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| by John Mundazio with additional editing for this column by Bridget Petrella | ||
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The alarms on the PAW1200 series are actually pretty
straightforward. There are five of them, and an hourly time signal. If I
could add one feature to this watch, it would probably be at least one
programmable alarm, which is an alarm that allows you to set the date in
addition to the time. It's usually far easier for me to set an alarm on
my watch than to pull out my cell phone or Blackberry and set a future
event on my calendar. Casios don't typically have programmable alarms
(they are more common in Suuntos and Tissots), but as Casio starts to
run out of new features to add to their watches, maybe they'll get
around to it. The PAW1200 also does not have the snooze alarm (which
continues to sound every five minutes until explicitly deactivated) that
several other Casios have these days which is fine with me since
whenever I try to use one, I just find it to be too annoying and end up
deactivating it for good. |
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What
makes the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 series so special is the fact
that it brings so many features together into one watch. I'll get into
plenty of detail on each individual feature shortly, but most notably,
the PAW1200 series is the first to combine the triple-sensor
functionality of the Pathfinder line (compass, barometer, and
thermometer), atomic time calibration with solar power. I personally own
a plethora of solar-powered watches, several atomic watches, and a few
triple-sensor watches by various manufacturers, but the PAW1200 is the
only watch that I know of with all of these features. And as if that
isn't enough, the PAW1200 series is what Casio calls a multi-band atomic
watch, which means it is uniquely calibrated with practically every
atomic clock in the world. Multi-band atomic timekeeping— The PAW1200
series will pick up time calibration signals which are constantly being
transmitted from Mainflingen (Germany), Rugby (England), Fort Collins
(Colorado), Fukushima (Japan), and Fukuoka (also Japan). The radius of
the time signals are large enough that all of North America, Japan, and
Eastern Europe are well covered. The watch knows the frequency to listen
on (and what time zone you're in) by your selected home city. It will
attempt to calibrate up to six times each day starting a midnight, and
again every hour until it succeeds.
The
Casio Pathfinder PAW100-3V has definitely become a favorite among my
many watches. I love all of the features, naturally, but there's more to
love about this watch than just what it can do for you. Although it's
not exactly a subtle timepiece, I believe Casio did an excellent job on
the design. It sits very comfortably on my wrist, and does not feel
nearly as large as it actually is. All of the buttons are well placed,
huge, easily accessible, and provide just the right amount of feedback.
The sensors in the watch, which are located on the top left-hand side of
the case are inconspicuous and well contained. The contour of the watch
works both for my skinny wrist, and on some larger wrists I strapped it
to for ergonomic testing. The resin strap is thick and sturdy, but soft
and malleable, and it uses this new double pin system which I love the
look of (two pins are used in the buckle rather than one). And
finally... for all of my fellow "Gadget Travelers"... you must purchase
one of these for your next great journey. I can assure you that you will
be very pleased. UB
