Casio SGW100B-3V

A waterproof watch that might know where North is and tells you lies about the temperature, but has a nice battery life.

A digital compass on a waterproof watch is basically a free back-up tool if you can count on it! In fact...I highly recommend such a watch for those who can afford it...so when I originally purchased the Casio Mulit-Function watch I thought those of us with modest incomes might have just caught a break!

Unfortunately with this watch you will never know if the watch is pointing you in the right direction when it matters, as the digital compass is seriously unreliable. It does work often...but it also needs calibrating a lot...and there is never really any way of knowing if it needs recalibrating again...so you are only sure it is telling you the right direction when you have another compass.

The other thing the watch promises is a reasonably accurate thermometer, but it fails in this epically, hilariously and unapologetically so! I am sure the only time it reported an accurate temp is when the temp at that moment just happened to be what the watch was reporting. To be honest the thermometer is mostly unnecessary. I guess if it were even marginally reliable you could use it to estimate elevation if you found yourself without more accurate means, but I can seriously guess the temp a billion times better...so this is mostly a forgettable function.

Setting aside what this watch most certainly is not (compass and thermometer) it is a good watch in most other ways...except one! The backlight on this watch annoyed me to no end. In an effort to squeeze every second of life out of the watch battery the backlight only stays on while you are holding the button down...no delayed timer...so if you need the backlight for more than a second both your hands will be tied up to do so...looking silly.

On the plus-side...this watch has been submerged innumerable times between 0-5 feet and it has never indicated any weakness to water. The display glass always clear and easy to read. Also the battery-life is excellent. I have had the watch for two years and it shows no signs of losing steam.

Given the very modest price I paid for the watch these two positive points might be enough to justify its purchase, but the manufacturer promises much more...so my judgment is harsher.

This is a pretty good watch for the price. I got it mostly for the compass. It keeps good time and so far the battery has lasted 6 months.

The compass works well but is by no means accurate enough for map work, but it will at least keep you going in the right direction. I was a little concerned that the two piece band would easily break or come off of the watch but so far it has held up.