5. Easy to use (big) push buttons.
6. Atomic timekeeping
7. Tough Solar - Your battery won't die on a trip !
8. The atmospheric tendency graph is useful to "more or less" forecast the weather.
9. It's a very lightweight watch.

CONs

1. The sound of the alarm and countdown timer is too faint.
2. The plastic case degrades the watch - certainly in combination with the titanium bracelet.
3. When on your wrist (and that's where it is supposed to be), the watches' temperature reading is influenced by your body warmth and therefore useless.
4. Since the altimeter uses barometric pressure to calculate altitude, its reading is incorrect when there's a sudden change in atmospheric pressure not due to your ascent or descent. So you're never sure if the altitude reading is correct.
5. You can't see the transmitter from witch the watch picks up the time calibration signal. (some G-shock do show the transmitter) (There are parts of the world where you can't receive any transmitter.)

If you're planning to buy the Casio Pathfinder PAW-1500 T, I hope this review has helped you somehow in making a decision.

I certainly love wearing this unique timepiece !

The Casio Pathfinder PAW-1500 T - Part 4 - Altimeter-Barometer-Compass

1. Compass.

When you push the compass button, this is the kind of reading you get :

In this example the 12 'oclock position points almost south (175 degrees) . The small black rectangles point to the main directions.

North is indicated by 3 rectangles.

The compass points to the magnetic north. At some places on earth you might need to correct the reading in order to be accurate. You can perform a magnetic declination corretction with the watch.

The compass updates its compass reading every second but after 20 seconds it stops. You will have to press the compass button again for another reading.

2. Barometer + Thermometer.

The barometer reads atmospheric pressure.

(hPa = Hecto Pascal)

There's also a tendency graph. It shows previous measurements for up to 20 hours.

The thermometer reads in Celcius or Farenheit. When you wear the watch, the temperature reading is influenced by your body heat.

The black rectangle in the picture above shows the difference between the actual barometric pressure reading and the last stored reading. Here it's +1 hPa since last stored reading.

3. Altimeter.

The altimeter gives an indication of your altitude. It uses air pressure and goes up or down with an inclination of 5 metres. You will need to calibrate it first or you can set the altitude to zero.

Then you can hold track of your ascent and descent.

It has a graph.

I will do one more post on the Casio Pathfinder PAW-1500 T .

After having the watch for some time now, I will make a list of its pros and cons.

The Casio Pathfinder PAW-1500 T - Part 2 - The main display (time keeping mode)

This is the main display. Let's have a look on what it shows.

• it's Monday the 6Th of July - 14 h. 12 min. 30 sec.
• it's full moon
  

In this display you can toggle between the day of the week and a barometric pressure graph (tendency graph).

Simply by pushing the adjust button 1 time. I check the graph regularly. It gives an indication of the upcoming weather conditions.

Some other information you can retrieve from this display :

• The power level of the battery is H(igh) - there are 3 indications for the power level of the battery : H(igh) - M(medium) - L(ow). The battery is charged by solar energy.
• P(ower) S(aving) is on. This watch has a clever way of using power and it turns off certain functions when there falls no light on the watch.

• Currently we are in D(aylight) S(aving) T(ime) = Summer Time (in British English)
• Change between summer and winter time can be performed automatically by the watch. (Auto DST)

The small black rectangle moves along the ring like the second hand of an analog watch.

• The tide is rising towards high tide. The difference in water levels between high and low tide is big.
  

• When this arrow is displayed, it means that the watch has calibrated successfully.

You can set the watch to automatically receive the calibration signal. You can also manually receive the signal.

• The hourly time signal is on.

Some features that are turned off in this example :

• Auto illumination is off
• No alarm has been set

This concludes a short overview of display in Timekeeping Mode. In the next post we will be going through the other modes of the watch.

The Casio Pathfinder PAW-1500 T - Part 1 - Overall look

I'm going to do a more extensive review of the Casio Paw-1500 T with a lot of pictures.
This review will be broken up in several parts. Today part 1 - The look of the watch.

This is a closer look at the mode button. The whole design of the watch reminds me of the space ships we see in the movies and tv series. More specific : Star Wars.

This is an artist's interpretation of a star ship. You can see how the Pathfinder's design resembles this ship's forms. (this is of course my personal interpretation, you may disagree.)

Let's take this even a little further. Have a look at the picture above and then look at the space ship below.

A picture says more than words. This is a picture of the Lego version of the Star Wars space ship "Millenium Falcon". Notice the circular structures on top of this ship.

These are the push buttons for the : ALTImeter - BAROmeter - COMPass.

They remind me of the eyes of a fly. Personally I find this less attractive. It also reminds me of a three-eyed spider. The SF kind of design is what I appreciate more.

These is a picture of actual eyes of a fly...

The sensor(s) are behind this.

Some plastic at the back of the titanium bracelet. I have no idea why that is.

Radio controled. Multiband 5.

Don't worry when the watch gets wet.

Solar powered. This is the engraving in the bracelet.

The back of the watch. (with screws)

On my wrist. It's a BIG watch. You certainly make a statement when you wear the PAW-1500 T.

I've got the watch for over a month now and it's been on my wrist almost every day.

I had to wait a long time for it. It was delayed at the Belgian customs. I bought it in the USA for around 200 euro and that's a real good price but I had to pay an additional 75 euro taxes and fees to get it in the country.

In part 2 I'll go over the functions of the Casio Pathfinder PAW-1500 T.

Casio Pathfinder : PAW-1500T

Recently I got this Casio Pathfinder watch (paw-1500T). I'm always on the lookout for great watches with some special features.

This one got a compass, altimeter, barometer and thermometer.

It shows the moonphases and the tides.

(No, it has no built-in navigation system nor a cell phone nor an mp3 player)

It is solar powered and is synchronizes daily with an atomic clock.