Why We Chose The Casio G-Shock Heart Rate Monitor: bombproof, great battery life, classic design
While most smartwatch makers seem to be making sleek looking minimalist designs in 2020 – just like the Suunto 9 Baro and Polar Grit X – it’s refreshing to see a brand stick to the tried and tested formula of building a watch that’s able to survive a lifetime’s worth of abuse in the outdoors.
Casio need little introduction when talking about outdoor and adventure watches, or any watch in general, actually. They’ve been in the game for 74 years, and their G-Shock line of watches have become synonymous with durability.
“We’re pretty certain that you could drive a tank over this watch and it’ll come out unscathed”
This model of G-Shock continues the tough as nails heritage and it’s also packed with modern day smartwatch features, from GPS tracking to VO2max readouts. We’ll get into all of those a little later in the review.
Who Is The Casio G-Shock Heart Rate Monitor For?
Given the amplified size and weight of this watch, we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for the fast and light crowd – there are certainly many other smartwatches out there that can do the same job as this G-Shock but in a more trim package. With that said, we’d be happy recommending this watch to people who place value in a watch that is simply going to be able to last through whatever you throw at it.
Build
The first thing to note in regards to the build is of course the sheer size and tough stature of the G-Shock. We’re pretty certain that you could drive a tank over this watch and it’ll come out alive (we’re admittedly yet to try this though).
All of this beefiness has resulted in a hefty weight of 106g. Now although that may not seem like a lot, it’s certainly heavy for a smartwatch. The G-Shock certainly feels weighty in hand, compared to, say, the 64g Polar Grit X. Given this weight, you’ll see that this watch hasn’t been designed for those with tiny wrists, or just gram counters in general.
