Best Casio G
As undeniably cool as many of them are, at the end of the day, the thing that gets my heart pumping when it comes to watches is their mechanical nature. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a lot of fun with a bright red G-Shock on a weekend afternoon, and that, I think, is what this watch is made for. For a collector, or anyone who looks down at a watch box with more than one or two choices in it each day, sometimes you just need a watch break you out of your comfort zone. The GA-2100 does that in spades, and at a price point where this small luxury won’t be painful.
What perhaps doesn’t come as a surprise is that this watch is extremely light, weighing a mere 51 grams/1.8 ounces including the strap. This makes it one of the lightest G-Shocks on the market today. The watch carries all the features that have made the G-shock so popular but is presented in a fresh and modern design.
I’ve never taken a slam that damaged a watch case more than some superficial scuffs. Its spring bar failure that ultimately leads to loss is what you need to worry about. A fanned rubber strap takes the torque load off the actual spring bar in the event of going full scorpion down an icy landing in the terrain park. It protects the module by enclosing it in a carbon case.
I’ve had experience with some of the affordable square-cased G-Shocks and one of my main complaints is that the buttons were hard to press, even with a fingernail. Casio has made the buttons on the CasiOak slightly longer, making them easy to press with the pad of your finger. I had no issues pressing each button and it made cycling through functions a breeze. If you have had any experience with a resin-cased G-Shock, there aren’t going to be any surprises here. The matte black case and strap have the feel of rubber but don’t feel cheap. Casio have done a nice job of making the CasiOak feel like a tool and not a toy.
I can only assume they have managed to retain the ruggedness of what makes a G-SHOCK a G-SHOCK while reducing the dimensions through the use of what is called Carbon Core Quad. A side effect of this is that for some reason the watch doesn’t sit properly on wrist sometimes, with the lugs and strap not quite having the same snug fit to the wrist, even when pulled almost uncomfortably tight. The manufacturer baby g shock calls his creation the Carbon Core Guard structure, which not only helps to improve the impact-resistant properties of the case , but also reduces the weight of the watch, and this is also important. To the right downward’s in a diamond shape is the LCD area which is hard to read at the best times. Whenever you have the misfortune of the hands sitting between 3 and 6 you’re in for a real bad time.
These new models inherit the octagon form that was also employed for the original DW-5000C. Analog-digital timekeeping comes packed into a no-nonsense simple design without sacrificing G-SHOCK level toughness. g shock watch Last but not least, the GA-2100’s resin band is slimmer and more traditionally shaped to suit its retro style, but unlike even modern G-Shocks comes with a quick-release system for replacement or repair.
The buttons are easy to use and the adjust button top left is not recessed like on other Casio and G-SHOCK models. This is welcome as its a pain in the arse sometimes to activate it on other watches in the collection. Something people have commented on is the thinness of this watch compared to other Gs and this is evident when you flip the watch to the side.
After all, black hands and indices against a black dial aren’t the best combinations if you’re looking for legibility. It’s also the home for using the various additional functions of the watch. First, the screen is just too small to coherently display all of the information you’d want to see if you were timing something, or checking another timezone. You can figure it out, sure, but it takes a second or two of additional analysis that just isn’t needed with a larger screen.