The Casio ProTrek is a fantastic choice for a professional with a taste for the outdoors. Stylish and functional, rugged but accurate, the Casio ProTrek is a study in contrasts and manages to pull it off well. Its consistency of design is clear from the outset and its great range of functional modes ensure that even the most hardened veteran of the outdoors shouldn’t go wanting.
The Adventurous Businessman
The stand out feature of this watch is its clear and easy to read analogue display; Most outdoor watches sport a digital face to allow data such as atmospheric pressure and altitude to be displayed. However, the Casio ProTrek’s analogue face allows the time to be seen at a glance.
The ProTrek also has a great deal of style, something which many outdoors watches fall short of. It’s not a dress watch, but would look great in the boardroom.
The finish is of high quality and stylish without being showy. It exudes strength and durability at every turn without seeming brutish. If I had to describe the appearance of this watch in one word it would be ‘solid’; More Daniel Craig than Sean Connery, but still very much James Bond.
The digital display is subtle enough to avoid detracting from the style of the watch but clear enough to ensure that you have no difficulty in reading it. All in all, the Casio ProTrek ticks all the boxes for functional style. But what about the rest?
All the data you could need
Thankfully, the ProTrek boasts all of the features of a high end adventure watch including an altimeter, barometer, ambient thermometer and even a compass.
I particularly love the way the Casio ProTrek’s second hand doubles as a compass needle. Press the compass button and it smoothly swivels to North and back again once you have your bearings. Although it lacks GPS functionality this watch will give almost any keen adventurer more than enough information to get by.
Depending upon the model, the altimeter can store up to 40 different data sets, tracking your altitude and displaying it in a useful graph for those who want to keep an eye on their ascent. I’m unsure of the application of this feature except at the very highest levels of mountaineering but it’s certainly very cool.
The barometer should allow you to keep an eye on the weather and predict any sudden changes in the conditions. There’s nothing worse than getting caught in the rain before your tent is down and the ProTrek can help you avoid this. But what if things do start to get a bit hairy?
Rugged, but accurate
No need for concern, the ProTrek is extremely resilient and durable. Its mineral glass face Every hour, on the hour, the Casio ProTrek checks the hand positions against the actual time and adjusts them them if there is any discrepancy. Less rugged watches often have their hands slip out of position due to knocks, bumps or even exposure to strong magnetic fields. The Pro Trek ensures that our adventurous spirit doesn’t affect your ability to accurately tell the time. Shaken, not stirred.
In addition to this the Casio ProTrek is solar powered and is one of the most accurate in the range so there is plenty to be said for its reliability. A nice touch is that the Auto-LED light automatically flicks on whenever your watch is angled towards your face, very slick.
The Quartz movement is kept up to date with radio signal reception and its five daily alarms and perpetual calendar will make sure you don’t miss any pressing engagements. No longer ground breaking, but always worth a mention. So, all in all, what do we think?
Final Word
The Casio ProTrek’s broad scope of functionality is one of its most engaging features. Plenty of watches these days sport a fantastic range of bells and whistles but become gimmicky due to the lack of consistency in their design. The beauty of this watch is that it performs admirably across the board while maintaining an air of rugged style.
Definitely a watch to consider for Dad as Christmas looms. For more information and technical specifications, head on over to First Class Watches.
