Casio ProTrek PRW-60 Review — Now For Both Business And Hobby

The Ultimate Guide to All PROTREKs — composed by Experts

Since updates in the model line of Casio ProTrek travel watches are extremely rare, the new PRW-60 was definitely a pleasant addition to the representatives of the elites at the Baselworld 2018 watch exhibition. They just don’t get to such an event [talking about watches], so it’s doubly nice to watch cool PRW -60-2AER on the pages of the blog of Casio lovers.

I have not always been a fan of ProTrek. My attitude changed only after the update of the triple sensor, which allowed to significantly reduce the thickness of the watch case and at the same time improve the accuracy of the popular functions of a compass, barometer, thermometer. Prior to the updated sensor, all the series looked like real “washers”, which for some was considered a good identifier of real tourism, but for me, as usual: it was a puck in Africa too. The views changed after the appearance of the pretty PRW-3000, but then all the models became very acceptable.

The PRW-60 series has become a quintessence [main essence] of the ProTrek division. The watches managed to realize many innovations, which, unfortunately, not everyone will notice. Why won’t they notice? Yes, because the watch remains faithful to the cult ideology of the direction, where the traditional ABC sensor, a combination of hands and an electronic window, a silicone strap and other related elements are still present. An ordinary passer-by may confuse with the PRW-6000, which will be obvious in principle.

So I had no illusions. Even after a detailed analysis on the blog [ProTrek PRW-60 – compactness, mirroring, convenience], he did not strongly believe in exclusivity. Live use of the watch once again confirms the imperfection of photos on the web – PRW-60-2AER is completely different. Not like my subjective perception of ProTrek.

The main factor that fundamentally changes things is the mirror finish of the bezel and time stamps. This has been written about on the blog more than once, but I did not expect such brightness of the metal. Truly mirror-like shine that looks like well-polished silver. The watch has changed because of this. And not in the tourist direction, but rather premium [or office, if it is more clear].

This is exactly the case when the Japanese modify the appearance of the product to a new audience, but the “core” remains the same. Personally, I have nothing against it, on the contrary – it’s nice to wear a comfortable beautiful watch under the cuff of the shirt during a deal for a large amount and under the cuff of climbing gear. I think this is what the manufacturer expects when the watch should be your companion for all occasions. The luster of the metal and its perfect finish [mirror spraying] made the PRW-60-2AER a strict watch under a jacket and durable [from scratches] during hiking in the mountains.

The interframe structure of the corps in real life also surprised atypicality of what is happening. The fact is that you get used to the usual state of affairs when the back cover covers only the back of the watch and that’s it.

And in the PRW-60 it is still a continuation of the fastening of the strap to the case. In fact, the strap clings to the elements of the back cover. Sorry, I can explain it very primitively, but this is how I see it)).

According to the manufacturer, the watch only benefited from this, namely, the strength characteristics of the watch improved significantly. Judging by the immobility of the “teeth” of the mount, everything is just that. If the mirroring of the watch surprised me, then the X-shaped [it is also called] case structure is more for nerds. Of course, it is nice to know about the existence of a new engineering success, but in practice I was satisfied with the usual back cover. Caution, a lot of subjectivity detected …

Another PRW-60 became significantly less [4+ mm in diameter] from the same PRW-6100, which positively affects the appearance of the watch. Let’s just say that with PRW-60-2AER you don’t feel a clear sports accent, it’s more like a business style watch, but for all occasions.

Let’s talk about the functionality. In terms of functions, I did not see something truly new. Still, the PRW-60 continues to pay tribute to the conservative state of things: a digital compass, an altimeter / barometer, and a thermometer. Advanced technologies include: solar power [with updated solar panel], radio synchronization and automatic correction of arrows [so that there are no deviations from the data of the electronic window].

And of course, the watch has a smart crown SMART ACCESS, which simplifies the settings of functions at times. The principle of operation is as follows: for example, we switch to world time mode → unscrew the crown →! It is important to pull it out with one click [nothing will work without this click] → further, when you turn the crown, you move the second hand along the city indices around the bezel and thus indicate the time zone you need and the work of the hands, respectively.

Similar actions occur when the timer, alarm, sensor calibrations, and the like settings work. In fact, you cannot set the clock without scrolling the crown. But this is not a problem at all, on the contrary – it’s convenient.

Backlight The PRW-60-2AER boasts the wonderful Neon Illuminator type – when only hour markers and hands are illuminated [bright neon color]. The digital window is already lit by a conventional LED.

This action looks amazing. There is an automatic response, but you need to activate it separately in the settings + you can also choose the duration of the operation: from 1 to 3 seconds.

