The backlight has a the auto illumination function

The metal bezel around the dial looks good, and Casio chose a green tinted LCD screen. The solar panel ring sits around the dial. The pushers are all easy to spot and push around the case, and the watch is comfortable to wear on the wrist. The resin strap has two metal plates on it which look nice. Strap is standard resin in green. Putting on the strap is a little tricky given the friction that occurs when the excess strap goes through the loops, but it is not a bit deal. I've mentioned the styling a few times. It isn't radically different than on most Pathfinder watches, but the light color really brings out the detail more. So you can see all the little areas the Casio designers wanted you to notice. If you like the color of the watch, enjoy the features, or are a Casio fan, the Pathfinder PAG110C-3 is a decent addition to your collection. Especially if you find yourself without a proper watch to wear on St. Patrick's day. While not strictly a limited edition, I feel that the watch will have a limited production given that it is as special watch. So don't wait too long to get one. Price is $250 for the watch, and it is exclusively available on Amazon.com.

Amazing what a visual redo can do to one's perception

Amazing what a visual redo can do to one's perception. The light weight Pathfinder watch never looked so fresh. All of its many features right at your finger tips, and the added point that people will notice this item on your wrist much more. When wearing the watch I pretty much think about Star Wars, specially Endor. What better scene than a forest battle for a green colored watch? Tell me that this gadget wouldn't have worked well on the wrists of the Endor Forest Rangers (aka, Endor Rebel Troopers). See the included images and video. This watch would have fit in well, given of course that it existed 30 years ago... Yes, nerdy/geeky it is, but a lot of 'watch love' is about emotion. And if wearing a watch and thinking about a movie series I enjoy makes me happy about wearing the watch - everyone is happy. Size and features of the PAG110C-3 are pretty much standard mid-range Pathfinder specs. Given the "niche" appeal of the green color, Casio didn't want to go out and throw in all the bells & whistles into this watch. As such, there are a few features you might want that are missing in this model, that you will have to finder in other Casio Pathfinder models. One example is being able to sync the watch with the atomic clock nearby via radio signals. The higher-end Pathfinder watches have this. Also, most of the newer Pathfinder models have some "plus" feature. Such as all the standard functions plus a tide chart for example. The Go Green watch has no lack of features, but won't beep happily when it is Earth Day or anything. It has the time, perpetual calendar, world time, alarms, stopwatch, countdown timer, compass, barometer, thermometer, barometer, and solar power generation with battery charge indicator. The backlight has a the auto illumination function as well, which is always cool (you can set the watch to have the backlight activate when you tilt your wrist toward you). So as you can see, each Pathfinder watch is pretty full featured as it is.

Casio Pathfinder PAG110C-3 Go Green Watch Review

Casio is proud of this new mean and green Casio Pathfinder PAG110C-3 watch intent on reminding you that Casio Pathfinder watches are green friendly. In celebration of Earth Day, the watch comes with special recycled packaging, and I first discussed the this Casio Go-Green Pathfinder watch here. That is pretty much it for the special eco-friendly features unique to this watch. Why? Because as far as Casio is concerned, the Pathfinder series is green enough as it is. So I suppose that is a better thing given that many of their watches, not just one, is comparatively eco-friendly. Much of this has to do with the solar (or any light) charging Casio quartz movement in the watch the negates the need for regular battery changes. And as you can imagine, batteries can't really be recycled, so they contribute to waste. So without even really trying, Casio makes a lot of green watches as a side effect of having cool solar powered movements. Less chemical rich batteries in our environment is certainly a good thing, but so are cool watches. For me, the reason this Casio Pathfinder watch stands out is because of the color. It isn't just a green watch, it is a cool green watch. Three shades of green, metal, plastic, and a cool technical look make this Casio watch about as close as an adult can come to playing with a fun toy. Well I suppose any adult can play with toys, but are you gonna do it in public, sans the guise of spending time with kids? In my opinion this colorful creation looks like a prop out of a sci-fi universe that many of us grew up in. Not only does the watch have a neat style, but it does all sorts of cool things (just like in the movie!). Wearing it and using it pretty much make me forget that legions of Pathfinder watches before this did the same thing.

