Then, there’s the inbetweener called the Extend mode, this is a sort of semi-disconnected version where the watch will update its GPS but only at certain intervals that you’ve selected. The watch will sit on the monochrome screen, but will switch to the colour screen when you tilt the watch face towards you or press one of the side buttons. This will give you around three days of use.

Other things to note include the settings that help you record activities other than hiking, like cycling (nav and speed) and snowboarding (logs your runs, distance and top speed). You also have access to Google Play, so you’re able to download other smartwatch-friendly apps like Strava, Zombie Run and Spotify. With the latter app, the watch allows you to control music playing through your phone but you can’t store songs or listen over bluetooth headphones.

All-in-all, this new ProTrek is definitely better than the previous version, and the slimmed down screen is a good thing in our books. On the all-important battery front, we like the fact Casio have improved its performance slightly, but we’ll have to keep waiting until there’s a watch that we can use for active navigation on any hikes that last longer than 24 hours.

Tester’s Verdict

Will Renwick, Outdoors Magic Editor

“I’ve used this on a number of different hikes, including a walk up Helvellyn in the Lake District, and I’ve found it a useful tool. The screen is clear in any light, the menus are all easy to scroll through and in terms of GPS navigation it’s got me from A to B without getting lost.

That being said, I’ve only ever used it for navigation on day hikes. I was about to bring it with me on a week-long hike of the Beacons Way over winter but decided that it would actually be useless other than for telling the time. I’d get one day of navigation out of it and then I’d need to find a pub to charge it in. What would be the point if I had my phone with me?

I’m a big fan of using Viewranger for navigation and have paid a subscription to get access to Ordnance Survey maps on it. However, I haven’t enjoyed using it with the ProTrek. For some reason, you can’t move the map to explore the details of the route ahead of you. It just shows what’s immediately around you, fixing your position in the centre of the screen. You can zoom in or out, but that’s useless if you want to see the precise topography ahead. I instead found myself turning to the pre-loaded map software instead, which doesn’t give you OS mapping unfortunately.

Still, the GPS accuracy is definitely there with this, it’s certainly durable and wet weather-proof as well, and I do like the sleeker look compared to the previous models.”