“Specifications of PRW-60”]

Case / bezel material: Resin / Stainless steel
Silicon band
Mineral Glass
Neobrite
Screw Lock Crown
100-meter water resistance

Double LED light
LED light for the face (Full auto LED light, Neon illuminator, selectable illumination duration (1.5 seconds or 3 seconds), afterglow)
LED backlight for the digital display (Full auto LED light, selectable illumination duration (1.5 seconds or 3 seconds), afterglow)
Tough Solar (Solar powered)
Low-temperature resistant (–10°C/14°F)
Time calibration signal reception
Auto receive up to six* times a day (remaining auto receives canceled as soon as one is successful)
*5 times a day for the Chinese calibration signal
Manual receive
The latest signal reception results
Time Calibration Signals
Station name: DCF77 (Mainflingen, Germany)
Frequency: 77.5 kHz
Station name: MSF (Anthorn, England)
Frequency: 60.0 kHz
Station name: WWVB (Fort Collins, United States)
Frequency: 60.0 kHz
Station name: JJY (Fukushima, Fukuoka/Saga, Japan)
Frequency: 40.0 kHz (Fukushima) / 60.0 kHz (Fukuoka/Saga)
Station name: BPC (Shangqiu City, Henan Province, China)
Frequency: 68.5 kHz
The auto hand home position correction
Digital compass
Measures and displays direction as one of 16 points
Measuring range: 0 to 359°
Measuring unit: 1°
60 seconds continuous measurement
Hand indication of north
Bidirectional calibration
Magnetic declination correction
Altimeter
Measuring range: –700 to 10,000 m (–2,300 to 32,800 ft.)
Measuring unit: 1 m (5 ft.)
Hand indication of altitude differential
Manual memory measurements (up to 30 records, each including altitude, date, time)
Auto log data (High/low altitudes, cumulative ascent and descent)
Others: Relative altitude readings (±100 m /±1000 m), Selectable measurement interval: 5 seconds or 2 minutes
*1 second for first 3 minutes only
*Changeover between meters (m) and feet (ft)
Barometer
Display range: 260 to 1,100 hPa (7.65 to 32.45 inHg)
Display unit: 1 hPa (0.05 inHg)
Hand indication of pressure differential
Atmospheric pressure tendency graph
Barometric pressure tendency information alarm (beep and arrow indicates significant changes in pressure)
*Changeover between hPa and inHg
Thermometer
Display range: –10 to 60°C (14 to 140°F)
Display unit: 0.1°C (0.2°F)
*Changeover between Celsius (°C) and Fahrenheit (°F)
World time
29 time zones (29 cities + coordinated universal time), One-touch UTC Time Zone Access, daylight saving on/off, Home city/World time city swapping
1/100-second stopwatch
Measuring capacity: 23:59’59.99″
Measuring modes: Elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times
Countdown timer
Measuring unit: 1 second
Countdown range: 60 minutes
Countdown start time setting range: 1 minute to 60 minutes (1-minute increments)
5 daily alarms
Hourly time signal
Hand shift feature (manual or auto (during altitude, barometric pressure, and temperature measurement))
Battery level indicator
Power Saving (display goes blank and hands stop to save power when the watch is left in the dark)
Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)
12/24-hour format
Button operation tone on/off
Regular timekeeping:
Analog: 3 hands (hour, minute (hand moves every 10 seconds), second)
Digital: Hour, minute, second, am/pm, month, date, day
Accuracy: ±15 seconds per month (with no signal calibration)
Approx. battery operating time:
6 months on rechargeable battery (operation period with normal use without exposure to light after charge)
25 months on rechargeable battery (operation period when stored in total darkness with the power save function on after full charge) Size of case : 50.5×47.2×13.3mm
Total weight : 69g

Strap. Dense, thick and very light silicone material [not polyurethane]. I was surprised by the thickness – significantly thicker than the polyurethane counterparts.

At the same time, the thickness did not affect the weight in any way, on the contrary, the lightness of silicone is felt. How convenient it is to work with the strap with the help of additional “levers” that make replacement easy. Remember the news about the carabiner strap [PRW-60YAE-1A – now with a carabiner for climbers] and you will understand why the manufacturer makes such decisions [spoiler: to make the most practical use of the watch under different conditions].

Conclusion

The PRW-60-2AER confirmed the status of the most advanced tracks in the classic version [we are not talking about the WSD-F20], where there is no synchronization with the phone, and traditional Japanese technology works. Pay attention to a paradigm shift in the ProTrek division itself: the series was created not only for extreme sports, but also for use in a typical urban environment. Mirror finish, downsizing, beautiful hands are all for people of a completely different way of life and thinking [not so much about sports as about money, their own unique image], but at the same time, watches will become an indispensable companion in any other hobby.

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Firstly published, but we carefully translated into English.

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