Review: Casio Pathfinder PAW5000-1

Think of Casio’s latest Pathfinder watch as a rugged, multitasking, tougher-than-a-titanium sledgehammer, time keeping device. Really, it’s the chronometer equivalent of Bear Grylls.

Except that it doesn’t order you around and sleep in a hotel when it’s feeling cold. No this badass is an all-in-one tool armed with a digital compass, altimeter, barometer and thermometer. Oh yes, it keeps pinpoint accurate time, too.

Because of its multi-band Atomic timekeeping, the Pathfinder PAW5000-1 stays in constant sync with Atomic clocks around the globe. Going one better, the watch has what Casio calls Tough Movement. Okay, that sounds like some marketing bullshit but it does automatically check and correct the accuracy of the minute hand position at the 55th minute every hour. Its real toughness is in the ruggedness of its construction, much like Casio’s G-Shock watches.

Solar powered (no battery replacements ever and charged for five months without any light exposure), the dual analog, digital face watch is tough in another way: learning how to use its legions of functions. It comes with a thick 114-page manual whose tiny type requires sharp eyesight and plenty of patience as you figure out which combination of the six buttons along the watch’s perimeter you need to push —and it what order—to do all that is promises.

It’s a bit intimidating on first glance but once you get the hang of it, this Pathfinder goes the distance. Push the dedicated compass button and the sweep second hand together with the LCD face points you north and how many degrees off true north you are headed. A touch of the altimeter button displays in meters your current altitude. Press another button in altimeter mode and the watch will measure the duration of your ascent and descent

Of course, the Pathfinder handles all the other expected time functions such as stopwatch, countdown timer, alarm, and time check in any of the 29 world time zones. And if your hike in the woods continues in the dark, the face can be illuminated by a flashlight strength LED lamp either manually or set to a light sensitive, automatic mode that switches on with the turn of your wrist except in bright lighting where it stays dormant.

Although the half-inch thick PAW5000-1 is packed with ruggedness, its power belies a 2.9-ounce weight. With all of its functions, features, and just general toughness, we’re kind of surprised this watch hasn’t been given its own show yet.

WIRED Solar-powered, lightweight yet rugged. Includes an altimeter, barometer, thermometer, compass. Atomic timekeeping is da bomb.

TIRED Air temperature readings are skewed by your body heat when watch is on your wrist (where else would it be?). 118-page manual takes some time in figuring out how everything works.