INTRODUCTION

   Ever wondered which are the 3 most well-known watch manufacturers according to most people and not just watch collectors and/or enthusiasts? Well i did and so last month i asked a total of 20 people (relatives, friends and FB fans) who surprisingly gave me similar answers. So the 5 most well-known watch manufacturers based on the answers of all of them are Rolex, Tag Heuer, Citizen, Seiko and Casio with Rolex and Casio taking the first two places since these were mentioned by pretty much everyone. Now although there's not a single person that i know of that owns a genuine Rolex watch this brand is the equivalent of Rolls Royce (in watches) so it's hardly a surprise that most people know of them. What i didn't expect came later on when i asked all of them if they were aware of a specific model manufactured by one of those watch companies and the only one some of them knew was the G-SHOCK line by Casio. Casio however has many similar lines including the PROTREK one and today we got their latest PRG-240 model to review.

   Casio was founded in 1957 with the development of a revolutionary calculator. Casio’s small, fast calculator greatly increased office efficiency, and before long people had their own personal calculators. Thanks to this technology, it is easy now for anyone to perform calculations, leaving people free to concentrate on creative thinking. Over the years, Casio has developed many other groundbreaking products. Our watches became critical tools for planning and living daily life. Our electronic dictionaries provide a wealth of knowledge in a tiny package. Our electronic musical instruments deliver the joy of playing music for people of all skill levels, and our digital cameras make it easy to turn the excitement of the moment into a precious memory. All of these developments supported people's intellectual creativity, and that is the essence of how we see Casio's role in the world.

   Compared to my first Casio watch the PROTREK PRG-240 looks like it was taken from a Star Trek movie both in terms of appearance and functionality. I mean ok my original G-SHOCK had a temperature reader, world time and an 100M water resistance but that was just about all the extend of its features. The PROTREK PRG-240 on the other hand offers full auto illumination according to the amount of light around it, two zone LCD screen for easier reading, an digital compass that detects the magnetic north, an altimeter working up to 10.000 meters (air pressure based), sunrise/sunset times (geographical location input required), an barometer which informs you of the weather behavior, an thermometer working from -10 and up to +60 degrees Celsius, world time, an stop watch that can measure times of up to 24 hours (1/100s accuracy), an countdown timer with a max time of 24 hours, 5 daily alarms, automatic calendar, 12/24 hour timekeeping, an directional bezel, water resistance of up to 10bar/100m, time accuracy of -+15s per month and finally a solar rechargeable battery (2.3v/18mAh) that never needs to be changed (or not for at least 10 years or so). Like if this very long list was not enough however the PROTREK PRG-240 has even more functions available (less important ones) which you can check on the next page (it does however lack the radio-set functionality of the more expensive versions). So the time has come to get really close and personal with the Casio PROTREK PRG-240 and see exactly what it is that makes the mid/high end PROTREK like unique.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The PRG-240 arrived inside a cardboard box with the Casio and PROTREK logos on it.

Inside the cardboard there's a smaller wooden box that contains the watch along with a massive users guide, registration paper, warranty card, contact information paper and finally a paper describing the steps you need to take if your watch is not functioning properly.

THE PROTREK PRG-240

Just like most G-SHOCK models the PROTREK PRG-240 has a rugged look and although quite large measuring 57.3mm in length, 50.9mm in width and 15.3mm in thickness it's very light weighing just 65.4g.

The 51mm diameter case is large but even on my 18cm thick wrist the watch looks fine, a bit bulky yes but fine.

The bezel is uni-directional so you can move it both clock and counter clock-wise while the duplex LCD screen although very clear it is somewhat hard to read under extreme light.

By pressing the COMP button you start the compass function which works very well and is surprisingly accurate.

The Barometer function measures the current atmospheric pressure (from 260 and up to 1100hPa) and also displays the current ambient temperature (although this function is slightly affected by the temperature of your own hand).

Perhaps the most important feature of the PROTREK PRG-240 is its altimeter function which measures the height above the level of the ground from -700 and up to 10.000m. You can have that number displayed both in meters and feet but i strongly suggest calibrating it first for accurate results.

The synthetic resin band is 21mm in width and feels quite good however some people may opt for a better looking one since this one looks too "basic" (check the NATO/ZULU straps).

As with most resin/rubber bands/straps the PROTREK PRG-240 comes with a rather plain buckle clasp while the PROTREK logo is also placed on the ring holder.

Engraved at the rear of the case we see several things like the water resistance of the watch (10bar), the company logo, model name, back case material (stainless steel), PROTREK logo and the country of manufacture (Thailand in our case).

Under extreme light it may be hard to read the time on the duplex LCD screen of the PROTREK PRG-240 but thanks to the orange illumination you will have no problems in the dark.

CONCLUSION

   After using the PROTREK PRG-240 by Casio for almost a month the first word that comes to mind after taking into account its countless functions, build quality and appearance is mind-blowing. Now i have to admit that i don't have much use for the world time function since through the years my job has caused me to memorize the various time zones and neither do i have much use for the digital compass since i don't really go camping in the woods but i have quite a bit of use for the barometer, the thermometer and the altimeter functions when I’m at my mountain home/cottage during the winter time (whenever i find time to go there that is). When it comes to the normal watch role of the PRG-240 i too find it a bit annoying that under extreme sunlight it's very hard to read the time but the full illumination feature more than just makes up for that during the night (or dark places in general) so things are somewhat balanced. One of the things i really enjoy is that on one hand you have a large watch with a case diameter of 51mm while on the other that watch weighs just over 65g which is almost nothing compared to bracelet models. The synthetic resin band/strap may look plain but it's very comfortable so i don't see a reason for people to swap it for something else (i know i won't).

   As you can see from the above picture the Casio PROTREK PRG-240 is available in several colors (aside the PRG-240-8ER we have here) however we need to specify that in the USA the PROTREK name is replaced with the PATHFINDER name. So currently you can get the PATHFINDER PAG-240-8 for USD160 inside the USA (Amazon.com) while the PROTREK PRG-240-8ER retails for 185Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Overall we all think that the price of the PRG-240/PAG-240 is very low for all the things this watch has to offer and considering that the other models in the line can be found for even less there's really no reason for us to not give it our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Digital Functions (Full Auto Illumination, duplex LCD screen, compass, barometer, altimeter, thermometer, world clock, calendar, sunset/sunrise display, stop watch, timer, 5 daily alarms)
- 10Bar/100m Water Resistance
- Solar Rechargeable Battery (Up To 10 Years Life)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- None