I still recommend an all digital Pathfinder watch

For many of the functions you will need to rely on the smaller LCD screen. That will be your go to space for the chronograph, alarms, countdown timer, calendar, readings for the sensors, and other information. For years Casio has learned to skillfully use small LCD screens for such functions. While each is totally useful, I still recommend an all digital Pathfinder watch if you are going to be using these functions extensively. It just makes more sense when you have more LCD screen real estate. But if you are going to be mainly using the watch for time, with the occasional need for the other functions, then this is a solid choice. Being a pathfinder watch, the piece will of course have the requisite "ABC" functions. This is the altimeter, barometer, and compass. This also includes the thermometer as part of the barometer function. Again, this are present and useful as expected, with reliance on the small screen, and some integration of the analog hands. The button layout on the watch is the same you are used to. With three on the right, one on the left, and two on the front of the watch. There is little to no learning curve if you are going to the PAW-5000 watch from any other Pathfinder model.

Casio is smart not to add clutter underneath

As you would expect, the movement is also solar (any light actually) powered ("Tough Solar"), and atomic clock radio controlled. Actually, being an analog watch might be of benefit to power generation. You can see that most of the dial is a photo-receptive solar panel - larger than the smaller ring used in the all digital screen models. Like other high-end pathfinder models, the watch can receive signals from your local atomic clock to sync to the correct time perfectly each day. This is actually one of the most complex functions in these phones, but you can set it to auto receive each night. I recommend looking through the instructions if you wish to fiddle with the "RC" (radio controlled) functions. I have to admit that even though the watch dial is really busy on the PAW-5000 watch, it isn't that tough to read - in fact, I would say it is easy to read. Casio is smart not to add clutter underneath where the hands travel (too much), which greatly assists with legibility. I personally find the hands easy to spot and they have a high contrast with the dial. So legibility is good! Casio took some inspiration from the popularity of the Tissot T-Touch family of watches. Not in the "touch" department, but in using the hands for some of the features. Thus, the orange seconds hand is used a lot in the various functions. It isn't quite as slick as in the T-Touch watches, but the Casio is clearly much less expensive (and will probably last longer). As such, the seconds hand is used as the compass needle in the compass mode, to assist with the barometer reading, to see what timezone you are switching to in the world time function (see the abbreviated reference cities spelled out around the dial), and a few other things. Casio does a good job making you feel that the analog part of the watch plays nicely with the Pathfinder part of the watch.

Casio Pathfinder PAW-5000 Watch Review

Casio lovers have been waiting for an analog version of the esteemed Pathfinder watch for years (elsewhere called "ProTrek"). The do anything watch in the Casio family was a bit plagued by nerditis. That is, while the watches are fantastically functional, they ooze a bit of "dork." I am a proud owner of many a Pathfinder watches, and love the looks, feel, and utility they provide - but admit it isn't a watch I'd bring along a wingman on a date. Better for activities, being outdoors, and wanting to survive the perils of nature. Social gatherings demand a bit more tact when it comes to your digital aura. So the clever engineers at Casio devised the PAW-5000. I can't say with absolute certainly that this is the first Pathfinder watch with analog hands, but it is the first that I am aware of. It has all the bell & whistles you expect in these watches, with the addition of analog hangs, and a Casio Tough Movement (Tough Mvt.). So what is a tough movement? It is a special quartz movement that helps keep the hands perfectly aligned after times of physical shock. I first wrote about it here, so click that link to learn more. Pretty much something you need to having with a rugged watch like this. One of the benefits of the movement is that hands are always perfectly aligned (that I have found), which is a big plus for a quartz watch in my book.

While you have the time in an analog fashion

The chronograph function is combined with a digital tachymeter in way that I haven't seen before. A tachymeter is used to measure speed traveled, assuming you can measure a pre-defined distance. Say you want to measure the speed of something, and you can gauge when it has traveled exactly one mile. At the starting point of the time you'd start the chronograph, and then stop it when whatever you are measuring travels one mile. Using a few of the screens together, you can read the speed traveled. The watch settings allow you to adjust the unit of measuring (mile, kilometer), and I think the distance traveled as well. It is a fun little toy that will no doubt be useful to a few people. The subsidiary analog hand at the top of the dial is used for this purpose actually. It is used with the digital window to its right to measure speeds up to 1000mph or 1000kph. There is another little window for speeds over 1000! While you have the time in an analog fashion, you also have the ability to have the time digitally in the lower left digital LCD window. This is sometimes easier depending on your preferences - or when reading the time at night. Which brings me to a issue with at least some of the GA100 watches. The analog hands have no lume, but the hour indicators around the dial do have lume. Why this is? I don' t know. There is a backlight in the form of a lower mounted LED light, but when it is turned on in the dark it sort of washes out the LCD screens and makes the hands not super easy to read (especially the red hour hand on this color combo). For me, this means that while it is not impossible to read the GA100 at night, it is not an ideal G-Shock for this purpose. There are others though that excel at night reading.